Modern and Contemporary Art: Critical and Curatorial Studies (MODA)

Established in 1997, the MODA program is founded on the conviction that art historians and critics engaged with modern and contemporary art need to understand curatorial strategies that reflect the interrelationship between new mediums and modes of artistic practice, as well as changing institutional and exhibition practices and forms. Similarly, curators need to embark upon the research, organization and mounting of exhibitions with an extensive knowledge of critical theory and art history. MODA consequently offers a rigorous, scholarly, and expansive program of study, combining an intellectual foundation in modern and contemporary art and theory with exposure to the broader professional art world.

Students take advantage of the full range of expertise of the distinguished faculty in Columbia’s Department of Art History and Archaeology and in the university at large, while benefitting from specific programs crafted uniquely for MODA. The course of study enables each student to develop a unique, interdisciplinary curriculum based upon individual interests and goals. At the core of the program are the first year MA Critical and Curatorial Colloquia. The Critical Colloquium is taken in the first term of study. It involves a reading and analysis of texts by major theorists and critics, an introduction to art history’s different interpretive methods and models, and an examination of different models of critical writing.  The Curatorial Colloquium is taken in the second semester of study. It introduces students to the history, theory and practice of exhibitions, the histories of curating, and recent models of the “curatorial,” as well as case studies on historical exhibitions.

Each colloquium is also designed to engage students with a range of professionals in the critical, scholarly, and curatorial field through a guest speaker series. Past speakers have included writers for Artforum, Grey Room, Texte zur Kunst, October, The Guardian, and The New York Times, as well as curators and museum professionals from the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Met Breuer, and The Philadelphia Museum of Art, among other international and experimental venues. The Curatorial colloquium also includes visits to  relevant panels, institutions, and current exhibitions.

Taking advantage of both Columbia's location and the department's close ties with area museums, galleries, and other cultural institutions (including the Metropolitan Museum, The Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and The Studio Museum in Harlem, among others), the program complements scholarly study with an immersion in the art world of New York City. On-campus resources such as those provided by the School of the Arts and Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, further enrich the program's multi-faceted and interdisciplinary approach. Students learn from and are exposed to a wide range of contemporary cultural practitioners, including art historians, artists, architects, critics, curators, theorists, designers and publishers, just as they build community across institutions and disciplines.

The program culminates in the preparation of an independent thesis. Students produce a written thesis based on rigorous, original research under the supervision of a faculty advisor. Students may also choose to conceive a thesis exhibition project, which can assume a variety of formats. Other opportunities include MODA Curates, a competitive program that allows select students to mount an exhibition in Columbia’s Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery, and the MODA Student Run Event, another competitive program where winning proposals lead to a symposium, film series or other event on a timely topic.

The MA in Modern Art welcomes applicants who wish to study 20th- and 21st-century art. For the free-standing M.A. in other fields or periods of art and architectural history, Columbia offers a regular MA in Art History. Columbia University also hosts the MA-Paris Exchange Program open to full-time MA students.

Coursework

All students in the program are required to accumulate 2 Residence Units and take a total of eight graduate courses plus two sections of the MA Thesis course.

• All students must take for a letter grade the mandatory Critical Colloquium and Curatorial Colloquium in the first year.
• Also required are six courses at either the 8000, 6000, or 4000 level. Of these courses, no more than two should be taken for R credit. Students who wish to take 3000-level courses must get instructor approval to take them for 4000-level credit (which commonly involves additional course assignments).
• All students must take two sections of the MA Thesis course during their final year in the program.
• With the consent of their advisors, students may take courses in other departments in the history, culture, literature and philosophy of their area of interest.
• To ensure permission to continue in the program, students are warned against the accumulation of Incompletes in their MA coursework.

Language Requirement

Knowledge of one foreign language relevant to their program of study must be demonstrated in order to complete the MA. For specific information on fulfilling the language requirement, see the section entitled Fulfilling Language Requirements in the student handbook.

Western/Non-Western

Students whose concentrations are within modern and contemporary art outside the West are strongly encouraged to take one course in the pre-Modern arts of their specific region of study. The aim is to complement one’s study of "global" modern and contemporary art with the pre-modern arts of Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas.

Problems in Curatorial Practice and Problems in Art Criticism

In order to pursue academic credit for an internship, students should speak with their advisor about the requirements for Problems in Curatorial Practice and Problems in Art Criticism. These independent study courses are conceived as the academic complements to curatorial and critical work and thus integrate intellectual reflection with a student's practical experience outside the classroom. These courses may be pursued after the first semester of study. Students may only register for one that will count toward the degree's completion.

Completion of MA Requirements

Full-time students must have completed all required coursework for the MA degree by the end of their first year and be given a favorable first‑year evaluation to continue to the MA thesis stage. The MA thesis (and two sections of the MA Thesis course) must be completed within the second and final year in the program.

Part-time students must have completed all required coursework for the MA degree by the end of their third year and be given a favorable first, second-, or third-year evaluation to continue to the MA thesis stage. The MA thesis (and two sections of the MA Thesis course) must be completed no later than the fourth year in the program.

Note the minimum admission requirements described in the GSAS Bulletin and on the Questions and Answers page. Recipients of the free-standing MA will be considered for admission to the PhD only upon separate application to the PhD program in the department.

Sample Program

10 courses (30 points of credit), one MA thesis required for graduation.

Requirements

• Official transcripts of all previous post-secondary education
• A statement of academic purpose (2 to 3 pages double-space)
• CV
• 3 letters of recommendation
• GRE scores
• TOEFL or IELTS scores (for international students)
• Writing sample (10-15 pages) — this should be an example of your best scholarly writing and should be a complete text
• Application Fee

Scholarships

• Global Education