A Master's degree program in Art History and Visual Culture at the KU in Eichstätt will deepen your knowledge on the culture of art and image from the early Middle Ages to the present. On a methodologically and content-related advanced level, you will learn to understand works of art from Europe, but also from the colonial and post-colonial world in their different historical contexts. You will also learn to express what you have seen linguistically with a view to different target groups and to convey the acquired knowledge in a clear and informative way. This will prepare you for a wide range of professions, from curator in museums or exhibition houses, scientists in universities and research institutions to professions in the fields of culture, media and public relations. In the course of your studies, you will encounter works of painting, sculpture, graphic art, applied arts and architecture, but also visual media such as illustration graphics, caricatures, posters, photos, films, video and Internet art and social media. Thanks to small course sizes and friendly collegiality among students and lecturers alike, you can study Art History in Eichstätt with excellent supervision and support. In addition, you can integrate your studies abroad within the framework of international networks that are continually being maintained with great commitment.

The subject can be studied in the Interdisciplinary Master’s program as a major or minor subject in the variant Aisthesis. cultural and media studies or in the flexible variant in combination with at least one other subject.

In the framework of the subject Art, Art History can be studied in the Interdisciplinary Master’s degree program as a major or minor subject in the Aisthesis.Culture and Media variant or in the flexible variant in the amount of up to 40 ECTS credits, in combination with at least one other subject and/or the Studium Individuale.

Contents

Today we live in a media reality in which the function of images and their interaction with texts has changed. In all areas of society, images raise the question of information and fiction, of fact and fake. Social media determine our behavior: from our ideas about the world and current challenges to our everyday actions. The increased interest in visual media in all communicative areas also brings new attention to the visual arts – both of the present and past. As a result, the subject of Art History and Visual Culture is moving more strongly into the center of the cultural studies discussion. This is the right program for all those who enjoy dealing with pictures and works of art in a historical-critical way and sharing their encounter with art and their enthusiasm with other people.

All in all, the Master's degree program allows you to broaden and deepen your skills in the responsible study of works of art and visual media, for example by examining artistic practices, visual narratives and the discourses, i.e. the content and historical communication of art theory and art criticism.

Facilities

In addition to the excellently equipped University Library with numerous art history publications and continuously updated specialist journals as well as seminar rooms with modern equipment, the Chair of Art History also has a Visual Media Center that provides advice on databases on the visual arts, photography and film, provides information on reliable (i.e. not embellished) image data sets and copyright, and is finally responsible for the acquisition and digitalization of high-quality images.

In all program variants, the study structure provides for a number of options, especially in the third semester of the Master's program, including

• a well supervised study abroad, which can be completed within the framework of existing international networks,
• and an academic Internship, for example in a museum or cultural institution.

Particularly noteworthy is the International Network for Art History, based in Paris, in which committed colleagues from universities in Geneva, Florence, Montreal, Los Angeles and Tokyo, but also from such renowned educational institutions as the École Normale Supérieure in Paris or the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, are continuously involved. [Link: http://proartibus.org]

The KU maintains a partnership network with around 300 universities worldwide. The KU International Office supports students in the planning phase and provides information on different financing possibilities for stays abroad.

In all stages of the program, field trips in Germany and abroad will deepen your knowledge of art, architecture and museum landscapes. The works are approached in various topographical and historical-discursive contexts. In addition to the possibility of completing an internship of several months in an academic institution (e.g. museum, exhibition house, office for the preservation of historical monuments) in the third semester, you can complete another internship within the framework of the study structure of the Interdisciplinary Master's degree program. For individual advice and support in finding an internship and financing possibilities, the KU Career Service and the International Internship Service are happy to help.

Career prospects

In the context of the current interest in visual media in the present and past, art history is no longer an exotic subject. Accordingly, the often surprising occupational profiles that are available to successful graduates in the cultural sector are correspondingly diverse. Graduates of a Master’s degree can pursue subsequent doctoral studies. Classical occupational fields are still research and teaching or placement in universities, museums and exhibition houses or monument preservation. Art historians are therefore employed as research associates or professors, as museum or exhibition curators. In addition, there are professional opportunities – often already for those holding a university degree below the doctorate – in cultural and media work in public and private institutions, in collections and archives, in teaching in educational institutions as well as in the art trade, public relations and journalism. In all professional fields, art historians are in demand as independent researchers as well as mediators and managers of visual culture.