Careers and Professional Development
The Art History Department at the University of Minnesota is proud of its graduate alumni, who have taken positions as professors, museum curators, editors, independent scholars, and other professionals around the United States and the world. We are invested in our students' professional success and partner with other university offices to provide career and professional development.
Department Efforts
PROFESSIONALIZATION WORKSHOPS
Since 2004, the department has provided an annual professionalization workshop series that includes hour-long sessions on such topics as CV preparation, applying and interviewing for academic positions, and developing a teaching portfolio, as well as sessions on curatorial, editorial and altac careers. See the department calendar for the schedule of upcoming workshops.
View materials from past Professional Development colloquia here. (restricted access)
TEACHER TRAINING
In addition, we offer pedagogical training and instructional opportunities for the next generation of teachers.
CURATORIAL OPPORTUNITIES
The department offers the Weisberg Curatorial Fellowship, which provides funding for a graduate or undergraduate student to accept an otherwise unpaid short-term internship at an area museum. Our students have also competed successfully for the O'Brien Curatorial Fellowship at the Weisman Art Museum.
Some of our faculty have extensive experience organizing exhibitions and working as curators, and they sometimes involve students in such efforts. These include the C. C. Wang: Lines of Abstraction exhibition at Hunter College, curated by Dan Greenberg, and BLK Art Minneapolis (which he is organizing with Dr. Dwight Lewis in the Philosophy Department). as well as numerous exhibitions organized by Rob Silberman at the Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis. Graduate students are also sometimes involved in exhibitions at the Katherine Nash Gallery, such as their show Covered in Time and History: The Films of Ana Mendieta, for which one of our students produced an annotated filmography and an essay.
ALUMNI
Connect with alumni through on Facebook or through the following institutions.
Alumni in Academia
Ambedkar University, Delhi, India
Berkeley University, California
Central College, Iowa
College of St. Benedict and St. John's University, Minnesota
Earlham College, Indiana
Flame University, Maharashtra, India
Gustavus Adolphus College, Minnesota
Ithaca College, New York
Lawrence University, Wisconsin
Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minnesota
Minnesota State University, Mankato
St. Mary's University, Indiana
Savannah College of Art and Design, Georgia
Seoul National University, Korea
University of California, Merced
University of Chicago, Illinois
University of Washington, Seattle
Virginia Commonwealth University, Qatar
Washington University, St. Louis
West Chester University, Pennsylvania
Alumni in Curatorial and Museum Positions
Boston Athenaeum, Massachusetts
Joslyn Art Museum, Nebraska
Milwaukee Art Museum, Wisconsin
Minnesota Museum of American Art, St. Paul
National Gallery of Art, Washington
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto
College Resources
The College of Liberal Arts Office of Research and Graduate Programs (ORGP) offers career counseling for graduate students. See their website to set up a consultation.
University Resources
Exchange career-related advice and share network with fellow alumni: