Dear International Colleagues, 

On March 23, 2022, the Senate of the National University of Arts in Bucharest voted to discontinue the MA program “Visual and Curatorial Studies,” the only program with this profile within the University, and the only MA program of the Department of History and Theory of Art. This program is the oldest art history MA program in Romania, with graduates numbering many distinguished figures that act today as important members of the cultural and scholarly communities. 

This decision was announced and voted expeditiously; no alternatives or reforms were asked for or discussed, and the agenda circulated before the meeting did not explicitly mention it. More specifically, the initiative to discontinue the MA program was added to the agenda at the request of the Rector, in the conclusions of his Report on the managerial activities for 2021. The decision was grounded on financial difficulties and certain inconsistencies with respect to current bureaucratic standards. However, such a measure was not applied to other study programs that had faced similar deficiencies. Moreover, other essential aspects, such as academic quality, have been almost completely ignored. 

It is known that the financial shortcomings of the educational system have taken their toll first and foremost on the humanities, and this MA program in History and Theory of Art is now a victim. A reconsideration of the distribution of the modest financial resources, and of the policy for promotion and tenured positions might offer a solid ground for its safeguarding. Be it as it may, in a critical situation, the MA program still benefits from courses taught by prestigious scholars, and still represents, for many among its students, a turning point in their training and career trajectory. 

Throughout the last decade, the MA program has been affected, alongside the whole Department of History and Theory of Art, by the retirement of several members of the academic staff, and by the passing of one of our colleagues; so far there has been little redress for these losses. Furthermore, restructuring plans submitted by the academic staff of the Department during the past years, intended to secure the coherence of the study program and its adaptation to the requests of students on the one hand, and requirements of the labor market on the other hand, have not been taken into consideration.

The discontinuation of the MA program disrupts the study progress from BA to PhD, and is therefore certain to affect the decision of potential candidates to study history and theory of art at the National University of Arts, diminishing drastically the number of candidates in this discipline for the PhD program as well. On the other hand, the wiping out of this study program directly and severely restricts the teaching staff in putting to the best use their respective areas of specialization in the courses and seminars they teach. 

We ask for the decision to eliminate the MA program to be revoked. We ask for the reforming or other remedial strategies to be discussed between the Department and the University administration, so as to reinstate the MA program of the Department of History and Theory of Art to its necessary and legitimate position, as an indispensable foundation that guarantees the academic dimension of art education in Romania at this crucial moment. 

Thank you for the support!

The Department of History and Theory of Art 

National University of Arts, Bucharest

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