Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Degree in the field of Art History

MA and PhD Degrees in the field of Art History

Upon completing the MA and PhD degrees in the field of Art History, students will be able to:

1. Apply disciplinary method visual interpretation and critique of art to produce scholarship and communicate about art using appropriate disciplinary vocabularies and primary and secondary texts where appropriate.
2. Understand art not as an isolated incident but in relation to the contexts that not only shape art, but are shaped by art, including: history, society, culture, geography, and politics.
3. Understand art as a multicultural issue.
4. Develop and apply understanding of major artistic movements, artists, and art pieces by identifying and situating individual artists and works of art within major movements.

MA and PhD Degrees in field of Art History

For general university requirements, please see Doctoral Degrees. For additional requirements, regulations, and procedures for all graduate programs, please see All Graduate Students. PhD in Art History program at Rice University trains students for academic research and teaching, curatorial positions, and other careers in visual arts. Program requirements include two years of coursework and demonstration of two language proficiencies in addition to English, as well as successful completion of a graduate research paper, oral and written qualifying exams, a thesis prospectus, and a doctoral thesis. All students entering PhD program must complete full curriculum, regardless of degrees and coursework completed prior to student’s admission to Rice’s doctoral program.

MA degree is a non-thesis master’s degree.  For general university requirements, please see Non-Thesis Master’s Degrees. For additional requirements, regulations, and procedures for all graduate programs, please see All Graduate Students. Although all students are admitted into doctoral program, and no MA program is available, an MA degree may be conferred upon successful completion of first two years of coursework, passing of at least one language exam, and completion of graduate research paper.

In addition to traditional degree timeline, department also offers a Museum Professionals area of specialization, which is designed for students who currently hold professional appointments at local museums. All requirements for program remain same; however, graduate students who continue to hold their position at museums have a longer timetable for completing requirements.

program is overseen by Graduate Committee in Art History. committee is comprised of department faculty and supervised by a Director of Graduate Studies (DGS). DGS is responsible for advising students on coursework and degree requirements, and department’s Graduate Program Administrator oversees completion and documentation of program requirements, as well as financial matters concerning graduate students.

All incoming students will be assigned to DGS for first semester of enrollment. DGS will assist in explaining departmental guidelines, choosing courses, and beginning to strategize about primary and secondary fields. Primary and secondary fields are later finalized by student in consultation with student's advisor and with a view towards requirements of job market. First-year students need to identify a potential faculty advisor in their primary field, approach faculty member for permission, and, with advisor's agreement, declare a permanent advisor by end of first week of classes in Spring semester of first year. 

The English Language Proficiency Requirement may be waived for an international student who received a degree from an institution in which English is the official language of communication. Contact the admitting program for more information.

The following language proficiency tests are accepted by Rice graduate programs and will be used to assess English language proficiency. Please note the below scores are the minimum requirement, though some program requirements will be higher.

• The TOEFL IBT Home. A minimum score of 90 is required
• IELTS Indicator. A minimum score of 7 is required.
• Duolingo. A minimum score of 115 is required.

1. Find your graduate program(s) of interest and submit an interest form. Click here for a listing of schools and departments.
2. Research the cost of study and available financial support. Qualified doctoral students often receive tuition waivers and a generous stipend.
3. Look at our facts and stats on admissions, enrollment and degrees awarded.
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