Master of Arts in Modern and Contemporary Art History

The Master of Arts (MA) in Modern and Contemporary Art History is a two-year, 36-credit master´s program specializing in modern and contemporary art and design in international contexts. Two years of intensive study culminate in an original contribution to scholarship in the form of a Masters thesis.

The department's full-time faculty are the core of the MA in Modern and Contemporary Art History graduate program. They are widely published, internationally recognized experts in fields including conceptual, performance, new media, and other emerging art practices, and in design and architectural history. Research specialties cover Europe, North America, South Asia, East Asia,  Africa, and Latin America.

Campus & Citywide Resources

Chicago is a world-class city with a vibrant art scene. MA students have access to major cultural institutions such as the Art Institute of Chicago, its Modern Wing, the Museum of Contemporary Art,  and numerous artist-run galleries and community-based organizations in the city's independent art scene.

Students conduct research at SAIC's libraries and research centers, including the John M. Flaxman Library, Ryerson and Burnham Libraries of the Art Institute of Chicago, Video Data Bank, Joan  Flasch Artists Book Collection, Fashion Resource Center, Roger Brown Study Collection, and the Gene Siskel Film Center.

Additionally, SAIC attracts numerous visiting artists, historians, and critics, creating opportunities for students to interact and network with scholars from the field. The department hosts a number of  visiting art historians every year, most notably through its annual Norma U. Lifton Lecture and Art History End-of-Year Lecture.