Program: Art History (MA) - University of Southern California

Apr 07, 2025

USC Catalogue 2022-2023

The department does not accept applicants for the Master of Arts in art history. Although the MA is not offered as a terminal degree, but only en route to the PhD, a student may be eligible for the MA on leaving the program after two years. A minimum of 32 units is required for the degree, and the student must pass the second year review which includes the departmental equivalent of a thesis: a revised seminar paper demonstrating original thought, research skills and writing proficiency. The opportunity to gain experience as a teaching assistant is available on a competitive basis. Transfer work applicable to the MA program must have been completed within seven years of the date of application.

Degree Requirements

A minimum of 32 units, usually taken during a two-year period, is required for the Master of Arts in Art History, to be distributed as follows:

Required Courses

AHIS 500 Methods and Theory of Art History Units: 4
Additional 500-level courses Units: 28

Total units: 32

Additional Requirements

Course Distribution

Courses will be at the 500 level; 400-level courses may be accepted with approval of the graduate adviser. No more than two seminars with the same course number can be taken for credit toward the master of arts. AHIS 500 normally must be taken in the first semester of study.

Foreign Language Requirement

All candidates must pass a reading proficiency examination in one language, normally French or German. Substitutions may be made upon faculty recommendation and approval of the chair of art history when it is deemed appropriate to the student’s course of study (i.e., Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Greek, etc.). The language requirement should be completed by the end of the first year.