PhD Curriculum

Doctoral Program Synopsis (Art History)

Full-time residency requirement:  2 years

Foreign language requirement: 2 foreign languages *

MA Paper/Thesis required: Yes

Minimum number of courses:  5 (15 credits)

Number of courses required outside of the major area/hemisphere: No requirement, but 3 credits out of 15 allowed outside the Department

Minimum number of art history seminars: 4 (12 credits)

Minor area of concentrations required: Yes

Qualifying exams required: Yes; Comprehensive Examination, including written and oral exam

Additional requirements: Dissertation proposal, Round Table presentation, Defense

Dissertation

Number of PhD dissertation readers: 3 (2 required from the Art History Department)

Oral defense required: Yes

Dissertation process: PhD students advance to candidacy following completion of five graduate seminars, two foreign language exams, minor and major area comprehensive exams, and a dissertation proposal. Completion of the degree includes a Round Table presentation of methodology and research in progress, and a defense: a public presentation of the candidate’s dissertation, followed by questions from examiners and members of the audience.

*Courses taken to fulfill the language requirement are not counted toward the required credits for the PhD degree.

Graduate Courses

Seminar areas:*

  • ARTH 531 (3/6)   Early Medieval Art
  • ARTH 533 (3/6)   Medieval Art
  • ARTH 535 (3/6)   Art of the Renaissance
  • ARTH 537 (3/6)   17th and 18th-Century Art
  • ARTH 539 (3/6)   19th-Century Art
  • ARTH 540 (3/6)   20th-Century Art
  • ARTH 543 (3/6)   Canadian Art
  • ARTH 548 (3/6)   North American Architecture
  • ARTH 551 (3/6)   Chinese Art
  • ARTH 553 (3/6)   Japanese Art
  • ARTH 555 (3/6)   South & Southeast Asian Art
  • ARTH 561 (3/6)   Indigenous Arts of the  Americas
  • ARTH 571 (6)      Methodology of Art History
  • CCST 500 (3)      Seminar in Interdisciplinary Frameworks in Museum and Curatorial Studies
  • CCST 501 (3)      Seminar in Contemporary Contextual Issues for Museums and Curatorial Practice
  • CCST 502 (3)      Case Studies in Museum and Gallery Exhibitions

*Not all courses are offered every year.

See Selected Past Seminars »

Further information about the different programs and materials required for application to them are available online here: DOWNLOAD