MSLIS / MS History of Art

Enter the world of art, museum & academic librarianship - Study at Pratt-SILS in Manhattan, world cultural capital - Carry-out art historical research - Create digital libraries, archives & exhibitions.  

As part of our cultural informatics focus -this program lives at the intersection of art, information, digital technology and information science and links with Pratt's History of Art Department on the Brooklyn campus.  With the MSLIS/ MS HAD, graduates are especially qualified to obtain positions as tenure-track academic librarians and for professional positions in art and museum libraries. 

With courses and internships taking place at NYC's leading museums, libraries and archives such as: NYPL Research Library at 42nd St. (includes Art Collections, Map Collections, Rare Books), NYPL Performing Arts Library (Performing Arts Librarianship) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Museum & Library Research) - our program offers unique opportunities for experiential and contextual learning.

  

 The MSLIS and MS/HA Department of History of Art and Design, require 30 credits each for a total of 60 credits. All courses are 3-credits.  Students are accepted to program separately - the Department of History of Art & Design requires the GRE.

This  60-credit dual-degree program is ideal for students interested in pursuing careers in academic and museum libraries as having the MSLIS and a subject masters represents the standard requirement for these fields. With studies in physical and digital collections and real and virtual environments of art and information, SILS students are obtaining challenging positions in museum and academic libraries, historical societies as well as in the information industry and in new media. 

For example, recent SILS graduates hold librarian positions at Yale and Princeton University, the Morgan Library, Brooklyn Historical Society, Brooklyn Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

About the Program

Through the dual-degree, students become art historians and librarians and are able to carry out art historical research.  They learn to design information systems and networks, use digital technology, apply the theories, research and practice of information science and use the Internet and Web to convey meaning and communicate content effectively and creatively in the arts across diverse cultures and societies of today's  global digital landscape.   Graduates of the dual-degree program have achieved positions with leading educational and cultural institutions such as: New York Public Library, Bard College Library Cooper-Hewitt Library Art Institute of Chicago, Princeton University and East Asian Library, Columbia University.

Among LIS schools, Pratt offers the most in-depth course offerings and programs in art and museum librarianship.  Collaborating with New York's great cultural institutions such as NYPL research Libraries and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, students learn on location at the finest art and museum libraries, special collections and archives for authentic learning.

Curriculum

Course requirements -  Master of Science in Library & Information Science

Core Required Courses - 12 Credits

LIS-651  Information Professions
LIS-652  Information Services and Sources
LIS-653  Knowledge Organization 
LIS-654  Information Technologies

Recommended Electives, choose from 4 categories- 18 credits (six 3-credit courses)

0. Arts & Information
   Art Librarianship
   Museum Informatics
   Performing Arts Librarianship at NYPL Lincoln Center Library
   Art Collections at NYPL, HSSL
   The Art World Business & Information at NYPL, HSSL
   Museum & Library Research at the Watson Library, Metropolitan Museum of  Art
   Rare Books at NYPL, HSSL
   Florence Summer Program in partnership with SACI School of Art - two 3-credit courses: 1. Florentine Art & Culture: Museum & Library Research and documentation, 2. Cultural Heritage Conservation; Photography Collections
0. Knowledge Organization
   Advanced Cataloging
   Metadata, Description & Access
   Cultural Heritage Description & Access


0. Digital Technology - Information Design and Interaction
   Information Architecture
   Projects in Digital Archives
   People-centered Design and Interaction
   Usability  Leadership
   Social Media - Digital Humanities - Information Visualization
0. Preservation/ Conservation (LIS 632)
   Conservation Lab (Brooklyn College Archives Conservation Lab) - Cultural Heritage Conservation (Florence with SACI)

Below: SILS students in Conservation Lab Course at Brooklyn College Archives (Slava Polishchuk, Instructor, Conservationist)

 

Course requirements - Master of Science, History of Art & Design

Core Required Courses - 9 credits

HA-602  Art Historical Methodology
HA-650  Material Techniques and Conservation (usually held at Brooklyn Museum Conservation lab)
HA 605  Thesis (Foreign language requirements must be completed before registering for thesis)

Other Courses must fulfill distribution requirements in:

    * Film/ Design/ Photography
    * Non Western design art and history
    * Architecture
    * Ancient/ Medieval World
    * Renaissance / Baroque
    * 19th / 20th / 21st centuries

Note: a course may fulfill more than one requirement.

Students in the dual MS/MS degree program in the generally take one or two classes in each program, each semester (3-4 classes a semester) to complete the program.

Scholarships and Fellowships for Art and Museum Librarianship

Students pursuing the dual-degree or students entering SILS with a master's in art or a related field are eligible to apply for special tuition and stipend awards for their second year of study (note - merit scholarships are available for the first year of study).  The average award is $3-4,000 per program (total - $6,000 - $8,000)