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Art History

The mission of Art History is to train the next generation of scholars, curators, dealers and arts professionals with the concrete skills and intellectual creativity necessary to compete in any multicultural global art capital.

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Hunter Stories - Art History

"Art is one big set of questions about the world that you can't ask in any other way."

– Irini, Art History

Read more of Irini's story

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

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*You will be directed to the hunter.cuny.edu website.

By the Numbers:
Art History

4

Galleries for students to gain hands-on experience

50%

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

Program Highlights

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

Career Paths

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*

$51,768

Columbia

$52,754

NYU

$10,130

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

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

 

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205 Hudson

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

 

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Hunter East Harlem Gallery

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

 

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The Artist's Institute

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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