The MA Curatorial Practice (MACP) program is a two-year master’s degree focused on hands-on training, giving you the practical skills and techniques needed to work as a professional curator. Based at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in the heart of New York City, you will have the unparalleled opportunity to study amid some of the most extraordinary museums in the world, close to hundreds of contemporary art galleries, artist archives, and major libraries, with thousands of artists and endless cultural events all around you.
Our program is unique in providing students with multiple opportunities to curate fully subsidized exhibitions, not just one for graduation. Moving beyond the perfect white museum space, you’ll stage shows in real-world exhibition venues and learn to curate wherever you need to.
Because we have the advantage of being located in New York City, students have access to unrivaled faculty at MACP. Using case studies, history, and theory, they will teach you various approaches to curating across disciplines. You’ll participate in workshops focused on writing, exhibition installation, exhibition design, lighting design, conservation, presentation-making, and grant-writing along with primary courses in art history, exhibition history, and cultural theory, so that you’re well-versed in the knowledge you need for professional work. You’ll also meet with more than 40 international museum directors, curators, and artists to learn from their practical experiences, giving you the chance to work with them closely in small groups and build a network for your future.
As part of your training, you’ll be taken on a subsidized trip to a major international biennial, after which you are placed in an internship at a significant institution, where you’ll be embedded in a curatorial department to learn from inside a professional working space. MACP students also meet with other curatorial students from around the world in special sessions for broadening knowledge and making new international connections.
Our open-access online journal, The Curatorial, gives students the chance to write for a professional publication and gain yet another credential when applying for curatorial jobs.
MA Curatorial Practice provides scholarships based on need.
Visit macp.sva.edu to learn more and apply for Fall 2026 admission.
