After successfully completing his/her studies the graduate is able to:

• have a knowledge of the entire breadth of the history of works of art, artists, and art history trends in the past and present
• work with digital information sources, the critical use of which is essential for acquiring information about works of art
• make use of and critically evaluate art history sources (pictorial, documentary, and textual), create hypotheses, and test their relevance when solving research problems
• recognize and use historical and contemporary art history approaches for research and application in solving research issues
• identify the main contemporary themes in the historiography of art history, discuss them, and follow international developments in the field
• specialize in terms of areas and time periods in art history; independently create a research plan of examined issues of their specialization
• analyse and interpret a selected art history issue in an independently prepared specialized outcome (for example, a Master’s thesis)
• prepare the mediation of works of art from various art disciplines in the form of lectures, scholarly articles, criticism, essays, etc.
• present art works, or a complete art history theme, in exhibitions or expositions in galleries and museums

Graduates of the Master’s degree study programme in art history can work in particular as specialists equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills for work in teams in art history institutes, in art history museums and galleries, in monument care institutes, in journalism, in art criticism, in publishing houses, and in tourism.

Thanks to the knowledge and skills acquired during their studies, graduates can work in positions as specialized employees who will further prepare themselves for positions as curators at museums and galleries, as monument care specialists, in art criticism, or in communicating art as authors-curators of exhibitions, coordinators in the area of tourism, or as heads of cultural columns in the areas of media, television, and radio.

Although the degree in art history prepares graduates for careers in the art world, it also equips them with intellectual and practical skills applicable to many different spheres of employment. Now, when visual culture and an understanding of it play increasingly important roles in society, graduates can make use of their abilities in a range of additional professions, such trade in art and antiques, in presentation and propagation of art work, and in publicity and marketing.

The requirement for acceptance of students is the completion of a Bachelor’s degree study programme in art history with above-average results. Students begin in the Master’s degree study programme with their own specialization which they choose at the entrance exam. During the standard Master’s degree study programme, which lasts four semesters, students are required to earn 120 ECTS credits in all.

Upon registration, students chose independently their study curriculum based on their own choices. They are advised to choose a maximum of half of the mandatory credits in their specialization; the remaining credits can be earned during their studies in additional art history specializations.

Type A/required courses consist first and foremost of the common base of the Master’s degree (including preparation for the final Master’s thesis). The majority of the studies take place in the form of type B/selective lectures and seminars. These are offered in a range that enables the student to completely independently choose based on their preferences and interests. Knowledge of facts and data from both general and Czech art history is expanded in lectures as well as the practical specialization of the students on the basis of the actual research of the lecturers. Skills in the application of art history approaches and methods are practiced in the seminars which can contribute in an individual fashion to the development of their distinct study focus. There are also courses which enable internships in partner museum and gallery institutions.

The final Master’s degree examination takes place as a rule after successfully defending the final Master’s thesis. During the defence, the student should demonstrate an ability to discuss the issue being analysed in a cultivated manner and with critical terminology. They should be able to react in the discussion with their readers and carry out a general argument.

The final examination is primarily focused on factual knowledge of the actual specialization and the wider foundation within the framework of the period of art history specifically chosen by the student in their final Master’s thesis.

The exam is oral and has three parts:

(1) The main question from the specialization, based upon the focus of the Master’s thesis;

(2) A supplementary question (the choice of a question from one of the four basic areas: the Middle Ages, Early Modern period, Modern and Contemporary art, Architecture); students always prepare one question from each area ahead of time and the area will be chosen by the commission during the exam;

(3) Literature about art history (the student prepares the text or publication ahead of time from the list of required publications for studies which changes every year) on the basis of which the knowledge of historiography and methodology is analysed.

Graduates from the Master’s degree study programme in art history can continue in the doctoral study programme in theory and art history after meeting the conditions of the entrance exam.