Doctor of Philosophy in Art History and Criticism

Stony Brook’s Ph.D. program in art history and criticism is designed to encourage students to apply what they have learned at the master’s level towards more intense and individual research. The emphasis of the program is on integrating historical and theoretical study into a curriculum focused on an interdisciplinary approach to modern and contemporary art and visual and material culture. The program culminates in the oral defense of a substantial written dissertation on an original topic. Students are not accepted into the Ph.D. program on a part-time basis. This degree is considered essential for those intending to engage in advanced academic research, teaching, and publishing in the field of art history and criticism, and may provide a significant advantage to those entering the professional art world of museums and galleries.The Graduate Programs in Art History & Criticism at Stony Brook University focus on modern and contemporary art and visual culture. We aim to produce scholars, critics, curators and practitioners who can address global artistic production through contemporary issues and paradigms. Media aesthetics, art and technology, public art and social practice, politics of the avant-garde, photography, film and critical curatorial studies are currently areas of departmental research. We offer a dynamic, interdisciplinary curriculum along with individual mentoring from faculty whose work has won national and international recognition. Students benefit from engagement with the department's studio programs and with faculty and students from other programs including Philosophy, History, Music, Computer Science and Engineering, and are able to pursue Graduate Certificates in Media, Art, Culture and Technology; Art and Philosophy; Creative Writing and Literature; Women’s and Gender Studies, and Writing and Rhetoric, among others