Qualifying Paper for The Masters Degree

3 units

Every student fulfilling the requirements of the Masters Degree in the Department of Art History and Archaeology will prepare one Qualifying Paper (QP). The QP constitutes the capstone experience of the MA degree, and the demonstration of potential for more advanced graduate study. The expectation for the QP is that the student will revisit a research paper undertaken in a seminar, deepen the research and/or expand the scope of the topic, and submit an 8,000–12,000-word paper with additional full scholarly apparatus: notes, bibliography, list of illustrations, and appendices if needed. A QP will in principle arise from a completed seminar research paper, and students should begin considering potential QP topics as early as possible. The student and the instructor of the relevant course will decide together if the research topic is suitable for a QP; this instructor will normally serve as the QP’s advisor. The advisor of the QP must be a current or past tenure-stream faculty member of the Department of Art History and Archaeology; the second reader may come from outside the department, with permission of the QP advisor, and is normally a full-time faculty member in Arts & Sciences. Formerly tenured Art History and Archaeology faculty members on phased retirement may be eligible for both roles. The role of the second reader will vary depending on the topic and needs of the student for specific guidance. MA candidates register with the primary advisor for one 3-hour course, ARTARCH 6200 “Qualifying Paper for the MA Degree,” in the fourth semester of study. Students will submit the final draft of the Qualifying Paper to the advisor and second reader by March 15th of that semester.