Master of Art History at Pennsylvania State University

• Students critique and engage with art historical scholarship in chosen major area of specialization. Further, they develop original research topics and questions. Students learn to locate and use primary research materials in archives and other research repositories. They also learn to engage in analytical synthesis and original conclusions leading to a master's thesis or paper.
• Students convey ideas and research to peers, students, and the general public.
• Students are expected to build on undergraduate training to gain deep knowledge of one major area and one minor area.
• Students are expected to be effective at teaching and assessing students at the undergraduate level. They gain superior knowledge and experience in current curatorial and visual technologies and practices.

Know: Graduates will demonstrate deep knowledge of two areas of art historical research, a major area and a minor area, and will demonstrate competency in a foreign language relevant to the major area of research.

Critical and analytical thinking: Graduates will be able to critique, analyze, and synthesize and art historical scholarship in the major and minor area and to produce original conclusions based on research based on archival and other primary sources, including works of art.

Apply/Create: Graduates will be able to formulate a research plan, create an undergraduate art history course, and interpret works of art in a museum or other collection.

Communicate: Graduates will be able to convey ideas and research orally and in written form to peers, students, and the general public.

Professional Practice: Graduates will be effective at teaching and assessing students at the undergraduate level.

Ethical Practice: Graduates will be aware of disciplinary standards for research and teaching.

• Students learn to critique and engage with art historical scholarship in chosen major area of specialization. They also engage with art historical scholarship in two chosen minor areas of specialization and develop original research topics and questions. They learn to locate and use primary research materials in archives and other research repositories. Further, they engage in analytical synthesis and original conclusions leading to a doctoral dissertation.
• Students convey ideas and research to peers, students and the general public in the form of written papers, a dissertation as well as conference-style presentations given during the course of graduate study.
• Students are expected to build on undergraduate and graduate training to gain deep knowledge of a major area and expert knowledge in two minor areas.
• Students are expected to be effective at teaching and assessing students at the undergraduate level. They gain superior knowledge and experience in current curatorial and visual technologies and practices. By the time they graduate, students make original and ethical scholarly contributions to the field and to the specialization.

Know: Graduates will demonstrate deep knowledge of three areas of art historical research, a major area and two minor areas, and will demonstrate competency in two foreign languages relevant to the major area of research.

Critical and analytical thinking: Graduates will be able to critique, analyze, and synthesize and art historical scholarship in the major and minor area and to produce extended arguments and original conclusions based on research based on archival and other primary sources, including works of art.

Apply/Create: Graduates will be able to formulate an original research plan, develop undergraduate and graduate art history curricula, and interpret works of art in a museum or other collection.

Communicate: Graduates will be able to convey original ideas and research orally and in written form to peers, students, and the general public.

Professional Practice: Graduates will be effective at teaching and assessing students at the undergraduate and graduate level, prepared to serve as peer review for scholarly publications, and able to advocate persuasively for the value of the interpretation, presentation, and preservation of the visual arts.

Ethical Practice: Graduates will be aware of disciplinary standards for research and teaching.