Degree Requirements

The MA in Curatorial Practice offers a preliminary boot camp that begins in late summer as part of its first semester, introducing fundamentals of research methodologies and conceptual thinking, followed in the full four semesters of the program with rigorous practical and intellectual training. The course work is designed to offer macro and micro views of the field, with the study of different curatorial histories across disciplines, constant practical exercises in curatorial craft, and engagement with working curators and other experts across disciplines and from around the world.


The curriculum is founded on a series of case study seminars; writing workshops; practicums in every aspect of exhibition-making and other forms of knowledge presentation; and programmatic engagements with curators, artists, and experts who will meet with the students as a group and on an individual basis. Students will also take two semesters of art practice in their first year to have a hands-on experience of what it is to engage in the production of art.


In their second year, students will enter into an internship/mentorship program, while they begin work on their curatorial plan for a final exhibition project. Internships will happen with New York institutions and also with national and international partners. Students will have the enormous resources at their disposal of more than 20 graduate programs at SVA to draw work and collaborators from. These projects can take many forms and are encouraged to address interdisciplinary practices, as befits the expanded field of curatorial platforms today. The Curatorial Practice program will not only house exhibitions within SVA but will partner with institutions so that curatorial candidates’ final projects are exhibited throughout New York and in virtual space.


Degree candidates must successfully complete 50 credits, including all required courses, while maintaining a high level of academic and practical performance as judged by faculty and mentors. In their fourth and final semester, students will present their culminating exhibition and an accompanying catalogue that meet professional standards in order to be granted the Masters degree in curatorial practice. Applicants with a prior background in curatorial work are especially encouraged, as are art historians and artists whose enterprises are relevant to advanced work in the curatorial field.


General Requirements 

  • Successful completion of 50 credits, including all required courses, academic & administrative requirements, class attendance, class and group participation and individual internship.
  • Successful completion of the curatorial project and essay approved by the Review Committee. Documentation of all thesis projects must be on file in the Curatorial Practice Department to be eligible for degree conferral.
  • A matriculation of two academic years. Students must complete their degree within four years, unless given an official extension by the provost.
  • Students are required to maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.0 (B) in order to remain in good academic standing.
  • First-Year Requirements

  • Second-Year Requirements

  • General Course Listing