online phd programs art history

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Art History, Ph.D.

Ph.D. in Art History (+Dual Ph.D.)

TODO FIXME : DRAFT : WORK IN PROGRESS

Become a professional in the field advance your career with an advanced degree..

Advanced study of visual arts spanning periods, cultures, and geographies. The Art History Ph.D. program can deepen your expertise and advance your Art History career.

Program Application Deadline

The deadline for applications for AY 2024–25 is January 15, 2024.

To be assured full consideration, please review all details on program and admission requirements, and ensure that you apply by this deadline.

Earn a Ph.D. in Art History at Penn State

Our Ph.D. students and alumni have earned Fulbright and Getty Fellowships, the Rome prize, tenure-track positions, and curatorial fellowships and jobs. For more than fifty years, our graduates have been writing books, organizing exhibitions, teaching college and pre-collegiate students, and ensuring the preservation and understanding of our cultural heritage. Join us!

The Ph.D. in Art History program will prepare you to broadly influence art and culture through careers as scholars and educators, as museum curators, as public advocates of cultural heritage, and as arts administrators, to name just a few of the professions that recent program alumni have entered. Breadth of knowledge is as essential for museum professionals as it is for academic researchers. For this reason, advanced study of the visual arts and material culture from diverse periods and geographies is required of all graduate students, with Ph.D. candidates attaining deep expertise in at least one field of art historical research. The department’s faculty includes specialists in African, Asian, and European art and the arts of the Americas.

Graduate faculty members and advisors are leading scholars in their fields. Our interdisciplinary program challenges you to think critically and creatively in order to make a meaningful contribution to the field. The Ph.D. in Art History program also offers dual-title Ph.D. options in Asian Studies or Visual Studies.

Nancy Locke

• Professor of Art History
• Director of Graduate Studies in Art History

[email protected]

814-865-4877

Is the Ph.D. in Art History right for you?

A Ph.D. makes possible the highest level of career success in art history. Our program has a track record of excellent outcomes in diverse career paths, with particular success in placing students in academic and museum careers.

We help you ask and answer the big questions in your area of study. Our graduate students have opportunities to teach, research, and work on digital humanities projects with our Center for Virtual and Material Studies. The Palmer Museum of Art also provides internships to prepare you for curatorial work.

Engage with a dynamic cohort of fellow students and a supportive community of scholars.

Degree Options

Dual-title degree options add a significant interdisciplinary breadth to your Ph.D. scholarship. These two dual-title programs develop context through which you can learn to synthesize knowledge within and across disciplinary boundaries in both scholarship and teaching.

Dual Ph.D. and Asian Studies

The primary objective of the dual-title degree program in Asian Studies is to engage critically and substantively with the teaching, research, and scholarship of Asia, a diverse area with a population of some 4.5 billion. The program integrates knowledge and methodology across disciplines of Asian Studies and Art History.

Graduate students are trained in such a way that you will be equipped to represent, understand, analyze, and appraise the crucial and current scholarly issues in Asian Studies in the context of your art discipline focus.

The program aims to produce doctoral graduates with a competitive advantage for employment that relates to Asia in academia, museum, curatorial, and other professional fields.

Graduate Bulletin Links

• Asian Studies Bulletin page
• Graduate Studies information related to the dual-title Ph.D in Art History + Asian Studies .

Dual Ph.D. and Visual Studies

Humanistic study. Technological dynamics. Analyze images, physical and virtual environments, and visual sign systems; histories of visual modes of communication, apprehension, and aesthetic pleasure; and conceptions of the nature of visuality itself. Challenge boundaries. Challenge yourself.

The dual-title Ph.D. in Visual Studies fosters an interdisciplinary approach to humanistic study, which, spurred by technological dynamics that increasingly integrate text and image, engages analysis of specific images, physical and virtual environments, and visual sign systems; histories of visual modes of communication, apprehension, and aesthetic pleasure; and conceptions of the nature of visuality itself. Students in this program analyze and assess visual media that, integrated with texts, are integral to humanistic scholarship and pedagogy today.

Dual-title degree programs increase the intellectual rigor and breadth of graduate work and provide a context in which students learn to synthesize knowledge within and across disciplinary boundaries in both scholarship and teaching. Drawing from knowledge and practices produced across the humanistic disciplines while responding to ongoing challenges to conventional disciplinary boundaries, this degree highlights existing strengths of graduate training in the humanities at Penn State, structures the continuing development of these programs, and credentials our graduates’ training and work with visual forms, environments, and media.

• Visual Studies Bulletin page
• Graduate Studies information related to the dual-title Ph.D in Art History + Asian Studies

Professional Development

Our department is regularly invited to select graduate students to participate in major graduate student symposia, including the Middle Atlantic Symposium in the History of Art at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Barnes Foundation Graduate Student Symposium on the History of Art. Penn State art history graduate students often present papers at scholarly conferences/symposia across the United States and abroad (for which the department provides partial financial support).

Financial Support

• George Dewey and Mary J. Krumrine Endowment This endowment helps support publication projects of art history faculty and graduate students.
• Graduate Assistantships There are about nineteen graduate assistantships filled by graduate students in the Department of Art History each year.
• University Fellowships and Awards Qualified incoming graduate students may also be nominated by the department for University Fellowships, Bunton-Waller Graduate Awards, Graham Fellowships, and other awards. The department also has funds to help support graduate students in their research and travel related to their theses. The department awards dissertation fellowships and travel/research grants totaling over $60,000 to graduate students each academic year.

Summer Opportunities

• Summer Abroad program in Todi, Italy The Department of Art History is a co-sponsor of Penn State’s Summer Abroad program in Todi, Italy, in which graduate students may choose to participate.
• Annie Gooding Sykes Internship This internship is a twelve-week internship offered during the summer. Interns work with museum staff on a variety of curatorial projects, with a particular focus on American works on paper. Students who have completed the ARTH 409 “Museum Studies” course are preferred. One internship with a stipend is offered each summer.
• Silver Trout Curatorial Graduate Internship Program This internship program is a twelve-week internship offered during the summer. Interns work with the museum staff on curatorial projects and initiatives. Graduate students in art history or art education are eligible for the Silver Trout Curatorial Graduate Internship Program. Students who have completed the ARTH 409 “Museum Studies” course are preferred. Two internships with a stipend are offered each summer.

Ph.D. Students

Students currently enrolled in the Ph.D. in Art History programs.

Arunima Addy Degree: PhD in Architecture Research Focus: South Asian architectural and urban history Dissertation title: Diaspora of Indian Temple Architecture Academic Adviser: Madhuri Desai [email protected]

Arunima Addy is currently a PhD candidate in Art History with dual title in Asian Studies. She has been a practicing architect in India, before joining the graduate program at Penn State. Arunima has her research interests in the relationship between the politics of religion and the construction of national identity, specifically with the rising sentiments of Hindu nationalism in India. She looks at visual representations in the built environment to understand how through architectural establishments religion is being used as a political tool to frame an image of the nation. For her dissertation, she is investigating the relationship between the politics of religion and nation-building particularly with respect to changing dynamics of Indian temple architecture in the neoliberal perspective where religion is becoming a global commodity.

Han Chen Degree: PhD in Art History and Asian Studies Research Focus: Modern and Contemporary Chinese and East Asian Art, history of collecting and exhibiting Dissertation title: Negotiating the Global Knowledge of China through Art Trade, 1900-1950 Academic Adviser: Chang Tan [email protected] | CV

Han Chen is a PhD student specializing in the history of collecting and exhibiting Chinese and East Asian art in the Euro-American context from the late nineteenth-century to the present day. She received her B.A. in 2016 and M.A. in 2019 from China Academy of Art. In 2021, she received her second M.A. from Penn State where she wrote her thesis entitled, “Selling China: A neglected encounter between Huo Mingzhi and France in the early twentieth century.” She has worked for the Palmer Museum of Art at Penn State and the Freer and Sackler Gallery of Art as a curatorial intern. Her current interest lies in employing machine learning to realize the image inpainting of photographs of Chinese antiques.

Melanie Clark Degree: PhD in Art History Research Focus: Dissertation title: Academic Adviser: Madhuri Desai

Olivia Crawford Degree: PhD in Art History Research Focus: Nineteenth-century European Art and Architecture, Post-colonial Studies, Jewish Studies, Middle Eastern and North African Studies. Dissertation title: TBD Academic Adviser: Nancy Locke [email protected]

Olivia Crawford received her B.A. in Art History and French and Francophone Studies from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2016 and her M.A. in Art History from Penn State University in 2018. She is currently a Ph.D. student in the Department of Art History at Penn State.

Her current research examines representations of colonial and metropolitan Jewish communities in French Orientalist art and architecture. Her dissertation prospectus is forthcoming.

Crawford lives and works in Knoxville, TN.

Noah Dasinger Degree: PhD in Art History Research Focus: Fifteenth-century Italian sculpture Dissertation title: TBD Academic Adviser: Daniel M. Zolli [email protected] | LinkedIn

Noah Dasinger is a first-year Ph.D. student studying Italian Renaissance art and architectural history with a focus on fifteenth-century sculpture. Noah is an Alabama native, and in 2020, he graduated summa cum laude from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, with a Bachelor of Arts. He then obtained a Master of Arts degree from the University of Georgia, Athens. Upon graduation, he received high honors for his thesis, “Symbolic Epigraphy and the New Rome: Humanist Capital Letters on the Tomb of Leonardo Bruni.”

Noah also has extensive training in archival research and early modern Italian paleography both in the United States and abroad. He was a curatorial intern at the Georgia Museum of Art and a research intern at the Medici Archive Project. His current research examines the development, display, and materials used for fifteenth-century Italian tomb sculpture. Noah’s research also investigates early modern workshop practices, materials, processes, and their relationship to commemorative sculpture.

Arielle Fields Degree: PhD in Art History Research Focus: Dissertation title: TBD Academic Adviser: Elizabeth Mansfield

Katherine Flanagan Degree: PhD in Art History Research Focus: Dissertation title: TBD Academic Adviser: William Dewey

Laura Freitas Almeida Degree: PhD in Art History Research Focus: Dissertation title: TBD Academic Adviser: Sarah Rich

Emily Hagen Degree: PhD in Art History Research Focus: Seventeenth-century Italian architecture Dissertation title: Pietro da Cortona’s Santi Luca e Martina: Rediscovered Relics and the Spectacle of Reform in Seventeenth-Century Rome Academic Adviser: Robin Thomas [email protected] | CV

Emily Hagen is a Ph.D. candidate in art history studying early-modern Italian architecture with an interest in digital humanities. Her research focuses on churches devoted to martyrs’ relics in seventeenth-century Italy and investigates how architecture amplified the fiction of rediscovery in the context of early-modern Catholic reform.

Katherine Koltiska Banerjee Degree: PhD in Art History Research Focus: Dissertation title: TBD Academic Adviser: Craig Zabel

Kyle Marini Degree: PhD in Art History Research Focus: Pre-Contact and Early Modern Latin America, Andean Textiles Dissertation title: TBD Academic Adviser: Amara Solari [email protected] | Instagram | LinkedIn

Kyle is a PhD student in pre-contact and early modern Latin American art history. He specializes in the techniques of production, ritual use, and iconography of Inca textiles. He primarily researches ceremonial objects that have been destroyed to recover a more representative view of Inca visual culture before Spanish occupation of the Andes. This approach is in effort to decolonize modern understandings of the Inca developed from the study of objects that survived arduous extirpation campaigns throughout the Viceroyalty of Peru. By emphasizing objects erased from the archive, he reconstructs a history through the most integral Inca artifacts that ceased to exist precisely because of their visual power. Kyle is also a practicing artist, and he uses remaking as a methodology to envision these lost works and the technical processes used by their creators.

Keri Mongelluzzo Degree: PhD in Art History Research Focus: History of Photography; Modern Art Dissertation title: Bauhaus/Dream House: The Uncharted Surrealism of New Vision Photography Academic Adviser: Nancy Locke [email protected] | CV | LinkedIn | Academia.edu

Keri Mongelluzzo is a Ph.D. candidate specializing in the history of photography and modern art in Europe. Her dissertation, “Bauhaus/Dream House: The Uncharted Surrealism of New Vision Photography,” examines how French Surrealist sensibilities gained traction with transient artists associated with the Bauhaus, an innovative school of design in interwar Germany. Tracking key Bauhaus figures as they moved throughout Europe and across the Atlantic, “Bauhaus/Dream House” exposes their messy motivations for evoking surrealist themes amidst surges of nationalism and the rise of fascism. To date, Keri’s dissertation research has been supported by the Department of Art History and the Max Kade German-American Research Institute.

Keri’s broader research and curatorial interests in the histories and theories of photography span the medium’s history. She has written steadily on prominent photographers of the twentieth century, like Man Ray and Eugène Atget, presenting papers at the inaugural conference of the International Society for the Study of Surrealism at the Bucknell Humanities Center and the 24th Annual Graduate Student Symposium on the History of Art at the Barnes Foundation. In addition to curating a number of exhibitions of photography at the Palmer Museum of Art, including Myth Meets Modernism: The Manuel Álvarez Bravo Portfolio (2019) and Framing the City (2018), Keri piloted the museum’s first-ever virtual exhibition, Photography = Abstraction , using Google Slides at the onset of the pandemic and presented her work on this and her collaboration on subsequent virtual exhibitions and tours at the College Art Association Annual Conference in February 2021.

Amy Orner Degree: PhD in Art History Research Focus: Eighteenth-Century British Architecture and Urbanism Dissertation title: TBD Academic Adviser: Robin Thomas [email protected]

Amy is a PhD student specializing in eighteenth-century British architecture and urbanism, with a focus on Empire and its effects on architecture. Her research questions consider the social and political influences on architecture, as well as the influence of Empire on Scottish town planning. She received her B.A. in Museum Studies/Art History from Juniata College in 2017, before working as a School Programs Educator for The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC. Amy received her M.A. in Art History from Penn State University in 2022 with her thesis titled, “The Palette, the Patron, and the Hand of the Artist: Artemisia Gentileschi in London.” During her time at Penn State, Amy has worked with the Palmer Museum of Art, the Matson Museum of Anthropology, and as a research fellow in the Center for Virtual/Material Studies.

Annalise Palmer Degree: PhD in Art History Research Focus: Modern and Contemporary art, specifically with movement and performance-based work Academic Adviser: Sarah Rich [email protected] | CV | LinkedIn

Annalise is a first year PhD student whose background in dance heavily influences her research. She hopes to expand upon her previous work and explore the prevalence of choreographic artworks over the past century. Annalise graduated in 2024 with a MA in Art History from Penn State and in 2020 from Centre College with a BA in Art History. During that time, she worked as a Research Assistant within Centre’s Art History Department and as an Intern for Manifest Gallery and the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) in Cincinnati, Ohio. After graduation, Annalise returned to the CAC as a Cataloging Intern and collaborated with the Robert O’Neal Multicultural Arts Center to catalog the work of local artist and activist, Robert O’Neal. Following this project, she worked as a Teaching and Gallery Assistant with Centre College. Currently, Annalise works as a Teaching Assistant for Penn State.

Clio Rom Degree: PhD in Art History Research Focus: Dissertation title: TBD Academic Adviser: James Harper

Alicia Skeath Degree: PhD in Art History Research Focus: Dissertation title: On the Other Side: Representations of the Ojibwe from the Early to Mid-Nineteenth Century Academic Adviser: Adam Thomas

Kenta Tokushige Degree: PhD in Art History Research Focus: Sixteenth-century Italian Military Architecture Dissertation title: Being a Military Architect: Building Fortifications in Cosimo I de’ Medici’s Realm Academic Adviser: Robin Thomas [email protected]

Kenta Tokushige is a Ph.D. candidate in Art History at The Pennsylvania State University. His dissertation entitled, Being a ‘Military Architect’: Building Fortifications in Cosimo I de’ Medici’s Realm, studies the geopolitical role of fortification building under Cosimo I de’ Medici in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in the latter half of the Cinquecento by looking at the design process of a fortification as a collaborative project by people of various social status and the way it was represented in multiple forms of art upon its completion. His research traces the correspondence between the patrons, local governors, and architects regarding the decision-making process and examines the intentions of each individual. Additionally, he is exploring the representation and the circulation of information after the completion of the fortification in relation to the espionage of military information.

His research has been supported by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation and the Susan W. and Thomas A. Schwartz Endowed Fellowship for Dissertation Research.

He completed his B.Arch. and M.A. in Architecture at Waseda University and Master of Architectural History at University of Virginia.

Holli Turner Degree: PhD in Art History Research Focus: Art of Early Modern Southern Europe and Colonial Latin America, the materials and materiality of art, technical art history, theories and practices of conservation, race, and representation in art, decolonial practices in art history Dissertation title: TBD Academic Adviser: Daniel Zolli [email protected]

Holli M. Turner is a doctoral student specializing in early modern art, with a focus on the art of Italy, Spain, and the Americas. Her dissertation will examine the colonial implications of color – broadly understood – in the Venetian artist Titian’s paintings for the Spanish monarchy. This project knits together several core concerns of her work: the materials and materiality of art; the representation of race and ethnicity in art; and the interpretive importance of invisible labor, and laborers, to art’s history. In Summer 2021, Holli is serving as the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Research Fellow in Penn State’s Art History department, where she is developing a digital humanities project that tracks Titian’s pigments and their origins.

Holli is a Virginia native that was trained in art history and graphic design before embarking on doctoral study. Her research interests also stem from her own artistry. In her spare time, she paints, illustrates, and creates works through traditional and digital media.

Guides and Resources

• Art History Graduate Handbook

Alumni Success

95 percent of those who earned their Ph.D. since the year 2000 are employed in art history or a related field.

• Of these, 71 percent are teaching at the college level.
• The other 29 percent hold such positions as museum curator or lead historian at a historic center.
• Of those teaching at the college level, 67 percent hold tenure-track or tenured positions.

Legal Statements

• Non-Discrimination
• Equal Opportunity
• Accessibility
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Department of the History of Art

• Financial Support
• PhD Requirements
• Graduate Courses
• Graduate Teaching and Museum Opportunities

The graduate program is designed to give students working toward the PhD degree an encompassing knowledge of the history of art and a deep understanding of the theories and approaches pertaining to art historical research. The program emphasizes collaborative working relationships among students and faculty in seminars. Each PhD student benefits from supervision by a primary adviser in their field of study, while continuing to work closely with other department faculty. Students will routinely avail themselves of faculty expertise in other departments, dependent on their area of study.

The program also fosters a close familiarity with the outstanding art in the Baltimore–Washington area relevant to the student’s area of study. In addition to the rich holdings of the Sheridan Libraries of Johns Hopkins University (which include collections of rare books at the Garrett Library, Special Collections at the Milton S. Eisenhower Library, and the George Peabody Library) graduate students have access to world-renowned collections and research facilities in Washington D.C.

Our recent PhD students have gone on to academic, administrative, and museum positions at institutions around the world including Aarhus University, American University of Paris, Arcadia University, Baylor University, Columbia University, DePaul University, Florida State University, Howard University, King’s College London, Marshall University, National Museum of Denmark, Notre Dame University of Maryland, Oberlin College, Portland State University, University of Chicago, University of Pittsburgh, University of San Francisco, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Wellesley College. 

MA or PhD in Art History

Virtual Open House For Prospective Applicants

November 1, 2024 12–1pm CT Zoom

• Learn more about the program, the department, and the university.
• Meet faculty, staff, and students.
• Ask questions about the program and application process.

The graduate Art History programs at UT, comprising the MA in Art History and the PhD in Art History, are among the nation’s largest and most distinguished, with nearly twenty full-time faculty members who are leading scholars in their fields and represent a diversity of critical and methodological outlooks. Students in Art History are regularly honored with prestigious awards and fellowships, and alumni from this program lead successful careers at colleges, universities, and museums worldwide.

The programs’ expansive scope comprises courses covering a wide range of periods and cultures of art, while areas of special concentration are represented by several active research centers. Interdisciplinary study and collaboration play a vital role in the program. Additionally, research is enhanced by access to the many resources available across campus including the Blanton Museum of Art, one of the country’s leading university art museums; the university’s notable library system; and cultural archives such as the Harry Ransom Center.

Eligibility

Applicants to the Master of Arts Program are expected to have completed a broad range of undergraduate coursework in art history (18 hours in art history are recommended) and related fields. MA students will be required to demonstrate proficiency in reading/translating one contemporary language other than English prior to beginning the fourth semester in residence.

Program Tracks

Four MA tracks are offered:

• General (allows students to cover diverse historical areas of art history)
• Ancient (Western and Non-Western)
• Medieval to Early Modern

Program of Work — General Track

Program of Work — Specialized Track

Specialized tracks.

Example Program Plan

Language Requirement

MA students must have reading/translation competence in at least one modern language in addition to English. The additional language will be relevant to the student’s areas of study and will allow the student to understand the scholarship of their field. The language will be determined in consultation with the Graduate Adviser and the choice is subject to ratification by the Graduate Studies Committee.

The choice of language is flexible but must be decided in consultation with one’s advisor/committee chair or the Graduate Adviser if an advisor has not yet been selected. Language courses cannot count toward fulfillment of the requirement for six hours of coursework taken outside the department (supporting work or Minor).

The language exam requirement must be fulfilled in one of the following ways:

• 4 semesters of college-level language courses passed at grade B or above. Advanced placement credit can count towards the required number of courses.
• Departmental exam to test translation proficiency in French, Spanish, Italian, German, and Portuguese (and other languages as petitioned by students) administered 3 times each year (beginning and end of fall semester, and once during spring semester). Exams are graded by at least 2 faculty members. Language exams will be administered to students who wish take it in a given semester. The exam proceeds simultaneously, in a single location and time that works for all. This requirement can be fulfilled in one of the following ways, and must be satisfied by the end of the third long semester in residence.
• To compensate for the exceptional difficulty involved, students who plan on qualifying in a language other than the traditional European languages may be allowed to do so. Permission may be granted after consultation with the Graduate Adviser and after petitioning the faculty to substitute an instructional course in that language in place of a supporting (i.e. out-of-department) course.

Thesis Colloquium

During the semester of enrollment in Thesis research (ARH 698A, 3 hours), usually in the third semester of residence and after the completion of 18 hours of coursework, the student presents a topic for faculty approval in a Thesis Colloquium. Enrollment in ARH 698B Thesis (3 hours) may take place only after an approved presentation.

• In the first year, no later than the end of the Spring semester, the student will contact an Art History faculty member about supervising the thesis and initiate a discussion about possible topics.
• Students are encouraged to interview faculty in their area of specialization in order to find a faculty supervisor/committee chair. Students and supervisors must be in alignment to accommodate their professional goals. Failing to find a supervisor will result in termination from the program.
• The wise Art History Master’s student will take advantage of the summer following the first year to develop and research a topic or possible topics with the goal of being ready to schedule the colloquium in the early part of the Fall semester.
• If the colloquium is not held, a grade of Incomplete is assigned; a final grade will be assigned when the colloquium is held during the next long semester.

Refer to the handbook for details regarding the processes involved with submitting the final thesis and applying for graduation.

Program Handbook

Applicants to the Doctoral Program must have an MA in art history or an MA in a related field with substantial coursework in art history at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Applicants completing the second year of a Master’s program are also eligible to apply.

Program of Work

The Doctor of Philosophy degree requires at least thirty hours of coursework beyond the MA degree. Course requirements include:

• A minimum of five graduate seminars in at least two of the department’s chronological groupings of western and non-western art: Ancient; Medieval to Early Modern; and Modern
• Nine hours of supporting work, normally consisting of two graduate seminars outside the Department of Art and Art History in areas related to the major field, and one graduate reading course outside the Department of Art and Art History often taken in the context of preparation for the qualifying examination. All of these courses must be taken for a letter grade.
• A minimum of six hours of dissertation research and writing

Further requirements include reading/translation competence in at least two contemporary languages in addition to English, a dissertation colloquium, written and oral qualifying examinations that admit the student to doctoral candidacy, the dissertation, and the oral defense of the dissertation. PhD students who are employed as Teaching Assistants must enroll for one term in ARH 398T Supervised Teaching in Art History , a pedagogy seminar that meets one hour per week. This course does not count toward completion of the degree.

Doctoral students must have reading/translation competence in at least 2 modern languages in addition to English. These languages will be relevant to students’ areas of study and will allow individuals to undertake primary research and understand the scholarship of their chosen field.

Language courses cannot count toward fulfillment of the requirement for 9 hours of coursework taken outside the department (supporting work or minor). Each language requirement can be fulfilled in one of the following ways, and must be satisfied before advancing to doctoral candidacy:

• Four semesters of college-level language courses passed at grade B or above. Advanced Placement credit can count towards the required number of courses.
• Departmental exam to test translation proficiency in French, Spanish, Italian, German, and Portuguese (and other languages as petitioned by students) administered twice per semester. Exams are graded by at least two faculty members. Language exams will be administered to students who wish take it in a given semester. The exam proceeds simultaneously, in a single location and time that works for all. The choice of language is flexible but must be decided in consultation with one’s adviser.
• Confirmation of completion of a modern language requirement from the student’s Master’s program.

To compensate for the exceptional difficulty involved, students who plan on qualifying in a language other than the traditional European languages may be allowed, after consultation with the graduate advisor and after petitioning the faculty, to substitute an instructional course in that language in place of a supporting (i.e. out-of-department) course.

Dissertation Colloquium

The Colloquium is intended to be an informal conversation with the faculty concerning the topic, its feasibility, and potential pitfalls that might affect the student’s ability to complete it successfully.

The Dissertation Colloquium is held during the third or fourth term of the student’s residence and after the completion of at least 18 hours of coursework. A week before the scheduled Dissertation Colloquium, the student presents to the Graduate Adviser for Art History and the faculty a written prospectus, prepared with the help of the dissertation adviser.

The topics for the qualifying examination are also set at the Colloquium, and the examining committee is determined. At this time, the composition of the dissertation committee is also discussed. The student must complete the Qualifying Examination by the end of the next long semester following the Colloquium.

Qualifying Examination

The student will be examined in four areas: at least two broad areas of expertise and one or two focused areas with the possibility of one area being directed by a faculty member outside the Department. All of these exams will be written and must be completed within a one-week period. In consultation with each faculty member on their examination committee, students will schedule three-hour time periods during which they will take the written exams.

At least two weeks before the examination, the student will confirm with the Graduate Coordinator the date and time of each examination and the name and email address of any examiner not on the Art History faculty. The student will determine the order of the questions. The Graduate Coordinator will solicit questions from each examiner.

Within several days of the completion of the last written examination, a two-hour oral examination on the same topics will follow with the entire examining committee. During this exam the examining committee will question the student about the exam questions. To schedule the oral examination, please use the same process used for scheduling the Colloquium. The student's performance on these exams will be ranked "Pass" or "Failure." For additional details and procedures, please refer to the Graduate Handbook.

Once the student has completed all program requirements and passed the qualifying exams, the committee supervising the dissertation is formalized in the doctoral candidacy application process.

Learn more about completing the Application for Doctoral Candidacy →

• After admission to Candidacy for the doctoral degree, the student must stay in continuous enrollment in dissertation hours each spring and fall until the degree is completed.
• Students doing research abroad while in doctoral candidacy may be eligible for Independent Study and Research status.

Example Topics

Below are examples of past qualifying examinations topics. Please note that these can include both general subjects and topics related to a particular student’s dissertation research:

Medieval Art

• Northern Renaissance Art
• French Court Culture and Patronage (possibly an outside the Department question)
• Fourteenth-Century Manuscript Illumination

Modern/Contemporary European Art

• European Art, 1890–1945
• Art of the United States, 1945–1985
• Art and Philosophy of Language (Examiner: Art History Dept.)
• Little Magazines and Literary Modernism (Examiner: English Dept.)

Dissertation

The dissertation must make an original contribution to scholarship. It normally requires fieldwork of at least a year’s duration. The Dissertation Committee directs the student during the completion of the dissertation. Defense of the dissertation (Final Oral Examination) before at least four members of the Dissertation Committee is a University requirement; the dissertation supervisor must be physically present for the defense to take place.

Learn more about submitting the request for the Final Oral Examination →

Refer to the handbook for details regarding the processes involved with submitting the final draft, defending, and applying for graduation.

• Current Graduate Students

Funding resources at the MA level, such as scholarships and in-state tuition waivers, are limited and awarded on a case-by-case basis. Each semester, MA students may apply for positions as a Grader for a large introductory/survey or upper-division class. Once assigned to grade for a course, the Grader must attend all lectures and grade all exams and assignments for the course. The number of Grader positions varies each year, and the salary is based on the number of students in the class. A few MA students also may be awarded Teaching Assistant positions, when these are available, again on a case-by-case basis.

The faculty’s goal is to support all admitted PhD students with a combination of Teaching Assistantships, Assistant Instructor positions, Graduate Research Assistant positions and scholarship funds so they can earn their degree with as little outside cost as possible.

A limited number of Graduate Research Assistant positions may be available each semester to both MA and PhD students.

All applicants are considered for financial support; it is not necessary to apply or request separately.

FAQ Visit Apply

Program Contacts

Rowan Howe Graduate Program Coordinator

Dr. Nassos Papalexandrou   Graduate Advisor

• The Archive

Department of the History of Art

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Welcome to our webpage for graduate studies. Here you will find practical information about our PhD program, including details about departmental course and language requirements, faculty expertise and publications, graduate students and their projects, and more. (Please note that Yale’s History of Art program does not include an MA-only option.) For more specific questions regarding departmental requirements, timelines, and procedures, please click on “Description of Graduate Studies ( Red Book ).” If you should have in-depth inquiries pertaining to your intended field of specialization, I recommend that you contact the relevant faculty member via e-mail. If you have questions about the department generally, you are welcome to e-mail me as Director of Graduate Studies . 

If you are interested in making a visit to campus prior to applying, please contact the individual professor(s) in your preferred field(s) of study directly via e-mail to arrange a suitable day and time. Such visits should take place in the fall semester, before the applications are due. Please keep in mind that there is no requirement that applicants visit campus; some professors prefer to communicate with prospective students only via e-mail or a phone call. Even complex questions can be answered via e-mail.

We hope that you find the material contained here on the website illuminating and helpful. And we thank you for your interest in the Ph.D. program in the History of Art at Yale University.

For more information regarding requirements and admission see  Graduate Handbook: Red Book . 

Our graduate students also have access to the   GSAS Professional Development for: leadership and communication, mentorship, training, negotiation and people skills, practical interships, and advice on preparing for diverse Careers and the  Office of Career Strategy (OCS) for: diverse career exploration, networking, resumes and cover letters, interview prep, employer events, job hunting and intership resources, negotiation and decision-making.

History of Art, PhD

Zanvyl krieger school of arts and sciences.

The graduate program is designed to give students working toward the PhD degree an encompassing knowledge of the history of art and a deep understanding of the theories and approaches pertaining to art historical research. The program emphasizes collaborative working relationships among students and faculty in seminars. Each PhD student benefits from supervision by a primary advisor in their field of study, while continuing to work closely with other department faculty. Students will routinely avail themselves of faculty expertise in other departments, dependent on their area of study.

The program also fosters a close familiarity with the outstanding art in the Baltimore–Washington area relevant to the student’s area of study. In addition to the rich holdings of the Sheridan Libraries of Johns Hopkins University (which include collections of rare books at the Garrett Library, Special Collections at the Milton S. Eisenhower Library, and the George Peabody Library) graduate students have access to world-renowned collections and research facilities in Washington D.C.

Our recent PhD students have gone on to academic, administrative, and museum positions at institutions around the world including Aarhus University, American University of Paris, Arcadia University, Baylor University, Columbia University, DePaul University, Florida State University, Howard University, King’s College London, Marshall University, National Museum of Denmark, Notre Dame University of Maryland, Oberlin College, Portland State University, University of Chicago, University of Pittsburgh, University of San Francisco, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Wellesley College. 

Admission Requirements

Admission and financial aid.

Applicants to the Ph.D. program in History of Art should upload and submit all required application materials and supporting documents through the online application. For information about applying to the Ph.D. program in History of Art, please see the department's website . Applications must be completed by December 15.

To foster close student-faculty relationships and provide for the greatest flexibility in developing each graduate student's individual curriculum, the department strictly limits the number of students it admits each year.

All graduate students entering the program are guaranteed five years of support, contingent upon satisfactory progress year by year. This support covers the individual’s full tuition costs and health insurance, and includes a stipend annually. Student stipends are guaranteed at the level stated in the letter of offer (for incoming students) and in the renewal letter (for continuing students) for the duration of the applicable period.  

Outstanding graduate applicants from underrepresented communities are regularly nominated for the Kelly Miller Fellowship , named for the first African-American to attend Johns Hopkins, as a graduate student in the Department of Mathematics in 1887. The fellowship provides additional funding to support student research, travel, and study during the student’s graduate career. In addition to the financial award, Kelly Miller Fellows benefit from quarterly programming designed to enhance the graduate experience and ensure professional success.   

All ABD students (those who have completed all requirements but the dissertation, something that usually happens in year three) are strongly encouraged to apply for external grants and fellowships to support their dissertation research and writing. The department also has internal fellowships to support students beyond their fifth year. Funds to support s ummer and conference travel are also available through the department, the Dean’s office, and cross-disciplinary programs. The Dean’s Teaching Fellowship enables advanced students to propose, design, and teach an undergraduate seminar course and provides one semester of support. Further details available via our website .  

PhD Requirements

In discussion with major and minor field advisors, History of Art Ph.D. students develop areas of concentration and courses of study to suit their intellectual interests and commitments. The art history faculty also encourages students to take full advantage of offerings in other departments, and students may, if they choose, develop a minor field in another discipline.

All students entering the Ph.D. program, regardless of the degree they hold, must complete four full semesters of coursework and pass the required language exams before being approved to take their qualifying exams (also known as the Ph.D. exams). In the first year, students normally take three courses at the graduate level per semester; in the second year, when students generally assume Teaching Assistant assignments , the student will normally take two courses at the graduate level per semester. As part of the coursework requirement, students must satisfactorily complete and submit all assigned papers and projects associated with the courses they have taken before being approved to take their qualifying exams.

All qualifying exams, regardless of the fields in which they are taken, are comprised of two written exams (one major field and one minor field), followed by an oral defense before the advisors and other department faculty. Exams should take place during the student’s third year; in some instances (e.g. the need for additional specialized language training beyond the modern language requirement or additional coursework) the exams may be taken later.

After the successful completion of qualifying exams, it is expected that students will be ready to begin work towards the dissertation by formulating a proposal. The dissertation proposal should be approximately 6–8 pages in length (10 pages will be the maximum), with a list of works cited and a very selective sample of figures appended. Simple parenthetical references to the works cited list are preferable to footnotes. Each proposal must contain a relatively straightforward description of the principal object of study and the defining questions the work seeks to answer, as well as a working title that captures the subject and the theme. The body of the proposal often also includes discussion of the current state of research, the intended contribution of the work to the field, and a preview of the research agenda and its challenges.

Students, having ideally secured outside research funding, then proceed to pursue dissertation research and writing. When the dissertation is complete, the student must successfully defend the dissertation before a Graduate Board Orals committee consisting of three internal (departmental) readers and two external readers. Successful defense of the dissertation and electronic submission of the work, complete in all its components, marks the fulfillment of the program’s degree requirements. 

Art History Fields

The department affords students of ancient art the opportunity to work with a faculty that includes experts in Greek, Roman, Mediterranean, and Ancient Near Eastern art and architecture. Students also benefit from close and long-standing relationships with the Departments of Classics and Near Eastern Studies, which provide training in the languages, literatures, and histories of the ancient world. Facilities of special relevance to students of ancient art include the Johns Hopkins Archaeological Museum , located on campus inside Gilman Hall, and the extraordinary holdings of the Walters Art Museum and the Baltimore Museum of Art .

Since its founding in 1947, the department has given special emphasis to the study of medieval art, and that tradition continues with a new generation of faculty bringing expertise in Early Medieval, Gothic, Islamic, Italian, and Mediterranean art and architecture to the program. Students also avail themselves of local expertise through the departments of History , English , and Modern Languages and Literatures , and frequently consult with curators at the Walters Art Museum, several of whom participate as adjunct faculty. The extraordinary collections at the Walters Art Museum and at Dumbarton Oaks are especially valuable for students interested in manuscript illumination and the portable object.

Early Modern and Renaissance 

Another signature strength of the Department of the History of Art is its expertise in the Early Modern period, encompassing the art, architecture, and culture of Italy, the Spanish Empire, the Islamic world, and Northern Europe from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century.  Graduate students in these areas participate in the programs of the Charles Singleton Center for the Study of Pre-Modern Europe , which sponsors collaborative research abroad and brings a steady stream of world-class lecturers to Baltimore. Students also benefit from the excellent collections of Islamic art, Italian and Northern Renaissance art, and the art of the Spanish Empire at the Walters Art Museum, the National Museum of Asian Art, the National Gallery, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

At Hopkins a diverse and challenging curriculum in modern art and criticism is offered by a research faculty of international prominence, supplemented by occasional visiting scholars and museum curators. Students oriented toward the study of criticism and aesthetic theory can also broaden their perspective and develop their critical skills by taking courses offered through the Comparative Thought and Literature , Philosophy , History , English, Modern Languages and Literatures, Political Science , and Anthropology , and with faculty affiliated with the programs in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Africana Studies, Latin American Studies, and Islamic Studies. Distinctive collections at the Baltimore Museum of Art and at multiple institutions in Washington, D.C., (the Hirshhorn Museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Museum of Asian Art, the Phillips Collection, and others) provide unparalleled resources for students of modern art at all levels.  

Secondary Menu

• Ph.D. in Art History & Visual Culture

The Ph.D. Program in Art History & Visual Culture is committed to preparing you for advanced research in the global visual cultures of the past and present. The Department recognizes that visual literacy plays an increasingly important role in contemporary society. Art, architecture, mass media (television, video, film, internet), and urbanism all work through reference to visual and spatial conventions. We strive to provide you with the necessary tools to understand objects and archives and with the skills to interpret visual and material culture for the benefit of the broader community. We invite applications from highly qualified students interested in careers in research, teaching, and criticism.

Requirements for a Ph.D.

• 12 to 15 courses (excluding language courses), of which at least 10 are taken from the Art, Art History & Visual Studies department
• 2 to 4 courses taken from other departments at Duke
• Language proficiency in at least two foreign languages
• Preliminary exam
• Note the former Ph.D. track in Visual & Media Studies has now been replaced by a new Ph.D. program in Computational Media, Arts & Cultures (CMAC)
• Also review Ph.D. Program Guidelines attached below
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Graduate Admissions

The Department welcomes applications from candidates with a BA degree in art history or other related disciplines with demonstrated intellectual investment in the advanced study of art and its histories. We also welcome applications from those with a MA degree from UCLA or other institutions. Academic preparation and professional accomplishments should reflect capacity and/or potential for original academic research as well as strong interpretive and writing skills. Applicants are encouraged to become familiar with not only the faculty’s fields of teaching and research but also other departments and programs on campus that may be relevant to his or her future studies. In addition to the University-wide graduate admissions minimum requirements , applicants must show evidence of having taken and passed with a grade of B or better at least three courses (upper division and/or graduate) in the history of art or allied fields that address material culture.

The Department offers a two-stage graduate program toward the PhD. Students are not admitted for a terminal master’s (MA) degree. The MA is awarded in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the PhD and is granted with the successful completion of the first stage of the program, typically at the end of the second year (6th quarter) in residence. The admissions Graduate Review Committee may waive the M.A. requirements, at the time of admission, for students matriculating with a M.A. degree in Art History or adjacent discipline from another institution. Following Academic Senate policy on duplication of degrees, a student who enters the program with a M.A. degree in Art History from another institution is not eligible to receive a second M.A. degree in Art History from UCLA.

In addition to the University-wide graduate admissions minimum requirements , applicants must show evidence of having taken and passed with a grade of B or better at least three courses (upper division and/or graduate) in the history of art or allied fields.

Application Process

Fall Quarter admission only; t he next deadline is November 30, 2024.

The UCLA Graduate Division utilizes an on-line application through Slate , with online letters of recommendation, statement of purpose, and the capacity for the upload of other documents. The Graduate Division application, including supporting material, will ONLY be accepted electronically. If you do not submit all materials online, you will not be considered for admission.

For questions regarding the admissions process,  please contact the Student Affairs Officer, Madelyn Raesin-Bodden .

The UCLA Art History department is exercising caution with regard to novel coronavirus (COVID-19), and accordingly, our staff are working remotely for the time being. If you need academic counseling from our Student Affairs Officer, Madelyn Raesin-Bodden , we encourage you to email her during regular business hours, which are 9 am-12:30 pm, and 1:30pm-6pm Mondays through Fridays (excluding holidays). The SAO is also available for calls or virtual meetings (on Zoom) but kindly ask for you to email her beforehand to set up a time to talk during regular business hours. Thank you for your patience.

Click here to access the online application.

Application Checklist

• Basic Information  including your academic history and the program to which you wish to apply, as well as the $135 non-refundable application fee (for US citizens and permanent residents) or $155 for all other applicants.
• Statement of Purpose  of approximately 500 words
• Personal Statement  of approximately 500 words (serves as Diversity Statement for certain fellowships, such as the Cota-Robles)
• Three Letters of Recommendation  from those who can evaluate the applicant’s preparation and potential for academic success in a doctoral program. Letters to be uploaded/submitted by referee.
• Writing Sample  of two 10-15 page or one longer research paper, or MA thesis if applicable (or sample chapter if length is sufficient). Limit 30 pages; please note that the  bibliography does  not  count towards the 30 page limit.
• Transcripts , one from each institution attended, uploaded online, and may be  unofficial transcripts .  NOTE:  An official copy of transcripts is only required if you are offered admission to our program. If you need to send in an official transcript,  Transcript Request Forms  are available to be printed and submitted to your college or university registrar(s). Official transcripts must be delivered in sealed envelopes by mail to the Department, either sent directly from the institution or mailed by the applicant.
• Foreign Language Survey : Please fill out the Foreign Language Survey form using  Adobe Acrobat Reader . Using other programs, such as Preview on Mac OS X, can cause your form data to be corrupted.   Please upload the survey to your online application under the Supplemental Documents section.
• GRE scores  ( not older than 3 years/36 months to the month of the application deadline ): admissions due to complications surrounding COVID-19. GRE Scores must be sent directly from ETS. The institutional code for UCLA is R4837. Use 2301 (Art History) as the Department/Major Field Code. GRE score requirement has been WAIVED FOR FALL 2024.
• TOEFL or IELTS scores  ( required of international applicants  only whose first language is not English). Official Score Reports can be ordered from ETS. The institution code for UCLA is 4837. The department code is 26.

Please send any non-electronic materials to: UCLA Art History Admissions Attention: Student Affairs Officer Dept. of Art History 405 Hilgard Avenue, 100 Dodd Hall Los Angeles, CA 90095-1417

Why pursue a PhD in Art History? The UCLA PhD program in Art History prepares students for careers as college-level teachers, writers, curators, and museum or art world professionals. It is designed to encourage interdisciplinary critical thinking and engagement with a variety of approaches to art history, and supports close interaction between students and faculty.

How do I apply? UCLA’s Graduate Division has launched a new online application process in recent years. Complete the Graduate Division’s online application, which can be accessed on their website, and upload supporting documents. Please consult the guideline provided above, “Application Process” and “Application Checklist,” for important details.

When are applications due? November 30th of each year.

How many students apply each year; how many are accepted? The UCLA Department of Art History is highly competitive. On average, 100 applicants apply each year. On average, we accept approximately 6-8 students each year.

What makes a strong application for graduate school? The Graduate Review Committee (GRC) values applications that reflect a serious engagement with art historical questions and problems, a focused intellectual direction, and a strong scholarly record. Preparatory training in foreign languages is also highly desirable.

What makes a strong Statement of Purpose? A strong statement of purpose is concise, clearly written, and provides a substantive account of the applicant’s intellectual and research interests as well as aspirational direction in Art History.

Do I have to identify which faculty I would like to work with in my application material? No.

What GPA do I need to be accepted? The Graduate Review Committee (GRC) expects a GPA of 3.5 or better.  However, students are accepted on the basis of the entire admissions package and not on any one element.

Can I apply if I don’t have a BA in Art History? Yes.  The minimum requirement to be considered for our graduate program is that you have taken 3 art history courses at the undergraduate or graduate level with a grade of B or better in each.

What if I haven’t taken the 3 Art History courses required for entry into the program? At the discretion of the Graduate Review Committee (GRC), applicants demonstrating exceptional promise who are short on the 3 required courses in art history could still be admitted to the program. In some cases, additional coursework in the field may be required upon admission.

Does the Department offer just the MA degree? No. The Department does not offer a terminal MA.  The MA degree   is awarded only as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the PhD and is   granted with the successful completion of the first stage of the program.

If I already have a MA, can I apply directly to the PhD program? Yes. Students with a MA degree in art history or another discipline can apply for admission to the PhD program. The Graduate Review Committee (GRC) will determine the equivalency of the MA on an individual basis.

How long does the PhD program take to complete? The normative time to degree for the PhD is  seven years  from the term of admission. For students entering at the PhD level (i.e., with a MA in hand), the normative time to degree is  five years  from the term of admission.

Can my Letters of Recommendation be sent electronically? Yes, the three recommendation letters should be submitted online by your referees.

What should my GRE test scores be? GRE score requirement has been WAIVED FOR FALL 2024.  admissions due to complications surrounding COVID-19. Although no minimum score has been established for admission, successful applicants in recent years have scored on average between 160-165 on verbal reasoning.  GRE scores may not be older than 3 years/36 months to the month of the application deadline.

When should I take the GRE exam? Please consult the  GRE website  for details about where and when the test is administered.  It takes approximately 4-6 weeks for the Department to receive your scores.  The GRE score should not be older than three years at time of application.

What are the institution and department/major codes for the GRE exam? Institution code: 4837 Department/major code: 2301

Can my writing sample be a chapter of my thesis?  In a language other than English? Yes to both.

Can prospective students arrange for a campus/department visit, including sitting in on a class? Yes.  For campus visits, go to  this Graduate Division link .  To sit in on a class, you must obtain permission from the professor teaching the class.  For contact information, go to  Faculty  and click on the names of individual professors.

What kind of funding is available? The Department makes every effort to support all incoming art history graduate students with multi-year funding packages.  Additionally, there is  Graduate Division funding , as well as funding from state, federal, and private sources.  For more information about funding, subscribe to the  Grad Fellowship List .

Where should additional application materials be sent? Non-electronic supplementary materials should be sent to:

UCLA Art History Admissions Attention: Student Affairs Officer Dept. of Art History 100 Dodd Hall Los Angeles, CA  90095-1417

Who should I contact if I have questions about admissions to the program? Madelyn Raesin-Bodden, Student Affairs Officer OR Professor Meredith Cohen, Director of Graduate Studies .

Department of Art History

The doctoral program in art history typically involves two years of coursework, the completion of a qualifying paper, preliminary exams in three fields, a dissertation prospectus, and a dissertation. Following their coursework, students also learn to teach by serving as a teaching assistant for faculty-taught undergraduate courses, taking the department’s teaching colloquium, and teaching their own standalone lecture course. After advancing to ABD status, students research and write their dissertation, usually combining time in Chicago with traveling abroad. The current expectation, in general terms, is that completion of the PhD in Art History requires approximately seven years, but time to degree will vary.

Course Requirements

In general terms, the doctoral program requires two years of full time coursework. Students typically enroll in three courses each quarter during their first two years, and courses are selected with the guidance of the student’s doctoral advisor and in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies in the department.

All students take two required courses: the Proseminar and the COSI Objects & Materials during their first two years. Among the other 18 courses required for the doctoral degree are two courses each for distribution requirements and for the student’s minor field. The qualifying paper, completed by the end of Winter Quarter of the second year, is researched and written within the framework of two Qualifying Paper Reading Courses typically supervised by the doctoral advisor and/or another faculty member. Finally, students enroll in a Preliminary Exam Directed Reading Course in the Spring Quarter of their second year.

All students must demonstrate competency in languages determined by their chosen field. Depending on the language and level, up to three language courses may be counted toward the total number of courses required for the degree.

Given the department's strong history of and continuing commitment to interdisciplinary inquiry and intellectual formation, the doctoral program allows for as many as 8 of the total 18 courses required for the PhD to be taken outside the Department of Art History.

In their third year, students are required to take the Teaching Colloquium and Dissertation Proposal Workshop offered yearly by an art history faculty member. These courses, which do not count toward the 18 courses required for the PhD, help students to prepare to be successful teachers and researchers. Students also prepare for and take their preliminary exams, and typically hold their first teaching assignments in their third year.

After successful completion of all coursework requirements, the qualifying paper, the relevant language requirements, and the preliminary exams, each student prepares a dissertation proposal that must be approved by three committee members. Upon that approval and an administrative review of the student's file, the student formally advances to candidacy, a status also known as All But Dissertation or ABD.

In subsequent years, students research and write the dissertation while further developing their teaching skills (in keeping with the doctoral program’s Pedagogical Training Plan ). Following the submission and successful defense of the dissertation, the doctoral degree is conferred. The current expectation, in general terms, is that completion of the PhD in Art History requires approximately seven years, but time to degree will vary: some students may graduate in less than seven years, others may find they need an additional year.

While all doctoral students must fulfill the requirements sketched above, the different fields of art historical study that are represented in the Department of Art History each have their own particular scholarly requirements. With the aim of providing graduate students with the most rigorous formation in their chosen area of specialization, the department has made various structural provisions to ensure that students can receive the additional training required by their chosen field (including additional language study, training in specialized research skills, and curatorial formation). As these scholarly requirements vary from field to field, so too—within limits set by the Department of Art History and the Division of the Humanities—the pace of each student’s progress through the doctoral program will necessarily be shaped by the requirements of their chosen area of study, in consultation with the art history faculty.

Students should refer to the Graduate Student Handbook   for details on all requirements.

Joint and Dual PhDs

Select students may pursue joint PhD degrees with art history and another department or program. Joint PhD programs at the University of Chicago are of two types, "standing" and "ad hoc."

A standing joint degree program has been established between Art History (ARTH) and the Committee on Theater and Performance Studies (TAPS). It allows students to complement their doctoral studies in Art History with a program of study in TAPS that reflects their particular training and interests, encompassing both academic and artistic work. Students apply to this standing program at the time of their application to the University, which is submitted to the art history department.

Students may petition for an ad-hoc joint PhD with another department or program according to guidelines set by the Humanities Division . Generally, admitted students must separately meet the requirements of both programs, but any overlapping requirement need only be met once if each department would otherwise consider it met were that student not in the joint degree program. Recent art history students have completed joint PhDs with Cinema and Media Studies and with Social Thought.

Under a new initiative , some students may simultaneously pursue PhD studies at the University of Chicago and at a degree-granting institution of higher learning in France, leading to two PhD degrees – one from each of the two institutions. Students approved for this initiative pursue a specific course of study depending on their research and professional interests, must satisfy all the requirements of both doctoral programs, and must write and defend a single dissertation that meets the requirements for each degree.

Master of Arts Program in Humanities

Masters-level study in Art History is offered through the  Master of Arts Program in Humanities . Students build their own curriculum with graduate-level courses in any humanities department (including in the Department of Art History) and complete a thesis with a University of Chicago faculty advisor. Typically a one-year program, some students pursue the Two Year Language Option or TLO to pursue additional foreign language study. 

PhD Art History

The doctoral program in the History of Art at Stanford is relatively small, affording graduate students the opportunity to work intensively with individual members of the faculty.

Program Overview

The Doctor of Philosophy degree is taken in a particular field, including Film & Media Studies, supported by a strong background in the general history of art. Doctoral candidates also undertake collateral studies in other graduate departments, or in one of the University's interdisciplinary programs. The Department of Art & Art History offers M.A. and Ph.D. degrees, although the Master of Arts in Art History is only available to doctoral students in Art and Art History, as a step toward fulfilling requirements for the Ph.D. The Department does not admit students who wish to work only toward the M.A. degree. 

Size of the Program

The Department admits approximately 4 to 7 students each year to the Ph.D. program. 

Time to Completion

The Ph.D. student's formal progress to degree is reviewed at the end of the second year (first year for those entering with an M.A.). By the end of the third year, a dissertation topic should be selected and a proposal written. After all course requirements are met and the proposal is approved, the student begins research and writing of the dissertation. The dissertation must be completed within five years from the date of the student's admission to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree.

Financial Aid

Art History Ph.D. students normally receive a financial support package covering five years of graduate study.  Funding sources include departmental fellowships, teaching assistantships and research assistantships. Additional funding covers summer language study as well as summer research.  Students manage an individual research and travel fund provided by the department.  Advanced students are encouraged to apply for outside grants and fellowships as well as for assistantships and other professionally valuable opportunities at Stanford's Cantor Arts Center, Anderson Collection and elsewhere on campus. Information on language study grants, pre-doctoral grants, and funds for special research and travel connected with the writing of the dissertation may be obtained from the Student Services Manager. Additional information about graduate financial aid, including a student budget and tuition calculator, is available at  financialaid.stanford.edu/grad .

More Information

PhD Admission Degree Requirements Knight-Hennessy Scholars

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Admissions - graduate, prospective students.

• Application online
• Statement of Purpose
• Transcripts
• Writing sample that should not exceed 20 pages; do not send a longer sample with instructions to read a particular section. Make sure that your file is in PDF format and does not exceed 2.5 MB (2,500 kb) in size.
• Three letters of recommendation
• TOEFL scores (for students who have received their undergraduate degree at a non-English-speaking institution)

Program Overview

Program of study, model graduate program.

Fields of Research

• Greek and Roman
• Latin American
• Medieval/Byzantine/Armenian
• Modern (eighteenth and nineteenth centuries)
• Modern (twentieth century) and Contemporary
• Renaissance and Baroque (fifteenth through eighteenth centuries)
• South Asian

ESL Language Requirements/Language Requirements

• TOEFL iBT speaking score of 28 and above; have met the GSAS oral English language requirement.
• TOEFL iBT speaking score between 23 and 27; are required to schedule an oral proficiency interview in their first term of study with language specialists at the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning. The interview will determine the student’s oral proficiency level. If students are not at the required level, they will be required to take either an English course at the Institute for English language (IEL) or the Classroom Communication Skills course at the Bok Center. After taking a course, students will be eligible for re-screening.
• TOEFL iBT speaking score of 22 and below; are required to 1) schedule an oral proficiency interview in their first term of study with language specialists at the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and learning, and 2) take either an English course at the Institute for English language (IEL) or the Classroom Communication Skills course at the Bok Center. After taking a course, they will be eligible for re-screening.

History of Art PhD

The Department of History of Art offers a two-stage integrated master's and doctoral program (MA/PhD) in preparation for college teaching, writing, and specialized curatorial careers. Students are not admitted to work for a terminal MA degree, though students may apply for the MA after meeting Stage I requirements toward the PhD. Students work closely with faculty in courses, seminars, and on independent research projects to develop independent thought and a thorough knowledge of the field and its critical methods. Cross-disciplinary work in Berkeley's distinguished departments of languages and literature, philosophy, rhetoric, film studies, women's studies, history, and the social sciences is strongly encouraged. A student may opt for a more formal relationship with other departments through Designated Emphases programs, including film studies; folklore; women, gender, and sexuality; and critical theory.

Contact Info

[email protected]

416 Doe Library #6020

Berkeley, CA 94720

At a Glance

Admit Term(s)

Application Deadline

December 3, 2024

Degree Type(s)

Doctoral / PhD

Degree Awarded

GRE Requirements

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PhD by Distance

All PhD programmes at ECA have the PhD by Distance option, with full-time or part-time study.   

The programmes are: 

• PhD in Architecture   
• PhD in Architecture by Design    
• PhD in Architectural History    
• PhD in Art    
• PhD in Creative Music Practice    
• PhD in Cultural Studies    
• PhD in Design    
• PhD in History of Art    
• PhD in Landscape Architecture    
• PhD in Music    
• PhD in Musical Composition   

How you will study

The PhD by Distance mode is available to all applicants for eligible ECA PhD programmes, who will apply via the Postgraduate Degree Finder. Applicants will select between on-campus and distance options, as well as between part-time and full-time options. 

Students enrolled on the PhD by Distance mode will not be expected to come to Edinburgh to study but visits for particular activities (tutorials, annual reviews, research training courses, workshops, etc) can be considered on a case-by-case basis and within UKVI visa regulations. 

• View UKVI visa regulations   

It is however expected that PhD by Distance students will come to Edinburgh for their oral (viva voce) examination, although options for online vivas may be considered on a case-by-case basis. For practice-based students, how practical work will be shared with supervisors will be explored in detail at the point of application by both subject area PGR Director and potential supervisor(s); in-person presentation of work (such as a musical performance) may occasionally be necessary. Access to studios and workshops for PhD by Distance students will be limited, as these require to be prioritised for on-campus students. 

PhD by Distance students will receive the same level of support and supervision as on-campus students but with supervisory sessions taking place via Teams, Zoom, or another video conferencing platform, rather than on-campus and in-person. The frequency with which students will meet with their supervisors will be provisionally agreed at the point of application and confirmed during induction. Supervisors (and examiners) will not make site visits to PhD by Distance students.  

There are no mandatory courses for ECA PhD students. A range of generic and specific research methods and skills training courses are available online from university.  

PhD by Distance students will have access to all University of Edinburgh support services and will be able to access online library resources/support and home use software through University site licenses in the same way that all students can. 

Please be aware that some scholarships and funding are not open to PhD by Distance applicants, for example AHRC regulations currently state that students must live within a reasonable distance from their University so are only eligible for applicants to on-campus PhD programmes.

How to apply and entry requirements

If you'd like to study on a postgraduate research programme at Edinburgh College of Art, you must apply through EUCLID, our online application system. You can find out how to do this on the University of Edinburgh website, where you'll also be able to: 

• see detailed entrance requirements for each programme on the Degree Finder  
• get information on what to expect after you apply  
• find out about study modes, start dates and fees  
• find out if, and how, you need to submit a portfolio, showreel or research proposal  
• find out where to go for further advice and guidance 

Application process

Before you apply  .

Students are assigned two research supervisors, the second of which may be from another discipline within ECA, or from somewhere else within the College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (CAHSS) or wider University. 

Please ensure that at least one member of staff (see below) maintains an active research programme that aligns with the themes of your proposed project.  

Prospective students are strongly encouraged to make contact with the relevant member(s) of staff via email to explain your research interests prior to submitting an application. Please note that we only accept applications and review application materials submitted through the official EUCLID application portal.

After you apply 

Once your application has been submitted for consideration, it will be sent to a team of academic reviewers for their attention. They will then make a decision about your application and research topic, and decide whether it is possible to make an offer of a place to study with us. You may be asked to attend a brief online interview but if this is the case, you will be notified in advance. 

Apply through the Postgraduate Degree Finder on the University of Edinburgh website

Complete the distance learning application form (Word document download)

Get in touch

Edinburgh College of Art Postgraduate Admissions

Facilities and resources

Online learning resources

Edinburgh University Students' Association

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Fully Funded PhD Programs in Art History

As part of my series on  How to Fully Fund Your PhD , I provide a list of universities that offer fully funded PhD programs in Art History. Through a PhD in Art History, you could work as an Art Director, Writers and Author, Postsecondary Art Teacher, curator, and many more.

Fully funded PhD programs provide a funding package for full-time students that includes full tuition remission and an annual stipend or salary for the three to the six-year duration of the student’s doctoral studies. Funding is typically offered in exchange for graduate teaching and research work that is complementary to your studies. Not all universities provide full funding to their doctoral students, which is why I recommend researching the financial aid offerings of all the potential Ph.D. programs in your academic field, including small and lesser-known schools both in the U.S. and abroad.

You can also find several external fellowships in the  ProFellow Database  for graduate and doctoral study, as well as dissertation research, fieldwork, language study, and summer work experience.

Would you like to receive the full list of more than 1000+ fully funded programs in 60 disciplines? Get your copy of our FREE Directory of Fully Funded Graduate Programs and Full Funding Awards !

PhD Programs in Art History Offering Full Funding

University of california, los angeles.

(Los Angeles, CA): The UCLA Department of Art History offers four and five-year funding packages to selected incoming students that consist of a combination of fellowships and Teaching Assistantships (currently $28,000 per year plus registration fees/tuition).

The University of Chicago

(Chicago, IL): The annual stipend for art history Ph.D. students is $32,000 over 12 months. Students also receive full tuition and health insurance premium coverage. Funding is granted to students in good academic standing for the duration of the program. Art history Ph.D. students typically serve as teaching assistants. Research and conference travel grants are available at various stages.

Columbia University

(New York, NY): All admitted students receive full funding, including tuition and stipend. Standard fellowships are for five years and involve teaching or other types of department service during at least three of the five years. Students are very often successful in obtaining further support from competitive fellowships offered by Columbia and other competitions.

Florida State University

(Tallahassee, FL): Doctoral applicants are automatically considered for teaching assistantships with full tuition waivers for a minimum of three years. Applicants may also be nominated by the department for prestigious University fellowships offered each year to a select number of incoming graduate students with outstanding scholastic records.

The Graduate Center, CUNY

(New York, NY): Nine students are admitted per year to the Ph.D. Program in Art History. Of these, seven will be awarded Graduate Center Fellowships (GCFs) and two will be awarded tuition-only Fellowships. The GCFs are a five-year package of $26,128 per year (including healthcare).

University of Minnesota

(Minneapolis, MN): All accepted students are guaranteed five years of funding through a combination of teaching assistantships, research assistantships, and fellowships. Assistantships provide an annual stipend, a full-tuition scholarship, and health insurance. Students who win external fellowships are allowed to save a year of their UMN funding for a sixth year.

Northwestern University

(Evanston, IL): The Graduate Program in Art History offers a full-time Ph.D. and the Department provides its Ph.D. students with full financial aid for five years as well as travel grants for conference presentations and archival research.

The University of Texas at Austin

(Austin, Texas): The faculty’s goal is to support all admitted Ph.D. students with a combination of Teaching Assistantships, Assistant Instructor positions, Graduate Research Assistant positions, and scholarship funds so they can earn their degree with as little outside cost as possible.

Tulane University

(New Orleans, LA): Students in the Ph.D. program are fully funded. The student may wish to seek additional funding from other sources to support graduate study, research travel, and hosting visiting lecturers.

Washington University in St.Louis

(Saint Louis, MO): Students accepted into the Ph.D. program who remain in good standing are guaranteed six years of full funding in the form of University Fellowships, with an annual stipend of $28,152 (2021-22) and full tuition remission. Advanced Ph.D. students may also offer summer courses through University College to gain valuable independent teaching experience.

Need some tips for the application process? See my article  How To Get Into a Fully Funded PhD Program: Contacting Potential PhD Advisors .

Also, sign up to discover and bookmark more than 1900 professional and academic fellowships in the  ProFellow database .

© ProFellow, LLC 2021, all rights reserved.

Related Posts:

• Fully Funded PhD Programs in History
• Fully Funded Master's Programs in History
• Fully Funded PhD Programs in School Psychology
• Fully Funded PhDs in Teaching English as a Second Language
• Fully Funded PhD Programs in Mathematics

Fully Funded PhD Programs , PhD in Art History

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Art History PhD Admissions

Each year, the Division of Art History receives more than 60 applications for its graduate programs. Applications are reviewed by the faculty of the division.

The selection process aims to identify students who are both well-prepared and whose interests and goals are well-matched to faculty strengths and program resources.

It is the School of Art + Art History + Design’s policy not to comment on specific admissions decisions.

Prerequisites for Admission

Before beginning work toward the PhD degree, students must have a master's degree in art history or a related field combined with coursework in art history. A minimum of a 3.0 GPA or B average is expected in art history courses. Applicants must also meet the Graduate School general admission requirements .

During their first year in the program, graduate students should be prepared to take reading exams in two languages relevant to their field of study as determined in consultation with their supervisor. If students do not pass the language exams in their first year, they will be asked to make verifiable progress toward this goal and pass exams as soon as possible. They may be asked to curtail art history coursework if satisfactory progress toward language requirements is not made. Evidence of ability to pass language exams will be a consideration in evaluating applications.

Please note that the UW Art History program does not include coursework in art conservation or restoration. For information about museum studies, see the UW Certificate in Museum Studies website . For information about the UW Museology Master of Arts Program, see their website .

The Graduate Application Process

Application to the School of Art + Art History + Design graduate programs is completed online through the University of Washington Graduate School website. The online application cycle opens November 15. Deadline for application is 11:50pm (PST) January 15. If you have any questions while submitting your material for review, please email [email protected] .

The Graduate School application website will request the following documents:

• Application for Graduate Study at the University of Washington (online). To finalize your application, please submit the $85 application fee. After you have submitted your application, you will no longer be able to make changes online. Please contact [email protected] if you have to make any changes to your application once it has been submitted.
• Transcripts: Applicants are required to submit an unofficial transcript from each institution from which they have obtained a degree. Applicants who are admitted to the program will be required to submit official transcripts prior to matriculation. Please ensure that the student’s name and school name appear and that the scan is legible. If you are scanning original transcripts, make sure the pages are oriented upright for screen viewing (vertical or landscape).
• Letters of recommendation: Applicants will be prompted to provide the name and email address of 3 (maximum 4) recommenders. The recommenders will be sent a link to the online evaluation form via email. Each letter of recommendation should be written by someone who is able to comment on your qualifications for graduate study. As part of the application process, you will be given the opportunity to voluntarily waive your right to inspect the completed letters.
• English Proficiency test scores (for international students): Proficiency in English is required for graduate study at the University of Washington, and every applicant whose native language is not English must demonstrate English proficiency. Please see Graduate School Memo #8 and English Proficiency Tests comparison tables for information on the University’s policy. When requesting official TOEFL scores from ETS use institution code 4854 for the University of Washington. TOEFL scores are valid for two years from the test date. The University of Washington only accepts scores submitted electronically directly from the testing center. The application will also prompt you to self-report your test scores. If you have not yet taken the test, please enter the test date on the form. Official scores must be received by the application deadline.
• Resume/Curriculum Vitae: Your resume/CV should summarize your educational background, including institutions and degrees earned. It should also include a summary of academic positions held (e.g. teaching assistantships), awards and fellowships, and any academic publications, exhibitions, or other relevant examples of your work.
• Personal Statement: This statement should clearly articulate your goals and the extent to which the program to which you are applying can be expected to prepare you for those objectives. The statement should also describe your background and experience in Art History or an allied discipline as well as preparation for advanced work in the field to which you are applying.
• Writing Sample: Papers produced for art history classes are generally the most useful evidence for reviewers of your written work. Other helpful submissions include art-history-related articles, catalog essays, museum publications, or other writing dealing with art-historical topics. If none of the above are available, submit samples of writing you feel would be most useful for those evaluating (a) your ability to express yourself clearly in writing and (b) your ability to address subject matter relevant to art history. Writing samples should not exceed 50 pages in length; writing samples of 20-30 pages are most common.

Art History Graduate Programs

Graduate students in our program pursue the MA, the PhD, or a joint MA in Art History along with an MS in the School of Information and Library Science. Our multidisciplinary program prepares students for careers as academics and professionals, fostering research and writing skills in an environment of intellectual inquiry, collegiality, and enthusiasm for the study of visual arts. Faculty members specialize in a wide array of artistic traditions, spanning geographies, media, and time periods. Students in the graduate program take advantage of the Ackland Art Museum (located next door to the Department of Art and Art History), strong area studies centers, an art library and special collections library with extensive collections, close ties with Duke University that include inter-institutional exchanges for students and faculty, as well as a vibrant regional arts scene.

Graduate Admissions

MA Degree Requirements

MSIS/MA and MSLS/MA Degrees

PhD Degree Requirements

Current MA/PhD Students

Graduate Student Support

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• Apply to UVU

ART HISTORY B.A. ONLINE

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Program Description

Turn your passion for art into a rewarding career with UVU’s online* Art History Bachelor of Arts degree. You'll unlock your understanding of visual culture, human achievement, and human expression, building a solid foundation in art history and the liberal arts, honing both intellectual and practical skills. Our program also prepares you for graduate studies in art history, leading to careers in teaching, museum curatorship and directorship. You’ll explore a wide range of courses, from ancient culture to contemporary art, and gain special insights into museum studies and arts management.

What You'll Learn

By the time you graduate, you'll be equipped with a comprehensive knowledge base that includes:

• A solid understanding of specific art historical styles, movements, and trends
• Skillfulness in analyzing artistic characteristics, techniques, and approaches.
• Proficiency in conducting scholarly research.
• Practical knowledge of current art historical scholarship and academic writing standards.
• Creative and critical thinking skills, demonstrated through well-reasoned and well-researched arguments and analysis that include original insights.
• A deep understanding of the cultural, social, and historical contexts influencing specific artworks, styles, and themes.
• Skillfulness in analyzing the connections or distinctions between cultures or time periods, including the creation of cultural meaning through symbols and artistic messages.
• Evaluating the historical value and relevance of specific artworks or approaches.

* UVU's Bachelor of Arts in Art History is an Online-Plus program with Foreign Language credits that are not currently available online. Students should work with their academic advisors directly to explore options such as transfer credit or credit for prior learning (CPL) offered by UVU's Language Department.

More information about UVU's Language Department policies and costs can be found here . If you are ready to purchase credit or have further questions, you can schedule an appointment with the corresponding languages advisor here .

Art History Careers

•   Art Dealers
•   Post-secondary Art Teachers
•   Museum & Art Gallery Managers

Median Salary   $56,903

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2023 wage data external site and 2022-2032 employment projections external site. “Projected growth” represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2022-2032). “Projected job openings” represent openings due to growth and replacement.

Student Spotlight

WHAT STUDENTS are Saying...

I didn’t know that learning online would feel so hand-on. I’m 100 percent ready to start my career in crime scene investigation!

- Sally Crimesolver

What is my tuition .

UVU Online provides a top-quality education for in-state and out-of-state students:

I am an undergraduate student residing WITHIN the state of Utah

Fully online undergraduate students residing within the state of Utah while attending classes pay the same tuition rates as students attending in-person classes, as determined by their residency designation .

I am an undergraduate student residing OUTSIDE of the state of Utah

Fully online undergraduate students residing outside of the state of Utah while attending classes pay a flat tuition rate of $270 per credit.

(Must be residing within the United States. Non U.S. citizens residing internationally do not qualify for the flat tuition rate.)

Learn More About Paying for College:

TUITION & FINANCIAL AID

Get Started Today . Megan Can Help.

Megan Bowen

Online learner guide.

  [email protected]

  TEXT (801) 418-9201

Have questions?

Ready to learn more about getting your degree online? There is a place for you at UVU and I can help you find it!

We will reach out soon with more information about UVU's online Art History degree .

Utah Valley University

Applications are open to become an ISM student

Master of arts in religion.

The comprehensive M.A.R. program consists of a study of the various theological disciplines, including biblical studies, systematic theology, liturgics, and historical Christianity, with electives drawn from courses which deal with Christianity in the larger context of culture. Students are encouraged to take relevant courses in other professional schools or departments of the University. 

Students declare their concentration at the time of application. Courses are taken principally from faculty in the Divinity School and Institute of Sacred Music, who teach subjects ranging from introductions to Christian art and architecture and the history of sacred music to digital media, liturgy, and theology; and advanced seminars in religious iconography and writing workshops in poetry or fiction. Electives are taken elsewhere in the University, for instance in the Graduate School (the departments of English, Comparative Literature, Music, American Studies, and History of Art) or in the schools of Art and Architecture. Students are encouraged to attain reading proficiency in a second language relevant to their field of study.

M.A.R. students prepare themselves for a variety of careers: teaching, work in arts-related organizations, or other kinds of lay ministries. Many also go on for further doctoral work in music, art history, literature, or liturgical studies. 

Master’s degree students may pursue the broad-based Comprehensive M.A.R. in religion and the arts. Alternatively, they may be admitted to a concentration in one of the following:

• Liturgical Studies
• Religion and Literature
• Religion and Music
• Visual Arts and Material Culture

The program offers a broad-ranging education in historical, theological, and pastoral aspects of liturgical studies and worship practice. Rich interdisciplinary electives supplement core courses, ensuring that students not only gain a broad understanding of worship and of approaches to its study but also encounter the diversity of liturgical patterns across Christian and other traditions. The faculty emphasizes connections with history as well as theology, contemporary liturgical practice, and the practice of sacred music and other art forms. This concentration prepares students for doctoral work and for ministerial vocations, lay or ordained, especially parish ministers and church musicians. 

The program in liturgical studies seeks to serve students who are preparing for doctoral work and those with ministerial vocations, lay or ordained, especially parish ministers and church musicians.

This concentration emphasizes the close reading of texts, an awareness of historical context, and a wide variety of interpretive approaches. What distinguishes it from other master’s programs in literature, however, is its focus on the religious dimension of literary works and the theological ramifications of their study—for communities as well as for individual readers. Students are helped to make connections between theological content and literary form (e.g., narrative, poetry, memoir, epistle, fragment, and song); to increase understanding of how the arts give voice to theological ideas; and to develop creative as well as critical writing skills in articulating theology. In addition to literary study, students take courses in Bible, theology, and history. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of the ISM, moreover, literature is always brought into conversation with worship and the other arts. Graduates of the program may go on to doctoral work in a variety of disciplines. 

Graduates of the program typically go on to doctoral work, to college and secondary school teaching positions, or to publishing.

Sample Courses

• Dante’s Journey to God
• Religious Themes in Contemporary American Short Fiction
• The Psalms in Scripture, Literature, and Music
• The Religious Lyric in Britain
• Genesis and its Afterlife
• The Passion of Christ in Literature and the Visual Arts

This concentration aims to familiarize students with broad areas of sacred music and their theological, philosophical, and ritual contexts. The program is open to students wanting to focus on historical musicology, ethnomusicology, or the theological study of music. Students will work within the methodological and theoretical framework of their subdiscipline, but they are also expected to cross the boundaries into the other musicological disciplines. In addition, students are encouraged to consider music within an interdisciplinary network: visual arts, poetry, literature, etc. After graduation from the program, many students pursue doctoral degrees in music history or ethnomusicology, or they pursue theological studies with a particular focus on music and ritual. 

After graduation from the program many students pursue doctoral degrees in music history or ethnomusicology.

This concentration aims to provide students with a robust scholarly background in relations between religion and visual and material arts/cultures. It encourages interdisciplinary conversation across the various arts represented in the ISM curriculum (literature, music, liturgy, and ritual studies). The program invites students to take advantage of the abundant resources of Yale University in the visual arts and cultures of religion. After graduation from the program, many students pursue doctoral degrees in history of art or religious studies

After graduation from the program many student pursue doctoral degrees in departments of history of art or religious studies.

Faculty and Affiliates

• Vasileios Marinis, program coordinator
• Sally M. Promey
• Felicity Harley
• Orgu Dalgic

Courses may include

• Visual Fluencies: Material Arts and Western Visual Cultures of Religion
• The Cult of Saints in Early Christianity and the Middle Ages
• Religion and the Performance of Space
• Christian Pilgrimage: Narratives, Materialities, Rituals
• Visual Controversies: Religion and the Politics of Vision
• Witnessing, Remembrance, Commemoration
• Material Sensations

Campus resources include

The Institute for the Study of Material and Visual Cultures of Religion (MAVCOR) mavcor.yale.edu, and the Yale collections and galleries.

Course Listing and Curriculum

More detailed information about the degree requirements is in the Yale Bulletin for the ISM.

Our Partners

ISM partners prepare students for careers in church music and other sacred music.

• Yale School of Music Arrow Up Right (link is external)
• Yale Divinity School Arrow Up Right (link is external)

• Request Information

Master of Arts in Art Education

The online Master of Arts in Art Education at Ohio State is designed to reignite your passion for teaching art while enhancing the learning experiences of your students. This program blends innovative and contemporary practices with a deep understanding of how art can be a powerful tool for creative expression and critical thinking.

This flexible and 100% online program allows you to advance your education without putting your career on hold. Whether you’re balancing classroom responsibilities, personal commitments, or both, the program’s structure lets you fit your studies around your schedule. The engaging curriculum focuses on contemporary art and social justice to challenge you both as an artist and an educator.

Additionally, the program offers an optional Education Abroad experience, allowing you to expand your cultural horizons and bring global perspectives into your classroom.

"I felt that through my own artmaking within this program, I walked away feeling empowered and inspired by my own work. I strive to help my students feel the same way"

"This program has allowed me to explore my own identity as an educator, a creator, a Latinx woman and an ally which has grown my desire to help others find their own connections with self through the exploration and making of art"

"Over the years teaching in various schools and studios, I have fallen in love with the process of sharing my art and my passion for the performing arts – notably, because I have seen how the arts can empower, encourage, and give students a voice"

"I am already implementing some of the strategies in my teaching practice, and, as a result, my lessons are more engaging and enriching for my students."

Frequently asked questions.

Please find key information about the Master of Arts in Art Education program below.

How many credit hours do students take per semester?

Those taking courses full-time can complete the program in three semesters. For part-time students, you can expect to complete the program in six semesters.

Do I need to be a licensed teacher to be accepted into the program?

Although many students are licensed teachers, this is not a pre-requisite for the program. Students may be art educators within the community, museums, or schools.

Do I need to complete a thesis for this program?

Students do not complete a thesis for the Masters of Art in Art Education program. They do however complete a a non-thesis research project applying their learnings to their classroom or other teaching context.

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Academic Calendar

The Master of Art in Art Education program offers convenient rolling admission for all 3 terms: Spring, Summer, and Autumn.

Spring 2025

Application Deadline December 9, 2024

Term Start Date January 6, 2025

Summer 2025

Application Deadline June 1, 2025

Term Start Date May 6, 2025

Autumn 2025

Application Deadline July 19, 2025

Term Start Date August 26, 2025

Admission Criteria

• Bachelor’s degree
• Minimum GPA of 3.0

Is this program offered in my state?

Click your state on the map below to view program availability.

The State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement, also known as  SARA , establishes uniform standards for distance education for all participating states and institutions. Ohio State joined SARA in 2015, which means Ohio State can offer most online and on-ground courses and programs in  SARA member states, districts and territories without seeking authorization in each state.

Career Outlook

Whether you’re looking to grow in your current career or make a career change altogether, Ohio State’s online programs can help you achieve your goals. Learn what the outlook is for your current or next career move using O*Net’s My Next Move tool.

The Master of Arts in Art Education program offers a comprehensive and innovative approach to art education, designed to enhance both teaching and creative practice. It equips educators with the tools and knowledge to foster artistic expression and critical thinking in students, emphasizing contemporary methods and inclusivity.

ARTEDUC 7000.30 – Issues, Frameworks and Theories for Art Educators

Critically analyze articles that provide an overview of topics for art education research; graduate faculty research; national and international issues, and research resources.  

ARTEDUC 7604 — Teaching of Studio Activities

Students will create their own art in this course through innovative and contemporary  practices, while learning how to use their personal artmaking as a model for fostering creative thought and play in student artmaking.  

ARTEDUC 7607 – Curriculum Planning and Assessment in Art Education

Students in this course are guided in learning about approaches to curriculum development, what causes curriculum and assessment to change, the roles of arts in society, contemporary art, and arts integration. Students develop a unit of study guided by instructor and peer feedback.  

ARTEDUC 7767 – Critical Analysis of Multicultural Art Education

Investigation and analysis of multicultural theories, issues and practices for art education.  

ARTEDUC 7200.3 – Overview of Research for Arts Educators

Introduction to research methodologies in the field of arts education.  

ARTEDUC 7777 – Research to Advocacy

This course engages practicing arts educators in developing effective advocacy strategies, arguments and approaches grounded in reliable research and assessment measures. Educators clearly communicating these measures can effectively leverage them in persuading administrators, parents and policy makers to energetically support and advance the critical work of arts education. 

Understanding Online Course Types

As you research the right online program for you, you likely will come across the terms “asynchronous” and “synchronous.” Learn what these terms mean and how they’re important to consider when understanding how a program will fit into your life.

Program Faculty

Our distinguished faculty members bring a wealth of expertise and experience to the Master of Arts in Art Education program, each contributing to a dynamic and supportive learning environment. They are dedicated to advancing the field of art education through innovative teaching, groundbreaking research, and active engagement with diverse communities. With backgrounds in both traditional and non-traditional educational settings, our faculty members offer a rich blend of academic and practical knowledge. They are committed to preparing students to excel as leaders and advocates in the evolving landscape of art education.

Joni Boyd Acuff

PhD, Art Education, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 2011 MA, Community Based Art Education, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 2007 BS, Art Education, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, 2005 BA, Photography, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, 2005

Christine Ballengee Morris

JT Richardson

James Sanders

Clayton Funk

Testimonials

The  online Master of Arts in Art Education is designed for passionate educators who want to take their teaching and artmaking to the next level. The program is made up of a diverse cohort of artists with experience in the classroom, in the museum, on the stage, and in the community. Hear from real Ohio State Online students and graduates about their experience with the Master of Arts in Art Education program.

"Over the years teaching in various schools and studios, I have fallen in love with the process of sharing my art and my passion for the performing arts – notably, because I have seen how the arts can empower, encourage, and give students a voice,"

Get started.

Speak with a knowledgeable Enrollment Advisor who can help answer your questions and explain different aspects of the more than 70 online degrees and certificates offered at Ohio State.