NYSED: 87128 HEGIS: 1099
Art Market is a 48-credit, full-time program that provides students with the knowledge and experience necessary for careers in the many sectors of the art market. The curriculum includes art history, writing for the art market, gallery design and operation, business practices, computer technology for the art world, marketing, valuation and appraisal, exhibition theory, and art law and professional ethics. Students in the program are required to complete an internship with a gallery, auction house, or art service business, and to research and write a master’s qualifying paper. Graduating students complete a practicum in which they assemble an exhibition from concept to execution as their final project. This distinctive assignment allows students to put into practice the knowledge and skills they have gained in a real-world showcase of their talents.
Art Market graduates find employment as art gallery directors, public art program directors, art consultants for private and corporate collections, art foundation administrators, in museum marketing and development, and as independent curators, auction house department heads, and artist representatives. Curriculum below is for the entering class of Fall 2015.
KATHERINE MICHAELSEN, Associate Chairperson
212 217.4661, katherine_michaelsen@fitnyc.edu
fitnyc.edu/artmarket
Course of Study
| Semester 1 | ||
| AM 511 | Gallery Management and Operations | 3 |
| AM 521 | History of Art: 1870 to 1945 | 3 |
| AM 533 | Core Business Practices | 3 |
| AM 541 | Writing About Art | 3 |
| Semester 2 | ||
| AM 512 | The Business of Art | 3 |
| AM 522 | History of Art: 1945 to 1990 | 3 |
| AM 531 | Marketing for Art Organizations | 3 |
| AM 571 | Computer Technology for the Art Market | 3 |
| Semester 3 | ||
| AM 613 | Valuation and Appraisal | 3 |
| AM 623 | Public, Non-Profit and Art Services Sectors | 3 |
| AM 633 | Art, Law, and Professional Ethics | 3 |
| AM 653 | Practicum: Public Program | 3 |
| Semester 4 | ||
| AM 641 | Art Now: Communicating Current Trends in Art | 3 |
| AM 654 | Practicum: Exhibition | 3 |
| AM 691 | Internship | 3 |
| AM 701 | Qualifying Paper | 3 |
| AM 702 | Maintenance of Matriculation per Term | 0 |
| Total Credits | 48 | |
COMMON REQUIREMENTS
All degree programs require that students maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 every semester while enrolled in the program. A student will be sent a warning notice for the first term that the 3.0 GPA is not achieved. A second term with a GPA below 3.0 will result in a limitation of registration credits or possible dismissal from the program. A final GPA of 3.0 is required for graduation. Each degree program also has specific requirements for graduation.
ADVANCEMENT TO DEGREE CANDIDACY
Requirements for Candidacy
See each program’s specific degree requirements.
Eligibility to Attend Commencement Exercises
Candidates for the master’s degree at FIT must have advanced to candidacy before being permitted to attend graduation ceremonies.
Maintenance of Matriculation:
To maintain matriculation, a degree candidate must register each semester following entry into a program for either (a) at least one approved course or (b) maintenance of matriculation. If a student does not maintain continuous matriculation, or does not complete all degree requirements in the time allowed, that student will be required to apply for readmission to the program following the procedures and requirements listed in the catalog of the readmission year. If readmission is granted, the student will also be required to pay all delinquent maintenance of matriculation fees prior to being awarded the degree.
Degree Requirements
General
For admittance to degree candidacy, students must have satisfied all outstanding prerequisites, completed a minimum of 48 approved course credits, achieved a final grade point average (GPA) of 3.0, completed at least one official internship, and had their qualifying paper proposal approved by their committee. Students must have advanced to degree candidacy before being permitted to attend graduation ceremonies.
It is the student’s responsibility to propose a qualifying paper topic and to select an advisor from the graduate faculty. Written proposals must be submitted to, and approved by, both the advisor and the committee before the student may proceed with the qualifying paper. Students, with their advisors, are invited to attend the committee’s discussion of the proposal, to defend and clarify points. Students are encouraged to complete proposals by the end of their third graduate semester. Detailed guidelines are available in the Office of Graduate Studies.
Language Requirement
All students in the Art Market program are required to have a reading knowledge of either French, Italian, Spanish, or German (though other foreign languages appropriate to the field of study will also be considered). This requirement must be met by the end of the second semester of study. Students can satisfy this requirement by completing two years (four semesters) of college-level language study, or by passing a written translation examination administered by the School of Graduate Studies.
Internship
All students are required to complete an internship at an appropriate art institution. Course credit is only granted for one internship, but students are encouraged to serve additional internships for professional growth and networking opportunities.
Internships may be pursued during the academic year or during the summer. Internships require a minimum commitment of 135 hours, which equals one or two days a week for a full semester, or for summer internships, four to six weeks of full-time work. Past student internships have included positions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim Museum (New York and Venice), the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, Deitch Projects, Mitchell-Innes & Nash, Julie Saul Gallery, Jim Kemper Fine Art, Gagosian Gallery, Gorney, Bravin & Lee, Exit Art, James Cohan Gallery, Paula Cooper Gallery, Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Romare Bearden Foundation, Gottlieb Foundation, the International Center of Photography, and Christie’s and Sotheby’s auction houses.
Internship guidelines are available in the Office of Graduate Studies. Each student, in consultation with the program chair, makes a formal application for a position, and if selected, reports directly to a staff member at the internship location, who then supervises and evaluates the student’s work. Students are required to maintain an internship journal, write an essay summarizing their experience, and make an oral presentation in AM 691 Internship in the fourth semester. Academic credit cannot be granted for any internship that has not been approved by the program chair before the internship begins.
Qualifying Paper
The qualifying paper may take the form of a scholarly research paper or article, an exhibition proposal or catalog, a business or marketing plan, a grant proposal, a collection survey, or an exhibition catalogue essay.
Students should select a topic whose research and explication is completely manageable within a single year. When completed, a qualifying paper—including but not limited to text, footnotes, bibliography, and illustrations—should not exceed 30-40 pages in length.
It is the student’s responsibility to propose a topic and, in consultation with the program chair, select an advisor from the graduate faculty. Written proposals must be submitted to, and approved by, both the advisor and the committee before the student may proceed. Students, with their advisors, are invited to attend the committee’s discussion of the proposal to defend and clarify points. Students are encouraged to complete proposals before their third graduate semester. Detailed guidelines are available in the Office of Graduate Studies.
Time Requirement for Degree Completion
Students are expected to complete all degree requirements, including the qualifying paper, by the end of the second year of study. In the event of special extenuating circumstances, a student may be granted an extension through the end of the summer, and submit the qualifying paper at the first meeting of the fall semester.