MA Museum and Exhibition Studies at University of Illinois Chicago

Programme overview

The MA in Museum and Exhibition Studies is a 48-hour degree offered through the School of Art and Art History, with thesis, project or coursework-only (two papers) options.

Faculty: College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts | Department: School of Art and Art History | Duration: 48 semester hours | Study mode: full-time | Location: Chicago, IL, United States

What you will study

20 hours of required courses (Museum Collections, Exhibition Practices, Writing for Exhibitions, Public Engagement in Museums, Museum Genres, Practices, and Institutions) and at least 20 hours chosen with a faculty advisor, plus thesis (8 hours), project (8 hours) or two papers.

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

Programme: no baccalaureate field restriction; at least 3.00/4.00 for the final 60 semester hours; GRE not required; three letters of recommendation; statement of purpose up to 500 words; writing sample of 5-10 double-spaced pages; interview; resume. International applicants: minimum English scores TOEFL iBT 80 (reading 19, listening 17, speaking 20, writing 21) for exams before 21 Jan 2026 or 4.5 overall on the new scale, IELTS Academic 6.5 (6.0 each section), PTE Academic 54, Duolingo 130.

Tuition is charged per credit, so the total depends on the modules you register for each year. Current fees are listed in the official fee schedule.

Graduate and professional programmes admit for Fall, Spring and Summer terms depending on the programme; applications for Fall 2027, Spring 2028 and Summer 2028 are expected to open on August 1, 2026.

Graduate and professional application deadlines are set per programme, with separate deadlines for domestic and international applicants for most non-online programmes; optional earlier priority, recommended or fellowship dates apply to both. Applications are made through the UIC graduate application or a centralized application service for some professional programmes.

Apply through the official page: https://grad.uic.edu/admissions/

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