Ph.D. in Art History and Criticism

SUNY Stony Brook University

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 on the doctoral level. 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 culture. Ph.D. students are also eligible to take courses at other schools in the New York Inter-University Doctoral Consortium including Columbia, NYU, CUNY and Princeton. The Ph.D. 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.

College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Art