At Tyler, we seek to understand art and visual culture from an inclusive and global perspective, fostering knowledge and awareness of human creativity as a fundamental form of expression in a world where visual literacy and cultural production play a vital role in shaping society.
Complete your degree in two years as a full-time student, or take advantage of our late afternoon and early evening courses to complete your degree as a part-time student.
Guided by accomplished faculty members with diverse areas of expertise, learn from scholars with deep knowledge in their specialties while you benefit from access to the many resources of one of the nation’s top art and design schools. Be prepared to take up a leading role in the art world, as a scholar, researcher, arts manager and more.
Tyler's highly accomplished faculty offer a broad range of expertise, including:
Students have many opportunities to hear from scholars and contemporary artists, to work with emerging artists, and to use regional archives, libraries, and art collections, including hands-on opportunities to work with collections or in internships.
And the vibrant arts scene in Philadelphia is only a launching pad for the opportunities that exist in the wider region which are in easy reach of the city.
The Tyler School of Art and Architecture features its own admissions team, who can provide you with the information you need to make the best decision for your educational and career goals.
Tyler's research track challenges you to develop a broad general knowledge of visual arts, studying their cultural, historical, stylistic and ethical context over time and culminating in a research project that allows you to obtain a deep geographical and chronological understanding of art history. You learn to root your analysis in historical, cultural, stylistic and ethical contexts while employing critical theories. By working closely with individual faculty members, you will graduate with knowledge and skills to:
Conduct original research and organize a sustained project
Work collaboratively with artists, administrators, educators, students and the public
Contribute to the profession and serve communities by elevating artists and ideas
Tyler’s arts management track provides an advanced cultural practice and specialized degree pathway, led by a 30-year veteran of the New York arts world. Learn both the historical and current forces that shape arts institutions:
Along with managing the production and presentation of art, you explore critical issues facing cultural institutions, such as structural bias, missing communities and perspectives, and capitalist structures. The goal? To act as a change-agent and build stronger, more diverse communities surrounding art museums, non-profit cultural organizations or galleries and their:
Values, Roles, and Missions
Economics
Strategic Planning and Governance
Public Engagement
To support master’s degree students in both art history tracks, Tyler provides access to these resources for research, internships, fellowships, and career exploration.
In addition to Temple University’s R1 research university designation, funding opportunities include short-term grants offered by the Tyler School of Art and Architecture. You also can compete for external fellowships, grants, awards or internships from regional and national organizations. Here are a few internal funding resources:
Dolan-Haase Award
Dean’s Grant for Presentation at a Conference
Dean’s Grant for Research
Marcia B. Hall Summer Research Grant
Fox Board Fellowship
Some of our recent students also received internships and fellowships like these:
Philadelphia250
Peggy Guggenheim Museum, Venice
Princeton Arts Council
William H. Truettner Graduate Fellowship, Smithsonian American Art Museum
Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library
If you want a career in higher education or research, the Research Track serves as a gateway to the best art history PhD programs.
If you imagine a direct path into the arts profession writ large, the Research Track also prepares you for leadership and management roles in museums, galleries, non-profits, archives, libraries or other arts-related institutions.
Doctoral Programs: University of Pittsburgh, Tyler
Emily Chelsea Jewelry, Philadelphia
Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia
Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia
Lansdale Catholic High School
Michener Museum, Doylestown PA
Museum of the American Revolution, Philadelphia
Northley Middle School, Aston, PA
Philadelphia Art Center
Philadelphia Museum of Arts
Salem County (NJ) Historical Society
Tianyu Arts & Culture, Inc., Chicago
University of Pennsylvania Fisher Fine Arts Library
Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia
Tyler’s Arts Management Track prepares you for leadership and management roles in a variety of organizations, where you work to align operations and program decisions with the institution’s mission and social values.
Asian Arts Initiative, Philadelphia
InLiquid, Philadelphia
Monument Lab
Mural Arts, Philadelphia
Museum of the American Revolution, Philadelphia
Philadelphia Film Society
Philadelphia 250
Philadelphia Museum of Arts
Princeton Arts Council, Princeton
Tianyu Arts & Culture, Inc., Chicago
Travel Company (private, co-owner)
Vanguard Charitable, Philadelphia
Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia
The Art History Department and community understand that they play a role in your success. To help you feel connected to your peers, browse through these brief profiles.
Meet the award-winning faculty who teach in Tyler’s undergraduate and graduate degrees in art history.
Meet some of the remarkable graduates of Tyler’s MA in Art History. Our alumni are educators, entrepreneurs, and changemakers shaping the future of the study of art history in a wide variety of arts organizations.
MA 2020 Research
After earning her B.A. in Visual Art from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey and working in the arts in Philadelphia for several years, Kristina came to Tyler’s Art History department to pursue her interest in global modern and contemporary art history. Since graduating with her M.A., she has used both her artistic and research skills as Curatorial Project Manager and Administrative Coordinator at the Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania (ICA). This position allows Kristina to support both the Curatorial and Curatorial Affairs Departments and coordinate cross-departmental communication related to ICA’s exhibitions and programming. There, she has supported many notable exhibitions, most recently Carl Cheng: Nature Never Loses, Joanna Piotrowska: unseeing eyes, restless bodies, and Where I Learned to Look: Art from the Yard.
Before working at ICA, Kristina was a graduate-level Contemporary Art Curatorial Intern at The Baltimore Museum of Art, where she assisted with research for Joyce J. Scott: Walk a Mile in My Dreams, a monographic exhibition spanning over fifty years of the artist’s interdisciplinary career.
In addition to Tyler’s specialized admissions team, you’re welcome to contact these art history program leaders.
Director of Graduate Studies
215-777-9172
Mariola.alvarez@temple.edu
Assoc. Grad Director for Arts Management
215-777-9722
John.hatfield@temple.edu
