Art History and Criticism, PhD

Course Requirements

The student will be required to successfully complete 60 credits of graduate work, as outlined in the list of categories and courses below. Credits for the Ph.D. will total 24 beyond the entering MA degree or its equivalent, as determined by the Director of Graduate Studies, for a total of 60 credits. A student must achieve a 3.0 overall grade point average to receive a degree from Stony Brook.

Teaching Requirement

All doctoral students will be expected to assist in teaching a minimum of one semester regardless of previous experience or funding status. In their first year, students with Teaching Assistantships will typically assist in the teaching of introductory undergraduate courses in the history of art (100 or 200 level) taught by a supervising faculty member. This may include leading regular discussion sections. After the first year, students with Teaching Assistantships will typically teach stand-alone sections of these introductory undergraduate courses. Competence in teaching will be judged through online student evaluations, as well as by classroom or lecture hall visits by the course’s faculty supervisor based on an agreed date, and by faculty supervisor assessments of the Teaching Assistant’s overall performance.

Comprehensive Examination

See MA requirements.

M.A. Thesis

All Ph.D. students who enter the program without a Master’s degree in art history must complete an M. MA thesis. See MA requirements.

Foreign Language Requirement

See MA requirements.

Qualifying (Preliminary) Examination

Ph.D. students in their third year of coursework (second year for those entering with a prior MA degree) and prior to the beginning of dissertation research are required to take the written Qualifying Examination, which may be administered in October or March each year. The written exam covers major and minor fields of study and its content will vary according to the student’s interests. The student will be expected to select two faculty members to serve as major and minor advisors, to seek guidance on appropriate focus and bibliography in preparation for the exams at least one semester before the exam date. The Qualifying Exam committee consists of three members of the department faculty (including major and minor advisors) and is appointed upon the recommendation of the Graduate Program Director, in consultation with the student. Failure to pass will result in re-evaluation of status. The opportunity to retake part of the exam must be approved by the Dean of the Graduate School.

Advancement to Candidacy

To be advanced to Ph.D. candidacy, the student must have:

1. Completed at least 54 graduate credits (including 24 credits from a prior MA degree) and all other degree requirements (see above), other than the dissertation and dissertation research credits.
2. Submitted to the Graduate Program Director a written prospectus outlining the nature and aims of the dissertation that has been approved by the student’s advisor and at least one other Art Department faculty member who will serve as Chair of the defense (see below). When all these requirements have been completed satisfactorily, the Director of Graduate Studies will submit the Advancement to Doctoral Candidacy form to the Dean of the Graduate School for approval.

Dissertation Prospectus

Within one semester after successful completion of the Qualifying (Preliminary) Exams, the student is expected submit a written dissertation to their dissertation advisor and at least one other departmental faculty member for approval. If possible, the student will have identified all four members of the committee, including one external referee, at the time of submitting the prospectus. Once the committee has approved the prospectus, the student will submit the approved prospectus with the signed dissertation proposal form to the Director of Graduate Programs, who will then submit the Advancement to Candidacy form to the Graduate School for approval.

Dissertation Examining Committee and Defense

At least six months before the dissertation defense, the Graduate Program Director, in consultation with the student and the student’s advisor and chair, will finalize the dissertation examining committee, to include at least one external member and a fourth member who may be either internal or external to the program. This committee must be approved by the Dean of the Graduate School upon the recommendation of the Graduate Program Director. At least three months before the Graduate School’s deadline for requesting a dissertation defense date, the student will submit to the Dissertation Examining Committee what is intended to be the final draft of the dissertation. If the readers agree that the dissertation is ready to be defended, the dissertation committee chairperson will schedule the defense, an oral examination open to interested faculty and graduate students. The date of the defense must be approved by the Graduate School, by means of the Doctoral Defense Announcement form. All four committee members must recommend acceptance of the dissertation before it will be approved by the Graduate School. The student is responsible for making all requested revisions and submitting the finished dissertation before the Graduate School deadline.

Time Limit

All requirements for the Ph.D. degree must be completed within seven years after completing 24 credits of graduate courses in the department. Those with a prior Master’s degree have seven years from the date of entry into the program. In rare instances, the dean of the Graduate School will entertain a petition to extend this time limit, provided it bears the endorsement of the department chairperson.