History of Art and Architecture, PhD

Degree Requirements

The University of Pittsburgh’s PhD program in History of Art and Architecture (HAA) provides close mentoring from internationally renowned scholars dedicated to maintaining and building on the program’s tradition of excellence and inclusivity.  Students in our graduate program enjoy five years of fully funded support regardless of whether they enter with a BA or an MA degree. Because ours is solely a PhD program, we do not admit applicants seeking a terminal MA degree, nor do we offer advanced degrees in Architectural Practice or Design. Students entering without an MA in the discipline from another approved institution are expected to complete an MA degree in the second year of our program as a stepping-stone in their progress toward the PhD. 

For those entering without an MA, all graduate coursework completed in our program before conferral of the MA degree counts toward our PhD requirements. Doctoral students must complete 72 credit hours, of which 30 must be completed in the first two years for the MA.  Students entering with an approved MA from another institution may transfer 24 credits; they must also complete nine graduate-level classroom (i.e. seminar or lecture) courses during their first two years in our program.   Graduate students without an MA must complete three additional graduate-level classroom courses (for a total of twelve).  After required classroom courses have been completed, the remaining required credits for the PhD may be fulfilled through additional coursework or independent studies directed toward comprehensive exam and prospectus preparation, and dissertation research. The final requirement for the degree is the successful defense of the dissertation.

Course work

The PhD requires a total of 72 credits.

12 graduate-level classroom courses (for students without an MA)/9 graduate-level classroom courses (for students with an approved MA) are part of this requirement.  Students typically complete this requirement in the first two years. The normal course load is 3 courses per semester (9 credits). The courses must include:

• HAA 2005 - METHODS RESEARCH AND SCHOLARSHIP and HAA 2007 - HISTORIOGRAPHY (Methods and Historiography are alternated every other fall semester and must be taken in the student’s first and second year.)
• Four or five HAA graduate seminars (depending on MA status)
• Three or five elective courses (depending on MA status), in HAA or in other departments

The remaining credits may be amassed through various independent study options and additional courses if necessary.

In line with the department’s research Constellations, students are expected to take courses on many different historical and geographical topics, while at the same time acquiring in-depth knowledge and expertise in a specific subfield. In consultation with the student’s individual advisor(s) and Director of Graduate Studies, students should select their courses with these two objectives in mind.

Language Requirement

Competency in languages other than English is necessary for advanced degree work in our program. Admitted students are expected to demonstrate competency in a research language other than English before or shortly after beginning coursework; the language chosen should be appropriate for their area of study. Native and/or heritage speakers of a language other than English fulfill this requirement if their competency sufficiently facilitates research in their chosen field. All other applicants are strongly encouraged to have at least two years/four semesters of college-level instruction in the research language, with a grade of B+ or better, or equivalent knowledge prior to admission. Certification in a second research language relevant to the student’s area of study and professional goals is expected for award of the PhD.

Certification in research languages may be achieved in the following ways:

• through passage of a departmentally administered exam.
• completion through the intermediate level (typically the third semester) of a language, taken at the University of Pittsburgh during the period of the student’s graduate study, with a grade of B+ or better in the final semester.
• completion of two graduate level reading courses in a research language or the second level of a two-part tiered sequence of reading courses (e.g., German for Reading 2), taken at the University of Pittsburgh, with a grade of B+ or better in the final semester.
• completion of an accredited language immersion program, in the United States or abroad.
• certification of language qualification attained at another accredited graduate degree program.

Graduate students will establish a schedule for completion and certification of the language requirement in consultation with their academic advisors.  All students are strongly encouraged to be certified in both languages as early in their time in the program as possible. Pre-MA students must be certified in at least one of the two languages required for the PhD by the fourth semester review if they wish to continue in the PhD program. No student will become ABD without completing language requirements.

The MA Paper and Degree

In the case of students who did not earn an MA degree in history of art and architecture at another institution prior to entering our program, the MA is typically granted at the end of the second year of study as a required step toward the PhD. The MA degree requires a total of 30 graduate-level credits including:

• HAA 2005 (Methods).
• HAA 2007 (Historiography).
• a minimum of 3 additional HAA graduate seminars.
• One graduate-level cognate course outside HAA.
• HAA 2000 Research and Thesis MA Degree (up to 6 credits).
• at least one research language certified.
• an MA paper passed by majority vote of the graduate faculty.

The MA paper is a 25-to 45-page paper with an original argument based on original research. The paper functions as a demonstration of the student’s ability to carry out research and writing of PhD caliber. Ideally, it will be based on a seminar paper written in the first year, which is then reworked and polished over the following summer and fall. In some cases, with the approval of a faculty advisor, the student may embark on a new paper not already written in a seminar.

Fourth Semester Review

In their fourth semester, all students (except for those who entered with an MA) undergo a review for continuation in the PhD program. Students submit a dossier including:

• their completed MA paper, including a one-page abstract.
• all faculty evaluations of the student’s course work to date.
• a one-page form that summarizes their proposed dissertation field and lists the course requirements they have met and relevant research languages they have passed. This document must be approved and signed by the student’s advisor and certified by the Director of Graduate Studies.

The graduate faculty then reviews the dossier to make sure the student’s work demonstrates the ability to complete a dissertation successfully. More specifically, the faculty looks for evidence of ability to carry out original research in the student’s field, to master secondary literature, to frame an original argument, and to write lucidly.

If the graduate faculty makes a positive determination, the MA is granted, and the student is officially approved to continue in the PhD program. All graduate coursework done to this date counts toward the PhD degree. A dissertation committee is named, consisting of the student’s advisor and two other faculty members drawn from HAA.

If the faculty determines that the student’s work does not merit continuation in the PhD program, the student may be granted a terminal MA degree providing they have met the MA requirements and the graduate faculty by majority vote deems the MA paper creditable.

Preliminary Exam

In the first semester (for students entering with an approved MA) or fifth semester (for students entering without an approved MA), the first of the student’s annual PhD committee meetings is held. The student presents a three-page description of the dissertation topic, and the student and committee together decide on comprehensive exam areas and procedures.  Once the student’s committee reviews and approves the dissertation topic and exam areas, the “prelim” is passed.

Comprehensive Exams

Doctoral students normally take their comprehensive exams in the third or fourth year (or second or third year if they are entering with an approved MA), after they have completed their coursework requirements. While a committee member from outside the department is not required at this stage, it is recommended to have an outside member participate both in the formulation of the exam contents and in the exam evaluation. The comprehensive exams have two broad goals. The first goal is to test whether the student has sufficient knowledge of their subfield(s) of specialization to carry out the dissertation. The student should be able to articulate the state of research in their subfield(s) and conversant with current trends in scholarship. The second goal is to test whether the student has sufficient knowledge to teach one or more broadly defined areas.

Upon passing the comprehensive exams, the student prepares a dissertation prospectus that must be approved by a dissertation committee consisting of four members, including one faculty member from outside HAA.

Teaching and Mentoring Portfolio

Graduate students must produce portfolios that demonstrate their proficiency as teachers and mentors of undergraduate students to advance to candidacy. Students will develop the components of the portfolio in the context of HAA 2970 - TEACHING OF ART HISTORY. Thereafter, they should include the teaching portfolio with the materials they send to their PhD committee for their annual meetings. PhD committees give further feedback to the student as appropriate, especially as the student’s thinking about pedagogy evolves and as they prepare for the job market.

Dissertation

The dissertation is an in-depth research project designed to make an original scholarly contribution to the student’s subfield.  Our department accepts modifications to the traditional ca. 200-page manuscript format.  For example, students in our program have graduated with dissertations that include, in addition to a shorter written component, digital humanities and/or curatorially related dimensions.  Ideally, students begin to focus their dissertation topic early in their graduate career, within the first two years. The MA paper can serve as part of the final dissertation. As soon as possible, students should design their curriculum to enrich and advance their dissertation project.

Once the student completes the dissertation, they must pass a defense, normally a two-hour conversation with the committee, including the external faculty member.

Time to degree

The PhD degree is designed to take five to seven years to complete, depending on the student’s subfield. Actual time to degree varies depending on many factors, including the language preparation and/or specialized skills needed to conduct dissertation research.

For more details on degree requirements, the student-advisor relationship, and other related matters, please see HAA’s Graduate Program Handbook (https://www.haa.pitt.edu/graduate/handbook-resources).