Priority consideration for funding will be given to those who complete their applications (including all required supplemental materials) by January 5 for admission the following fall. Applications must be received by this date in order to be considered for financial support from the Graduate Division. The faculty admissions committee will make initial admissions decisions in January and admissions offers are typically sent to successful applicants in late February.

The UCR Graduate Application Fee is $135 for domestic (U.S. citizen and permanent resident) applicants and $155 for international (non-immigrant/visa student) applicants.

The MA and the PhD programs are separate, and prospective students apply to either the MA or the PhD.

MA students who wish to continue their studies may apply to the PhD program after completing the MA, with or without a gap year. PhD students who enter the program with a Bachelor’s degree have the opportunity to earn a MA in the course of the PhD program.

The UCR Graduate Application allows applicants to upload all required application materials electronically as PDFs or Word Documents. Applicants can track the status of their file through the online portal.

IMPORTANT NOTE: All Letters of Recommendation are received electronically. Recommenders will receive an email at the email address provided by the applicant after the application is submitted. Applicants should be sure to allow sufficient time between the date they submit their application and the January 5 deadline for recommenders to receive the electronic recommendation request and submit a letter on the applicant’s behalf.

All applicants submit the following:

• Statement of Purpose
• Personal History Statement
• At least three (3) Letters of Recommendation
• Unofficial Transcripts from all postsecondary schools attended
• Graduate Division Supplemental Fellowship Information Form
• Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• A Writing Sample not to exceed 20 pages (one sample of approximately 20 pages, or 2-3 shorter samples totaling approximately 20 pages, references and images excluded)

There is a tab in the application form to upload each of the required items. The CV and Writing Sample can be uploaded into the ‘Additional Information’ section of the application. Please submit all files as PDFs if possible.

The Statement of Purpose should provide a clear and detailed description of your academic interests and career objectives. It should include some description of what you have studied so far, and of any relevant work experiences, such as internships with museums or other art-related organizations. As much as possible, we would like to know what you expect your area(s) of specialization within the field to be, and what preparation you have had so far in these areas; if there are particular faculty or resources that attract you to study at UC Riverside, please address those.

The Personal History Statement should discuss how your personal background informs your decision to pursue a graduate degree. Please include any educational, familial, cultural, economic, or social experiences, challenges, or opportunities relevant to your academic journey; how you might contribute to social or cultural diversity within your chosen field; and/or how you might serve educationally underrepresented segments of society with your degree.

Letters of Recommendation are received electronically. Recommenders will receive an email at the email address provided by the applicant after the application is submitted. Applicants should be sure to allow sufficient time between the date they submit their application and the January 5 deadline for recommenders to receive the electronic recommendation request and submit a letter on the applicant’s behalf.

The UCR Graduate Application requires unofficial transcripts from all postsecondary schools attended. This includes community colleges. Please only upload unofficial transcripts during the application process, and please do not mail paper copies of transcripts to UCR. The Graduate Admissions office will request official copies of transcripts from those who are offered and accept admission into the graduate program.

All application materials should be uploaded directly to the UCR Graduate Application.

For Fall 2021 applications and beyond, the History of Art Department does not require GRE scores as part of the application for the MA or PhD programs. The admissions committee will not view or evaluate GRE scores when reviewing graduate applications. Please do not submit GRE scores as part of a graduate application, they will not be considered.

PhD students receive financial support in the form of fellowship funding and Teaching Assistantships. Additional merit-based funding may be available from the Graduate Division.

MA students receive limited financial support in the form of fellowship funding. Limited merit-based funding may be available from the Graduate Division. Teaching Assistantships are not typically offered to MA students, but other funding is available to offset the cost of the MA program.

Current tuition and fee information is available on the Registrar’s website.

In addition to the application materials described above, international applicants submit the following:

• TOEFL or IELTS test scores no older than 2 years. Please submit unofficial scores with the application. The Graduate Admissions office will request official electronic test scores from those who are offered and accept admission into the graduate program.
• The International Applicant Confidential Financial Statement.

International applicants who receive and accept admissions offers are required to submit a Verification of Financial Support and obtain the correct visa. Details regarding financial verification and visa requirements are available on the Graduate Admissions website.

Detailed application instructions are available on the Graduate Admissions FAQ page.

For questions regarding the graduate program in the History of Art or assistance with completing the UCR Graduate Application, please contact Graduate Program Coordinator Iselda Salgado at iselda.salgado@ucr.edu or (951) 827-7878.