DEPARTMENT OF ART AND ART HISTORY
ART HISTORY
The Department of Art and Art History offers
both M.A. and B.A. degrees in art history and participates in the
Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program. The faculty of six art historians, one
of whom has a joint appointment with the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art,
teaches courses in the art and architecture of African,
African-American, Meso-American, Native American, ancient, Renaissance,
Baroque, modern and Asian cultures, and Visual Arts Administration.
Visiting lecturers, including curators from the Nelson-Atkins Museum of
Art, offer additional courses at UMKC on such topics as American
photography, and contemporary art.
Graduate seminars are small and intensive,
averaging between six and 15 students each. Many courses make special
use of the close proximity of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, a
two-block walk away, and the UMKC Gallery of Art, located in the Fine
Arts Building. Recent seminars have included: Caravaggio, Primitivism in
Modern European Art, French Baroque Art, Frank Lloyd Wright, Northern
Renaissance Paintings, Picasso and 19th Century American Painting,
Traditional and Contemporary Native American Arts, and African
Influences on New World Cultures.
Undergraduate majors in art history take
300-level surveys in both Western and non-Western art, as well as more
specialized courses on the 400, or senior, level. They can also
participate in graduate seminars with the instructor's consent. The
Student Art League offers both studio and art history majors
opportunities to meet visiting artists and travel to museums and
galleries in other cities.
The department makes every effort to enhance
coursework with the professional opportunities available in a major
metropolitan area. In recent years, undergraduate and graduate students
have pursued internships, many for academic credit, at the Nelson-Atkins
Museum of Art, the UMKC Gallery of Art, the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of
Art, The UMKC Belger Art Center, and the Hallmark Photography
Collection.
Art history research is supported by the
Miller-Nichols Library, the Spencer Fine Arts Library at the
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Linda Hall Library of Science and
Technology, and the Western Historical Manuscripts Collection.
Career
Opportunities
There is a wide range of career paths open to
those with an advanced degree in art history. These include work in
museums and galleries, entry-level curatorial jobs, public relations and
education. In addition, the M.A. can be applied to specialized work in
magazine and book publication, archives, visual resources management and
a variety of nonprofit arts and historic preservation agencies.
Combining the master's degree in art history with a master of library
science degree opens doors for work in specialized fine arts libraries
in both museums and universities. Teaching opportunities for those with
an M.A. are available at many community colleges and some four-year
colleges. High school teachers in art, history or humanities can pursue
the M.A. to further their professional training. Graduates of the M.A.
program at UMKC have pursued careers at the Los Angeles County Museum of
Art, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the National Register for Historic
Monuments, the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Conn., Avila College, the
Hallmark Fine Arts Collection, the Kansas City Landmarks Commission,
Rockhurst College and the Visual Resources Collection at Williams
College in Massachusetts.
Most universities require applicants for
teaching and research to have a Ph.D. degree. The UMKC master's degree in art history program is excellent preparation for
doctoral work. Degree requirements are structured to give students a
thorough background in research methodology, and courses are taught by
faculty actively involved in research. Our graduates have continued
their work toward the doctorate at the University of Michigan, Princeton
University, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the
University of Kansas and Oxford University, England, as well as in the
UMKC Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program.
Degree
Requirements
A minimum of 30 credit hours (24 hours
coursework, six hours thesis) is required for the master's degree. At
least four of these courses must be graduate seminars, including Scope
and Methods of Art History, offered each year for incoming M.A.
students. Additional courses may be necessary depending on the student's
background in art history. In addition, students must demonstrate
competency in a foreign language, usually French or German. They must
also pass a qualifying exam in art history. A master's thesis is
required for graduation and the research and writing of the thesis is
done on a tutorial basis with a faculty adviser.
Information on the Interdisciplinary Ph.D.
can be found at: http://www.umkc.edu/iphd/iphd.html
The B.A. in Art History requires 24 hours in
art history, three studio courses, the college-mandated capstone course,
and a minimum of 24 hours taken in two other humanities. Recommended are
English literature, foreign languages and literature, philosophy and
history. Majors must also complete one year of foreign language study.
Art
History Faculty
The art history faculty are very active in
their respective research areas and professional associations. Many have
published books. They have also contributed to a wide variety of
journals, including Art Bulletin, Oriental Art, Archäologischer Anzeiger,
Collected Essays on Liao and Jin History, Art Journal, Boreas,
Tradition, Innovation and Interpretation: Issues in the Collection of
the Arts of Zaire, the Sixteenth Century Journal, Vergilius, Studies in
Medievalism and Iowa Studies in African Art, as well as individual
museum bulletins.
Faculty have received funding for their
research from the Getty Foundation, the National Endowment for the
Humanities, the Fulbright-Hays Grants, the Samuel Kress Foundation, the
Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, the Mellon
Foundation, the National Academy of Sciences, the Rockefeller
Foundation, the Smithsonian Institution, the American Association of
University Women and the American Philosophical Society.
Financial Aid
In addition to student loans and work study
positions for those financially eligible, the department has teaching
and research assistantships, usually offered to second-year graduate
students, as well as positions working with the slide collection.
To
Apply
Interested applicants are encouraged to visit
the campus and to discuss the program with the appropriate adviser. If
you have further questions about our M.A. program, please contact Dr.
Rochelle Ziskin, Principal Graduate Adviser, Art History, 205C Fine Arts
Building, University of Missouri-Kansas City, MO 64110, (816) 235-2991,
email: ZiskinR@umkc.edu. For questions
about the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program, contact Dr. Maude Southwell
Wahlman, Art History, 205C Fine Arts Building, UMKC, KC, MO 64110, (816)
235-2986. email: WahlmanM@umkc.edu.
Prospective first-year or transfer students
should contact Dr. Geraldine Fowle, Principal Undergraduate Adviser,
(816) 235-2993, email: FowleG@umkc.edu. Interested
applicants are encouraged to visit the campus and to discuss the program
with the appropriate adviser. To apply to the graduate program from
outside the region, send two letters of reference to Dr. Frances
Connelly or Dr. Maude Wahlman at the Art and Art History Department.
Call the department office at (816) 235-1501 with general questions.
For forms and instructions, contact the
Admissions Office, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Administrative
Center, room 120, 5115 Oak, Kansas City, MO 64110, (816) 235-1111 or
toll free at 800-775-UMKC. Any questions concerning financial aid may be
directed to the Student Financial Aid Office at
Administrative Center, room 101, (816) 235-1154. The department operates
on a rolling admission system, but applications should be submitted at
least six weeks before the fall or winter term begins.
