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Here you can carry out art historical and design research; apply the theories and practice of information science; design and curate digital libraries, archives, and exhibitions; and communicate arts content and design effectively across diverse cultures and societies.
Pratt students at the Morgan Library Reading Room (courtesy Polly Cancro, History of Art and Design / Library and Information Science '18)

Pratt students at the Morgan Library Reading Room (courtesy Polly Cancro, History of Art and Design / Library and Information Science '18)

Type
Graduate, MAL
Start Term
Fall Only
Credits
60
Duration
3 years (typically)
Courses
Plan of Study
Student reading in the book stacks of the history Pratt Library on the Brooklyn campus.

History of Art and Design / Library and Information Science at Pratt

The MSLIS/MA History of Art and Design dual-degree program prepares you for careers in art and design, museum, and academic libraries. In this program, you will become an expert on the intersection of art and design and information, going deep into art, design, and historical archives, art and design collections, and more. With fellowship opportunities at NYCโ€™s leading museums, libraries, and archives, such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Frick Art Reference Library, and MoMA, the dual-degree program offers unique experiential learning opportunities.

Student Work

You may also browse completed M.A. History of Art & Design Theses at the Pratt Institute Libraries.

The Experience

professor speaking with class, reviewing artwork onsite

Students in the dual-degree MSLIS/MA History of Art and Design program get to experience all Pratt has to offer by taking half of their program (30 credits) at the School of Information based in Manhattan, and the other half in the Department of History of Art and Design on the Brooklyn campus (30 credits). The first two years students take courses in both departments, with much of the thesis work taking place in the third year. With class sizes of just 8-12, youโ€™ll collaborate closely with your cohort and faculty and be learning at the nexus of NYC arts and culture communities.

Internships

Internships at museums, libraries, nonprofit art organizations, and galleries provide professional opportunities in your area of interest and prepare you for future careers. Recent students have interned at prestigious institutions such as the New York Public Library, Franklin Furnace, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Study Abroad

Bernini's fountain in the Piazza Navona, Rome, Italy.

We are pleased to offer study abroad options for dual-degree students, including a new course offered for the first time during spring break 2024: โ€œArtist Archives: Rome/New Yorkโ€. We also recently celebrated the 35th anniversary of Pratt in Venice, which is a 6-week program that occurs each June and July. For more information on Study Abroad, see where you can go.

Learning Resources

We develop disciplinary fluency in our program of study and we celebrate the interdisciplinary nature of design critical to address the plurality and complexity of the environments in which we operate. Learning resources.

Our Faculty

Prattโ€™s distinguished faculty of outstanding creative professionals and scholars share a common desire to develop each studentโ€™s potential and creativity to the fullest. Bringing different views, methods, and perspectives, they provide a rigorous educational model in which students make and learn. See all History of Art and Design faculty and administrators and School of Information faculty and administrators.

Our Alumni

Pratt’s distinguished alumni are leading diverse and thriving careers, addressing critical challenges and creating innovative work that reimagines our world.

Where They Work

  • Librarian, Photographs and Prints Division, New York Public Library
  • Archivist, Center for Brooklyn History at Brooklyn Public Library
  • IT Project Manager, J. Paul Getty Trust
  • Head, Reference & Reader Services, Teachers College, Columbia University
  • Web Collection Librarian, Columbia University Libraries
  • Dean and Director of Libraries, Bard College

Success Stories

Ready for More?

HERE’S HOW TO APPLYOUR CAMPUS & BEYOND
Join us at Pratt. Learn more about admissions requirements, plan your visit, talk to a counselor, and start your application. Take the next step.You’ll find yourself at home at Pratt. Learn more about our residence halls, student organizations, athletics, gallery exhibitions, events, the amazing City of New York and our Brooklyn neighborhood communities. Check us out.

Social media

@hadpratt
History of Art and Design Dep.

@hadpratt

  • ๐ŸŽจ Art Inspiration of the Week
โ€œThe Garden of Earthly Delightsโ€ by Hieronymus Bosch, c. 1490 to 1510

Step into a surreal world where paradise, pleasure, and punishment coexist. Boschโ€™s iconic triptych defies categorization. It is part religious warning, part psychedelic fantasy. The central panel bursts with enigmatic scenes. Nude figures frolic among giant fruit, hybrid creatures, and impossible architecture. This is neither heaven nor hell, but a dreamlike realm suspended between desire and doom.

Prado Museum, Madrid
#ArtHistory #ArtInspiration
  • "Design is intelligence made visible." โ€“ Alina Wheeler

This June, weโ€™re celebrating the invisible logic behind beautiful design. From simplicity to sleek digital interfaces, smart design shows up when form and function align.

#DesignQuote #Bauhaus #DesignHistory #AlinaWheeler #IntelligentDesign #HistoryOfDesign #HAD #ArtAndDesign
  • Important Update:
The time for Topics in African Art, HAD 456-01, by  Professor Risham Majeed, changed to Fridays 2:00-4:50. 

Course Description: 
The course will look at the forms, function and contexts in which arts have been created and used in African societies, and how that body of material has been observed, described and collected by people outside the Continent. Materials or bodies of art will be viewed in a geographic pattern that moves across the Continent. Those materials will be selected to illustrate themes and issues that inform the study and understanding go the general body of African arts. The course will reflect a growing shift in the literature and in the professional discourse of the field of non-western and post-colonial studies toward a focus on the performative and holistic interpretation of artistic expression, and the impact of a global post-colonial experience that engenders a world-art perspective.
  • Art Term: Aniconism
The intentional avoidance of figural imagery, often seen in religious art.
Example: The muqarnas ceiling in Alhambraโ€™s Hall of the Abencerrajes uses intricate geometry instead of human forms to reflect divine order.
#ArtTerms #IslamicArt #Muqarnas #Alhambra #ArtHistory
  • Professor Lisa A. Banner and her graduate student class, Creating Exhibitions HAD 635, Spring 2025 visited the Artist Studio, 25 February 2025, with Lex Braes (Pratt Faculty)

Pictured from left to right:, three rows:
Back row: Shir Sudri, Allie Schwam, Jianing Cui, Emily Kokotajlo, Heechan Lee, Rob HIll, Tony Griego
Middle: Elza Lambergs
Front: Tong (Bill) Wu, Artist Lex Braes, Yerang Moon, K Rawald

Photo credit: Lisa A. Banner, 2025.
  • As the Spring 2025 semester draws to a close, we celebrate the insight, creativity, and dedication of our History of Art and Design community. From in-depth research to critical discussions and final presentations, your work continues to shape the understanding of art, design, and their histories.

Wishing all our students, faculty, and staff a restorative and inspiring summer! ๐ŸŒฟ

#EndOfSemester #PrattInstitute #Spring2025 #HistoryOfArtAndDesign #ArtHistory #DesignHistory #CreativeCommunity
๐ŸŽจ Art Inspiration of the Week โ€œThe Garden of Earthly Delightsโ€ by Hieronymus Bosch, c. 1490 to 1510 Step into a surreal world where paradise, pleasure, and punishment coexist. Boschโ€™s iconic triptych defies categorization. It is part religious warning, part psychedelic fantasy. The central panel bursts with enigmatic scenes. Nude figures frolic among giant fruit, hybrid creatures, and impossible architecture. This is neither heaven nor hell, but a dreamlike realm suspended between desire and doom. Prado Museum, Madrid #ArtHistory #ArtInspiration
3 days ago
View on Instagram |
1/6
"Design is intelligence made visible." โ€“ Alina Wheeler

This June, weโ€™re celebrating the invisible logic behind beautiful design. From simplicity to sleek digital interfaces, smart design shows up when form and function align.

#DesignQuote #Bauhaus #DesignHistory #AlinaWheeler #IntelligentDesign #HistoryOfDesign #HAD #ArtAndDesign
"Design is intelligence made visible." โ€“ Alina Wheeler This June, weโ€™re celebrating the invisible logic behind beautiful design. From simplicity to sleek digital interfaces, smart design shows up when form and function align. #DesignQuote #Bauhaus #DesignHistory #AlinaWheeler #IntelligentDesign #HistoryOfDesign #HAD #ArtAndDesign
1 week ago
View on Instagram |
2/6
Important Update:
The time for Topics in African Art, HAD 456-01, by  Professor Risham Majeed, changed to Fridays 2:00-4:50. 

Course Description: 
The course will look at the forms, function and contexts in which arts have been created and used in African societies, and how that body of material has been observed, described and collected by people outside the Continent. Materials or bodies of art will be viewed in a geographic pattern that moves across the Continent. Those materials will be selected to illustrate themes and issues that inform the study and understanding go the general body of African arts. The course will reflect a growing shift in the literature and in the professional discourse of the field of non-western and post-colonial studies toward a focus on the performative and holistic interpretation of artistic expression, and the impact of a global post-colonial experience that engenders a world-art perspective.
Important Update: The time for Topics in African Art, HAD 456-01, by Professor Risham Majeed, changed to Fridays 2:00-4:50. Course Description: The course will look at the forms, function and contexts in which arts have been created and used in African societies, and how that body of material has been observed, described and collected by people outside the Continent. Materials or bodies of art will be viewed in a geographic pattern that moves across the Continent. Those materials will be selected to illustrate themes and issues that inform the study and understanding go the general body of African arts. The course will reflect a growing shift in the literature and in the professional discourse of the field of non-western and post-colonial studies toward a focus on the performative and holistic interpretation of artistic expression, and the impact of a global post-colonial experience that engenders a world-art perspective.
2 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
3/6
Art Term: Aniconism
The intentional avoidance of figural imagery, often seen in religious art.
Example: The muqarnas ceiling in Alhambraโ€™s Hall of the Abencerrajes uses intricate geometry instead of human forms to reflect divine order.
#ArtTerms #IslamicArt #Muqarnas #Alhambra #ArtHistory
Art Term: Aniconism
The intentional avoidance of figural imagery, often seen in religious art.
Example: The muqarnas ceiling in Alhambraโ€™s Hall of the Abencerrajes uses intricate geometry instead of human forms to reflect divine order.
#ArtTerms #IslamicArt #Muqarnas #Alhambra #ArtHistory
Art Term: Aniconism
The intentional avoidance of figural imagery, often seen in religious art.
Example: The muqarnas ceiling in Alhambraโ€™s Hall of the Abencerrajes uses intricate geometry instead of human forms to reflect divine order.
#ArtTerms #IslamicArt #Muqarnas #Alhambra #ArtHistory
Art Term: Aniconism The intentional avoidance of figural imagery, often seen in religious art. Example: The muqarnas ceiling in Alhambraโ€™s Hall of the Abencerrajes uses intricate geometry instead of human forms to reflect divine order. #ArtTerms #IslamicArt #Muqarnas #Alhambra #ArtHistory
4 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
4/6
Professor Lisa A. Banner and her graduate student class, Creating Exhibitions HAD 635, Spring 2025 visited the Artist Studio, 25 February 2025, with Lex Braes (Pratt Faculty)

Pictured from left to right:, three rows:
Back row: Shir Sudri, Allie Schwam, Jianing Cui, Emily Kokotajlo, Heechan Lee, Rob HIll, Tony Griego
Middle: Elza Lambergs
Front: Tong (Bill) Wu, Artist Lex Braes, Yerang Moon, K Rawald

Photo credit: Lisa A. Banner, 2025.
Professor Lisa A. Banner and her graduate student class, Creating Exhibitions HAD 635, Spring 2025 visited the Artist Studio, 25 February 2025, with Lex Braes (Pratt Faculty) Pictured from left to right:, three rows: Back row: Shir Sudri, Allie Schwam, Jianing Cui, Emily Kokotajlo, Heechan Lee, Rob HIll, Tony Griego Middle: Elza Lambergs Front: Tong (Bill) Wu, Artist Lex Braes, Yerang Moon, K Rawald Photo credit: Lisa A. Banner, 2025.
1 month ago
View on Instagram |
5/6
As the Spring 2025 semester draws to a close, we celebrate the insight, creativity, and dedication of our History of Art and Design community. From in-depth research to critical discussions and final presentations, your work continues to shape the understanding of art, design, and their histories.

Wishing all our students, faculty, and staff a restorative and inspiring summer! ๐ŸŒฟ

#EndOfSemester #PrattInstitute #Spring2025 #HistoryOfArtAndDesign #ArtHistory #DesignHistory #CreativeCommunity
As the Spring 2025 semester draws to a close, we celebrate the insight, creativity, and dedication of our History of Art and Design community. From in-depth research to critical discussions and final presentations, your work continues to shape the understanding of art, design, and their histories. Wishing all our students, faculty, and staff a restorative and inspiring summer! ๐ŸŒฟ #EndOfSemester #PrattInstitute #Spring2025 #HistoryOfArtAndDesign #ArtHistory #DesignHistory #CreativeCommunity
2 months ago
View on Instagram |
6/6
@prattischool
Pratt iSchool

@prattischool

  • The neighborhood around PMC is getting ready for the Pride March this Sunday. Note that the March loops around PMC this year so the neighborhood will be super busy and festive! Happy Pride! ๐ŸŒˆ ๐ŸŽ‰
  • It is HOT outside, but it is oh so cool here at Pratt Manhattan Center.๐Ÿ˜Ž
  • InfoShow25 was a huge success and Fellowship recipients are announced.  This news and more in the @prattischool June '25 Newsletter; link available in our bio.
  • June is tomorrow, and look who is already ready! Happy Pride Month! #PrideMonth #nycpride #lgbtq @prattinstitute
  • Thank you to the very brave staff for washing our windows!
  • Congratulations School of Information Grads. We had a great time celebrating with you at Radio City Music Hall yesterday!
The neighborhood around PMC is getting ready for the Pride March this Sunday. Note that the March loops around PMC this year so the neighborhood will be super busy and festive! Happy Pride! ๐ŸŒˆ ๐ŸŽ‰
The neighborhood around PMC is getting ready for the Pride March this Sunday. Note that the March loops around PMC this year so the neighborhood will be super busy and festive! Happy Pride! ๐ŸŒˆ ๐ŸŽ‰
The neighborhood around PMC is getting ready for the Pride March this Sunday. Note that the March loops around PMC this year so the neighborhood will be super busy and festive! Happy Pride! ๐ŸŒˆ ๐ŸŽ‰
3 days ago
View on Instagram |
1/6
It is HOT outside, but it is oh so cool here at Pratt Manhattan Center.๐Ÿ˜Ž
It is HOT outside, but it is oh so cool here at Pratt Manhattan Center.๐Ÿ˜Ž
1 week ago
View on Instagram |
2/6
InfoShow25 was a huge success and Fellowship recipients are announced.  This news and more in the @prattischool June '25 Newsletter; link available in our bio.
InfoShow25 was a huge success and Fellowship recipients are announced.  This news and more in the @prattischool June '25 Newsletter; link available in our bio.
InfoShow25 was a huge success and Fellowship recipients are announced.  This news and more in the @prattischool June '25 Newsletter; link available in our bio.
InfoShow25 was a huge success and Fellowship recipients are announced. This news and more in the @prattischool June '25 Newsletter; link available in our bio.
3 weeks ago
View on Instagram |
3/6
June is tomorrow, and look who is already ready! Happy Pride Month! #PrideMonth #nycpride #lgbtq @prattinstitute
June is tomorrow, and look who is already ready! Happy Pride Month! #PrideMonth #nycpride #lgbtq @prattinstitute
1 month ago
View on Instagram |
4/6
Thank you to the very brave staff for washing our windows!
Thank you to the very brave staff for washing our windows!
1 month ago
View on Instagram |
5/6
Congratulations School of Information Grads. We had a great time celebrating with you at Radio City Music Hall yesterday!
Congratulations School of Information Grads. We had a great time celebrating with you at Radio City Music Hall yesterday!
Congratulations School of Information Grads. We had a great time celebrating with you at Radio City Music Hall yesterday!
Congratulations School of Information Grads. We had a great time celebrating with you at Radio City Music Hall yesterday!
1 month ago
View on Instagram |
6/6

From the Catalog