Master's Degree in Renaissance Art History
Since 1964, the Graduate School of Syracuse University and the Department of Fine Arts have conducted a unique M.A. program devoted to studying Renaissance art in Florence. Each year, a small number of highly qualified candidates are accepted. Four top-ranked candidates are awarded fellowships carrying full tuition and a stipend. Others may be awarded partial scholarships.
Courses cover the history, contexts, and interpretation of works of art produced in Italy from the high Middle Ages to the early Baroque, and the history and techniques of art conservation over the centuries. (The content of seminars changes to reflect current research interests of participating faculty.) The first semester's courses are given in Syracuse, New York (fall semester); those of the spring and second fall semester, in Florence.
The two semesters in Florence take full advantage of the area's artistic and archival resources. Graduate courses, taught by distinguished local faculty, cover documentation, conservation, and connoisseurship. Candidates also participate in a research methods seminar that prepares them for writing an advanced research paper, a public colloquium, and the culminating symposium during their final semester. Qualified third-semester graduate candidates may work as instructional assistants to faculty, assisting with on-site lectures and class preparation.
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Coordinated symposium topics in the past have included: The Spanish Chapel in Santa Maria Novella, The Chapel of the Palazzo Medici, The Patronage of Eleonora of Toledo, and The Palazzo Vecchio. Symposium papers are presented to an audience that includes interested students and faculty of the SU Florence Center, the Fine Arts Coordinator, and the international scholarly community in Florence. Formal written versions of presented work, including revisions based on symposium comments and criticism, footnotes, bibliography and illustrations, are submitted for approval toward the degree.
For detailed information please visit the Syracuse University in Florence web page (http://www.syr.fi.it/study-abroad-florence-graduate-program-1.php)
Eligibility Criteria and Application Procedure: Candidates should have taken undergraduate studies in the cultural history of Italy with emphasis on the visual arts, have already acquired a working knowledge of the Italian language, and have acceptable GRE scores. Candidates apply through the Syracuse University Graduate School and are screened and ranked by the Fine Arts Department's Graduate Committee. Deadline is January 1 for the following fall semester.
