M.A. (Master of Arts)

The consecutive Master's programme History of Art provides extensive insights into art historical methodology and an in-depth exploration of Western history of art and architecture – medieval, modern, and contemporary. During your course of study, you are offered the opportunity to discuss questions regarding methods, genres, media, and means of reception as well as to engage in the evaluation and interpretation of works of art.

At the University of Regensburg, the M.A. History of Art is based on a systematically structured course of study. Within this course, you are given the chance to acquire current digital working techniques relevant in the field of digital humanities.

The programme is research-centred and career-oriented alike. Its main objective is enabling you to confidently apply art historical analysis procedures and methods in various fields. After having completed the M.A. History of Art’s programme, your skills acquired not only qualify you for working in all classical fields of history of art and visual science, but in new professional fields for graduates of humanities, too.

Altogether, the Master's programme History of Art provides the opportunity to develop core competencies in historical and systematic analysis of images and visual languages.

Furthermore, according to your personal interests, you can select one of six options available for specialisation which gives you the opportunity to shape your individual professional profile:

Digital History of Art/Digital Humanities
Historical Visual Studies
Film Studies
Museum Education and Art Mediation
Art and Law
Historical Building Research

Course of Studies and Module Overview

For your orientation, we have created a chart of modules. In principle, you can arrange the order in which you participate in seminars and lectures of individual modules according to your preferences. However, it is recommended to complete the compulsory preliminary modules KUGMA-M01, M02, and M03 within the first two semesters. The remaining modules should be completed by the end of the third semester. The fourth semester should be reserved for your Master's thesis.

An overview of the individual modules' content is given here:

Module Catalogue (valid from summer semester 2018).

For individual counselling, especially on your choice of specialisation, please contact the academic advisor.

Majors

Within the degree programme, you can select your individual major according to your personal interests. In addition to the classical areas of history of art, at the Institute of History of Art a comprehensive range of lectures and seminars in Digital Art History, Film and New Media, and, in cooperation with the Faculty of Law, Art and Law, is offered.

Field trips are regularly offered as well.

The comprehensive range of courses is supplemented with specific and interdisciplinary lecture series, international workshops, conferences, and symposia. You have the opportunity to participate in transnational collaborations, field trips, and intensive project work. Thereby, at an early stage, you will become acquainted with the latest international perspectives in history of art and visual studies.

Digital History of Art:

Composed of four study elements, Digital Art History offers a career-qualifying programme for students in the Master's programme as well as the PhD programme. As a career-qualifying offer, individual courses are open to students during their Bachelor’s degree Programme as well.

Within interconnected units of practical seminars, you have the opportunity to acquire essential IT-specific skills in the field of history of art and its traditional fields of work:

I) Digital Publishing

II) Digital Collection Management and Museology

III) Digital Archives and Image Databases

IV) Inter-University Project Seminar

In addition to providing basic IT skills, the courses also instruct in in-depth usage of relevant programmes' software. Digital infrastructures – MuseumPlus, Adobe CS6, Filemaker Pro – are introduced as working techniques in the spirit of "IT for all".

You can apply the skills acquired in various practical ways: not only in seminars held in cooperation with museums and foundations or interdisciplinary research projects, but also in post-graduate employment within the fields of museology, curatorship, or provenance research.

You can also participate in Digital History of Art seminars as part of the university's general IT training which supplements the regular course of study in our field.

Film and History of Art

At the Institute of History of Art, film history is understood as a part of history of art, which has been expanded to include visual studies. The relationship between film history and history of art is the subject of selected courses, numerous special events and lecture series as well as practical seminars.

Seminars specifically focusing on film studies complement the range of courses offered.

Art and Law

In cooperation with the Faculty of Law, the opportunity to participate in the study unit Art and Law is offered. This unit covers the topics of private and property law as well as intellectual property law.

This programme is coordinated by the Chair of History of Art, Prof. Dr. Christoph Wagner, and the Chair of Private Law, Commercial and Business Law, Prof. Dr. Jörg Fritzsche.

You can also participate in the study group Art and Law, which meets regularly and provides the opportunity to exchange experiences, to intensify your studies, and to address current issues in history of art alongside the courses. At this group's meetings, points of contact between history of art and law, for example specific legal cases concerning the art market, are discussed in an informal and relaxed atmosphere.

If you are interested, you are welcome to contact Maja Jakubeit.

Course Selection

You can register for courses via SPUR. For most courses, registration is open until the beginning of every lecture period. Then, places are assigned. If you are not admitted directly but were allocated a place on the waiting list, you should nevertheless attend the first session in order to be able to take over a free seminar place if one becomes available.

Examinations

Registration for examinations takes place via FlexNow. Regarding seminars, you can register and de-register for exams until the last day of the semester (30th September in the winter semester, 31st March in the summer semester). For written and oral examinations, a different date is set and announced on LSF. You can find the exact dates for each semester on the notice board beside the secretary's office. Also, these dates are communicated at the beginning of every semester. After the specified deadlines have passed, individual registration and de-registration for examinations is not possible.

Written assignments must be handed in by the last day of the semester.

A no-show in an examination or the failure to submit a written assignment in time will both result in a "fail". In case of illness on the day of examination, follow the guidelines of the Examination Office for Humanities.

Examinations can usually be repeated up to two times.

Details are regulated by the examination regulations and module handbook:

Overview of Examination Regulations (valid from winter semester 2017/18)

You can transfer courses from one module to another in FlexNow by approval only. Courses the results of which have already been booked in FlexNow can be rescheduled via the Examination Office for Humanities.

For further information regarding the modalities of examination and corresponding application forms, in particular the registration of your M.A. thesis, please take a closer look at the Examination Office for Humanities' website.

Internships

In the Master's degree programme, it is compulsory to conduct an internship as a part of your course of study (module KUGMA-M05.3).

A recognisable connection of your internship to the field of history of art must be given.

For crediting, all internships require the prior approval of the academic advisor. The filled in consent form can be handed in during office hours.

Afterwards, you should register for the M.A. internship in FlexNow.

Please note the information on the internship report that you have to hand in after the internship's completion.