By: Bimol Bee
Submitted: 2012-02-14 09:38:10 | Word Count: 1377
While considering getting the graduate degrees in art, people try to find the best educational establishment as it will make the first step on the career making path. The students should note that it is important to keep in mind that many schools provide the students with the graduate certificates (the so-called "non-credit") which are less extensive than master degrees. But the advantage of that kind of degree is that it is directed into the more profound and more detailed and expertise in a certain area. The students have the opportunity to receive the graduate certificate degree or the master certificate, except the art history. Choosing among the certificate programs, the students should take into consideration all the detail of the educational process. For instance, these programs are perfect for the arts professionals who don't have the time to commit to a full masters degree. One of the examples is New York University. There the students are provided with the non-credit professional certificate in arts administration that is separate from the NYU Masters in Visual Arts Administration.
There are different master`s degrees according to the various educational programs. For the example, we will analyze one of the universities and its degrees. Boston University usually awards an M.S. in arts administration. But this kind of degree shouldn`t be confused with the M.A. Just there are the programs that give the name of M.F.A. to their graduate degree. But it can be not the studio art program. These distinctions may be superficial, but worth paying attention to. The students just need to pay attention to the degree they want to get and to make sure that that is what they really want to reach.
Art History is one of the distinctive fields of art, as it has some fluctuations in the degrees system. The master degree in art history is a very important, useful and flexible degree to have for the arts. There is the special course program for getting the educational degree in art history. The main focus according to this course is put on the academic subjects, comprising a fairly well-rounded curriculum of world art. Here the stress is put on the good profound knowledge of the history of art. Some consider the art history classes to be impractical. If the students are eager to become the art specialist of any kind--a curator, or auction house appraiser, for instance-they will be required to get the strong and profound foundation of the stylistic history of art. The students should be aware of this kind of field, as they have to make creative judgments, or set a price on an object. This degree is highly recommended for anyone considering a fine arts curatorial career. But those students who are more interested in the highly specialized graduate degrees in art history, there are such degrees, as of film studies.
The other field of art sphere is the Arts Administration or Management. This kind of educational degree is focused on the administration and managerial side of the arts. The main advantage of these degrees is their proposed skills flexibility. The students have the opportunity to learn the management of fine arts, performing arts, music, and other public and private art sectors. The educational programs for this degree are quite different, if considering the main approaches and direction of the educational process. Coursework for degrees in arts administration vary from program to program, but you will usually find a heavy emphasis on "practical" real world classes related to administration, finance, and business aspects of the arts. Together with the obligatory subjects and details of the programs there are the optional ones. The students can choose the art history or studio course to supplement their degree. These degrees give the opportunity to get the good qualification, necessary for the development, grant-writing, and other administrative departments. On the basis of the special features of every program, the requirements and the demands depend on its structure and contents. So the students are strongly recommended to get acknowledged with all the substantial elements of the program, before enrolling into the educational process. The arts administration degree is an option for anyone who has an eye for museum directorship, someday.
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The other educational degree is Museum Studies. This kind of degree is similar to the arts administration degree. The main peculiarity of this degree is its direction and special approach to the profession in the museums. This degree is less confined with the galleries, auction houses or other institutions. This type of studies provides the students with the good opportunities to get the further jobs in different types of the museums, beginning from the anthropology and natural history museums, science museums, children's museums and ending with the fine arts museums. The museum studies degree also gets the chance to be employed at the various museum departments, such as a Registrar's office, or in Museum Programming. Depending on the curricula of the program, the students may require the more substantial elements of the exhibition design opportunities for non-fine arts museums. Nevertheless some students are eager to get the specializations of the fine arts curator, the masters in art history is the best variant to choose.
The Curatorial Studies deal with the history and practice of curatorial work. This kind of the educational degree gives the opportunity to the students to get the knowledge and skills in the field of the curate or design exhibitions for various types of museum institutions. In curatorial studies programs, the students are enrolled in the academically oriented courses (in art history, theory, criticism, etc) and the practical courses on curatorial practice. For example, the rigorous curatorial studies program at Bard College, which is well-regarded, is a good example of a program that balances the academic and professional applications of art. If we take the Institute of Fine Arts, the doctoral program of NYU, we should note that this educational program provides with the Ph.D. degree in curatorial studies. This fact is a bit unusual, if comparing with the other institutions. The stress is put on the following art fields, as the fine arts institution, art historical or stylistic specialization. In this case getting the history degree is much valuable.
Those students who are eager to become the instructor or the teacher of the art fields, they should take up the courses of the master`s degree. This type of the educational degree can give the opportunity to get the job of the museum educator. I this case we should remind that the museums belong to the educational institutions, and working in the education department of a museum can be extremely fun and rewarding. The graduates of this kind of educational establishment can teach art in schools or community centers. Although it is more geared for an artist, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, in conjunction with Tufts University, offers an M.A.T.--Masters of Art in Teaching in Arts Education.
People who are interested in the Art Business should take up courses for this kind of the degree. Those students who accept the art market as just that of the notion "a market" should look for the definite degree of art. They will find this type of degree as very substantial one. If the students are going to participate in the international business of buying and selling art, they will not succeed without the master in art business. These degrees are fairly new, founded on a new sensitivity to the globalization and commercialization of art. The main thing that the students should keep in mind is the importance of the master degree for the art administration, as well as for the art business. A degree in art business prepares someone well for a career in the commercial sector of art, including an auction house or gallery. In this case, it is advised to check the availability of getting these degrees at the educational establishment. For instance, Sotheby's Institute of Art gives the opportunity for the students to get the master degree in art business. Sotheby's, and Christie's prepared the specialized graduate degrees (in contemporary art, design or arts of china etc.). Eventually the programs are very object-oriented and took the direction of the professional development.
