5 Best Online Master’s Degrees in Art & Art History

The Northwestern State University of Louisiana takes the title of Grad School Hub's #1 Online Master in Art and Art History. NSU's Art program fuses art media manipulation and portfolio production with an academic art historical framework. Areas of emphasis are offered in ceramics, drawing, fiber arts, graphic design, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture.

Program course offerings include Advanced Problems in Commercial Art, Experimental Studio, and Research in Art. All students must complete an on-campus semester or two three-week summer sessions on campus, as well as the on-campus Graduate Thesis Exhibition. All students must also pass a comprehensive oral exam to complete their degree.

Fort Hays State University is a public institution named for its original location on the grounds of a frontier military outpost called Fort Hays. Today, the university is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. FHSU's Art History concentrated program prepares students for careers as art critics, art history teachers, gallery managers, and museum curators. Core courses include Information Literacy, Origins and Implications of the Knowledge Society, and Ways of Knowing in Comparative Practice. Concentrated courses include seminars in different art periods, such as Ancient, Medieval, and Renaissance/Baroque. The online program culminates in a Graduate Readings in Art History course.

The University of Nebraska at Kearney is a branch campus of the University of Nebraska System. It is ranked #10 among the Top Public Schools and #47 for Best Value Schools by U.S. News & World Report. UNK's graduate art program is well-suited to those looking for careers in museum education. Course offerings include Art for Students with Diverse Needs, Intercultural Aesthetics & Pedagogical Practice, and Women in Art. Typical assignments include art readings and discussions, gallery activities, group discussions, image interpretation, and studio projects. Students must also complete a Research Methods course and a research paper.

After opening its doors in 1827, Lindenwood University is now the second-oldest higher education institution west of the Mississippi River. Today, it is a private Presbyterian liberal arts university. Lindenwood's Art History and Visual Culture program can be completed either fully or partially online. The curriculum is comprised of research courses, art history electives, and two "milestones." For each milestone, students can choose to complete a thesis or project. Milestones completed at the end of each academic year. The program typically takes two years to complete, but can alternatively be completed in one year as an accelerated program.

Azusa Pacific University opened in 1899 as the Training School for Christian Workers in Whittier, CA. Today, it is a private evangelical university in the San Gabriel Valley. In 2016, Diverse Issues in Higher Education recognized the university as one of the nation's top schools awarding degrees to minority students.

APU's graduate art history degree is ideal for students interested in art criticism and modernism particularly. Students in the program learn to interpret visual art from an aesthetic and academic perspective. Course requirements include The Modern Object, Reading and Translating French, and Visual Culture. The curriculum culminates in a written thesis. Students can complete the program full- or part-time.