Crystal Bridges and University of Arkansas collaborate on master's degree

The University of Arkansas' new graduate program in art history will kick off this fall with lots of help from the museum up the road.

The big picture: This degree rounds out the School of Art's efforts to offer more graduate programs, spokesperson Kayla Crenshaw told Axios.

• The school offers master's programs in communication design and art education since receiving $120 million from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation in 2017 to found the School of Art.
• The school now offers graduate programs for every undergraduate program. Master's degrees in areas like studio art already existed when the university offered art as a major, but the School of Art wasn't yet established.

The intrigue: The first class of seven includes an international student, a student who received an undergraduate degree from the University of Arkansas and has since worked for Crystal Bridges, as well as students who turned down prestigious offers to pursue the program.

Details: The two-year program focuses on art history of the Americas.

• Crystal Bridges' curatorial staff will teach some of the courses, and students will have access to resources like the library at the museum. They'll also learn what goes on behind the scenes of curating art collections.
• "They're coming to us. We're going to them," Crenshaw said.

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to note that there are seven students in the art history master's program, not six.