Art History and Museum Professions
In New York City, the art industry earns yearly revenues approaching a billion dollars. Art of every variety is exhibited and sold here, in countless museums, galleries, and auction houses. FIT’s campus is steps from Chelsea’s bustling gallery scene, a short ride from the Metropolitan Museum of Art; renowned museums and cultural institutions are in reach. We partner with many art galleries and organizations, giving you unparalleled opportunities to engage with professionals behind the scenes. You’ll explore where art meets issues of ethics, politics, social justice, and sustainability. And you’ll discover the wide range of career paths in this multifaceted field.
Program
Art History and Museum Professions BS
This interdisciplinary major draws on FIT’s strengths in art history, communication, business, technology, and design. With hundreds of museums, art institutions, galleries, and archives nearby, ample opportunities exist to engage with professionals in the field. You’ll learn how art collides with social justice, how to interact with curators and the press, and about the many opportunities that exist in the art field—while experiencing it all firsthand in Manhattan. Students are also encouraged to apply for the George T. Dorsch Endowed Scholarship.
If you have an AAS from FIT, you are eligible to apply to the bachelor’s in Art History and Museum Professions. More about eligibility for this program.
Our Work
The program is unique among museum studies programs because it prepares students for a range of professions throughout the art world, including collections management, development, information technology, public relations, rights and reproductions, and special events, or for advanced academic studies. It is the only one of its kind in the New York metropolitan area.
In her research, Kyunghee Pyun, associate professor of Art History and a scholar of collecting history, explored how infographics can reflect and perpetuate bias.
Shameekia Johnson leads Art on the Ground, a conversation series with professionals about how to find alternative paths and careers within the art world.
As an undergraduate, Jiyun Kim presented her research on stone tablets from Ancient Mesopotamia that revealed information about the Egyptian textile trade at the NYU Undergraduate Conference on the Ancient World.
Impact
Arts, culture, museums, careers … With the city serving as your extended campus, you’ll gain a perspective on the subject that few others will have.
Outside the Classroom
Students have interned at the Museum of Modern Art, Asia Society, The Drawing Center, National Museum of the American Indian, and Alice Austen House. Graduates have worked at Sotheby’s, MoMA, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, the Grey Art Gallery at New York University, and various Chelsea contemporary art galleries. Their roles include noncuratorial positions in collections management, development, information technology, public relations, rights and reproductions, and special events.
Explore More
some related minors
Learn From the Best
Our faculty members are specialists in art history, have worked in museums, and are well connected to art professionals. They are active in social commentary and understand where the arts meet culture. Meet more Art History and Museum Professions faculty.
Dr. Pyun specializes in Asian and European medieval art. Her research interests include the global trade of decorative arts in pre-modern Eurasia and the Americas and the usage and reception of visual art in religious performance and liturgy. Pyun received the 2018–19 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities.
Dr. Baum has been a member of the department since 2012. She is a specialist in modern and contemporary art, new media, and cultural and critical theory. Dr. Baum teaches subjects across many fields and periods, with an emphasis on social and economic history, politics, and identity.
Contact Us
Art History and Museum Professions
Alexander Nagel
Jasmin Miranda
Let's Make It Happen
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS