Both the MA and PhD programs emphasize the research, writing, and teaching necessary to pursue a career in academia, curatorial work, art consultation, heritage programs, cultural journalism, or secondary school teaching. The faculty supervise students in the fields of Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque, Asian, African, Architecture, and Modern and Contemporary Art.
Students in the graduate program may also benefit from the department's affiliations with the Centre for Medieval Studies, the Centre for Renaissance and Reformation Studies, the program in Book History and Print Culture, and the Mediterranean Archaeology Collaborative Specialization. Resources and affiliated faculty at the Royal Ontario Museum, the University Art Centre, the Gardiner Museum, and the Art Gallery of Ontario also provide access to Toronto's vibrant arts scene. The University hosts a number of specialist libraries for art historical research, including the Department of Art History's library with over 40,000 exhibition catalogues, the Cheng Yu Tung East Asian Library, and Robarts Research Library, a resource unrivalled in Canada and among the leading university libraries in North America. The PhD program is designed to prepare students for college and university teaching, museum work, and other research positions.
The study of these periods in art history now addresses interaction with non-European lands, the economics of art production, and the continuing vitality of older artistic traditions. With five faculty members dedicated to the study of early modern art and architecture (ca. 14001700), the University of Toronto's Department of Art History has unparalleled depth in these fields. The concerns of the faculty are spread unusually widely across media, we offer specialized training in the art and architecture of Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, and England in the early modern era, while the scope of our courses extends from Spain to Latin America. Graduates of our program in early modern art history include Alina Payne and Maria Loh, former students are now teaching at such distinguished universities as Harvard University, University College London, Indiana University, the University of Delaware, and the University of Victoria.
