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Master of Art Curatorship (038AB)
Masters (Coursework)Year: 2024 Delivered: On Campus (Parkville)
About this course
- Overview
- Entry and participation requirements
- Attributes, outcomes and skills
- Course structure
- Majors, minors and specialisations
- Further study
- Notes
Contact
Program Director
Dr Matthew Martin
Email: mmartin1@unimelb.edu.au
Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Currently enrolled students:
- Contact Stop 1
- General information: https://ask.unimelb.edu.au
Future students:
- Further information: http://graduate.arts.unimelb.edu.au/
- Contact: 'make an enquiry' on http://graduate.arts.unimelb.edu.au/degrees/18-master-of-art-curatorship
Overview
Award title | Master of Art Curatorship |
---|---|
Year & campus | 2024 — Parkville |
CRICOS code | 027565G |
Fees information | Subject EFTSL, level, discipline and census date |
Study level & type | Graduate Coursework |
AQF level | 9 |
Credit points | 200 credit points |
Duration | 24 months full-time or 48 months part-time |
The Master of Art Curatorship introduces students to key concepts in art curatorship and equips them for a career in the art museum and gallery world. Students will gain a deep understanding of the changing contexts in which the art curatorial profession operates, such as globalisation and decolonisation, new curatorial innovations, shifts in art and art museums, and the impact of new technologies on art museums, art galleries and professional practice. The program delivers subjects in the key areas of museum theory and practice, art collection management and conservation, and the interpretation and curating of exhibitions, together with challenging analytical content that assists graduates to participate in the ethical, political and philosophical dimensions of curating art in an international context. Students have the opportunity to do an industry internship as part of their studies. Students also have the option to undertake a research thesis that can provide a pathway to PhD study.
Entry requirements
1. In order to be considered for entry, applicants must have completed:
- an undergraduate degree, or equivalent, including at least 50 credit points at second year level or above in subjects requiring written and analytical assessment, with a weighted average mark of at least H2B (70%), or equivalent.
Meeting this requirement does not guarantee selection.
2. In ranking applications, the Selection Committee will consider:
- prior academic performance; and
- relevance of previous studies.
3. The Selection Committee may seek further information to clarify any aspect of an application in accordance with the Academic Board rules on the use of selection instruments.
4. Applicants are required to satisfy the university’s English language requirements for postgraduate courses. For those applicants seeking to meet these requirements by one of the standard tests approved by the Academic Board, performance band 6.5 is required.
Note:
Applicants with the following may be awarded up to 50 points of credit:
- an undergraduate degree in a cognate discipline, with a weighted average mark of at least H2B (70%); or equivalent;
Applicants with the following may be awarded up to 100 points of credit:
- an Honours degree in a cognate discipline with a weighted average mark of at least H2B (70%), or equivalent ; or
- an undergraduate degree in a cognate discipline with a weighted average mark of at least H2B (70%), or equivalent, and at least two years documented relevant work and/or professional experience.
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005) and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF127). For the purposes of considering requests for reasonable adjustments, academic requirements for this course are articulated in the overview, attributes, outcomes and skills of this entry. Further details about how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Intended learning outcomes
Students who complete the Master of Art Curatorship should have a good understanding of:
- Articulate and advocate for the role of visual arts in Australia, via professional networks, funding bodies and government departments/agencies
- Discuss the history of collecting, and the changing role of art galleries/museums in society
- Engage with issues of access, education and funding within cultural institutions
- Describe and critique the organisational structure of a collecting institution and the various tasks and responsibilities of its personnel
- Apply art conservation theory and practice to the storage, transportation, display and interpretation of art objects
- Catalogue and present objects in an art museum
- Research and write about art objects at an advanced level.
Generic skills
Students who successfully complete the Masters should be able to:
- Demonstrate an advanced development of research skills
- Define areas of inquiry and create relevant methods of research in the preparation of essays
- Conceptualise theoretical problems, form judgements and arguments and communicate critically, creatively and theoretically through essay writing, tutorial discussion and presentations;
- Demonstrate highly developed skills in presentations
- Communicate knowledge intelligibly and economically through essay writing and seminar discussion
- Participate productively in team work through involvement in syndicate groups and group discussions
Graduate attributes
Academically excellent
- The program will be taught by leading industry practitioners;
- It will introduce students to key concepts in art curatorship in the context of the most recent scholarship in the field; students will, above all, acquire the skills to research, conserve and display art.
- Students will gain a deep understanding of the changing contexts in which the profession operates, such as globalisation, new curatorial innovations, shifts in art and art museums, and the impact of new technologies on art museums, art galleries and professional practice.
Knowledgeable across the range of specialisations that now comprise art curatorship
- Art curatorship is by nature an interdisciplinary profession requiring deep knowledge across a variety of specialised fields such as collection management, writing on art, and exhibition management and the course is designed to reflect this. Through the diverse curriculum of the course students will have the opportunity to gain an understanding of major ideas and recent developments in fields such as collection registration, art theory, globalisation, art museum management, biennials, cultural policy, funding changes, and art world ecologies.
Leaders in their communities
- As art curatorship is by nature a public-facing profession concerned with questions of civic culture and public innovation and engagement, students will gain a theoretical and practical grounding in issues such as public engagement, cultural governance, the communication of complex and fraught social and cultural issues, and ethical leadership.
Attuned to cultural diversity:
- The course places a major emphasis on issues of cultural diversity in its content, with its emphasis on issues of global culture and cultural difference, and is at the same time expected to attract a diverse local and international cohort.
Active global citizens:
- Art curatorship is by nature a profession oriented around notions of active public engagement on the parts of its curators, their artists and the consumers of art, and this is demonstrated by the blurring of lines between the three through an ever-increasing emphasis on public interaction with art and artists that is mediated by curators; fostering a public, shared ownership of culture across all parts of the community.
See http://provost.unimelb.edu.au/teaching-learning for more information.
Course structure
Students are required to complete the program requirements/structure from the year that they commenced their program. All compulsory and capstone subjects must be completed to be eligible to graduate from the program. Capstone subjects must be completed in the final hundred points of the program. All students are required to complete one Capstone subject option (at least 25 points). This requirement cannot be waived or replaced in any circumstances.
200 point program
Duration: 2 years full-time / up to 4 years part-time
- Foundation Elective Subjects (50 points)
- Compulsory subjects (50 points)
- Capstone subjects (25 points or 50 points for the minor thesis option)
- Elective subjects (75 points or 50 points for the minor thesis option)
150 point program
Duration: 1.5 years full-time / up to 3 years part-time
- Compulsory subjects (50 points)
- Capstone subjects (25 points or 50 points for the minor thesis option)
- Elective Subjects (75 points or 50 points for the minor thesis option)
100 point program
Duration: 1 year full-time / up to 2 years part-time
- Compulsory subjects (50 points)
- Capstone subjects (25 points or 50 points for the minor thesis option)
- Elective subjects (25 points, or 0 points for the minor thesis option)
For policies that govern this degree, see Academic Services Policy in the University Melbourne Policy Framework. Students also should also refer to information in the Student Policy Directory.
Majors, minors & specialisations
Name | Credit Points |
---|---|
200pt Program | 200 |
150pt Program | 150 |
100pt Program | 100 |
Further study
Students who complete the thesis option may be eligible to undertake a PhD or Masters by Research program.
External Subject Rule
Student may undertake an external subject (not listed within the program structure) with the permission of the program and subject coordinator. All external subject requests must be for the elective subject requirement, not as a compulsory, core or capstone subject. The maximum external subjects allowed are as follows:
- 200 point program undertaken at University of Melbourne (2 years): maximum 25 points.
- 150 point program undertaken at University of Melbourne (1.5 years): maximum 12.5 points.
- 100* point program undertaken at University of Melbourne (1 year): 12.5 points
- 50*^ point program undertaken at University of Melbourne (0.5 years): 0 points.
* GC-ARTS, GD-ARTS, GCA-ARTS and GDA-ARTS students are not normally granted permission to undertake external subjects towards their degree.
^ Exception: Students admitted to 50 point programs may apply to take LING90002, Presenting Academic Discourse, as an external subject.
Please note that advanced standing contributes to a student’s remaining points undertaken at University of Melbourne, and may affect how many points the student can undertake outside the enrolled program.
Last updated: 27 April 2024