Graduate Degree Programs
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CRAIG ZABEL, Head of the Department
240 Borland Building
814-865-6326
ccw2@psu.edu
Ph.D., M.A.
Graduate work is offered in the following areas: Ancient, Byzantine, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Modern, Contemporary, American, African, and Asian art and architectural history.
Scores from the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) Aptitude Test (verbal, quantitative, and analytical) are required for admission to the Department of Art History. Special emphasis will be given to the verbal part of the GRE scores. Requirements listed here are in addition to general Graduate School requirements stated in the GENERAL INFORMATION section of the Graduate Bulletin.
Candidates with a 3.00 junior/senior grade-point average and a minimum of 21 credits in art history will be considered for admission to the master's program. Lacking these, a promising candidate may be accepted on condition that deficiencies be remedied, but without graduate degree credit. Applicants to the Ph.D. program must have an M.A. in art history or a closely related field. The best-qualified applicants will be accepted up to the number of spaces that are available for new students.
Candidates for the M.A. degree are required to complete a minimum total of 36 credits (including a master's thesis or paper), divided as follows:
In addition, candidates must demonstrate a reading proficiency in two foreign languages. One of these languages must be German, and the other being French, Italian, or Spanish. On the recommendation of a student's adviser, and with the approval of the graduate officer, a student may substitute one of the above-named languages with another foreign language deemed appropriate for a specialized field. Proficiency in one language must be demonstrated before the end of one year of study. A reading knowledge of the second language must be demonstrated before the end of the second year. A master's examination must also be passed before completing the M.A. degree.
Thirty additional credits, not including doctoral dissertation research, are required for the Ph.D. At least 24 of these credits must be in art history and 3 to 6 must be in a related area outside art history. At least 9 of the art history credits must be at the 500 level, exclusive of Art History 510 and Art History 596. At the discretion of the candidate's doctoral committee, the candidate may be required to take additional specialized courses pertaining to his or her major area of study. For students who have received a master's degree from another university, a reading competency in German and in French or Italian must be demonstrated before the end of one year of study. For the Ph.D., a candidacy examination, a comprehensive examination, and a final oral examination must be successfully completed in addition to the student's doctoral dissertation.
Graduate assistantships and other forms of student aid are described in the STUDENT AID section of the Graduate Bulletin.
Graduate courses carry numbers from 500 to 599 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 HISTORY (ART H) course list
DATE LAST REVIEWED BY GRADUATE SCHOOL: 5/17/04
Last updated by Publications: 8/19/09