I、Brief Introduction

The Master's Degree in Art Theory is offered by the Department of Cultural Industries, School of Humanities. Currently four modules are available: Art History and Art Theory, Theory and Practice of Contemporary Art, Art and Creative Industries, as well as Art Communications and Art Education. The Department of Cultural Industries has started to admit graduate students in Cultural Industries within the MA Program of Literature and Art Studies, as well as the MA Program of Aesthetics, as well as doctoral students within the PhD Program of Aesthetics for more than ten years. In 2015, MFA (Master of Fine Arts) became available at our Department. Therefore, we now have well established fulltime and part-time programs, as well as interlocked modules of BA in Cultural Industries Management, MA in Art Theory and PhD in Aesthetics.

We are a creative community led by scholars of art theory as well as practitioners in the creative industries. High-level research teams include: Art History and Art Theory led by Professor Professor Wang Hanwei; Contemporary Art, led by Professor Lu Xinghua; Art and Cultural Industries Management, led by Professor Xie Xuefang. Our Department brings together a well-knit community of leading scholars and a group of promising young scholars, representing the essential foundation for securing a better future of our department and the MA program.

This discipline awards Master's Degree in Art Theory.

II、Objectives

To adhere to the socialist orientation of running schools, building morality, cultivating people and training builders and successors for the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era.

1. To have a firm and correct political orientation, loving our socialist motherland and supporting the leadership of the Communist Party of China; to study Marxism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, "Three Represents," the scientific outlook on development and Xi Jinping's socialist ideological system with Chinese characteristics in the new era; to dedicate oneself to serving the people and striving hard for the prosperity and strength of the motherland and to abide by consciously the law and regulations and to obtain good moral characters.

2. To obtain ability to engage in scientific research or to undertake independently specialized technical work.

3.  Graduates of our MA Program should have a broad academic vision, mastering basic knowledge and research methodologies of art studies or cultural industries management. They should be competent for jobs of teaching, research, management, editing, publishing, culture, advertising and creative devising in areas of art, cultural industries and other related disciplines.

III、Research Orientations

This MA Program includes four major research and teaching modules.

1, Art History and Art Theory;

2, Theory and Practice of Contemporary Art;

3, Art and Creative Industries;

4, Art Communications and Education

IV、Program Duration

The duration of schooling is 2.5 years with a maximum of no more than 4 years.

V、Credit

Academic graduate students should complete at least 31 credits, including 6 credits for public degree courses, 12 credits for professional degree courses, 8 credits for non-degree courses (including at least 1 inter-college or interdisciplinary course with 2 credits), and 5 credits for compulsory courses.

VI、Dissertation

Graduate students should complete their theses independently under the supervision of their tutors. The thesis should demonstrate that the graduate students have fully met the requirements stipulated in the "training objective". In principle, theses should be written in Chinese, but overseas students may write theses in English or other languages approved in advance by the Degree Evaluation Subcommittee and Graduate School, but they must attach to their theses detailed Chinese abstracts.

1. Thesis Topic Selection: The discussion of the master theses topic selection should be organized by each discipline according to the time required by the university, usually no later than the third semester. Students who fail to pass the first report may re-select the topic after 3 months. If the student fails to pass gain, this will be regarded as an automatic termination of study and the student will be dropped out. In the course of the research, if there are significant changes in the thesis topic , the topic selection meeting shall be reorganized.

2. Mid-term assessment: The mid-term assessment of the master graduate students should be organized by each discipline according to the time required by the university. The mid-term assessment of master graduate students with a 2.5-year schooling system should be completed no later than the third semester after admission; the mid-term assessment of master graduate students with a 3-year schooling system should be completed no later than the fourth semester. Students who fail to pass the mid-term assessment for the first time may be reexamined six months later. Students who fail to pass the re-examination again shall be dismissed from school.

3. Blind trial: it should be conducted in accordance with the relevant provisions of the university and its colleges.

4. Review and Oral defense: For the form and writing requirements, the organization and process of the thesis’s review and deferred oral defense, please refer to the Regulations on the Granting of Degrees of Tongji University、Specifications on paper Topic Selection and Review and Oral Defense of Tongji University .

5. Confidential theses: Confidential management of secret-related thesis and applications for the academic degrees shall be carried out in accordance with the Regulations on the Management of Confidential Graduate Students and Confidential Thesis of Tongji University (No. 65, Tongji Graduate School, 2018).

VII、Research Papers

MA students of the School of Humanities are not required but encouraged to submitted academic papers to various journals.

VIII、Dismissal Policy

1. If students fail to pass more than three (including three) courses during the period of study, they shall be dismissed from school.

2. Students who fail to pass the topic selection or the mid-term assessment twice shall be regarded as automatically terminating their studies and shall be dismissed from school.

3. Students who fail to pass the mid-term assessment within schooling shall be dismissed from school.

IX、Remark

1. Courses are generally arranged in the first to 1.5 academic years. In the compulsory links, graduate students' academic behavior norms, topic selection and Tongji advanced lectures must be completed before the mid-term assessment.

2. There should be at least a 2-month interval between the topic selection and the mid-term assessment and a 6-month interval between the mid-term assessment and the thesis defense.

3. Tongji Advanced Lectures is high-level academic lectures organized by the Graduate School and colleges. Graduate students should attend no less than 16 academic lectures listed in the management of Tongji Advanced Lectures before the mid-term assessment, and put their reflection into the management information system for graduate students.

X、Curriculum

Five modules included: Common Courses, Core Courses, Elective Courses, Compulsories and Make-up Courses.