History of Art and Architecture
PhD Program
Brown's Ph.D. program in the History of Art and Architecture offers professional training in the history of art and architecture and, more broadly, in the history of visual and material culture and the built environment.
The application for the 2025-2026 academic year is open. Completed applications are due by January 2nd, 2025.
PhD Program
Brown's Ph.D. program in the History of Art and Architecture offers professional training in the history of art and architecture and, more broadly, in the history of visual and material culture and the built environment.
The application for the 2025-2026 academic year is open. Completed applications are due by January 2nd, 2025.
Graduate Trajectory
The first two years of the doctoral program are devoted to coursework, the fulfillment of the foreign language requirements, and the completion of a qualifying paper.
Students take their general examinations in their third year, and then proceed to the production of a dissertation prospectus.
The remaining time in the program is given to researching and writing the dissertation, a project that is expected to involve original research and to demonstrate the potential to become a book or series of articles.
Current graduate students hail from locations around the globe. Graduates have gone on to hold positions in museums and academic departments throughout the nation and abroad. A list of all courses in the department is available on Courses@Brown.
Director of Graduate Studies
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Margaret Graves
Adrienne Minassian Associate Professor of Islamic Art and Architecture in honor of Marilyn Jenkins-Madina, Director of Graduate StudyList 415
Handbooks
The Graduate Student Handbook is designed to help plan the path towards the Ph.D. in the department of the History of Art & Architecture, and as a repository of practical information and recommendations.
The Teaching Assistant Handbook is written and maintained by department graduate students as a resource in common and guide to best practices gained from experience and in consultation with faculty.
Faculty and Interdepartmental Affiliations
The faculty publishes and directs dissertations that range widely in terms of time, place, media, and methodology. The Department has ties with several departments:
- Africana Studies
- Brown Arts Initiative
- The Cogut Center for the Humanities
- The David Winton Bell Gallery
- John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities Program & Cultural Heritage
- Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World
- Medieval and Early Modern History Seminar (MEMHS)
- Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women
- Center for the Study of the Early Modern World
- Urban Studies