Master of Arts in Modern and Contemporary Art History

The Master of Arts (MA) in Modern and Contemporary Art History is a two-year, 36-credit master´s program specializing in modern and contemporary art and design in international contexts. Two years of intensive study culminate in an original contribution to scholarship in the form of a Masters thesis.

The department's full-time faculty are the core of the MA in Modern and Contemporary Art History graduate program. They are widely published, internationally recognized experts in fields including conceptual, performance, new media, and other emerging art practices, and in design and architectural history. Research specialties cover Europe, North America, South Asia, East Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Campus & Citywide Resources

Chicago is a world-class city with a vibrant art scene. MA students have access to major cultural institutions such as the Art Institute of Chicago, its Modern Wing, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and numerous artist-run galleries and community-based organizations in the city's independent art scene.

Students conduct research at SAIC's libraries and research centers, including the John M. Flaxman Library, Ryerson and Burnham Libraries of the Art Institute of Chicago, Video Data Bank, Joan Flasch Artists Book Collection, Fashion Resource Center, Roger Brown Study Collection, and the Gene Siskel Film Center.

Additionally, SAIC attracts numerous visiting artists, historians, and critics, creating opportunities for students to interact and network with scholars from the field. The department hosts a number of visiting art historians every year, most notably through its annual Norma U. Lifton Lecture and Art History End-of-Year Lecture.

Provocative Thinking and Making

Welcome to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), one of the most historically significant accredited independent schools of art and design in the nation located in one of the greatest American cities. Our accolades are many, including recognition by Columbia University’s National Arts Journalism survey as “the most influential art college in the United States” and our consistent ranking among the top graduate fine arts programs in the nation by U.S. News and World Report.

SAIC is distinct in the way that it provides graduate, post-baccalaureate, and undergraduate students an interdisciplinary curriculum and the necessary freedom to develop as artists, designers, and scholars. At the same time, we strive for a level of rigor, investigation, and cultural relevance that makes SAIC truly special. Our students translate the most complex ideas into tangible forms—paintings, sculptures, films, performances, books, installations, inventions, buildings, community projects, and, more often than not, a combination of the above. Few schools in the United States provide such a broad range of possibilities.

Our engaged student body and award-winning faculty of artists, scholars, and leading practitioners work in close proximity, sharing exceptional resources and establishing a forum for a vigorous exchange of ideas. The heralded new Modern Wing of the Art Institute provides an incredible resource for inspiration and study. Other unique SAIC resources include our cutting-edge facilities, Gene Siskel Film Center, Visiting Artists Program, and Sullivan Galleries that exhibit work to a wide audience.

Of course, downtown Chicago gives our students access to one of the world’s most creatively vibrant and architecturally rich cities, and we encourage engagement in its full spectrum of cultural amenities. However, we fully recognize that we live in a globalized society—reflected also in the demographic make-up of our student body—and thus provide a wealth of invaluable international study opportunities across the globe.

Foremost, SAIC is about students. We are dedicated to providing a complete liberal arts as well as the arts and design education that will serve our alumni throughout their multifaceted careers. We are delighted by your interest and sincerely hope that you will add your voice to the SAIC dialogue at such a critical point in the history of Chicago, the nation, and the world.