Training the Next Generation of Scholars, Curators, Dealers and Arts Professionals
Since its inception in 1952, our free-standing Master’s Program in Art History has become a model for similar programs developed throughout the country. Although Hunter College is part of the City University of New York, as many as half our new students each year are from outside New York City and have traveled here specifically for the purpose of pursuing a degree at Hunter. Due to the high number of applicants and the reputation of the program, admissions are highly selective.
The MA program offers students a solid grounding in advanced graduate study. The program includes seminars and lecture courses that address a wide range of topics in Western and Non-Western art—from ancient to contemporary—and in the history and theory of the field. Within these courses, students are encouraged to make maximum use of the extraordinary exhibition and research facilities of New York City. Some courses are given outside the classroom, at institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the students also have the opportunity to participate in mounting exhibitions for the Hunter College art galleries.
All courses are given in the late afternoon or in the evening, which enables students to work or hold internships while they are obtaining their degree. Students may take 1, 2, or 3 courses a semester. Part-time attendance allows our students to earn a degree while holding full-time jobs. Many of the program’s students and alumni hold positions in galleries, museums, art organizations, and publishing houses, and many of the program’s graduates subsequently enter doctoral programs at a wide range of universities, within and outside of New York City.
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The community of students represents a wide range of interests, nationalities, ages and backgrounds.
Application Deadlines
*Deadlines may be extended. Contact the admission office to ensure applications are closed.
Fall: February 1st
Spring: October 1st
Apply now*You will be directed to the hunter.cuny.edu website.
By the Numbers:
Art History
Galleries for students to gain hands-on experience
Students come from outside New York (estimate)
Alumni Work at Premiere New York Institutions:
* Plus major galleries in the city and in art capitals around the world.
Program Features
Award-winning professors
Largest and most comprehensive curriculum in CUNY & NYC
Tuition affordability
Location is center of the art world
4 galleries; hands-on work
Use of CUNY system
Relationship with top NYC instituions
Advanced Curatorial Certificate
Curatorial Seminars
Art consulting
Curatorial work
Galleries
Museums
Writing
*Track to a PhD
*PhD Programs Attended by Hunter MA Art History graduates include: Boston University, Columbia University, Cornell University, CUNY Graduate Center, Harvard University, Institute of Fine Arts/NYU, Ohio State University, Princeton University, UC Santa Barbara, University of Chicago, University of Texas Austin, Yale University
How Hunter's Art History Program Measures Against New York's Top Private Programs
Tuition Per Academic Year for New York State Residents*
Columbia
NYU
Hunter
*Cost per credit updated as of January 2017;
NYU based on 30 credits;
$23,400 Hunter (Out-of-state or international)
Galleries

The Bertha and Karl Leubsdorf Art Gallery
The Bertha and Karl Leubsdorf Art Gallery, located in the West Building of the main campus at 68th Street and Lexington Avenue, focuses on historical and scholarly exhibitions.
Hunter West Building
68th Street between Park Avenue and Lexington Avenue
Hours: Wednesday–Sunday, 1-6pm
212.772.4991
Visit

205 Hudson
Hunter’s new MFA facility at 205 Hudson Street includes a 5,000-square-foot, street-level gallery that was completed in 2014. A dedicated entrance directly on Canal Street ensures that this gallery grabs a great deal of attention.
205 Hudson Street
Canal Street between Hudson Street and Greenwich Street
Hours: Wednesday–Sunday, 1-6pm
212.772.4991
Visit

Hunter East Harlem Gallery
Hunter East Harlem is a multi-disciplinary space for socially-minded projects that seek to initiate partnerships with publicly oriented organizations and focuses on showcasing artists who are engaging in social practice, public interventions, community projects, and alternative forms of public art.
The Silberman School of Social Work Building
[Office 108H] 2180 Third Avenue
Hours: Tuesday–Saturday 12–5pm
212.396.7819
Visit

The Artist's Institute
The Artist’s Institute is a non-profit research and exhibition space for contemporary art that dedicates six-month seasons to a single artist whose work prompts a series of public programs with related artists and thinkers.
Hunter College, 132 E. 65th Street
Canal Street between Hudson Street and Greenwich Street
Contact for hours
646.512.9608
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