MA in History of Art and Architecture

2 Years On Campus Masters Program

University of California Santa Barbara

Program Overview

The MA in History of Art and Architecture at the University of California, Santa Barbara is designed for students who want advanced training in art history, architectural history, visual culture, and original scholarly research, with faculty expertise spanning Ancient to Contemporary art and architecture and urban history. Importantly, UCSB does not offer a terminal MA: students are admitted to the combined MA/PhD pathway, making the program particularly suited to students intending to continue toward doctoral research and careers in academia, museums, galleries, arts administration, or historic preservation.

Curriculum Structure

Year 1: Students begin with ARTHI 200A: Proseminar in Art-Historical Methods, which introduces critical theory, research methodology, debates within art history, and cross-disciplinary approaches. They then develop breadth through graduate seminars covering at least three of UCSB's four departmental fields—Western Art to 1750, Modern Art, World Art, and Architecture—while building specialized research interests.

Year 2: Students complete the remaining coursework within the 32-unit MA requirement, which normally consists of eight courses, and develop an original research project into an MA thesis. Depending on their research interests, coursework can include graduate seminars such as ARTHI 266: Topics in Early Modern Architecture and ARTHI 267: Topics in Modern Architecture, while ARTHI 596: Independent Research can support focused individual research.

Focus Areas:

Western Art to 1750, Modern Art, World Art, Architecture, architecture and urban history, visual culture, African art, Chinese art, Islamic art, Latin American art, early-modern art, modern and contemporary art, museum history, theory and practice, and archaeological field research.

Learning Outcomes:

Advanced art-historical and architectural-historical research, critical theory and methodology, visual and spatial analysis, independent scholarly research, interdisciplinary interpretation, academic writing, and the production of an original research thesis.

Professional Alignment (Accreditation):

Not stated by UCSB as a professionally accredited program; the university instead structures the MA around advanced scholarly research and preparation for doctoral study. The department specifically identifies preparation for careers as art and architecture historians and critics, museum and gallery professionals, arts administrators, and historic-preservation professionals.

Reputation (Employability Rankings):

Not stated by the official program source as a program-specific QS, Guardian, or other employability ranking. UCSB's department describes its faculty as internationally distinguished and notes major strengths in early-modern and modern/contemporary art, architecture and urban history, with faculty research supported by prestigious fellowships and institutions including the Getty Research Institute, Guggenheim Foundation, Smithsonian American Art Museum, and American Academy in Rome.

Experiential Learning (Research, Projects, Internships etc.)

Students in the M.A. in History of Art and Architecture at UC Santa Barbara develop practical research, archival, object-based, visual-analysis, and curatorial skills through close work with faculty and the department’s specialized collections. The program provides access to the Material/Image Research Lab (MIRL), the Architecture & Design Collection, the Art, Design & Architecture Museum, and extensive Art & Architecture library resources. Graduate students also begin with ARTHI 200A Pro Seminar, which introduces methods in art and architectural history and supports advanced research and writing.

Practical learning opportunities include:

Material/Image Research Lab (MIRL): Students can engage with visual technologies, digital archives and object-based research. MIRL activities include 3-D scanning, digital-resource creation, cataloging and analysis of historical materials.
Museum-based learning: The Art, Design & Architecture Museum gives students opportunities to work with exhibitions and gain hands-on experience in museum work, including curating exhibitions.
Architecture & Design Collection: The university's Architecture & Design Collection (ADC) is a major archival resource and one of the largest architectural archives in North America, giving students opportunities to work directly with architectural documents and historical materials.
Research and archival practice: Graduate training emphasizes art-historical and architectural-history methodologies, research, critical analysis and scholarly writing, with students developing research projects and M.A. theses around specialized historical topics.
Library resources: The Art & Architecture Collection provides approximately 200,000 art publications, including monographs, periodicals, conference proceedings, auction catalogs, bibliographies, videos and other research materials covering architecture, sculpture, painting, photography and related fields.
Digital research resources: Students have access to extensive online image and textual resources alongside physical collections, museums and specialized research facilities through the department and UCSB Libraries.
Museum and archival internships: Department resources include opportunities connected with the Art, Design & Architecture Museum, Architecture & Design Collection and MIRL, where practical activities can include cataloging artworks, developing digital resources, archival work, object handling and display.
Southern California cultural resources: Faculty organize visits to museums, galleries and architectural sites in Southern California and the Los Angeles area, providing direct exposure to artworks, architecture and cultural institutions.
Independent research: Graduate students have access to departmental resources for developing research topics, conducting advanced research and writing, preparing grant proposals and completing scholarly work, supported by faculty across art history, architectural history, archaeology, museum studies and related fields.

Progression & Future Opportunities

The M.A. in History of Art and Architecture at UC Santa Barbara develops graduates for careers in art and architectural history, museums and galleries, arts administration, historic preservation, and research. The department combines advanced historical research with access to museum collections, architectural resources, and professional development opportunities, while its graduate alumni include faculty and curatorial professionals at universities and major museums.

Typical career roles: Art Historian, Museum Curator, Gallery Professional, Historic Preservation Specialist.

Career progression and opportunities include:

Career services: UCSB Career Services provides graduate students with career counseling, workshops, recruiting events, and other career resources; the department also maintains dedicated resources for job searches, grant proposals, fellowships, and professional opportunities.
Professional opportunities: The department provides access to career resources from organizations such as the College Art Association, Association of Academic Museums & Galleries, Society of Architectural Historians, and American Alliance of Museums, covering museum, gallery, academic and architectural-history opportunities.
Museum experience: Students can gain hands-on museum experience through UCSB's Art, Design & Architecture Museum, including opportunities to participate in curatorial work and exhibitions.
Research and professional environment: The program is supported by the Arts Library, Material/Image Research Lab (MIRL), Architecture & Design Collections, and Art, Design & Architecture Museum, providing resources directly connected to advanced research and museum practice.
Graduate outcomes: Recent UCSB HAA alumni hold faculty positions at institutions including the University of Texas at Austin, University of Wisconsin–Madison, UC Merced, UNC Chapel Hill, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Pennsylvania State University. Other alumni hold curatorial positions at institutions including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Getty Museum, Saint Louis Art Museum, The Huntington, RISD Museum of Art, and Cantor Arts Center at Stanford.
Employment statistics and salary: UCSB's official HAA pages do not publish a program-specific employment rate or graduate salary figure for the M.A.; therefore, a program-specific statistic or salary should not be inferred.
University–industry/institutional connections: The department's professional environment includes connections with museums and cultural institutions such as the Art, Design & Architecture Museum on campus and nearby institutions including the Santa Barbara Museum of Art; the department also identifies major Los Angeles-area institutions such as the Getty Museum and Research Institute, LACMA, The Broad, and The Huntington as important regional cultural resources.
Accreditation value: The official UCSB department and program pages do not identify a separate professional accreditation for the History of Art and Architecture M.A. The degree's progression value instead comes through its academic preparation for research, museum and curatorial work, and further doctoral study.
Graduation outcomes: The department describes its graduate program as preparing scholars, critics and museum professionals, with alumni progressing into both university faculty and museum/curatorial careers.

Further Academic Progression: After completing the M.A., students can continue into the department's Ph.D. in History of Art and Architecture. UCSB states that the department offers a combined M.A./Ph.D. pathway and that applicants who already hold an M.A. in art history, architectural history, or a related discipline may be admitted directly to the Ph.D., depending on their qualifications.