The Department of Art History offers a fast-track degree program that results in an undergraduate degree in Art History and a graduate degree in Art History with a concentration in Cultural Heritage and Preservation Studies (CHAPS). This is a cost-effective way of pursuing a professional avenue in Art History in a reduced time frame.
Art History majors may apply to this program during the Fall semester of their Junior year and, upon their acceptance, begin to take graduate-level courses towards the CHAPS MA track in the Spring semester of their Junior year in addition to the credits required to complete their B.A.
The MA in Art History with a concentration in CHAPS is conferred upon completion of all five-year program requirements.
Program Requirements
Student should have completed a minimum of 75 credits by the end of the Fall semester in their Junior year and demonstrated an ability to complete their major in Art History and a minor in a timely manner.
Once admitted, students must become familiar and complete all requirements for the traditional M.A. Concentration. The distribution of graduate credits permitted during and after their undergraduate years is the following:
- Junior year: 6 graduate credits
- Senior year: 12 graduate credits, which must include Foundations of Cultural Heritage and Preservation Studies (Fall), and Methods in Cultural Heritage and Preservation Studies (Spring). If the Methods course is not taught in the spring semester, students can take a replacement 300 or 400 level 3-credit elective in its place. Please contact the CHAPS Director or Assistant Director to discuss before registering for the replacement elective.
- M.A. year: 12 graduate credits, which includes preparation and submission of an M.A. Thesis.
- Internship requirements (6 credits) can be fulfilled at any point within this distribution of credits, but students should consider that Summer internships are credits allocated to the following Fall semester, and students may not exceed the credit hour limits determined by SAS. A 300 or 400 level may replace one of these 3-credit internships. Please contact the CHAPS Director or Assistant Director to discuss before registering for the replacement elective.
Application
Applicants must complete and submit the online application form available on the School of Graduate Studies' website; https://gradstudy.rutgers.edu/apply/application-guidelines and if accepted, will be granted conditional admission by December 1st. They are formally admitted to the M.A. program once they have successfully completed all the requirements for their undergraduate degree.
Students are required to prepare their application in conversation with the Director of CHAPS, the Undergraduate Director and the Program Coordinator in Art History. The personal statement in their application must include an explanation on how they plan to complete their undergraduate requirements with a detailed explanation, discussed and approved by the Undergraduate Director of Art History, and the Director of CHAPS, of the projected completion of their BA and MA credits.
Deadline for Spring admission: November 1st.
