can you get a phd in art

Fully Funded MFA and PhD Programs in Art and Design

Last updated March 9, 2022

As part of my series on  How to Fully Fund Your PhD , I provide a list of universities that offer full funding for a MFA and PhD Programs in Art and Design, which, in addition to preparing you to work as a professional artist in your field, can lead to careers in academia, consulting, and curating for museums, among others. With the average cost of a Master’s and Doctoral degree nearing or exceeding $100,000, gaining admission to a fully funded program is ideal.

“Full funding” is a financial aid package for full-time students that includes full tuition remission and an annual stipend or salary for the three to 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 PhD programs in your academic field, including small and lesser-known schools both in the U.S. and abroad.

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

1. Duke University, PhD in Art History and Visual Culture

(Durham, NC): The Graduate School provides Ph.D. students with a stipend, payment of tuition, and fee support for their first five years of study, as well as health insurance for the first six years if students are on the Duke student medical insurance plan. After their fifth year, students are responsible for tuition and fees, and most of our students obtain external or departmental funding to cover those costs.

2. Illinois State University, MFA in Art

(Normal, Il, IL): The University provides graduate assistantships as a means of financial support. Monthly wages paid in the form of either a stipend or an hourly wage, waiver for 100% of tuition during a semester of appointment, a waiver for up to 12 credit hours of tuition for the summer term immediately following a fall or spring appointment are included.

3. North Carolina State College of Design, PhD in Design

(Raleigh, NC): The PhD in Design program provides generous support for the students, which includes full tuition, stipend, and health insurance. This level of support is a minimum for the three years or more of the students’ study period.

4. Ohio State University, MFA in Visual Arts

(Columbus, OH): Most students accepted into the MFA Program are funded with a Graduate Associate appointment, which requires working 20 hours a week in exchange for a fee authorization (payment of tuition) and a stipend. These appointments may include teaching introductory courses, assisting in department labs, and working for The Arts Initiative.

5. Stanford University, MFA in Art Practice

(Stanford, CA): Through a combination of fellowship funds and teaching assistantships, each Art Practice graduate student normally receives an aid package that includes tuition and stipend as well as small materials grants.

6. Tulane University, MFA in Studio Art

(New Orleans, LA): All admitted graduate students receive a full tuition waiver and a generous assistantship stipend.

7. University of Arkansas, MFA in Studio Art

(Fayetteville, AR): All students in the M.F.A. Studio Art program are fully supported.  We are able to provide full assistantships to all of our M.F.A.’s. The assistantship includes a full tuition waiver and a stipend that will increase next year to $15,000 annually, plus  a Graduate Fellowship in the amount of $4,000 per year,  for a total package of $19,000 of support per year

8. University of California, Davis, MFA in Art Studio

(Davis, CA): The Art Studio MFA Program offers substantial financial support through paid Teaching Assistant positions each quarter and through Art Studio Program Fellowships, made possible by generous private endowments.

9. University of Connecticut, MFA in Studio Art

(Storrs, CT): Fully funded program providing both tuition remission, stipend, and health insurance.

10. University of Georgia, MFA in in Studio Art

(Athens, GA): All full-time students of the three-year MFA program are fully funded. Applicants will be automatically considered for departmental assistantships. Funding is also available from various sources to offset the cost of materials and travel related to graduate research.

11. University of Michigan, MFA in Art & Design

(Ann Arbor, MI): The Stamps School offers generous financial support to graduate students, in addition to teaching and research assistantships, stipends, and discretionary funds.

12. University of South Florida, MFA in Studio Art

(Tampa, FL): Every current graduate student in the School of Art & Art History receives a full tuition waiver plus either a scholarship OR a graduate assistantship. The USF School of Art & Art History offers two graduate degree programs: Master of Arts in Art History and Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art.

13. University of Oregon, MFA in Art

The Department of Art provides generous funding for MFA Candidates during their three years of study. All students in good standing are given free tuition through a combination of Graduate Employee Fellowship support and tuition remissions.

Choosing the right graduate program is important and involves multiple factors. As a next step, we recommend that you read How To Choose The Right Graduate Program .

© Victoria Johnson 2020, all rights reserved.

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School of Art Fine Arts Doctoral Program (Art)

Fine arts doctoral program (art).

The Art track of the Fine Arts Doctoral Program centers on art praxis, which we define as theoretically informed action aimed at creating change in academic, social, and community contexts. We have chosen the word "praxis" instead of "practice" to signal a different relationship to theory than assumed by the theory-practice binary, and to indicate a fundamental difference between MFA programs in studio practice and the PhD. For Aristotle, praxis meant an action that is valuable in itself, as opposed to that which leads to creation, and for scholars of modernity from Marx to Lefebvre, praxis was, and remains, infused with an ethical and political imperative, and designated a more grounded and intentional mode of social and political transformation.

The Art track is part of a College-wide Fine Arts Doctoral Program , which includes students focusing on music, theatre, dance, and visual art. All areas of the Fine Arts Doctoral Program require a series of core courses that bring together students from across the College for innovative interdisciplinary and collaborative inquiry. These core courses support the art area's commitment to blurring disciplinary boundaries through original modes of investigation.

Students conduct interdisciplinary research integrating methodologies from a home discipline related to Art with methodologies from disciplines of Music, Theatre, and Dance housed at other Schools in the J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of Visual and Performing Arts or the University at large. Such interdisciplinarity is not simply additive, but transformative, blurring the chosen disciplines and even fundamentally altering them.

This program is for

• studio artists who want to transform their approach to making into a methodology for research,
• scholars who want to intervene in their home discipline by proposing novel ways of conducting research,
• curators and cultural practitioners who want to do community-engaged projects, and
• educators who want to rethink inquiry and develop meaningful practices organized around art and images that transform engagement through interdisciplinary initiatives.

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How to apply.

Interested candidates applying for admission to the Fine Arts Doctoral Program for Fall 2023 can do so through the Texas Tech University Graduate School portal.

A complete application - via the Graduate School application portal - will include the following:

• Official transcripts of all previous college-level study
• Official G.R.E. score report (The GRE score requirement has been waived for Fall 2024-entering applicants)
• 3 letters of recommendation
• Current resumé or curriculum vitae
• A scholarly writing sample (10-30 pages of academic writing)
• Art portfolio (optional)
• Statement of intent (800 words maximum; see tips on writing statements of intent). Please indicate in your statement the faculty members in the FADP(Art) program (see below) with whom you would like to work.
• For international students: passport and additional documents that prove your eligibility to study in the United States
• Registration fee

ENTRANCE QUALIFICATIONS

For acceptance into the doctoral program, the applicant must have completed a master's degree, or its equivalent, with emphasis in some area of the visual arts. Every effort is made to select candidates who show strong scholarship and professional competence.  Applicants who have not taken at least 15 hours of art history, art criticism, art education, arts administration, aesthetics, and/or visual culture courses at the college level may be required to meet the 15-hour minimum in the form of leveling courses taken here at TTU, which will not count toward the 60-hour minimum in the doctoral degree plan.

While the Fine Arts Doctoral Program (Art) takes applications year-round, please take into consideration the following dates:

JANUARY 15th for Fall semester entry, with full financial consideration.

OCTOBER 15th for Spring semester entry, with available/limited financial consideration.

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Degree handbook.

• PhD Handbook

ONLINE CATALOG INFORMATION

Student success, school of art alumni.

Class of 2012

Sara Peso White

Class of 2015

Bryan Wheeler, dissertation: “Painting ‘Section' or Painting Texas: Negotiating Modernity and Identity in the Texas New Deal Post Office Murals.” Lecturer in the School of Art and College of Media and Communication.

Class of 2016

Yuan-Ta Hsu

Lina Kattan, dissertation: “Conflicted Living Beings: The Performative Aspect of Female Bodies' Representations in Saudi Painting and Photography.” Associate Professor of Visual and Performing Arts, University of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Class of 2017

Norah Alqabba, dissertation: “Globalization and the Role of the Sharjah Biennale in the Transformation of Saudi Contemporary Sculpture”

Class of 2019

Kimberly Jones, dissertation: “Women in Contemporary Israeli Cinema”

Katharine Scherff, dissertation: “The Virtual Liturgy: An Examination of Medieval and Early Modern Ritual Objects as Media Technology.” Full-time Lecturer at TTU, Art History and Global Art Program, Affiliated Faculty Medieval and Renaissance Studies Center.

Jared Stanley, dissertation: “Working Through Grief: Continuing Bonds in the New Golden Age of American Television.” Division Chair, Division of Art and Design, School of Fine Arts and Communication, Bob Jones University.

Class of 2020 

Niloofar Gholamrezaei, dissertation: “Photographic Images, Distanced Realism, and the State of Being Modern in the Works of Mohammad Ghaffari and Otto Dix.” Assistant Professor of Visual Arts and General Education, Regis College.

Class of 2021

Ahmad Rafiei, dissertation: “Objects in Motion: Global Interactions and Cross-Cultural Exchange from Safavid to Twentieth-Century Iran.” Curatorial Fellow, Toledo Museum of Art, 2021-2024.

Sylvia Weintraub, dissertation: “Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Online: Why Making Matters on Pinterest.”

Assistant Professor of Art Education in the department of Visual and Theatre Arts at the University of Tennessee at Martin.

Class of 2022

Corina Carmona, dissertation: “Re-membering a Coyolxauhqui Pedagogy: Creative and Cultural Praxis at the Intersection of Ethnic Studies and Fine Art”

Deepika Dhiman, dissertation: “Using Autoethnography and Visual Storytelling to Examine How Identity is Informed by Social Normative Behavior in India and the United States”

Class of 2023

Kathryn Kelley: “Creatives Engage with Spontaneous Self-Affirmation as a Part of Their Writing Practices”

Quest ions?

Contact the interim coordinator.

Andrés Peralta, PhD Interim FADP Coordinator

Fine Arts- Art Doctoral Program Faculty

Klinton Burgio-Ericson, PhD

Kevin Chua, PhD

Theresa Flanigan, PhD

Rina Little, PhD

Jorgelina Orfila, PhD

Andrés Peralta, PhD

Maia Toteva, PhD

Heather Warren-Crow, PhD

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Doctor of Philosophy

The Institute of Fine Arts is dedicated to graduate teaching and advanced research in the history of art and archeology and in the conservation and technology of works of art. The Institute strives to give its students not only a sound knowledge in the history of art, but also a foundation in research, connoisseurship, and theory as a basis for independent critical judgment and research. The student following the PhD course of study gains a deeper understanding of a subject area, beyond what is normally acquired at the master’s level and develops a capacity for independent scholarship. The PhD Program at the Institute of Fine Arts is a course of study designed for the person who wants to investigate the role of the visual arts in culture through detailed, object-based examination as well as historical and theoretical interpretation. The degree program provides a focused and rigorous experience supported by interaction with the leading scholars of the Institute, and access to New York area museums, curators, conservators, archaeological sites and NYU’s global network. The program is designed for up to six years of full-time funded study. A total of 18 courses (72 points) are required for the PhD degree. Each student registers for three courses per semester for the first five semesters. One course in the fifth semester is dedicated to developing the dissertation proposal. In the sixth semester students register for 12 points devoted preparing for the oral exam and beginning work on the dissertation. Exceptions to full-time study are made only for urgent financial or medical reasons and must have the approval from the Director of Graduate Studies.

Distribution Requirements

Students must take at least one seminar in four fields outside of their area of specialization. The Proseminar may count as one of these seminars. Students are required to take one course in technical studies of works of art. The minimum total seminars for PhD students is six. Students may take courses in other relevant disciplines in consultation with their advisor, and subject to the approval of the Director of Graduate Studies.

Distribution requirements are met by choosing courses in the following fields:

• Pre-modern Asia
• Pre-modern Africa and the Middle East
• The Ancient Mediterranean and Middle East, including
• Pre-modern Europe and the Americas
• Post-1750 Global
• Museum and Curatorial Studies
• Technical Studies of Works of Art
• Architectural History

Course Definitions and Requirements

Proseminar : The purpose of the Proseminar is to introduce students in the doctoral program to advanced research methods in the history of art. Because it is a dedicated course for the entering PhD student, it will serve to consolidate the cohort. It is taken during the first semester and is taught by a rotation of the Institute faculty, with a different faculty member chosen each year. Emphasis is placed on the specific practices of art-historical analysis in relation to visual and textual interpretation. The contents of the seminar vary each year according to the research interests of the chosen instructor. The class is structured around specific problems in the history of art rather than broad conceptual paradigms, with an emphasis on historical interpretation. Colloquium: A colloquium provides an analysis or overview of the state of the literature on a given art historical topic or problem, with extensive reading, discussion, and presentations. There may be a final paper.

Seminar: A seminar is a focused advanced course that explores a topic in depth. Seminars are often based on an exhibition in the New York area. Students are expected to produce a substantive paper that demonstrates original research. Lecture: Lecture courses explore topics or historical periods, giving overviews of major issues as well as detailed analysis of specific problems and works of art. Students are responsible for assigned and recommended reading, and may produce short papers and/or take an exam.

Curatorial Track

This doctoral-level program is offered jointly by the Institute of Fine Arts and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, under the supervision of the Joint Committee on Curatorial Studies composed of faculty, curators, and the Directors of both institutions. The purpose of the program is to prepare students for curatorial careers in specialized fields. Students are required to take two courses in Curatorial Studies, which are taught at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, before being offered an internship at the Museum.

Language Requirement

PhD students must demonstrate proficiency in reading two modern research languages other than English that are relevant to their studies. Proficiency is demonstrated by passing an examination administered by the Institute of Fine Arts. International students focusing on a field of study in which their native language is relevant may be granted an exemption from the language requirement pending submission of an exemption form signed by their advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies.

Qualifying Paper

The Qualifying Paper may be developed from seminar work or might be on a topic devised in consultation with the student’s advisor. Normally, the student will be advised to produce a detailed study on a subject that leads towards the dissertation. It should be no longer than 10,000 words (excluding bibliography and footnotes).

Students are examined on a major field consisting of two contiguous areas and a third component that can be in a related field providing skills for their dissertation.

Students are encouraged to teach after passing the second year review. Opportunities for teaching at NYU and at other New York area colleges and universities will be coordinated by the Director of Graduate Studies.

PhD students are funded for up to six years, depending on the transfer of previous graduate work. The program is normally divided into three years of course work, exams, and submission of a dissertation proposal and three years for dissertation research and writing. Variations to this pattern might occur according to opportunities for students to develop skills or experience in their specialist fields, as approved by the student’s advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies. Students are encouraged to compete for outside fellowships. The award of such fellowships might extend the number of years taken to complete the program. Institute funding will be suspended during the period of outside fellowship support.

Students Entering with a Master’s Degree

To receive the PhD degree, all Institute requirements must have been fulfilled, including a Master’s thesis (of copy of which is submitted with the application), and a distribution of courses within areas of study that correspond to those outlined in Distribution Requirements. No credits will be automatically transferred; credit will be awarded based upon evaluation by the Institute Faculty at the First Year Course Review. In addition, at least one written comprehension exam in a foreign language must have been passed. The student entering with a MA degree must pass an exam in a second language, if not yet attained, by the end of his/her first year of study. Entering students who have been awarded an MA at the Institute will begin as third year PhD students. They are expected to have a distribution of courses that meet the Course Distribution for the PhD and are required to pass a written comprehension exam in a second language.

Degree Requirements

PhD | Masters Degree | Conservation

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PhD Degree Requirements

The doctoral degree (PhD) in Art History consists of 27 credit hours of core and elective coursework plus doctoral research, and normally takes four-five years to complete.  Admission to the PhD program is open to students with an MA in art or architectural history and to exceptionally qualified candidates with a BA in art or architectural history or a closely related field.

• Students admitted to the PhD program without an MA must complete a total of 48 credit hours. The course distribution requirements for the first two years are identical to those for the standalone MA program . Students in the PhD program do not write MA Theses.
• Students admitted to the standalone MA or MA/MSLS-MSIS programs who wish to continue to the PhD and have the support of a potential advisor must submit a full application to the PhD program via the Slate system in the semester before the conferral of their master’s degree(s).
• Students admitted to the PhD track without an MA may change their degree intent to the standalone MA program in their third or fourth semester at the urging of their advisor and the DGS. In these cases they will complete a formal MA thesis, which will mark the culmination of their study in the department.

Course Work (for students entering without an MA)

• 6 credit hours in courses designed to prepare them for professional work in art history: A required Writing Seminar (ARTH 991) and a Professional Development Course that is strongly recommended. The Writing Seminar will be devoted to structuring an argument, assessing primary and secondary sources, and conducting a sustained writing exercise. The goal of the Writing Seminar is to prepare for writing their dissertation prospectus, which will be completed in the spring following the semester for which they are enrolled in 991. The Professional Development Course will be offered in spring semesters and will address, among other topics: grant writing; submitting articles for publication; copyright and permissions; conference presentations; writing a CV; etc.
• 42 credit hours of courses in content areas, for a total of 48 credit hours when combined with Methods and the Writing Seminar. At least eight of the courses (24 credit hours) should be graduate seminars (700 level or above); up to four of the courses may be taken in relevant content areas outside the department (see below for addition of an External Minor).
• 6 hours in advanced seminars (900 level) in the major field
• 3 hours in a course related to the secondary exam field (400 level or above or a directed reading course at 700 level with the examiner)
• 3 hours in a course related to the methodological exam field (400 level or above or a directed reading course at 700 level with the examiner)
• 6 hours in other seminars (700-900 level)
• Completing Ph.D qualifying exams and prospectus defenses in the spring semester of the third year of graduate study. This should prepare PhD candidates to apply for travel and research grants in the following fall of the fourth year of study.

Coursework for students in the PhD track, then, could include:

YEAR 1 Semester 1 Methods Course Seminar Seminar or Content Course (refers to courses at the 400-600 level)

Semester 2 Seminar Seminar Seminar or Content Course

YEAR 2  Semester 3  Seminar Seminar Seminar or Content Course

Semester 4 Seminar Seminar Seminar or Content Course

YEAR 3  Semester 5 Writing Seminar Seminar Seminar or Content Course

Semester 6 Professional Development Course (strongly recommended) or Content Course 994 Exams/Prospectus Defense

Course Work (for students entering with an MA in Art History or closely related field)

• 27 hours (9 courses) plus at minimum 9 hours of doctoral research credit hours
• Methods Course and Writing Seminar optional, may be recommended depending on student’s previous work
• 12 hours (4 courses) required as seminars (700 level or above)
• 6 hours (2 courses) allowed outside department courses (see below for addition of an External Minor)
• 3 hours in a course related to secondary exam field (400 level or above or a directed reading course at 700 level with the examiner)
• 3 hours in a course related to methodological exam field (400 level or above or a directed reading course at 700 level with the examiner)
• 6 hours in seminars (700-900 level)

Coursework for students in the PhD track who enter with the MA could include:

YEAR 1 Semester 1 Methods Course or Seminar Seminar Seminar or Content Course (refers to courses at the 400-600 level)

Semester 2 Seminar Seminar Content Course

YEAR 2  Semester 3 Writing Seminar Seminar Content Course

Semester 4 (and beyond) Professional Development Course (strongly recommended) or Content Course 994 Exams/Prospectus defense

External Minor

PhD students may choose to complete a formal External Minor, which consists of at least three (but may be as many as five) additional courses in a field related to her/his area of specialized study (such as, communication studies, women’s studies, history, or medieval studies). The student must secure prior approval of the minor department, and a copy of the proposed courses to be taken must be signed by both departments and entered in the student’s permanent record in the Department of Art and the UNC-Chapel Hill Graduate School.

Language Requirement

PhD students are required to demonstrate proficiency in 2 languages (other than English). The first language will be the language that fulfilled the M.A. language requirement. The second language should be appropriate to the area of study, and will be determined in consultation with the student’s advisor, the Director of Graduate Studies, and the graduate committee. Some fields require additional languages and students should study these languages as necessary. Competency in the second language will be determined following the same guidelines as those of the M.A. language requirement.

Preliminary Doctoral Exams

PhD students take both the written and the oral Preliminary Exams during the semester after the PhD course work is completed. Most PhD students will take the Preliminary Exams during the spring semester of their second year in the PhD program. Those students pursuing an External Minor will take the Preliminary Exams during the fall semester of their third year.

• Written Exams. Students take the written exams over the course of a one-week period. Students who fail the written exams may repeat them only once. These exams are taken in three parts: first (major) area of study (six hours), second area of study (six hours), and methodological/thematic area of study (six hours).
• Preliminary Oral Exam. An oral exam will take place within two weeks of the written exam. The oral will be on the content of the written exam and may also include a defense of the dissertation prospectus. The examining committee will consist of at least three members who must be full-time active graduate faculty or adjunct teaching faculty  in art history.
• Dissertation Prospectus . Ph.D. students defend their dissertation prospectus orally. If the dissertation prospectus is not defended in the oral exam, this defense should take place within four months of the written exams. At least two weeks before the prospectus defense, the student submits a dissertation prospectus to his or her dissertation committee, which should consist of five faculty members, three of whom must be permanent members of the UNC-CH art history faculty.

Guidelines for the PhD exams and prospectus can be found  here .

Dissertation and Final Oral Exam

After passing the preliminary doctoral exams, the student begins work on the dissertation. Once the dissertation is completed and approved by the advisor and dissertation committee, the student defends the finished dissertation. Doctoral students have eight calendar years from the date of first registration in the PhD Graduate School to complete the PhD. For doctoral students, there is a minimum residence credit requirement of four semesters, and at least two semesters must be earned through continuous full-time registration on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus.

Program details, including a sample timetable for progress through the degree, can be found  here .

For further information, the applicant should write to the director of graduate studies for art history.

FINAL DEFENSE & SUBMISSION: IMPORTANT DATES

The precise deadlines are set every year, and can be found on the Graduate School’s ‘Graduation Deadlines’ page here .

Mid-February: Deadline to apply to graduate in ConnectCarolina

March  – Last month in which to schedule the defense. The oral defense must be scheduled no later than 2 weeks prior to the mid-April final submission deadline

Mid- April – deadline, final submission of electronic doctoral dissertations and master’s theses

May (generally 2 nd weekend) Doctoral Hooding Ceremony University Commencement Ceremony Degree Award Date for May graduates

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An intensive program with tracks in Art Education and Art History. Students engage in intensive research and work closely with faculty mentors. They procure jobs at universities and museums and routinely secure tenure track and curatorial positions.

Degree Type: Doctoral

Degree Program Code: PHD_ARTS

Degree Program Summary:

The Lamar Dodd School of Art at the University of Georgia offers graduate study in art education, art history, and studio art. The programs, leading to the M.A., M.A.Ed., M.F.A., Ed.S., and Ph.D. degrees are described in detail in the Graduate Handbook. Graduate programs necessarily presume certain aptitudes on the part of applicants, based on documented results of previous study. Admission to graduate programs is very competitive. Successful applicants are mature, highly motivated individuals capable of sustained studio work or scholarly pursuit at an advanced level. Working under the guidance of a faculty of experienced, recognized professionals, students are encouraged to develop the self-discipline essential to productive independent study and self-realization as artists and/or scholars. Our graduate program in Studio Art is structured to foster stylistic diversity through individual exploration. There is no dominating opinion or aesthetic espoused by the Lamar Dodd School of Art. The wide variety of images and approaches present at the school attest to the healthy ferment of ideas among students and faculty. Scholarly publications in art education and art history reflect the same freedom of inquiry.

Candidates for the PhD in art are required to demonstrate competence in either history of art or art education. When appropriate, a candidate’s program of study may include courses in the theory and criticism of art and relevant areas of study outside the Lamar Dodd School of Art. The research skills requirement, in the history of art emphasis, is a reading knowledge of two foreign languages. In the art education emphasis, the research skills requirement may be met by completing a minimum of three of the specified research courses. Satisfactory completion of written and oral preliminary examinations, a dissertation demonstrating original research, and a final oral defense before an examining committee of the faculty are also required.

The Georgia Museum of Art is a significant resource for the Lamar Dodd School of Art. It has a major collection of American paintings and over 5000 works on paper from all periods. The museum sponsors a full schedule of in-house and traveling exhibitions each year.

Applicants are admitted for the fall semester. Funding is available.

The deadline for applications is January 1.

Locations Offered:

Athens (Main Campus)

College / School:

Franklin College of Arts & Sciences

346 Brooks Hall Athens, GA 30602

706-542-8776

Department:

Lamar Dodd School of Art

Graduate Coordinator(s):

Isabelle Wallace

Phone Number:

706-542-1636

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PhD Art History Admission

The Department welcomes graduate applications from individuals with a broad range of life experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds who would contribute to our community of scholars. Review of applications is holistic and individualized, considering each applicant’s academic record and accomplishments, letters of recommendation, and admissions essays in order to understand how an applicant’s life experiences have shaped their past and potential contributions to their field.

University Application Materials

The application for admission as well as general information about applying is available from the Graduate Admissions website; please visit  Graduate Admissions  to apply. Prior to applying you must first determine if you are eligible -  application eligibility (undergraduate degree requirements) . International applicants, please also see  Bechtel International Center  and Graduate Admissions  International Applicants  for more information and any additional application requirements. Prospective students may apply beginning in late September (please verify the precise date on the  Graduate Admissions  website). The following documents are required by the university and can not be waived; please click on the links for more detailed information about each:

Letters of Recommendation : Three letters of recommendation are required. The department does not accept applicant recommendation via a letter service (i.e. Interfolio or other service). It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that letters are submitted to the electronic application by the published deadline. Please only submit three letters.

Transcripts : Upload a scanned copy of your official transcript(s) with the online application. Applicants must upload transcripts from every post-secondary institution attended as a full-time student and for at least one academic year. Transcripts from current degree programs also need to be submitted.

Statement of Purpose : You must indicate in the first sentence of your SOP the name of the program to which you are applying and the area you wish to study (e.g. PhD in Art History – Modern). The Statement of Purpose should describe succinctly your reasons for applying to the proposed program at Stanford, your preparation for this field of study, research interests, future career plans, and other aspects of your background and interests which may aid the admissions committee in evaluating your aptitude and motivation for graduate study. Applicants can include and mention faculty members, with overlapping research interests whom they would like to work with and why, in their statement of purpose. The Statement of Purpose must be: 1,000 words or less; single-spaced; formatted with 1-inch margins and 12-point, Times New Roman font.

Application Fee : The application fee $125, is non-refundable, and must be received by the application deadline (fee waivers are available to eligible students. Please see  Graduate Fee Waivers  for more information). The Department does not offer fee waivers outside of the process at the Graduate Fee Waivers page. Please do not contact the department requesting to waive the application fee.

GRE Scores: Graduate Record Exam (GRE) General Test is no longer required for admission to the Department of Art & Art History.

TOEFL Scores : Required when first language is not English; IELTS is not accepted. Please note that the department can NOT waive the TOEFL requirement. If you wish to submit a request for TOEFL waiver, please see  GRE and TOEFL Requirements . It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that the scores are submitted to the electronic application by the published deadline.  (Note: To bypass the entry of TOEFL scores in the application, enter a future test date. You can add in the additional information section of the application that you have received a waiver from Graduate Admissions.)

Online Application

* Please note all application materials, once submitted as part of your application, become the property of Stanford University. Materials will not be returned and copies will not be provided for applicants nor released to other institutions. Please keep a copy for your records. Re-applicants must submit new supporting documents and complete the online graduate application.

Writing Sample Requirement

In addition to the University application materials listed above, applicants in Art History are required to submit a writing sample.  You should upload your writing sample along with your online application (only one writing sample will be accepted). It should be 20 pages maximum, including illustrations and bibliography – neither papers over this limit nor entire Master’s theses will be accepted.

Start Your Application

For admission in Autumn Quarter of the next academic year, all required application materials, including your test scores and recommendation letters, must be received on-line by no later than  December 1 at 9:00 pm (PT).

Note: The Graduate Admissions period opens in late September each year for applications to be submitted by the published deadline in December (for matriculation beginning in the following academic year). After April 15th each year, the Graduate Admissions period is closed, and the online application will reopen during the following September.

Selection Process

Application review takes place between mid-February and mid-March; applicants are notified by e-mail of their status around March 15th. Accepted students are admitted for the following Autumn Quarter; no applicants for mid-year entrance will be considered.  You will be contacted via e-mail regarding your application status after the deadline; please do not contact the Department in this regard. Applicants who are chosen as finalists for admissions are asked to make themselves available for an individual interview by faculty via Skype.  Admitted prospective students are invited for a campus visit intended to introduce them to faculty, current graduate students, and to members of the larger Stanford community involved in the arts.  Library, museum and other facilities are part of this introduction to the PhD program in Art History at Stanford.

The Art and Art History Department recognizes that the Supreme Court issued a ruling in June 2023 about the consideration of certain types of demographic information as part of an admission review. All applications submitted during upcoming application cycles will be reviewed in conformance with that decision.

Knight-Hennessy Scholars

Join dozens of  Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences  students who gain valuable leadership skills in a multidisciplinary, multicultural community as  Knight-Hennessy Scholars (KHS). KHS admits up to 100 select applicants each year from across Stanford’s seven graduate schools, and delivers engaging experiences that prepare them to be visionary, courageous, and collaborative leaders ready to address complex global challenges. As a scholar, you join a distinguished cohort, participate in up to three years of leadership programming, and receive full funding for up to three years of your PhD studies at Stanford. Candidates of any country may apply. KHS applicants must have earned their first undergraduate degree within the last seven years, and must apply to both a Stanford graduate program and to KHS. Stanford PhD students may also apply to KHS during their first year of PhD enrollment. If you aspire to be a leader in your field, we invite you to apply. The KHS application deadline is October 11, 2023. Learn more about  KHS admission .

The Art Education program at the Lamar Dodd School of Art is grounded in critical, experiential, and interdisciplinary inquiry. Faculty and students benefit from close proximity to the Georgia Museum of Art, partnerships with schools and community organizations in diverse settings, and the expertise of renowned studio and art history faculty within the School. As a community of art educators, we explore the intersections of contemporary art, histories of art education, visual culture, service-learning, social justice, and digital technology. Graduates are encouraged to be innovators who challenge the status quo through locally and globally transformative practices.

Art Education

Art Education Faculty

Current Art Education Graduate Students

Art Education Alumni

Graduate Admissions

Funding and Research Support

Recent MAEd & PhD topics in Art Education

Handbooks and Forms

A Doctor of Philosophy in Art degree with an emphasis in Art Education is the highest degree offered by the area of Art Education. The culmination of the degree is the acceptance of a doctoral dissertation that demonstrates that the student is capable of doing independent and original research that contributes to the body of knowledge in the field. 

Candidates for the degree will demonstrate competence in academic writing, research methodologies and contemporary theories and practices in art education and related disciplines. The specific sequence of courses for each candidate will depend on his or her area of interest and previous coursework. The PhD offers eligibility for an upgraded T-7 Georgia teaching certification for those working in PK-12 schools.

Faculty Contact

Dr.  Mira Kallio-Tavin , Graduate Coordinator for Art Education,  [email protected]

Key Information

This program requires:

• An intense level of commitment and is best suited for those who have professional aspirations that require a PhD (Higher Education, Administration, etc.).
• Minimum 12 hours of Art Education
• Minimum 9 hours of Research
• Minimum 8 hours of Electives
• After completing coursework, students must register for dissertation research hours 2 out of the 3 semesters each year until the degree is completed.
• Coursework that is primarily in-person, as the program is residential.
• The following Exams and Checkpoints: Qualifying Exam, Written Comprehensive Exam and Oral Defense, Prospectus, Written Dissertation and Oral Defense

Two Options to Pursue the PhD in Art with an emphasis in Art Education

• Full-time study that is funded by a Graduate Assistantship, which covers all tuition and offers a monthly stipend (August through May). Graduate assistants typically serve as graders or instructors for courses in the School of Art. Students should anticipate a minimum of four years to complete the degree, with assistantship funding available for three of those years. We are able to offer a limited number of assistantships to highly qualified applicants each year.
• Part-time study. With this option, it is possible for students to maintain full-time employment elsewhere and take one or two courses each semester through the completion of the degree. All courses are offered in the evenings or during the summer, with some online options. This option requires students to perform all of their commitments to the PhD on top of their regular work and personal commitments. Students should anticipate a minimum of five years (often more) to complete the degree as a part-time student.

Certificates that can be pursued in connection with the PhD Degree

Interdisciplinary Qualitative Studies Certificate

Museum Studies Certificate

Interdisciplinary Disability Studies Certificate

Certificate in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Resources and Links

PhD Handbook

• Provides further details about requirements for the PhD degree

Recently Completed Dissertations

Application Instructions and Requirements

Tuition Rates

• Select "Tuition & Fees", then select "Academic Year", then refer to the "Graduate Tuition Standard Rate for Master & PhD Candidates".

Graduate Studies at the Lamar Dodd School of Art

Guidelines and due dates for graduate projects can be found on the University of Georgia  Graduate School website . 

For more information about graduate programs at the Lamar Dodd School of Art, contact  our Graduate Office .

PhD candidate in Art Education Kira Hegeman completing field work.

PhD Program

The UCLA Department of Art History 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. Normative time to degree for the PhD is seven years from the term of admission. For students entering with a MA in hand, the normative time to degree is five years from the term of admission.

All students are required to complete the M.A. requirements in the department. The 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.

Please see here for the official UCLA Art History Graduate Program Requirements published on the Graduate Division website.

• The student is assigned a faculty mentor upon admission to the program. The mentor is responsible for the student’s course of study and must be consulted at least once each quarter. A change of faculty supervision and/or change in field(s) must be approved by the Graduate Review Committee.
• The Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) offers intellectual guidance, approves any exceptions to the program requirements, and adjudicates disputes between a student and his/her faculty mentor. The DGS further serves as Chair of the Graduate Review Committee, which governs the admissions process.
• The Student Affairs Officer (SAO) assists students with all the administrative aspects of moving through the program.
• Each spring quarter, the entire faculty reviews the status of each graduate student to ensure appropriate time-to-degree progress.

Toward the MA

Requirements for the MA

• Satisfaction of the first language requirement.
• Successful completion of AH 200 with a grade of “B+” or better.
• Nine graduate and upper division courses (36 units) completed while in the program. At least six of those courses (24 units) must be at the graduate level, including four graduate seminars. AH 200 may be counted towards the required six courses.
• Successful completion of a qualifying paper (approximately 30 pages) according to the standards and procedures outlined below.

* Typically the above requirements are completed within the first two years of study (6 quarters).

Distribution of Coursework

The nine required courses must include at least two courses from Group A and two courses from Group B noted below.

Qualifying Paper for the MA

• The qualifying paper is a revised and expanded version of a paper written for a class from the first year of coursework. It should be approximately 30 pages in length (excluding footnotes, images, and bibliography) and should demonstrate the student’s ability 1) to formulate a thesis, 2) to present an extended argument, and 3) to conduct original research. Quality of the writing will also be evaluated.
• By the end of the fall quarter of the second year, student selects a class paper from the first year in consultation with his or her advisor to revise and expand as the qualifying paper.
• In the following winter quarter, student enrolls for 4 units of 598 (RSRCH-MASTER THESIS) to work on the paper under the supervision of advisor.
• Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) will contact each student during the winter quarter (usually early February) to appoint a committee of three faculty readers for the qualifying paper, one of which is the student’s advisor. At least one of the faculty readers will have had no classroom contact with the student. All students may suggest potential readers; however, the DGS will balance the student’s request against equity of faculty workload.
• On the first day of instruction of the spring quarter, students submits three copies of the qualifying paper to the Student Affairs Officer (SAO) along with a list of the three readers assigned to review the paper.
• The qualifying papers will be distributed to the three assigned faculty readers and each reader will complete an evaluation form and submit it to the SAO within three weeks of receipt of the paper.
• By the fourth week of the spring quarter, the SAO will make available the papers with reader’s comments to the student and these papers will be added to the student’s permanent file.
• The Graduate Review Committee, taking into consideration the faculty reader evaluations, will determine whether the student will be awarded the MA and permitted to proceed into the PhDprogram. In some cases, the Committee may recommend that the student receive the MA degree but discontinue further graduate study. It is also possible (although very rare) that the student’s work may not be judged adequate to receive the MA.

Completion of the MA

• Prior to the third week of the spring quarter in the second year, the student should complete the “Petition for Advancement to Candidacy for the Master’s Degree” (provided by and returned to the SAO).
• Once the Department has accepted the qualifying paper, the student must file it with Graduate Division by the Monday of the tenth week of the spring quarter, formatted as a thesis.
• Graduate Division guidelines for formatting MA theses are available  here . Workshops on thesis formatting are offered at the beginning of each fall and winter quarters. See the Grad Division website for more information.
• Following the Department’s annual spring review of graduate students, the student must submit a completed form for transfer from the MA to the PhD program (provided by and returned to the SAO).

Toward the PhD

Upon the completion of the MA or starting with a MA from another institution, the student begins the PhD program having chosen a major field of study within art history, often known at the time of application. By the end of the second quarter of residence at the PhD stage, the student also selects a minor field, which may be outside the department (e.g. Architecture, History, Anthropology, Comparative Literature, Archaeology, etc.). The major and minor advisors are responsible for the student’s course of study and completion of requirements within the selected field. Graduate Review Committee must approve any change of advisor(s) or the major and minor fields.

Requirements for the PhD

• Satisfaction of language requirements (minimum 2, including 1 from MA stage; more may be required depending on field of study)
• Completion of 8 graduate and upper division courses (32 units)
• Written comprehensive exams in major and minor fields
• Dissertation prospectus and oral qualifying exam
• Doctoral dissertation

• A total of 8 graduate and upper division courses are required, of which at least 4 must be art history courses at the graduate level.
• Of the nine courses (36 units) required for the MA, students may use a maximum of two of these (8 units) to count towards Ph.D. coursework. Students may also apply courses taken in excess of MA requirements towards fulfilling Ph.D. course requirements. (This does not apply to students who received their MA from other institutions/departments.)
• 5 courses in one field are required to claim it as the major field; 3 courses in one field are required to claim it as the minor field. The minor can also be from outside the department (e.g. Architecture, History, Anthropology, Comparative Literature, Archaeology, etc.).
• Students entering the PhD stage deficient in Art History 200 (Art Historical Theories and Methodologies) or its equivalent must add this to the total requirements. In some cases, Art History 201 (Topics in Historiography of Art History) may be required by faculty/advisor recommendation. Any additional coursework required by the Graduate Review Committee at time of admission must be completed during the first two quarters of residence and may not count toward the minimum course requirements for either the MA or PhD degree.

Written Comprehensive Examinations

• Upon completion of coursework and fulfillment of language requirements, the student takes the PhD written comprehensive examinations in the major and minor fields of study, designed and evaluated by the student’s major and minor advisors respectively.
• The purpose of the examinations is to test the student’s breadth and depth of knowledge in his/her fields of study. If a student fails to pass the examination or part thereof, the failed portion may be repeated once no later than the subsequent quarter of residence. No further repetition will be allowed. The written comprehensive examinations may be taken during any two-week period of the Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters. Typically, students take these exams during the winter quarter of the second year in residence, 5th quarter, in the PhD program.
• The Department offers two formats for the major and minor written exams, the details of which must be worked out in advance between the student and the examiner. Format A: Take-home. 2-3 essay questions to be completed in 1 week (for the minor exam, 1-2 questions to be completed in 3 days). Format B: Sit-down. 2-3 essay questions to be completed in 6 hours (for the minor exam, 1-2 questions to be completed in 3 hours). Many faculty incorporate designing of a syllabus as an exam question and the formats above do not preclude this possibility. Such an assignment would count as one question/essay.
• The specific format and dates for the major and minor exams must be submitted to the Student Affairs Officer at least three weeks in advance using the appropriate departmental form.

Doctoral Committee

• Upon passing the written comprehensive examinations in major and minor fields of study, the student selects a dissertation topic and nominates the members of his/her Doctoral Committee in consultation with his/her advisor.
• This committee minimally consists of the major advisor, now serving as committee chair, two additional members of the art history faculty (normally, but not necessarily, including the student’s minor advisor), and one member from another UCLA department. For details on the acceptable status of these members and for minimum university standards of the doctoral committee,  please see page 14-17 in the Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study manual .
• The student and committee chair must agree on all committee members. Any changes in committee constitution after formal nomination must be reported to and approved by the Graduate Division; replacing the committee chair can only occur by consent or if the faculty member leaves UCLA.
• Please note that the Graduate Division generally approves Committee nominations within 2-3 weeks, and the oral qualifying exam may not be taken before official approval has been received.

Dissertation Prospectus and Oral Qualifying Examination

• The dissertation topic should be identified in discussions with the advisor. These discussions usually evolve organically through the course of study and are highly individualized. Typically, the oral examination is scheduled during the quarter following the successful completion of the written examinations.
• Once the Doctoral Committee has been officially approved by Graduate Division, and after having conducted considerable exploratory research and preparation for his/her dissertation, the student submits to each member of the Doctoral Committee a dissertation prospectus. The prospectus should not be distributed to the full committee without the approval of the student’s committee chair.
• The dissertation prospectus should not exceed 20 pages and include a statement of purpose regarding the art historical topic/problem being addressed (what is at stake in the study), tentative chapter outlines, working bibliography, research plan, methodological strategies, and preliminary schedule for completion.
• Students should submit the prospectus to committee members 2-3 weeks before the oral examination date to allow sufficient time for the prospectus to be reviewed. If any member of the Doctoral Committee finds the prospectus inadequate, he or she must notify the committee chair at least one week prior to the oral examination date. In some cases, the prospectus must be revised and/or the examination date postponed.
• The student is responsible for scheduling the oral exam, consulting with committee members well in advance regarding the date and time of availability of each faculty member. The SAO helps the student reserve an appropriate space for the exam.
• The purpose of the oral examination is to assess the validity and feasibility of the proposed dissertation topic and its methodologies, as well as the soundness of the student’s projected approach to completing the project.
• At the end of the examination, each committee member reports the examination as “passed” or “not passed.” A student may not pass and may not be advanced to candidacy if more than one member votes “not passed” regardless of the size of the committee, or if the major advisor so votes. Upon majority vote of the committee, the oral qualifying examination may be repeated once. Students upon passing the oral examination are formally advanced to candidacy by the Graduate Division.
• At the time of the exam, the Doctoral Committee decides, by unanimous agreement, whether or not to waive the final oral examination (not normally required) and selects, again by unanimous agreement, a minimum of three members, two from the art history faculty and one from an outside department, who will read, approve, and certify the final draft of the dissertation. For details regarding the acceptable status of these certifying members, consult the publication, Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.
• Upon passing the oral examination, the student is officially Advanced to Candidacy (ATC).

Dissertation and Final Oral Examination (if required)

• After advancing to candidacy, the student works on the dissertation in consultation with his/her advisor, committee chair, as well as Doctoral Committee certifying members according to the rules laid out in the above named publication. Upon completion of the dissertation or individual chapters thereof, and with  approval  of the committee chair, the student circulates a copy of the dissertation  in Week 1 of the quarter  for comments and suggestions from the certifying members of the Doctoral Committee.  Each  reader is allowed  four  weeks in which to read it and make corrections and comments, and the student is allowed  three  weeks in which to respond and revise the dissertation. It is incumbent upon the student to communicate in a timely manner with all certifying members of the Doctoral Committee to ensure adequate time for review. Committee members must be consulted as each reader may require more time.  PLEASE REVIEW the timeline for dissertation completion  which clearly outlines the schedule for submission during the student’s final quarter.
• After incorporating into the final draft of the dissertation the recommended changes, the student will circulate the dissertation again among the certifying members of the Doctoral Committee. This draft should be circulated sufficiently in advance of the deadline for filing the dissertation so that each reader is allowed at least two weeks in which to reread it (see quarterly Schedule of Classes for filing deadlines).
• Each certifying member of the committee then decides whether or not to approve the dissertation. In cases where less than the entire committee acts as certifying members, approval of the dissertation must be unanimous. If the entire committee acts as certifying members, the dissertation is considered approved with one negative decision so long as that negative decision is not that of the committee chair. After final approval by the Dean of the Graduate Division, the student files the required number of copies of the dissertation with the Manuscript Advisor of the Office of University Archives. Deadlines for filing the dissertation fall approximately two weeks before the date the degree is to be awarded.
• Note: A final oral examination is not normally required for Art History, but in some cases it may be requested by the Doctoral Committee (determined at the oral qualifying exam), and is held prior to filing the dissertation. All members of the committee must attend and vote. A student may pass with one negative vote so long as that vote is not that of the committee chair. In case of failure, the Doctoral Committee decides, by unanimous agreement, whether or not the candidate may be re-examined.
• Upon filing the dissertation, the student receives the Ph.D.

Language Requirements

The completion of the PhD requires reading knowledge of a minimum of two foreign languages relevant to the student’s field of study (more than two may be required in some cases and must be determined in consultation with the faculty advisor). Applicants are expected to already possess reading proficiency in at least one of the two languages for which they will be responsible. New students shall sit for at least one language exam upon arrival at UCLA.

Students at the MA stage are expected to satisfy their first foreign language requirement by the end of the 3rd quarter in residence. It is highly recommended that they complete the second language requirement by the end of the 6th quarter in residence.

Students at the PhD stage are expected to satisfy their second foreign language requirement by the end of the 1st quarter and any additional languages by the end of the 3rd quarter in residence (or in consultation with the major advisor).

Fulfilling the Language Requirement

Option 1: Pass the Departmental Foreign Language Exam.

The language exam consists of translation of a text of 300-700 words chosen by the examiner to be translated into English in three hours (use of a non-electronic dictionary is allowed). Specific qualities of the language and expected level of proficiency in the field will impact the choice and length of the selected text. The Department expects accurate rendition in English rather than a strict translation, word for word, and values the quality of the translation over the completion of the exam.

Language exams are scheduled four times a year, approximately three weeks prior to finals week during the regular academic quarters. Entering students must sit for the first language exam in the first week of the fall quarter. Exam results will be sent out by email within three weeks of the exam date. If feedback on the exam is desired after the results have been announced, students are welcome to contact the examiner. If a student fails the exam and wants to appeal, he or she should contact the Chair of the Language Committee or Director of Graduate Studies.

Option 2: Complete UCLA courses  French 6, German 6, Italian 6, Spanish 25, or other relevant language classes with a minimum grade of “B”.

The following is a general guideline for language requirements in relation to specific fields of study. The final selection and number of languages is to be determined in consultation with the primary advisor.

African Indigenous African languages, Arabic, French, German, Portuguese Ancient/Mediterranean/Near East Akkadian, Sumerian, Egyptian, Greek, Latin Chinese/Korean/Japanese Two East Asian languages, for pre-modern studies additionally literary Chinese or Japanese Byzantine/Western Medieval French, German, Greek, Latin, Italian, Slavic Languages, Turkish, Spanish Indigenous Americas One European language, one indigenous language (e.g., Quechua, Nahuatl, Maya), one other language (depending on topic) Islamic Arabic, Turkish/Ottoman, Persian, French, German Latin America Spanish (mandatory), French, German, Portuguese Modern & Contemporary Europe & America French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian Renaissance/Baroque/Early Modern Italian, French, Spanish, German, Latin, Dutch, Slavic Languages, Latin and/or Greek (depending on topic) South Asia Sanskrit, Hindi/Urdu, Persian Southeast Asia Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian

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• 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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PhD in Art History

The University of Minnesota's Doctoral Program in Art History is a fully funded PhD program that trains scholars who go on to careers in universities, colleges, museums, and other arts institutions throughout the nation and the world. The Department of Art History is an exciting place to ground yourself in the theories and methods of art history, to pursue interdisciplinary work, and to develop a global perspective on the discipline.

Our current faculty and institutional strengths support specialization in the following overlapping fields: East Asian art, Modern European art and visual/material culture, Islamic art (including the medieval Persianate world and the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires), the global early modern in Europe, the Atlantic world, South Asia, Italian Baroque art, North American art and visual/material culture, film and photography, and contemporary art and theory.

As a major research university located in a thriving urban center, the University of Minnesota has much to offer students of the visual arts. On campus, the Weisman Art Museum, designed by architect Frank Gehry, features an outstanding teaching collection, stimulating exhibitions, and an active programming schedule. Beyond the University, you will find in the Twin Cities a lively arts community and world-class art institutions including the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Walker Art Center, and the Guthrie Theater.

We are committed to supporting graduate students intellectually, professionally, and financially. The interdisciplinary programming of the Institute for Advanced Study and other campus centers provides many opportunities to exchange ideas with colleagues in other fields. You will encounter opportunities to curate exhibitions on campus and in the community and you will enter into a graduate student community that is remarkably active in presenting papers, both nationally and internationally. The Department of Art History's graduate student professionalization workshop meets several times each semester to discuss such topics as teaching methods, journal and book publishing, CV preparation, and the job market outlook.

All accepted students are fully funded. 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. In addition, every year the department nominates students for collegiate- and university-wide recruitment, predoctoral and dissertation write-up fellowships that provide additional stipend and release from TA-ing. Students who win external fellowships are allowed to save a year of their UMN funding for a sixth year.   

College Resources for Graduate Students

Visit CLA’s website for graduate students to learn about collegiate funding opportunities, student support, career services, and more.

Student Services      Career Services     Funding & Support

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Art Education, Ph.D.

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

TODO FIXME : DRAFT : WORK IN PROGRESS

Elevate your scholarship and the art education profession..

The Ph.D. in Art Education prepares students to become innovative researchers, informed educators, and leaders in higher education, schools, communities, and museums. At Penn State, you’ll enjoy all the resources of a large research university within a close-knit, collegial environment of faculty and fellow students committed to making an impact on the field of art education.

Program Application Deadline

The deadline for applications for AY 2023–24 is January 15, 2023.

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 Education at Penn State

Take your experience and research in art education to the next level. Penn State’s Ph.D. in Art Education–including unique dual-title options that incorporate African American and Diaspora Studies or Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies –is ideal if you want to build on your experience in the field through original research projects that make significant contributions to art education theory and practice.

Coursework in art education and related disciplines such as philosophy, curriculum and instruction, sociology, anthropology, and other fields provides necessary theoretical and methodological background for dissertation research. Doctoral students are required to complete 32 credits of graduate coursework (20 of which are to be completed in art education), pass their Qualifying Examination, English Competency Examination, Comprehensive Examination, Final Examination, and submit a dissertation.

Faculty bring a range of teaching, research, and administrative experience from across the country and around the world. The international student body provides students with insight into a range of art teaching practices. You’ll benefit from all the resources of a large research university while studying as part of the collaborative, close-knit community within the Penn State School of Visual Arts.

Applicants apply for admission to the program via the Graduate School application for admission . Requirements listed here are in addition to Graduate Council policies listed under GCAC-300 Admissions Policies .

The language of instruction at Penn State is English. English proficiency test scores (TOEFL/IELTS) may be required for international applicants. See GCAC-305 Admission Requirements for International Students for more information.

Students who seek admission to the graduate program must make formal application to The Graduate School and admissions committee of the Art Education program. To be admitted without deficiencies, the student is expected to have completed either a baccalaureate degree in art education or a program considered by the admissions committee to provide an appropriate background for the application’s degree objectives. Related programs include work in studio art, art history, art education, education, museum education, etc. Deficiencies may be made up by course work that is not counted as credit toward an advanced degree. Students pursuing graduate degrees may simultaneously take course work leading to teaching certification and art supervisory certification. The students who plan to teach art education at the college level should note that some institutions require professors to hold a public school art teaching certificate and to have had public school teaching experience.

Students with a minimum 3.00 junior/senior grade-point average (on a 4.00 scale) and with appropriate course backgrounds will be considered for admission. The most qualified applicants will be accepted up to the number of spaces that are available for new students. Exceptions to the minimum 3.00 average may be made for students with special backgrounds, abilities, and interests. Transcripts should indicate high attainment in appropriate academic and creative work. Letters of recommendation should attest to scholarship and ability to work independently. In addition to the above requirements, there are specific requirements for each degree program:

M.S. and Ph.D. Application Materials

• Completed official Penn State Graduate School Application for Admission .
• professional objectives
• how these objectives would be furthered by graduate study,
• the areas in which research and creative work are planned,
• what the applicant hopes to do with the graduate degree he or she is seeking to attain, and
• evidence that the applicant is prepared to undertake graduate level work.
• Submit an example of scholarly writing.
• Submit three (3) letters of recommendation. Letters of recommendation should attest to the applicant’s scholarship and ability to work independently.
• Submit official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended .
• Submit a Portfolio (optional). Applicants may submit images of their creative works that represent arts-based research or images that illustrate their conception of art.
• Indicate in your Statement of Professional Intent if you would like to be considered for an Assistantship/Fellowship.

M.P.S. Application Materials

• Statement of purpose in pursuing the M.P.S. in Art Education.
• Three letters of recommendation.
• Teaching portfolio to include teaching philosophy and a sample of curricular materials developed by the applicant.
• A critical reflective written response to an article provided in the GRADS application site. The response should outline the key arguments made by the author(s), a critical evaluation of the logic and assumptions in the article, and a connection to the applicant’s own instructional or professional experience.
• Curriculum vitae with evidence of professional leadership and service.
• Official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended , including official military transcripts (if applicable). (All college or university transcripts are required regardless of the length of time that has passed, the grades earned, or the accreditation of the institutions attended.)
• International applicants whose first language is not English or who have received a baccalaureate or master’s degree from an institution in which the language of instruction is not English, please refer to GCAC-305 Admission Requirements for International Students .

https://bulletins.psu.edu

Ph.D. in Art Education Handbook

Graduate courses carry numbers from 500 to 699 and 800 to 899. Advanced undergraduate courses numbered between 400 and 499 may be used to meet some graduate degree requirements when taken by graduate students. Courses below the 400 level may not. A graduate student may register for or audit these courses in order to make up deficiencies or to fill in gaps in previous education but not to meet requirements for an advanced degree.

Art Education (AED) Course List

Graduate assistantships available to students in this program and other forms of student aid are described in the Tuition & Funding section of The Graduate School’s website. Students on graduate assistantships must adhere to the course load limits set by The Graduate School.

Current Cohort Bios

Dissertations

Aaron Knochel

• Associate Professor of Art Education

[email protected]

814.863.7309

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

The Ph.D. in Art Education is for scholars who want to delve deeper into art education research topics. Students in the program conduct original research with the potential to impact art education theory and practice.

The program fosters collaboration, collegiality, and innovation within a close-knit environment where students also enjoy all the resources of a large research university.

Degree Options

Penn State’s Art Education program offers the opportunity to pursue one of two extraordinary dual-title Ph.D. degree options – Art Education + African American and Diaspora Studies, or Art Education + Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Either of these novel, interdisciplinary options will position you to make a lasting impact on the art education profession.

Dual Ph.D. and Diaspora Studies

This dual-title Ph.D. is for scholars who want to delve deeper into art education research topics with a focus on African American life, art, and visual culture. Students in the program conduct original research with the potential to impact art education theory and practice, as well as the field of African American and diaspora studies.

In addition to art education and African American and diaspora studies, course work covers related disciplines such as philosophy, curriculum and instruction, sociology, anthropology, and other fields, providing the necessary theoretical and methodological background for a dissertation. Students must complete 47 credits.

Faculty bring a range of teaching, research, and administrative experience from across the country and around the world. The international student body provides students with insight into a range of art teaching and research practices.

Graduate Bulletin Links

• African American and Diaspora Studies Bulletin page.
• Graduate Studies information related to the dual-title Ph.D. in Art Education + African American and Diaspora Studies.

Dual Ph.D. and Gender Studies

The dual-title graduate degree in Art Education + Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies is for students who want to focus on feminist and non-binary perspectives and pedagogy in their art education research.

Coursework in art education, gender and sexuality studies, and related disciplines such as philosophy, curriculum and instruction, sociology, anthropology, and other fields provides necessary theoretical and methodological background for thesis and dissertation research.

Faculty for the dual-title degree program bring a range of teaching, research, and administrative experience from across the country and around the world. The international student body provides students with insight into a range of teaching practices.

• Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Bulletin page .
• Graduate Studies information related to the dual-title Ph.D. in Art Education + Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

Guides + Resources

• Art Education Ph. D. Handbook
• The Graduate School At Penn State

Considering the Ph.D. in Art Education? Consider this.

You’ll make an impact on the discipline through your research.

• Faculty bring experience from across the country and the world.
• Dual-title Ph.D. options layer diverse, interdisciplinary perspectives with Art Ed scholarship.
• Enjoy SoVA’s close-knit environment, along with all the resources of a major research university.
• Program fosters collaboration, collegiality, and innovation.
• Penn State has sponsored the annual Graduate Research in Art Education (GRAE) conference since 2005.

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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. 

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PhD in Art Education

The Doctor of Philosophy in Art Education degree is designed for students who want to make a scholarly contribution to the Art Education field.

Allison Rowe, PhD (2021). “Work Like a River” (participatory lecture, 2017). Photo by Larissa Issler

PhD Art Education

At the University of Illinois, faculty and graduate students build a vibrant community of inquiry within the context of a Research 1 university. This community, including faculty whose breadth of interests span topics including contemporary art and visual culture in education, formal and informal learning, cultural policy and urban studies, and teacher training and identity, provides an intellectually stimulating environment for graduate students to stretch themselves intellectually and become world authorities on the particular topic of their dissertation.

Some doctoral students receive funding and support as teaching assistants for 4 years, and this funding is conditional upon academic standing. This funding includes a tuition waiver, a salary, health insurance, annual conference funding, plus many opportunities to gain competitive grants. Students complete coursework, consisting of 5 courses in art education, courses in research methodology and writing, courses in a minor that complements individual student interest, and courses that prepare students for the qualifying exam (taken after one year of full-time study) and the preliminary exam (at the conclusion of coursework). Examples of minors include Asian Studies, Art History, New Media, Museum Studies, and Women’s Studies. Following the conclusion of coursework, students write a dissertation that contributes new knowledge to the field of art education. Finally, students defend their dissertation.

During this course of study, there are numerous resources available to graduate students in Art Education, both within our program and across the University of Illinois:

• At our major comprehensive research university, students have access to the broadest possible range of elective courses.
• Visual Arts Research is a scholarly, refereed journal and has been published through the Art Education program for over 40 years. It is edited by Art Education faculty.
• The Everyday Arts Lab offers an excellent local site for graduate research for those interested in arts and social practice.
• With a total of 14 million titles the University of Illinois Library houses the largest collection of any public university in the world. The Ricker Library of Architecture and Art has 120,000 titles and 33,00 serials.
• The Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory is a program that promote conversations among a range of departments in the humanities, social sciences, and performing arts by organizing lectures, panel discussions, and conferences, as well as the Modern Critical Theory lecture series.
• The Krannert Art Museum includes an archive of over 8,000 works of art and rotating exhibitions of traditional and innovative art works.
• The Spurlock Museum highlights the diversity of cultures around the globe.
• Illinois is host to the  International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry , which brings a large contingent of art education scholars to campus.
• Regular visiting speakers from other institutions including Kevin Tavin, Amelia Kraehe, David Darts, Olivia Gude, Luis Camnitzer, Matthew Goulish, Marjorie Manifold, and Stephanie Springgay.
• Devoted room for Art Education PhD students including carrels for your use.

Faculty Interests

• Arts-based research
• Community arts education
• Conceptual art practices and theory
• Creative cities
• Cultural globalization
• Emerging curriculum theory
• Performance studies
• Psychoanalysis
• Social practice
• Socially engaged art
• Teacher identity
• Urban education
• Visual culture
• Youth studies

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Department of Art, Film, and Visual Studies  

The Department of Art, Film, and Visual Studies (AFVS) at Harvard offers a graduate program in Film and Visual Studies leading to a PhD.

The Department also offers a secondary field in Film and Visual Studies for students already admitted to PhD programs in other departments in the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

The study of film at Harvard functions within the multi-disciplinary examination of audio-visual experience. From Hugo Münsterberg's pathbreaking forays into the psychological reception of moving images and Rudolf Arnheim’s seminal investigations of "visual thinking" to Paul Sachs’s incorporation of film into the academic and curatorial focus of the fine arts at Harvard and Stanley Cavell’s philosophical approaches to the medium, Harvard has sustained a distinguished tradition of engaging cinema and the cultural, visual, spatial, and philosophical questions that it raises. With their emphases on experimentation in the contemporary arts and creative collaboration among practitioners and critics, the Department of Art, Film, and Visual Studies (AFVS) and the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts provide a singular and unparalleled site for advanced research in Film and Visual Studies. The program aims to foster critical understanding of the interactions between the making of and thinking about film and video, between studio art, performance, and visual culture, and between different arts and pursuits whose objects are audio-visual entities. The Carpenter Center also supports a lively research culture, including the Film and Visual Studies Colloquium and a Film and Visual Studies Workshop for advanced doctoral students, as well as lecture series and exhibitions featuring distinguished artists, filmmakers, and scholars.

Interdisciplinary in its impetus, the program draws on and consolidates course offerings in departments throughout the Faculty of Arts and Sciences which consider film and other arts in all their various countenances and investigate the place of visual arts within a variety of contexts. Graduate students may also take advantage of the significant resources of the Harvard Film Archive (HFA), which houses a vast collection of 16mm and 35mm film prints as well as rare video materials, vintage film posters, photographs, and promotional materials. The HFA furthers the artistic and academic appreciation of moving image media within the Harvard and the New England community, offering a setting where students and faculty can interact with filmmakers and artists. In early 2003, the HFA opened a new Conservation Center that allows the HFA conservator and staff to accession new films as well as to preserve its significant collections of independent, international, and silent films.

Students and faculty in Film and Visual Studies are also eligible to apply to the Harvard Film Study Center for fellowships which are awarded annually in support of original film, video, and photographic projects. Established in 1957, the Film Study Center provides production equipment, post-production facilities, technical support, and funding for nonfiction works that interpret the world through images and sounds. Among the many important films to have been produced at the Film Study Center are John Marshall's The Hunters (1956), Robert Gardner's Forest of Bliss (1985), Irene Lusztig's Reconstruction (2001), Ross McElwee's Bright Leaves (2003), Peter Galison and Robb Moss’s Secrecy (2008), Ilisa Barbash and Lucien Castaing-Taylor's Sweetgrass (2009), Véréna Paravel and J.P. Sniadecki’s Foreign Parts (2011), Véréna Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor’s Leviathan (2013) and De Humani Corporis Fabrica (2022), Stephanie Spray and Pacho Velez’s Manakamana (2014), Mati Diop’s Atlantiques (2019), Ernst Karel and Veronika

Kusumaryati’s Expedition Content (2020), and Joana Pimenta and Adirley Queirós’ Dry Ground Burning (2022).

Prospective Graduate Students - Film and Visual Studies Graduate Program Admissions Information Sessions: 

1:00 pm on the following dates:

Monday, September 30 th

Monday, October 28 th

Monday, November 25 th

Registration is required – registration link below:  

https://harvard.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMvcOypqjMpHt1EDPhAG6PXHDtx9IIASIYd#/registration

Images:  Instructions for a Light and Sound Machine  (2005), directed by Peter Tscherkassky, from a print in the collection of the Harvard Film Archive.

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Graduate Contacts

Laura Frahm Director of Graduate Studies 

Emily Amendola Graduate Coordinator Film and Visual Studies Program (617) 495-9720 amendola [at] fas.harvard.edu  

FAQs about the Graduate Program

My native language is not english; do i have to take the an english language proficiency exam.

Adequate  command of spoken and written English  is essential to success in graduate study at Harvard. Applicants who are non-native English speakers can demonstrate English proficiency in one of three ways:

• Receiving an undergraduate degree from an academic institution where English is the primary language of instruction.*
• Earning a minimum score of 80 on the Internet based test (iBT) of the ...

When is the application deadline for admission to the Ph.D. program in Film and Visual Studies?

December 15, 2023

Where can I obtain an admissions application?

Applications are found on the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences website ( https://gsas.harvard.edu/admissions/apply ). 

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• Join our PhD Art History Program (VA76)

Ph.D. Art History Program (VA76)

The Department of Visual Arts offers a PhD in art history, theory, and criticism with specializations in cultural areas in which faculty do research (VA76). Offering a distinct alternative to other PhD programs in art history, our program centers on a unique curriculum that treats the study of art past and present—including fine art, media and new media, design and popular culture as part of a broad inquiry into the practices, objects, and discourses that constitute the art world, even as it encourages examination of the larger frameworks—historical, cultural, social, intellectual, and theoretical—within which the category “art” has been contextualized in the most recent developments in the discipline. This program is also distinctive in that it is housed within a department that has been for many years one of the nation’s leading centers of art practice and graduate education in studio, media, and—most recently—digital media. The offering of the PhD and MFA is based on the department’s foundational premise that the production of art and the critical, theoretical, and historical reflection upon it inherently and necessarily participate in a single discursive community. This close integration of art history and art practice is reflected in the inclusion of a concentration in art practice within the PhD in art history, theory, and criticism.

To Apply:   https://connect.grad.ucsd.edu/apply/

Application Opens:  September 4th, 2024 for the Fall 2025 application cycle

Application Deadline:  December 4th, 2024 for the Fall 2025 application cycle

Interdisciplinary Specializations

Students within the PhD program who are interested in the opportunity to undertake specialized research may apply to participate in an interdisciplinary specialization. Students accepted into a specialization program would be expected to complete coursework in addition to those required for their PhD program. The department offers interdisciplinary specializations with the following campus programs.

• Anthropogeny:   for students with an interest in human origin
• Critical Gender Studies:   providing specialized training in gender and sexuality
• Interdisciplinary Environmental Research : for students interested in environmental solutions

Application Requirements

All applicants must satisfy the following to be considered for admissions to our department:

Completion of a four-year Bachelors degree or equivalent: 

• 3.0 GPA minimum or 'B' average
• Submission of unofficial transcripts required 

English Language Proficiency:

• Demonstrated English language proficiency is required of all international applicants whose native language is not English. Non-native English language speakers may either display proficiency by meeting the minimum speaking scores listed below or can be exempt from the test scores requirement if they received a degree from an institution which provides instruction solely in English. Please refer to the following link for more information regarding the degree from an institution exemption: English Language Proficiency .
• TOEFL iBT speaking scores of 26-30
• IELTS speaking scores of 8-9
• PTE speaking scores of 84-90

Letters of Recommendation:

• Minimum of 3 recommendations required
• Letters of recommendation should come from individuals, preferably previous professors, who can best explain why you are prepared and would be successful in rigorous academic studies at the graduate level.

Statement of Purpose:

• 750-1000 word limit, not to exceed 3 pages
• Focus your Statement of Purpose on the reasons you are interested in attending this graduate program. You can include the research you hope to pursue within our program and give the Admissions Committee a sense of who you are and what you hope to accomplish. The statement should be well organized, concise, and completely free of grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors.
• Writing Sample
• 2000 word Research Statement

Portfolio Requirements

Writing Sample (4000-8000 words):

Examples include: senior honors thesis, MA thesis, or other research or critical paper, preferably in art or media history.

Research Statement (2000 words maximum):

The Research Statement should explain the research that you wish to pursue within our program. There may be some overlap between the Research Statement and Statement of Purpose however these should be viewed as two distinct prompts that will give the Admissions Committee a greater sense of who you are and what you would accomplish at UC San Diego.

File Names for Portfolio Items:

Please name your files, with your Last Name, First Initial underscore and the document type. So if my name was Terry Triton, I would have the following File Names:

Graduate Student Research

Check out our annual Research Colloquium . PhD students who have recently advanced to candidacy present their research to the local community. Please explore the recent work completed within the department, in addition to the Faculty and Graduate Student personal pages. 

2023 Research Colloquium

2022 Research Colloquium

2021 Research Colloquium

2020 Research Colloquium

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Art Education

Ph.D. in Education with a concentration in art education

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About the Program

Offered within the VCU School of Education , the art education concentration of the Ph.D. in education program allows students to connect contemporary art and education theories and philosophies, practical and professional experiences, and impact research to develop an area of expertise relevant to the field of art education.

The program integrates urban community engagement, digital and emerging media, and research and assessment in diverse settings, ensuring graduates will be highly qualified to serve in teaching, research and leadership positions at universities and in arts and education organizations.

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