About PhD Program,
The Ph.D. program in art history and archaeology allows students to delve into advanced research in the discipline, develop expertise in undergraduate teaching and build connections with a broad range of professionals in the field.
Students should consult the department’s Ph.D. requirements, stipulated here, together with those of the Graduate School, outlined in the Graduate Handbook. For further information, contact Dana Persaud.
We seek applicants who will enhance our highly motivated, academically accomplished and intellectually and culturally diverse student body.
Persons planning to apply to the M.A. and Ph.D. programs in the Department of Art History and Archaeology should first consult Instructions for Applicants, below on this page for specific information about our application procedures. (International students should also note those guidelines provided by the Office of International Services.)
We seek applicants who will enhance our highly motivated, academically accomplished and intellectually and culturally diverse student body. Applications can be submitted starting in mid-October (please refer to the UMD Graduate School for more information). Graduate students without an M.A. have the option to apply for the direct Ph.D., in which the M.A. degree is bypassed.
PhD Program Degree Eligibility with GPA,
Requirements for the PhD degree include a minimum of 30 credit hours beyond the MA, divided between 18 hours of course work (6 courses, five of which are art history seminars; for students entering straight to the PhD program, one of these courses will be Methods) and 12 credit hours of dissertation research. Candidates form a committee, take a doctoral examination, draw up a project proposal, defend it, and produce a dissertation, which is defended in an oral examination.
Submit the completed application and all supporting materials by DATE. Please note that the system will close promptly at midnight, so you will be unable to edit your application past 11:59 p.m. on December 1. The system is set to Maryland time (EST). If you are uncertain about what time the system will close in your timezone, please look it up. We are unable to make exceptions for late applications based on timezone.
Admission to the Ph.D. is highly competitive. If you would like to be considered for the M.A. program if not selected for the Ph.D. program, please indicate that in your personal statement.
For students holding an M.A. degree (from the University of Maryland or elsewhere), the Ph.D. requires the successful completion of an additional 30 credit hours. This includes:
- ARTH692: “Methods of Art History” (3 credits)
- Five 600- and 700-level ARTH courses (15 credits)
- ARTH899: “Dissertation Research” (12 credits)
Students that enter the graduate program without an M.A. will complete the requirements for that degree before advancing to the doctoral level. They will be required to successfully complete a total of 51 credit hours. This includes:
- ARTH692: “Methods of Art History” (3 credits)
- Fourteen 600- and 700-level ARTH courses (36 credits) *
- ARTH899: “Dissertation Research” (12 credits)
For one of these courses at the PhD level (and one at the MA level, if applicable) students may substitute a class outside the department, an independent study (possibly done as an enhanced undergraduate course), an internship course, or a class at member institutions of the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area. (A similar arrangement may again be possible at Johns Hopkins University in the future.) Students meet with their advisors every semester to determine course selection.
ARTH696 may be taken for credit but cannot be counted as one of the required seminars at the PhD level.
Art history is a global and transhistorical field, and graduate education at the University of Maryland is fittingly diverse. All students therefore must fulfill distribution requirements. If a student enters the Ph.D. program after earning an M.A. from another institution and has not already completed coursework reflective of these distributional requirements, he or she must satisfy these requirements at the Ph.D. level.
Effective spring 2024, students may receive course credit for professional paid or unpaid internships related to their degree, at the rate of one credit for each 45 hours worked during the semester (to a maximum of 3 credits). The internship course must be taken simultaneously with the internship, not before or after (no summer internships can be worked for credit). Credits are granted through ARHU786 or a similar ARTH course.
Note that no credit will be given for internships worked at the University of Maryland, College Park or for the University of Maryland Museum Fellowship. Such courses are subject to approval by the student’s advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies. Note that any such internship course will count as the one non-standard course allowed for each graduate degree.
A minimum grade of “B-” is required for all courses approved for graduate credit. Two grades below “B-” result in dismissal from the program.
PhD Funding Coverage
Teaching Assistantships
Graduate Assistantships
Dissertation Fellowships
Museum Fellowships
Travel and Research Support
Summer Funding
Awards for Excellence in Research and Teaching
Outstanding Graduate Assistant Awards
Additional Graduate School Fellowships and Awards
Application Requirement,
The University of Maryland’s Graduate School accepts applications through its application system. Before completing the application, applicants are asked to check the admissions requirements site for specific instructions.
As required by the Graduate School, all application materials are to be submitted electronically:
- Graduate Application
- TOEFL (if applicable)
- Statement of goals, research interests and experiences. The statement, which should be around 1,000 words, should address relevant aspects of your educational experience, the focus of your academic interests and reasons for applying to our program. If you are applying to the Ph.D. program but would like to be considered for the M.A. if not selected for the Ph.D., please indicate that here.
- Unofficial transcripts of your entire college/university record (undergraduate and graduate), including records of any advanced work done at another institution. Electronic copies of these unofficial transcripts must be uploaded along with your online application. Official transcripts will be required after an applicant is admitted to the program.
- Three letters of recommendation. In your online application, please complete fully the information requested for your recommenders and ask them to submit their letters electronically. We do not accept letters through Interfolio.
- A single critical writing sample of approximately 12-20 pages double-spaced (not including works cited/bibliography). While we encourage you to submit your best writing sample, we prefer a writing sample in your declared field of interest. If you are submitting an excerpted selection, please include a brief description or introduction to the selection. The Chicago Style citation format is preferred.
- Academic CV/resume.
Applications will be carefully reviewed by the Departmental Graduate Admissions Committee. All aspects of the application will be considered, including background, academic strength, recommendations and the professional plans of the applicant. Admission to the program is very competitive. Many factors influence the decision, including the availability of a given professor to work with a prospective student.
Please note that the Graduate School application will ask you to select major fields of study as well as nominate potential advisors. The selection of advisors is a critical part of the admissions process, as we typically assign major field advisors at the time of acceptance into the program. We suggest that applicants review the faculty profiles in advance of their selection. Only faculty with the title of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor or Professor are eligible to serve as primary advisors for graduate students. If you have any questions please contact the ” >Director of Graduate Studies. You are also encouraged to reach out to the faculty member with whom you would hope to work, to check whether they are accepting students and whether your research interests match theirs.
The electronic submission of application materials helps expedite the review of an application. Completed applications are reviewed by an admissions committee in each graduate degree program. The recommendations of the committees are submitted to the Dean of the Graduate School, who will make the final admission decision. Students seeking to complete graduate work at the University of Maryland for degree purposes must be formally admitted to the Graduate School by the dean. To ensure the integrity of the application process, the University of Maryland authenticates submitted materials through TurnItIn for Admissions.
Application Deadline,
December 1 2024
Application Fee,
Non-refundable application fee ($75) for each program
