Program Info

Master of Arts

The MA program is a course-based and research-intensive degree designed to prepare students for curatorial work, art consultation, heritage programs, cultural journalism, secondary school teaching, and doctoral research. Students will take six seminars (or the equivalent of three graduate credits). Full- time students should be able to complete the program within one year (or two terms) by taking three seminars in each of the two terms. Course work should be chosen from at least three of the four areas designated as Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque, and Modern. Up to one credit may be taken in another graduate department upon first receiving approval from the Graduate Coordinator.

The MA degree requires demonstrated reading knowledge of one foreign language for graduation. All MA candidates must have taken academic courses (or equivalent) in one language other than English (normally French, German, or Italian) before entering the program. Students must then pass a proficiency exam in this language during the first semester of the program. These exams are administered by the Department and consist solely of a one-hour translation exercise of an art history text; dictionaries may be used.


  • Admission Requirements: Candidates are admitted under the general regulations listed by the School of Graduate Studies. Applicants should have a strong overall grade average in the history of art and closely related subjects, with at least a B+ average in recent senior art history and/or humanities courses. The Department also welcomes applications from outstanding candidates with a background other than art history. In addition to transcripts and three letters of reference, applicants must include a statement of intent and a sample research paper. Students in the MA program deemed to have achieved a high academic performance can apply for transfer into the Ph.D. program either at the end of their first full-year of study or at the end of their MA course work.


Doctor of Philosophy

The PhD program is designed to prepare students for college and university teaching, museum curatorships and other research positions. Students admitted to the PhD . program will be guaranteed minimum five-years of funding (see section on Fellowships) and will be given teaching experience as a teaching assistant and/or as a course instructor. Students can be admitted either with a B.A. or with a MA. Students with a MA will receive five years of funding.


  • Admission Requirements: Candidates are admitted under the general regulations listed by the School of Graduate Studies. Applicants should have an exceptionally strong academic record with a grade average in the history of art and closely related subjects of at least an A- average in recent senior art history and/or humanities courses. Those applying with a MA in art history should have at least an A- average in their graduate courses. The Department also welcomes applications from outstanding candidates with a background other than art history. In addition to transcripts and two letters of reference, applicants must include a statement of intent and a sample research paper.


Direct Entry PhD Program

This seven-year program is designed for students who have graduated with a B.A. in art history or a related humanities major. The basic requirements include a minimum of nine seminars (4.5 credits), two language exams, a comprehensive and dissertation-area exam, a colloquium presentation, and a dissertation. You will be expected to maintain an A- average in your course work and complete your language exams in a timely fashion and before the comprehensive exams. Your progress will be reviewed annually to assure that you have met expectations. Students who fail to make satisfactory progress during the first three years may have their registration terminated or transferred to the MA program. Here is a typical itinerary through the PhD program:

  • Year 1: course work, completing either 2.5 or 3.0 credits; pass the first language exam.
  • Year 2: complete course work to a total of 4.5 course credits; pass the second language exam.
  • Year 3: study for comprehensive exams; submit dissertation proposal; start dissertation research.
  • Years 4 to 7: dissertation research and writing.


PhD Program Entering with an  MA

The basic requirements include a minimum of four seminars, two language exams (unless already completed with the MA), a comprehensive and dissertation-area exam, a colloquium presentation and a dissertation. You will be expected to maintain an A- average in your course work and complete your language exams in a timely fashion and before sitting the comprehensive exams; in addition, your progress will be reviewed annually to assure that you have met expectations. Students who fail to make satisfactory progress during the first two years may have their registration terminated. Here is a typical itinerary through the PhD program for a fully-funded student (as we expect all PhD . students to be):

  • Year 1: course work; complete all language requirements; study for comprehensive exams.
  • Year 2: complete comprehensive exams during fall term; submit dissertation proposal; start dissertation research.
  • Years 3, 4 and 5: dissertation research and writing.


Course  Requirements:

1) Distribution. All  PhD candidates are required to take courses in three of the following four fields: Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance/Baroque, Modern. If a course cuts across boundaries between two areas, it shall count as one field only.

2) Language Requirements. PhD students are required to pass examinations in two languages (normally German, French or Italian) if they have not already done so in the MA program. This requirement must be completed before taking the comprehensive exams. The appropriate languages will be set by the interim supervisor in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies. Students focusing on Ancient, Medieval, and Renaissance/Baroque will normally be expected to pass the examination in German as one of their two languages.

3) PhD Comprehensive Examinations. Candidates are required to take the comprehensive examination (one component of which is chosen from the four areas designated above and one chosen from the dissertation area) within one and a half years (or two and a half years in the case of  "direct-entry PhD candidates").


A) Examination procedure:

1) At the beginning of the study period, the PhD student will meet with the Examination Committee (made up of at least three members of the department --one of whom will be the prospective dissertation supervisor -- and chaired by the Graduate Co-ordinator or designate) in order to define the areas of the examination, the length of study and such readings and special topics as deemed to be appropriate. The Examination Committee will meet prior to the examination in order to discuss and agree upon the written questions to be submitted to the student.

2) The comprehensive examination is made up of two components, one written and one oral. The written examination consists of two parts, the general area and dissertation area.

i) The general area is tested in the Department and consists of two parts covering all media. The student receives two sets of three questions and is required to answer one from each set. The exam duration is 6 hours.

ii) The dissertation area is a take-home exam. The student receives three questions for this examination, answers one of them, and returns it to the Department within 72 hours. The answer should not exceed twenty double-spaced typed pages.

4) The oral examination for both components of the comprehensive examination (general and dissertation area) is normally scheduled three or four days after the written part is completed. The examination is normally two hours in length.

5) The examination is reported as pass or fail. A member of the Examination Committee will discuss with the student the results of the examination and provide advice.

6) The comprehensive examination must be completed approximately within one and a half years (or two and a half years in the case of "direct-entry PhD candidates").

7) The examinations will be scheduled by the Graduate Coordinator, during the academic year, from September to April..


B) Area of Coverage: Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance&Baroque, Modern

1) The general area examination will be defined at the beginning of the study period
(see A.1). In all fields, flexibility of area definition will be maintained.

2) The dissertation area component differs with each student and will be agreed upon by the Examination Committee and the student.


C) Dissertation Proposal / PhD Advisory Committee

Immediately following the successful completion of the Comprehensive examinations, students are expected to formally establish their PhD Advisory Committees. A faculty member will have already been requested to act as the dissertation supervisor, and two other members of the graduate faculty to serve on their supervisory committee. One member of this 3-person committee may be from outside the Department. Then, working with the Advisory Committee, students develop a detailed proposal for their research. The length and specific nature of the proposal will be determined by the Advisory Committee and the PhD candidate, and the drafted proposal must be approved by, first, the Advisory Committee, and secondly, the Department's Graduate Program Committee. The dissertation proposal should be submitted to the Graduate Program Committee within three months after the completion of the comprehensive exams.


D) Graduate Colloquium

At some stage during the dissertation work, the student will present their work to the faculty and students in an appropriate format and at a time to be determined by the supervisor in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies.


Registration

Once tuition fees have been paid or deferred, students are officially registered in the program. For PhD students, deferral forms are available in the department and at SGS; please fill them out and return them to the department before classes begin in September. MA students with external funding (CGS or OGS) must file deferral papers at SGS. After registration is complete, course enrolment may proceed.

Special Studies Courses

Courses with the FAH 3000 number require that a description form accompany the enrolment form. This form is obtainable from the Department Office.


Language Requirements

Incoming students should fulfill at least one of their language requirements during their first term of study. Students should watch the bulletin boards in the Department or check with the administrative staff for dates when the language examinations wil l be offered, usually September and January. Any student who experiences difficulty in meeting their language requirements should make an appointment with the Graduate Coordinator for guidance.


Program Changes

Any changes in course work for the year following the submission of the original enrolment form must be within the add/drop deadlines as indicated in the School of Graduate Studies Calendar. Changes must be submitted to the department for signature (forms obtained from the administrative staff) and then forwarded to the School of Graduate Studies. Please ensure that you obtain your copy of all Enrolment Forms and Program Change Forms for your records.

Failure to make changes to your program within the allowed time limit may result in an "INC" (incomplete) on your transcript. If you have any questions regarding deadlines please do not hesitate to confirm these dates with the administrative staff.


Change of Address

A notification of address change can be done through the Department of Art, or you can check to see if the University has your correct address through the World Wide Web. If the address on record is incorrect, you can even update it yourself! How? Go to the home page of the University of Toronto (http://www.utoronto.ca/uoft.html) and click on "Student Information Systems Access". Then just follow the simple instructions. Important: If you update your address through the Web, please be sure to inform the Department of Art.


Grade Submissions (Completion of Work)

Deadlines for submission of grades to the SGS for courses are in the front of the SGS Calendar.

Non-Grade Course Reports
The following non-grade course reports may appear on transcripts:

INC Incomplete: Assigned as a final report by a graduate unit review committee or SGS Associate Dean on the basis of incomplete course work in special circumstances (e.g., medical reasons or when there are no grounds for assigning a failing grade). INC carries no credit for the course and is not considered for averaging purposes.

IPR In Progress: Assigned by the instructor as the report for a course which is continued in a subsequent session or program. The final grade for the course will appear only once and only for the last enrolment period. IPR carries no credit for the course and is not considered for averaging purposes.

SDF Standing Deferred: Assigned by a graduate unit review committee to a student who has been granted an extension for the completion of course work beyond the SGS deadline for completion of course work, pending receipt from the instructor of a final course report. A final course report is due no later than the SGS deadline for completion of course work and grade submission following the original one for the course. If, by that date, a final grade is not available and the student has not submitted the outstanding course work, then the report of `SDF' will be replaced by a final report of `INC'. SDF carries no credit for the course and is not considered for averaging purposes.

WDR Withdrawal without academic penalty: Assigned by the graduate unit review committee, when there are extenuating circumstances, upon approval of the student's request for late withdrawal from a course. It carries no credit for the course and is not considered for averaging purposes.

XMP Exemption: Granted on the basis of credit for work done elsewhere. It carries credit for the course,but is not considered for averaging purposes.


Academic Calendar

For the academic calendar (deadlines, completion of course work, convocation dates, reading week, etc.), please consult the official School of Graduates Studies Calendar, and note well that:

The precise dates of commencement of courses are determined by the graduate units; students are urged to contact the relevant graduate units for information. The University policy states that the first day of classes in the fall term in all teaching divisions should not be scheduled on the first and second days of Rosh Hashanah or on Yom Kippur.

Graduate units may establish earlier deadlines for completion of course work and may prescribe penalties for late completion of work and for failure to complete work, provided that these penalties are announced at the time the instructor makes known to the class the methods by which student performance shall be evaluated.

For final dates for completing degree requirements, students should consult their own departments.

Graduate Units may establish earlier deadlines for course changes. For courses offered in the summer session, which vary widely in both length and starting date, graduate units will establish last dates for enrollment and withdrawal.