The Department of Art History and Archaeology offers the free-standing M.A. in Modern Art: Critical and Curatorial Studies. This program is founded on the conviction that critics engaged with modern and contemporary art need to understand curatorial strategies and that curators must be able to write with full knowledge of critical theory. Taking advantage of both Columbia's location in one of the world's major centers for the production and display of modern and contemporary art, and the department's close ties with the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and other institutions, the program immerses students in the art world of New York City.