Below is information about the steps necessary to successfully complete the Master of Arts degree in Art History with a concentration in Egyptian Art and Archaeology offered by the Department of Art. Click here for information about the graduate Egyptology program in the History Department.

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Description of the Master's Program in Art History, Egyptian Art Concentration

The Master of Arts in Art History with a concentration in Egyptian Art and Archaeology is a rigorous two-year program. Coursework covers topics in the art, language and archaeology of ancient Egypt, as well as art historical method and theory.

The student must maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA ("B" average) to remain in good standing in the program

12 credit hours per semester is a full-time graduate course load at the University of Memphis.

Students are required to meet with the concentration advisor (Dr. Lorelei Corcoran for Egyptian art) before registering each semester. The advisor will then clear the student for registration.

If a student has been awarded a Graduate Assistantship, three hours of ARTH 7881 (Workshop in Art History for Graduate Assistants) are included in those 12 credit hours. GAs usually work 20 hours per week for their assistantship.

If a student in the concentration Egyptian Art and Archaeology has a Graduate Assistantship, a minimum GPA of 3.4 is required to maintain the assistantship.

Faculty

There are four Art History faculty and staff who regularly teach courses on ancient Egyptian subjects

• Dr. Lorelei Corcoran is the faculty advisor for the concentration in Egyptian Art and Archaeology and leads advanced seminars on various topics related to the art of ancient Egypt. She is Associate Professor of Art History in the Department of Art and Director of the Institute of Egyptian Art & Archaeology at the University of Memphis.
• Dr. Mariam Ayad is Associate Professor of Art History. She teaches ancient Egyptian language and seminars on ancient Egyptian art.
• Dr. Patricia Podzorski is Curator of the Egyptian Collection and teaches courses on Egyptian art as well as museum studies.
• Dr. Fred Albertson, Associate Professor of Art History, teaches Greek and Roman art.

In the Department of History, courses on the history of ancient Egypt and Nubia are taught by Dr. Peter Brand and Dr. Suzanne Onstine.

Departmental Requirements

The two-year Masters program in Art History includes the following requirements -

• 30 hours of completed coursework
• A minimum of 21 hours (7 classes) must be in 7000 level (M.A.) courses
  Only three (3)* of these hours may be thesis credits (ARTH 7996).
• Six (6) credit-hours may be from outside the major department (ARTH).
• Eighteen (18) hours (6 classes) must be in the major area (ARTH), but outside of the required courses (ARTH 6123, ARTH 7130, and ARTH 7996).
• Click here for the complete listing of requirements.
  
  

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  * The student may take more than three thesis units, but only three will count toward the 21-hour total for 7000 level courses. Read the official wording in the Graduate Catalog.

Concentration Requirements - Egyptian Art

Successful completion of the M.A. in Egyptian Art and Archaeology requires that the student fulfill a number of additional requirements.  A summary is presented below.  Click here for a detailed listing of requirements.

• Within the first year of instruction, the student must complete two (2) departmental core courses - Art History 6123 (Greek Art) and ARTH 7130 (Art History Methods and Professional Practice) - and one (1) year of instruction in the ancient Egyptian language. Successful completion of several competency exams, including a reading exam in either French or German, is also required. It is recommended that the student also take the required Egyptian Art survey course during the first year.
• At the end of each semester of graduate study until the student is advanced to candidacy, the academic progress of each Art History graduate student is reviewed by the full Art History faculty. The student must receive a satisfactory review from the committee at the end of each semester in order to continue in the program.
• The second year of study focuses on the master's thesis, including formation of the student's M.A. committee, writing the thesis, passing a Comprehensive Examination and defending the thesis and exam. Additional language instruction also occurs during the second year.

For the detailed listing of the Requirements for the Concentration click here.

Click "Program Requirements Sheet" to download an Acrobat pdf file created by Dr. Mariam Ayad to help you plan your courses.

Egyptology or Degree-Related Classes Offered at The University of Memphis

Primarily in the programs in Art History and History, the University of Memphis offers over two dozen courses relevant to the study of Egyptology. Some of these courses may be taken by advanced undergraduate students while others are reserved for graduate study. These listings are extracted from the on-line undergraduate and graduate bulletins.

Sample Two-Year Schedule

The degree in Egyptian Art and Archaeology affords the student the opportunity to tailor their program to their specific interests in Egyptology. The sample semester-by-semester schedule for the two year Master's Program in Egyptian Art will help the student plan their course of instruction.

Each individual student's specific schedule will vary.

M.A. Thesis and Comprehensive Exam

The student should select the chair (advisor) of their master's thesis committee before the end of the first year of study and their full committee early in their second year.  The completed Thesis Faculty Committee form is submitted to the Graduate School at this time.  It is the student's responsibility to fill out the form and gather all necessary signatures.

The M.A. thesis committee usually consists of three (3) University of Memphis faculty members. For the concentration in Egyptian art, the committee chair must be Art History faculty (Drs. Corcoran, Ayad or Podzorski).  Other committee members are usually drawn from the Art History or History programs. One member may be a non-Egyptologist.

The topic of the thesis will be chosen by the student in consultation with their thesis advisor. Preliminary work on topic selection should begin before the end of the first year of study.

Research on the thesis should begin early in the second year of study, with writing beginning later in the third semester, and no later than the beginning of the fourth (final) semester of study.

The typical M.A. thesis in Art History is 50-60 pages in length (excluding bibliography and appendices) and may be presented in either Turabian or Chicago Manual style. Turabian is preferred; students are encouraged to purchase a copy of the current guide for themselves.

The thesis advisor determines when the thesis is ready for presentation to the full thesis committee.  The approved draft thesis should be submitted to the full committee no later than the 9th or 10th week of the final (4th) semester of study.

The thesis may not be submitted to the full thesis committee until all other requirements for the degree, including the modern foreign language exam, have been successfully met. 

Links to the on-line thesis preparation guide from the Graduate School at the University of Memphis are below. This also includes model pages for formatting the thesis.

As of Fall 2010, all theses must be submitted electronically to the Graduate School for final approval using the ETD (Electronic Theses and Dissertations) system.

At this time, only the final copy with both Thesis Committee and Graduate School corrects may be submitted for final approval using the ETD system.

Paper copies of the thesis are submitted to the thesis committee for review.

• Graduate School Thesis Preparation Guide (paper and electronic formats)
• Thesis Deadlines

For a detailed listing of U of M web pages related to the thesis process, click here.

Once the thesis has been reviewed by the thesis committee, the student must defend it before the full thesis committee.

In addition, a written Comprehensive Examination is taken by the student after the completed thesis has been reviewed by the committee. Immediately following the Comprehensive Examination, the student must defend both the Thesis and the Comprehensive Exam to the full thesis committee. The Thesis Defense Results form and the Comprehensive Exam Results form are signed at this time.  It is also recommended that the student bring their Thesis Approval Page (correctly formatted and on high quality paper) for signatures.

After a final review by the thesis advisor, the corrected thesis is submitted to the Graduate Division following the successful defense.  The student and thesis advisor also prepare and submit the co-signed Thesis Checklist (Non-APA style) form at this time.

By University of Memphis requirement, the defended and corrected Thesis is filed with the Graduate Division approximately ONE MONTH before the end of the final semester of study.

Graduating

Within the first week of the final (4th) semester of study, the student must  electronically file the Intent to Graduate Form. 

The Master's Degree Candidacy Form, in hard copy, is also submitted at this time. This form is complex, listing the courses taken by the student which meet University and Departmental graduation requirements.  It also requires  the signatures of the Major Advisor (Dr. Lorelei Corcoran), the Graduate Coordinator (Professor Niles Wallace), the Art Department Chair (Professor Richard Lou) and the College Director of Graduate Studies (Associate Dean Moira Logan).  Read the Grad School instruction page carefully before beginning this form.

Deadlines for filing paperwork for graduation are set by the Graduate School.

If you plan to go through graduation ceremonies, cap and gown ordering and commencement information are available on-line.