Master’s programme in the Department of Asian and Islamic Art History

German Title: Masterstudiengang "Asienwissenschaften": Schwerpunkt "Kunstgeschichte in Asien und im Orient"

As of the winter semester of 2012/13, the specialization in “Art History in Asia and the Orient” is being offered as part of the general MA course in Asian Studies.

The specialization in “Art History in Asia and the Orient” consists of one compulsory section and two compulsory elective sections (WP I and WP II). The courses should be completed during the first three semesters of the master's programme; at the same time, the third semester can be used for time abroad spent studying, doing an internship and/or undertaking a personal project with research. The 4th semester is reserved for writing the master's thesis. A total of 120 CP have to be achieved, which are made up of 9 modules and the MA thesis.

The compulsory elements comprise the modules “Religious Art in Asia and the Orient” (AIK 1) and the two modules “Cross-cultural Perspectives in Asian and Oriental Art” (AIK 2) and “Structure and Space in Asia and the Orient” (AIK 3). There are no conditions for participation in these modules. AIK 1 can be taken in any winter semester, i.e. in the 1st or 3rd semester. AIK 2 and AIK 3 can be taken in any summer semester, i.e. in the 2nd or 4th semester. The MA thesis must be written within the field of your specialization. We strongly recommend that you keep the 4th semester exclusively for the MA thesis and complete the three compulsory modules in the 1st and 2nd semester.

In addition, students must choose a further module from the six modules offered in the Compulsory Elective Section I.

Of the six modules to choose from, the two modules “Praxismodul: Kunst in Asien und im Orient (Practical Module: Art in Asia and the Orient)” (AIK 4) and “Personal Project: Eigenständige Forschung in Asien und im Orient (Personal Project: Independent Research in Asia and the Orient)” (AIK 5) are offered by the AIK itself.

• In the Practical Module (AIK 4), the students complete an internship or other practice-related work at a museum or gallery, with a cultural institution (e.g. UNESCO), at a publishing house, radio or television broadcaster or within a research project. Depending on the internship or relevant, practice-related work, the students deepen their research-oriented, art historical knowledge of their area of interest, broaden their intercultural skills and gain interdisciplinary qualifications and soft skills that are relevant to their career.

• The compulsory elective element Personal Project (AIK 5) involves writing an independent paper for which the students, depending on their interests and in consultation with the supervisor, handle a topic from the entire field and all genres of Asian and oriental art history from various angles in a research-oriented way.

The Compulsory Elective Section I additionally contains a choice of a further four modules that are offered by the Department of Art History at the Institute of Art History and Archaeology. These can be taken in any semester:

• 3rd module: Aufbaumodul Gattungen und Medien (Advanced Module on Genres and Media)

• 4th module: Forschungsmodul Kunsthistorische Systematik und Kritik (Research Module on Art Historical Classification and Criticism)

• 5th module: Aufbaumodul Praxisfelder der Forschung (Advanced Module on Practical Fields of Research)

• 6th module: Aufbaumodul Kunstgeschichte der Moderne (Advanced Module on Art History of the Modern Age)

The two departments have a cooperation agreement with one another. For a description of the 4 imported modules from the Department of Art History, please refer to the Module Overview of that department.

In the Compulsory Elective Section II, students can choose from the entire range offered by the IOA. You can learn an additional Asian or oriental language or deepen language skills already gained during the BA. For individual cases, please note the rotation schedule of the modules and the entry requirements for each.