Career Pathways for Artists + Art Historians

The arts have always been at the vanguard of negotiating the most challenging cultural questions of the day. Exhibitions, performances, concerts, festivals, public art, social-practice projects, and countless other cultural experiences—both within and outside the walls of formal arts institutions—have informed and engaged populations; sparked transformational conversations; and catalyzed untold historic change.

In CCA’s two-year MA in Curatorial Practice, students work closely with faculty alongside visiting curators, designers, and artists to develop the intellectual and analytical skills needed to pursue a range of professional paths in curating and contemporary art.

The Criticism & Curatorial Practice program offers graduate students an exceptional opportunity to explore and experiment with contemporary art, media and design through engagement with history, theory and criticism within curatorial practice.

The Master of Arts degree in Curatorial Practice is a two-year program that focuses on professional training with a thorough grounding in the relevant study of art and exhibition history, research and theory, and with an emphasis on hands-on work with experts in the field, professional networking and the foremost goal of placing graduates of the program in curatorial jobs. The program takes full advantage of the vast number of arts institutions and professionals on the doorstep of the School of Visual Arts in Chelsea and throughout New York City, which provides countless opportunities for study, mentoring and professional development.

SAIC’s dynamic Master of Science in Historic Preservation (MSHP) prepares graduates to revitalize the built environment through the comprehensive exploration of science, history, creative arts, politics, and technology.

A two-year, low-residency MBA in Design Strategy program (DMBA) is a graduate program...set against the backdrop of the Bay Area, a region known for its unshakeable belief in a better world, the MBA in Design Strategy trains future leaders to question, listen, and put human needs at the center of decision-making.

Our two-year Visual and Critical Studies graduate program trains artists, critics, and scholars to write professionally about today’s intricate visual landscape. Our rigorous curriculum emphasizes interdisciplinary and cross-cultural study, historical grounding, social and political analysis, and the craft of critical writing. You’ll learn to investigate a broad range of media and present criticism in straightforward language, so art theory can be accessible to everyone.

The mission of the Arts and Cultural Management (ACM) graduate program is to build on Pratt Institute's international reputation for developing creative leaders. Our program mission is to develop leaders able to use their creativity strategically to foster creative expression, build creative community, and shape a commerce of ideas and images in an increasingly mediated world. The program is designed to emphasize the importance of cultivating creative capital by bridging the "three C’s": culture, community, and commerce. ACM program participants actively examine how to use the creative arts to develop and sustain thriving cultures and create prosperity.

The Master of Science in Museums and Digital Culture (MDC) is a museum studies graduate program designed to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing cultural landscape. Students explore how museums, galleries, and other cultural heritage organizations use digital technologies to enhance their services, manage collection information, engage visitors across physical and virtual contexts, and conduct visitor research and evaluation. The MDC program prepares students for such high-demand museum and gallery positions as digital producer, web content editor, collection information manager, digital analyst, social media specialist, digital asset manager, and more.

SAIC's Master of Arts (MA) in Visual and Critical Studies program integrates scholarly, studio, and hybrid research practices. It is designed for students who wish to pursue a scholarly and creative investigation of practices of looking and the production, circulation, and impact of visual images.

Do you care about design and its impact on the individual, society and the environment? Are you interested in honing your research skills and developing your unique point of view? Whether your background is in design, journalism, science, history or something else entirely, the SVA MA in Design Research, Writing and Criticism might just be the next step in your career trajectory. If you’re interested in improving your current practice, or in changing direction completely, feel free to email, call or drop by the department for a visit. We’re always happy to talk about our exciting curriculum, show you our lovely studio, and introduce you to faculty, alumni and students. We study design in all its manifestations, with a focus on its implications.