The University of
I. Admission and
Financial Support
Those seeking admission to the
Master of Arts program in Art History must hold, or be a candidate for, the
bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution, and must give evidence to the
Graduate Office of the University and to the Department of having completed
that degree prior to enrollment. Students will normally have completed an
undergraduate major in art history, or at least show extensive preparation
across a wide range of areas within the field.
To be considered, an application form must be presented, along with a
brief personal essay discussing the applicant’s reasons for pursuing graduate
work in art history, plans, and special interests within art history, letters
of recommendation from three persons familiar with the applicant’s academic work,
the Aptitude Test of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), official
transcripts from all institutions attended, and a writing sample. The writing sample will normally be an
academic essay bearing upon the history of art or a related field. The writing sample should be what the
applicant considers his or her best work in art history, demonstrating his or
her ability to write cogently, to conduct art historical research, and to
present a critical reading or interpretation. Applicants should also have a reading
knowledge of either French, German, or Italian
adequate to read art historical scholarship (see below, p. 3 for language
requirements). The application must be postmarked by January 1st for admission
during the next academic year, beginning the following September. Students are admitted only in the fall
academic term.
Admission to the Ph.D. Program
Applicants to the Ph.D. program in Art History must have completed, or be in the process of completing, a Master’s degree. Usually this Master’s degree will be in Art History, although students with degrees in other fields, such as in History, American Studies, or Art may be considered, but must show extensive academic preparation in art history. Whether receiving their M.A. degree at Delaware or at another institution, students will not be permitted to register for a second term of courses in the doctoral program nor to receive financial aid for that term unless they demonstrate that all requirements for their M.A. have been completed, and that the degree will be awarded in the imminent future at a specified date certain.
Those whose M.A. degree is
from another institution must submit an application form, along with a brief
personal essay discussing the applicant’s reasons for pursuing graduate work in
art history, plans, and special interests within art history, letters of
recommendation from three persons familiar with the applicant’s academic work,
the Aptitude Test of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), official
transcripts from all institutions attended, and a writing sample. The writing sample will normally be an
academic essay bearing upon the history of art or a related field. The writing
sample is particularly important.
Although it is not a requirement that the writing sample deal with material
related to the applicant’s proposed area of specialization, it is essential
that it demonstrate the candidate’s ability to write well and pursue art
historical research at a high level.
Applicants should also have a reading knowledge of German and either
French or Italian adequate to read art historical scholarship (see below, p. 3
for language requirements). The application must be postmarked by January 2 for
admission during the next academic year, beginning the following September. Students are admitted only in the fall
academic term.
Applicants
to the Ph.D. program who are currently completing requirements for the M.A.
degree in Art History at the University of Delaware, must obtain a “Request for
Permission to Continue Studies toward Ph.D. Degree” form from the Departmental
office and submit it to the Director of Graduate Studies on or before January 2
of the year in which they hope to begin doctoral studies. Students who have applied for admission to the Ph.D. program are not
permitted to begin taking courses beyond those required for the M.A. degree
until after they have been admitted to the Ph.D. Program. It is important that they complete all
requirements for the M.A. degree before beginning doctoral courses. All requirements for the M.A. degree must be
completed, including a Master’s thesis in final form signed by both readers, by
February 1 of the first year in the Ph.D. Program. Students who do not meet this deadline will
not be permitted to continue taking courses toward the doctoral degree, and
thus will not be eligible for further financial assistance.
The Department of Art History, the
Office of Graduate Studies, and several outside donors and/or agencies offer a
number of graduate fellowships, teaching assistantships, research
assistantships, and tuition scholarships.
All of these awards are determined each spring by means of competitive
application. Applicants for admission to the program must indicate their wish
to be considered for financial aid with their application. Continuing students
in the program must indicate their request for financial aid in the coming year
by
February 1.
All
graduate fellowships, teaching assistantships, and research assistantships are
accompanied by a grant of the full cost of tuition and include a stipend. Tuition scholarships carry no stipend. It is the policy of the Department to limit
financial support to two years for M.A. candidates, and to three years for
students who enter the Ph.D. program with the M.A. in hand, either from
The Department of Art History
considers the ability to read scholarly works in foreign languages
essential. All graduate students
entering the M.A. program in the Department are expected to have upon
enrollment or to gain at the earliest possible moment the ability to read
German or French or Italian works in the history of art. All
graduate students entering the Ph.D. program are expected to have upon
enrollment or to gain at the earliest possible moment the ability to read
German and either French or Italian works in the history of
art. In special cases, where the
student's special area of research warrants, a different language, such as
Spanish or Latin, may be substituted for one of those required, but in all
cases Ph.D. students will need to demonstrate proficiency in German.
Foreign language proficiency will be
tested by the Departmental language examinations. During a period of one hour, with the use of
a dictionary, the student must translate a passage of art historical
writing. The student will be expected to
demonstrate a sound grasp of the language, including its grammar, as well as a
familiarity with the basic art historical terminology in that language. The Department offers examinations in all
three specified languages at specified times during the first weeks of the fall
and spring terms, in September and February, and may also offer the
examinations at other times. Entering
students are expected to take the Departmental examination in at least one
language in September of the year in which they enter the program, that is,
immediately upon enrollment.
It
is difficult to acquire knowledge of new languages while fully engaged in a
demanding graduate program in art history.
Students lacking sufficient language ability to satisfy the Department’s
requirements should consider gaining such ability before entering the program,
if necessary delaying application for admission until they have done so.
Students will be expected to read materials in the required languages in their
seminar work from the first semester of their first year of residence and must
assiduously prepare themselves to do so prior to their arrival. Those who do not satisfy the foreign language
requirement upon enrollment must present by October 1 of their incoming year to
the Director of Graduate Studies and to the designated faculty coordinator of
foreign language requirements a plan for achieving the required proficiency
prior to the beginning of their second year of study. Failure to satisfy the foreign language
requirement will be considered by the faculty when reviewing students' progress
and when allocating financial aid. No student in the M.A. degree program will
be admitted to the Ph.D. program until the M.A. language requirement has been
satisfied, and no student in the Ph.D. program will be permitted to take the
Ph.D. examinations, or to secure the approval of a dissertation topic, or to
register for dissertation credits, until all language requirements have been
satisfied.
If
funds permit, the Department will provide some support for graduate students
who are presenting papers at scholarly conferences, or conducting research with
primary materials away from the University campus. Funds are awarded twice each year, on the
basis of applications made to the Department, the deadlines for the receipt of
applications being October 15 and April 15.
Applications should be made using the form provided by the Department
office, conference and research travel grants having separate forms. Applications will be considered
competitively. Any grant awarded must be
spent within one year from the date of notification of the award to the
student, or the grant will be rescinded.
Students are also advised that grants may also be available from other
units of the University, such as the Office of Women’s Affairs.
Conference
travel: The Department
encourages students to present papers at scholarly conferences. Students who wish to do so are advised to
consult with their adviser or advisers in preparing an abstract, and in
preparing the paper for presentation.
The Department will consider providing funds for travel and registration
only, not for food or lodging. No
student will be awarded more than five grants for conference travel support
during their career in the Department, and no student will receive total awards
during their career in the Department exceeding $3000.
Research
travel: The Department has some
funds available to support travel for research.
Awards are especially intended for, but are not altogether restricted
to, research related to a dissertation topic.
The Department will consider providing funds for travel and lodging
only, not for food and other expenses. No student will be awarded more than
five grants for research travel support during their career in the Department,
and no student will receive total awards during their career in the Department
exceeding $3000.
Individual or independent study
courses under the designation ARTH 666 or 866 are intended for intensive investigation
of a specific research problem that grows out of or is significantly different
from a regularly‑offered course.
Such courses cannot normally be used to satisfy distribution
requirements. It should be noted that these numbers are also used when students
enroll in regularly-scheduled courses at other institutions, for example at
ARTH 860 (
Special permission forms for ARTH
666 and 866 are available from the Assistant to the Chair in the Department,
and should be filled out by the student.
These forms require the signature of the student's adviser, the faculty
member agreeing to offer the course, and the Director of Graduate Studies, as
well as the student. These approvals
must be obtained prior to registering for the course.
The progress of all students in the
graduate program is monitored regularly by the Department faculty and by the
Director of Graduate Studies. Graduate students in the Department of Art
History will receive grades for each course in which they enroll. Grades are
intended to convey the faculty member’s evaluation of the quality of students’
work. All students are expected to do
work of a high standard, which will result in the grade of “A” (excellent) or
“A-“ (very good) or at least “B+” (satisfactory). A grade of “B” indicates a quality of work
markedly below this standard, while “B-“ indicates a
very serious failure to meet expectations.
Any student might receive one or even more than one “B” grade, but
should take this assessment as a caution and an admonition, and should seek
advice from the professor who assigned the grade, and/or from her or his
primary faculty adviser as to attaining a higher level of performance. A significant preponderance of excellent and
very good grades (”A” or “A-“) is an indication that at least in course work
the student is making good academic progress. Failure to earn a significant
preponderance of such grades indicates that the student is not making academic
progress at the standard expected by the Department. A pattern of taking incomplete grades,
especially if those incompletes are not finished promptly, also indicates that
the student is not making academic progress at the standard expected by the
Department.
Those students whose work taken as a
whole falls below the expected high level of achievement, indicated through
grading and in other assessments of performance, or who do not satisfy the
requirements laid down by the Graduate Office or these Rules and Regulations
will not be permitted to continue in the program. Termination because of sub-standard academic
performance (which may include unsatisfactory performance of duties as a
teaching or research assistant) will be preceded by written notification to the
student by the Director of Graduate Studies that she or he is not making
academic progress at the standard expected by the Department. The student will
be given one semester in which to demonstrate adequate improvement, or to
complete outstanding requirements. That
is, students will be notified prior to the end of the free add-drop period of
either semester that they must improve their performance during that semester
or face termination in the program at the end of that semester. Normally, such formal notification will come
at the beginning of the spring semester, but it may be given at any time of the
year, if warranted. Students should meet with their primary academic adviser
and with the Director of Graduate Studies as soon as possible after receiving
such notification, so that the problem and the possible means of addressing the
problem can be discussed. If the student fails to make adequate improvement, a
recommendation to dismiss the student from the program will be by vote of the
Department faculty, and will be conveyed to the Graduate Office for action (see
Graduate Student Probation and Dismissal Policy in the University Catalogue).
III. THE M.A. PROGRAM
Requirements for the M.A. degree in
Art History consist of 24 credits of course work plus 6 thesis credits,
satisfactory completion of the foreign language requirement (i.e. demonstrated
reading knowledge of either German, French, or Italian), and satisfactory
completion of the Master’s Thesis.
All students will be required to
take 24 credit hours, of which at least 18 hours must be Art History graduate
courses, with at least one course (excluding 666 and 866 courses) in five of
the six designated areas of art history (see below). Beyond the required 18 credits in regular Art
History graduate courses, the other 6 hours may be selected from additional Art
History seminars or independent study courses or a combination of these. With prior permission from the Director of
Graduate Studies, students may substitute one or more courses in such related
fields as Anthropology, Early American Culture, Historic Preservation, History,
Museum Studies, and Philosophy. A
maximum of 9 graduate credits earned at another accredited institution may be
applied toward the M.A. degree at
The courses for the master's degree
must be distributed in various fields.
Each student must take, among the 24 credits (minimum requirement) of
course work, at least one seminar or graduate-level (600 or 800) lecture course
in five out of the six areas that follow: At the beginning of each semester,
all Department of Art History courses will be identified as satisfying the
requirement in one (or none) of these six areas. Students who wish to satisfy the distribution
requirement with courses taken outside the Department of Art History must
petition the Director of Graduate Studies in writing before enrolling in such a
course, and must receive approval for the satisfaction of the distribution
requirement by that course from the Director of Graduate Studies.
l.
Ancient
2.
Medieval and/or Northern Renaissance
3.
Italian Renaissance
4.
17th and/or 18th Century
5.
Modern (includes American art post-1945)
6.
American
After the completion of all course
and other degree requirements (including the foreign language requirement), and
until the thesis is submitted to the Graduate Office, a master's candidate is
required to register for sustaining credit as follows:
ARTH
899, Masters Sustaining (0 credits), is used when the student has left the
University to complete his or her thesis. This registration is designed to
ensure that the student is active until he or she completes the degree
requirements. The student must register
continuously until the degree is received.
An application for the master's
degree should be completed by the student and submitted to the Office of
Graduate Studies at the beginning of the term in which he or she expects to
receive the degree prior to the appropriate deadline announced by the Office of
Graduate Studies. The Application for
Advanced Degree form can be obtained at the Office of Graduate Studies, 234
Hullihen Hall, in the Department office, or on the web.
The master's thesis (research essay)
is intended to be a concise demonstration of the student's ability to carry out
independent research and present his or her findings in a systematic and
professional manner. The thesis may be,
indeed most commonly is, an amplification of a research paper initially
undertaken as part of one of the regular seminars. It could also be developed as a separate
project. The thesis should be
approximately 30-35 typed pages of text (7500-9000 words), excluding notes,
bibliography, illustrations or other materials (i.e. the length of a journal
article), and must be of excellent quality.
In preparing the thesis students should be careful to follow closely the
regulations published by the Graduate Office, including the deadlines for
submission, which may vary annually. The
completed Master’s Thesis should conform to the latest edition of The
Chicago Manual of Style. The
The master's thesis topic should be
such that it can be researched and written within a six-month period or
less. In order to complete the thesis in
a timely manner, each student should select a topic by the end of the third
semester of graduate study, at the latest.
It is the responsibility of the student to propose a topic to a member
of the faculty, and to secure the agreement of that faculty member to serve as
first reader for a thesis on that topic. It is also the student’s
responsibility to secure the agreement of a second reader. At least one of the
readers must be a member of the Department of Art History at the
In order to be accepted as
satisfying the requirement for the M.A. degree, the thesis must be approved by
both readers. If so approved, and if the
Chair of the Department is not one of the two readers, then the Chair also
reads the thesis before it is submitted to the Graduate Office, with the
Chair's signature signifying approval on behalf of the Department. Three copies should be submitted to the
Department and then, after approval, to the Dean of the
IV. THE Ph.D. PROGRAM
The Ph.D. student is required to be
in continuous residence at the
A minimum of 24 credits of graduate
course work beyond the M.A. is required, with at least 18 of these credits to
be in Art History seminar courses and the other 6 to be selected from
additional seminars, graduate lecture courses, or independent study courses, or
a combination of these. Six credits are
to be in an area or areas of art history outside of the major and minor fields
of concentration. In addition to the 24
credits of graduate course work, 9 dissertation credits are required.
After
consultation with the student, the Director of Graduate Studies will assign the
student to a member of the faculty, normally someone familiar with the
student’s area of special interest, who will serve as a temporary adviser. After having successfully completed all
course requirements and foreign language examinations, the student will seek to
secure the agreement of one member of the faculty to serve as her or his
adviser for the remaining degree requirements, the comprehensive examinations,
and the dissertation. The faculty
adviser should be someone familiar with the general area in which the student
intends to take the major field examination and to write the dissertation. No faculty member is obligated to serve a
student in this capacity; it is the responsibility of the student to secure the
faculty member’s agreement to serve.
After an advisement agreement has been established between the student
and a faculty member, the Director of Graduate Studies will be notified by
both, and will thereafter assist both in the formation of committees for the
comprehensive examinations and the dissertation.
The
Ph.D. student is required to take the Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination
(including both major and minor field examinations) no later than the end of
the second week of the second semester following the completion of Ph.D. course
work, but not before having completed the Ph.D. course work and having
satisfactorily completed the foreign language requirement. Successful completion of both parts of the
comprehensive examination is required for admission to doctoral candidacy.
Both
the major and minor field examinations are assessed as either passing or
failing. An affirmative vote for a
passing grade by a majority of the examiners is necessary for the examination
to be considered passing. Should the
student fail either the major field or the minor field examination, the student
will be given an opportunity to take that portion only for a second time. (The part already passed need not be
retaken.) The second attempt to pass the
examination must be made not later than the end of the first semester after the
first attempt to pass that portion. That
is, for example, if an examination is failed at any point during the fall term,
it must be taken again by the end of the following spring term. Failure to pass the examination on the second
attempt will result in termination from the program effective at the end of
that term. No third attempt will be
permitted.
A
student’s major and minor fields should be reasonably distinct from one
another, separated by some combination of geography, time period, media, or
other factors as appropriate. Definition
of the major and minor fields, although proposed by the student, must have the
approval of the primary faculty adviser and the Director of Graduate Studies.
Students
should indicate their intention to take the comprehensive examination at least
four weeks in advance, using a special form available in the office. The major and minor examination may be taken
with a computer by arrangement with the Assistant to the Chair in the
Department.
MAJOR FIELD
The
major field exam comprises written and oral components, both administered by an
examining committee. The members of this
committee will be determined by the primary faculty adviser and the Director of
Graduate Studies after consulting with the student. Typically the examining committee will
include the primary faculty adviser and two or three other members. At least two (of the total 3 or 4) must be
faculty in the Art History Department or in another Department at the
The
written component of the exam is designed to test the student’s knowledge of the
field (including works of art and significant themes and issues in the
scholarship) and critical thinking.
After consulting with the student the examining committee will define
five to eight broad areas or themes that will guide preparation for the exam. Each area should encompass a broad segment of
the field and command a substantial bibliography (e.g. the reception of
antiquity in the Renaissance; nationalism in modern art; word and image in
medieval art; portraiture and group portraiture in Dutch art; transcendentalism
and American art). A bibliography
usually containing 25 to 40 items (a mix of books and articles) for each theme
will be prepared by the student and approved by the committee. The exam itself will consist of six questions
designed by the examiners to engage the prepared areas. The student will be expected to answer three
such questions within a period of six hours.
The
oral component, a two-hour exam, will be held no more than one week after the
written exam is completed. It may return
to the questions posed in the written exam but is not restricted to them, and
the student may be asked to relate particular works to themes addressed in the
written exam.
MINOR FIELD
The
minor field examining committee will contain two members of the department
faculty determined by the primary faculty adviser and the Director of Graduate
Studies after consultation with the student. Students should have taken
seminars in the area of the minor field as part of the preparation for the
exam. Unlike major fields, minor fields
may be defined in a variety of ways that may be distinct from the major
fields. The scope of the minor field may
be proposed by the student but must be approved by the primary faculty adviser
and the Director of Graduate Studies.
The
minor field exam is modeled on the written part of the major field exam. Three to five broad areas or themes will be
defined by the examining committee after consulting with the student. A bibliography containing 10 to 15 items for
each theme will be prepared by the student and approved by the committee. The exam itself will consist of two parts and
last for five hours. The first part will
contain six questions designed by the examiners to engage the prepared
areas. The student will be expected to
answer three questions within a period of three and one-half hours. In the second part of the exam, the student
will have ninety minutes to answer three of five questions based on specific
works or groups of works which may be visual or textual.
Upon the recommendation of the student's primary faculty adviser
and the Director of Graduate Studies of the Department, a student may be
admitted to Candidacy for the Ph.D. degree if he or she has (1) satisfactorily
completed 24 credits of graduate course work, including two connected semesters
of full‑time graduate work; (2) demonstrated a reading knowledge of
German and either French or Italian; (3) passed his or her Comprehensive
Examination (both major field and minor field); and (4) had a dissertation
proposal accepted by his or her primary faculty adviser and the Director of
Graduate Studies. A student should
request admission to candidacy prior to the appropriate deadline announced by
the Office of Graduate Studies.
Ph.D. candidates are required to
register for Ph.D. sustaining credits after the completion of all other degree
requirements until the dissertation is submitted to the Graduate Office. ARTH
999 Doctoral Sustaining (0 credits) is used for this
purpose. This registration is designed to ensure that the student is active
until he or she completes the degree requirements.
Students can begin investigation on
a dissertation topic at any time, but she or he can register for the 9
Dissertation Credits (ARTH 969) only after having been admitted to
Candidacy. The student can register for
9 credits of ARTH 964 (Pre-Candidacy Research) during the semester when he or
she is studying for the Comprehensive examination. This will only be converted by the Graduate
Office to the required Dissertation Credits (ARTH 969) if the student passes
into Candidacy (as described above) either during that semester or by the last
day of the free add-drop period of the following semester.
Students should confer with the
primary faculty adviser and other faculty members, as appropriate, on the
selection of a dissertation subject. If
the subject appears to be suitable, the student will be invited to submit a
dissertation proposal to his or her adviser and the Director of Graduate
Studies. Such proposals are usually 5-10
pages in length, and include major bibliography for the topic. If approved by the adviser and the Director
of Graduate Studies, the student will be notified. If not approved, the proposal may be either
rejected, or returned for revision. If
approved, the student should then notify the CAA of the topic of the
dissertation and its approval; see last page of this document.
For the Ph.D. dissertation, there
are at least, and usually, four readers:
(1) the student's adviser, (2) a second reader chosen because of his or
her familiarity with the subject, and (3) third and fourth readers. In addition, the dissertation must be read
and approved by the Department Chair. If
the Chair is one of the four readers, then three other readers will be a sufficient
number. After consultation with the
student, the committee for the Ph.D. dissertation and dissertation defense will
be selected by the faculty adviser in consultation with the Director of
Graduate Studies. The committee for the Ph.D. dissertation and dissertation
defense will comprise at least, and usually, four members, of whom at least
half will be faculty members of the
The
adviser will work with the student to prepare the dissertation. Candidates should follow closely the
regulations published by the Graduate Office, as well as conform to the latest
edition of the
Only after the Chair has signed the
dissertation can it be submitted to the Graduate Office. Three copies should be
submitted to the Department and then, after approval, to the Dean of the
or it may be purchased in the University
Bookstore.
Upon completion of the dissertation,
a Ph.D. final oral examination must be passed, consisting of a defense of the
dissertation and a test of the candidate's mastery of the area in which the
dissertation was written. In order to permit
adequate time for the examiners to review the dissertation, the requisite
number of copies of the completed work must be deposited in the Department
office at least two weeks before the date of the dissertation defense. That oral dissertation defense must take
place not less than one week before the deadline date established by the
Graduate Office for the submission of dissertations.
Normally, the oral defense of a
dissertation is based on three final copies (the student may hold the typed
"master" and submit three copies on approved paper). In exceptional cases, when the time limit is
a prime consideration, the defense can be based, with the approval of the
primary adviser and the Director of Graduate Studies, on the penultimate typed
copy, read in advance by all readers.
All
readers of the dissertation will participate in the oral dissertation
defense. The defense, moreover, will be
open to all members of the Department or to any other interested person,
although only members of the candidate’s committee will be permitted to pose
questions or make any statements. The examination will normally last
approximately two hours.
The dissertation may be approved
conditionally at the final defense, subject to required corrections being made
by the candidate. If corrections or
changes are suggested at the final defense, and if the committee approves them,
the advisor will check to see that the changes have been made in the final
copies submitted by the candidate.
On a card supplied by the Art History
Departmental office, and left with that office for forwarding by December of
each year, each candidate should notify the College Art Association office (1)
when the topic of his dissertation is approved; (2) if the topic is changed;
and (3) when the dissertation is accepted. This information will be published
annually by the CAA, in the June issue of The Art Bulletin.
c:word/files/graduate/Art
Hist. Rules & Regulations Approved