The M.A. in art requires a minimum of 30 semester hours of graduate work.
Specialization in Studio Art
Students who select the specialization in studio art must elect an area of study in fine arts (ARTS) and/or design (ARTD) courses and must pass a portfolio examination during the first academic year or prior to the completion of 12-15 graduate semester hours for continuance in their M.A. degree program.
Students who choose to change the field of study to which they have been admitted must do so prior to the portfolio examination and with the approval of the faculty in the new field.
Students must take 3 semester hours in this course.
Additional Requirements
Students must register for ART 699B during the term of the one person exhibition or presentation and documentation.
Documentation of the one-person exhibition or presentation and documentation (the format of the show and two copies of the documentation as approved by the student’s graduate advisory committee) and the approval of documentation form must be returned to the graduate coordinator’s office by the end of the term.
Approval of the M.A. one-person exhibition or presentation and documentation is by a majority of the student’s graduate advisory committee consisting of at least three members. The majority of the committee members must be regular faculty members at NIU; a majority should be members of the graduate faculty in the School of Art; and the chair should be a graduate faculty member in the School of Art and an appropriate specialist in the specific discipline.
Specialization in Art History
Students who select the specialization in art history must complete a thesis or a master’s research paper with the approval of the student’s graduate committee, pass a comprehensive examination, and demonstrate a reading knowledge of one modern foreign language by earning an A or B in FLFR 202, FLGE 202, or FLIT 202; receiving an S in FLFR 382 or FLGE 382, or passing an average-proficiency translation examination in French, German, or Italian arranged through the NIU Office of Testing Services, with the concurrence of the student’s major adviser. Traditionally, French, German, or Italian is the language chosen, particularly by students interested in pursuing doctoral study. However, another language may be substituted with the approval of the student’s graduate advisory committee. If another language is approved, students may satisfy the requirement by obtaining a grade of A or B in the final semester of the intermediate 200-level course of the language in question (e.g., FLRU 202, FLSP 202, FLPO 202, FLJA 204, FLBU 204, FLCH 204, FLIN 204, FLTH 204), or by passing an averageproficiency translation examination for the language in question arranged through the NIU Office of Testing Services. It is recommended that students planning to pursue doctoral studies in art history confirm their reading knowledge of the qualifying language either by receiving an S in FLFR 382 or FLGE 382 or by passing an average-proficiency translation examination for the language in question arranged through the NIU Office of Testing Services.
A student in the art history specialization who has not taken ARTH 486 as an undergraduate must take ARTH 586.
Students applying for the specialization in art history must submit a sample of academic writing (e.g., a research paper for an academic course).
