Master in Contemporary Art, Design and New Media Art Histories
Toronto, Canada
Master degree
DURATION
2 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
TUITION FEES
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
Key Summary
About: OCAD University’s MA in Contemporary Art, Design and New Media Art Histories offers interdisciplinary study of contemporary art, design and media theory and history within Toronto’s arts district. The small cohort accepts 6–8 students and gives direct access to internationally known faculty in global art history, Indigenous theory, feminist and LGBTQ2+ studies, cinema, photography, game studies, comic art, design history and critical theory.
Career Outcomes: Graduates move into roles such as curation, research, art criticism, museum and gallery management, exhibition production, arts education, heritage and cultural policy, publishing and creative industry roles. You’ll apply theory to professional practice worldwide.
Contemporary Art, Design and New Media Art Histories
Offering students a compelling array of perspectives to investigate and assess the ever-shifting worlds of contemporary art, design, and new media art.
OCAD University’s MA in Contemporary Art, Design and New Media Art Histories are unique in Canada in its focus on contemporary art, design and media production and theory.
In this interdisciplinary program, you’ll engage with contemporary issues and works, while drawing on theoretical frameworks, historical contexts, and creative precedents that have shaped today’s visual and critical landscape.
Program facilities are located in the heart of Toronto’s arts and culture district, in close proximity to the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Toronto International Film Festival, and the Design Exchange, the Textile Museum of Canada, the Gardiner Museum, the Royal Ontario Museum, and the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery.
The program is small (accepting 6-8 students per year), which allows direct access to faculty expertise and supervision. Core faculty in the program are internationally-known scholars, writers, historians, and curators, active in their fields.
Faculty have expertise in:
- Contemporary Art, Media, and Design
- Global art history
- Indigenous theory and practice
- Feminist and LGBTQ2+ studies
- Cinema, film and video studies
- Performance art studies
- Photography history and theory
- Video games and game studies
- Comic art
- Design history and theory
- Material culture
- Critical Theory
Faculty expertise fuels a diverse range of approaches and course offerings and supports students’ cutting-edge research.
You can take courses across a range of offerings in contemporary art history, design history, and media studies, as well as elective courses offered in OCAD U’s six other graduate programs. Additionally, there are opportunities to develop Independent study courses with faculty members, participate in study-abroad courses, and gain credit for internships.
What You’ll Do in the Program
Major Research Paper Stream
First Year
- Art History Methods & Theory
- Field Specific Seminar (open) 5000- or 6000-level CADN, VISA, VISD, or VISM
- Elective
- Contemporary Art Theory
- Field Specific Seminar (open) 5000- or 6000-level CADN, VISA, VISD, or VISM
- Elective
- MRP/Thesis Proposal
Second Year
- MRP/Thesis Research
- Professional Practices 1
- Field Specific Seminar (open) 5000- or 6000-level CADN, VISA, VISD, or VISM
- Professional Practices 2
- Major Research Paper Writing
Thesis Stream
First Year
- Art History Methods & Theory
- Field Specific Seminar (open) 5000- or 6000-level CADN, VISA, VISD, or VISM
- Elective
- Contemporary Art Theory
- Field Specific Seminar (open) 5000- or 6000-level CADN, VISA, VISD, or VISM
- Elective
- MRP/Thesis Proposal
Second Year
- MRP/Thesis Research
- Professional Practices 1
- Professional Practices 2
- Thesis Writing
Students are automatically enrolled in the MRP stream, which is the preferred conclusion to the CADN program. To enroll in the Thesis stream, an application is required (see the CADN Supervisory Guidelines).
Program Conferences
You’ll have the opportunity to organize a graduate-student conference each year, bringing together researchers and visiting speakers. See previous CADN conferences.
This event is supplemented by frequent lectures and workshops from visiting scholars, artists, and curators. Past speakers have included: Nicholas R. Bell, Aleesa Cohene, Douglas Coupland, Robert Diaz, Brendan Fernandes, Hal Foster, Monika Kin Gagnon, Luis Jacob, Séamus Kealy, Janaya Khan, Mark Kingwell, Rick Lowe, Janine Marchessault, Sean Martindale, Lisa Myers, Karyn Olivier, Abdullah Qureshi, Kirsty Robertson, Terry Smith, Sarah Thornton, Eve Tuck, and others
The program is able to offer generous funding packages in many cases. Most incoming students are granted teaching assistantships in undergraduate art and design history courses, providing valuable teaching experience.