Art History graduate students celebrate with Professor S. Hollis Clayson on the day of her inauguration as Bergen Evans Professor in the Humanities.

About the Program

The Department of Art History offers a full-time Ph.D. program. Broad in its range of specializations yet small in size, our program is intellectually rigorous and committed to supporting students throughout their training. We are honored to maintain a nationally highly ranked program, and committed to ensuring an exceptionally high level of scholarly training. Through our own course offerings and through program and departmental offerings of the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and The Graduate School, we encourage an impressive range of interdepartmental and interdisciplinary study. Roughly 25 graduate students enjoy close interaction with 15 nationally renowned faculty members who teach and publish widely on a large number of historical periods and specializations. Students may supplement the University’s extensive curriculum by taking courses at the University of Chicago and at other Big Ten universities through the Committee on Institutional Cooperation. Seminars at the Newberry Library in Chicago are also open to our students, and are frequently taught by visiting faculty in a variety of disciplines through the Center for Renaissance Studies Consortium.

Generously supported by The Graduate School and WCAS, the department provides its Ph.D. students full financial aid, travel grants for conference presentations and archival research, extensive pedagogical training and mentorship, and assistance on the job market. We are proud of our placement record and of our record of national and international fellowships for predoctoral study.

The graduate pages of this website introduce prospective students to our doctoral program, and provide a wealth of resources--administrative and academic--for current students.