Graduate

Two women looking at artifacts together
Atri Hatef had the opportunity to curate an exhibition of art objects from across the world. She says directly manipulating the objects was a totally different experience than reading about them in books. She is pictured here at the UVic Legacy Art Galleries with Caroline Riedel (MA 1997), curator of collections, handling Nuu-chah-nulth basketry covered bottles from the late 19th/early 20th century (unknown artists).

Picture yourself here

Immerse yourself in your art history research and explore topics you are passionate about alongside expert faculty members.

In addition to opportunities for teaching and research assistantships, internships, co-op education and travel funding, our graduate students have their own study space close to faculty offices and a near-by coffee shop in the Fine Arts Building.

Our faculty members and graduate students have wide-ranging research and teaching interests, exploring life-changing and perspective-altering topics. Supervision is available in:

For admission to the MA and PhD programs in Art History & Visual Studies, students need to have a solid background in academic Art History/Film Studies with a minimum of 6-8 courses covering various chronological periods and geographic areas of Art History/Film Studies.

Discover some of the benefits of studying at UVic and in Victoria’s vibrant artistic community:

An Indigenous, inter-cultural and international focus

Our teaching and research embraces an Indigenous, international and interdisciplinary focus to foster intercultural understanding, global citizenship and civic engagement. Our courses offer critical perspectives on social justice, gender and decolonization, based on a respect for cultural diversity and a commitment to community engagement and community-based research.

Resources, facilities and hands-on opportunities

In our programs, you can work directly with art from the UVic Legacy Art Galleries’ collection as part of coursework offered in our Collections classroom. On campus, you can view over 2,000 artworks installed in public spaces and have access to the Legacy Maltwood Gallery and UVic Special Collections in the McPherson Library. More exhibitions drawn from the university’s collection can be viewed year round at the Legacy Downtown.

As a student, you’ll have exclusive access to DIDO (Digital Image Database Online). DIDO contains works of art, architecture and other visual material you will need in your classes. Given our wide-ranging courses, we include a vast range of material representing a variety of religions, world cultures and historical periods. 

Our students also have access to the Faculty of Fine Arts Studios for Integrated Media and our new Art Collections classrom and Fine Arts Interactive Media Lab (FAIM).

Active student associations

Our vibrant student associations, the  (undergraduate course union) and the AHVS Graduate Student Association foster a sense of community among AHVS students, teachers and staff. They promote students’ interests within the department, organize activities and provide representation on appropriate committees.

Victoria’s artistic community

Victoria is a vibrant city with a rich heritage, a strong First Nations presence and an abundance of arts organizations. Our faculty and students are integrated into the artistic and cultural networks across the city and region. Many of our students have found jobs with local organizations including: