Contact Info

Phone:	314-935-5270
Website:	https://arthistory.wustl.edu/

Doctoral Candidacy

To earn a PhD at Washington University, a student must complete all courses required by their department; maintain satisfactory academic progress; pass certain examinations; fulfill residence and Mentored Experience Requirements; write, defend, and submit a dissertation; and apply to graduate via Workday Student. For the details of doctoral degree general requirements in Arts & Sciences, including an explanation of Satisfactory Academic Progress, students should review the Doctoral Degree Academic Information page of the Arts & Sciences Bulletin.

Program Requirements

• Total Units Required: 21 minimum credits for students who have completed the Master's degree in Art History and Archaeology at Washington University; 39 minimum credits for students who have arrived with an MA in art history. (Note: Remission applies for a maximum of 72 graduate-level units.)
• Degree Length: 6 years
  • Note: Students must be enrolled in 9 graduate credits each semester to retain full-time status. As students complete their course work, if enrolled in fewer than 9 graduate credits, they must enroll in a specific Arts & Sciences graduate course that will show 0 units but does count as full-time status. Students should connect with their department to ensure proper enrollment prior to Add/Drop.
• Grade Requirement: Students must maintain a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA.

Students completing their MA degree at Washington University and continuing as PhD students will have two or three more semesters of course work, normally in the form of three seminars plus the Comprehensive Exam Preparation courses (three courses) and the Dissertation Prospectus course. To be admitted to PhD candidacy, a student must also demonstrate reading proficiency in a second modern foreign language, pass the Comprehensive Exam, and successfully defend the Dissertation Prospectus. Students in ancient art and Asian art may have additional language requirements. Students entering the PhD program with a BA are expected to complete all the requirements for the MA degree before proceeding to the PhD requirements. Students must maintain a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA.

Thus, by the end of the seventh semester of graduate study at Washington University, students will normally have achieved the following, at a minimum:

• Completed all required courses;
• Demonstrated reading proficiency in no fewer than two modern foreign languages;
• Passed the Comprehensive Exam in the major area;
• Passed the Comprehensive Exam in the minor area (or have exempted this requirement through related course work);
• Determined a three-person Research Advisory Committee for the dissertation; and
• Successfully defended the Dissertation Prospectus.

Once admitted to candidacy students will continue to enroll in ASGS 9000 Full Time Graduate Research/Study or ASGS 9001 or ASGS 9002 Full Time Graduate Research/Study in Absentia until the completion of the degree or end of program length.

Students who join the PhD program in Art History and Archaeology with an approved master's degree from another university will enroll in three semesters of course work, with at least 9 credits of graduate-level courses per semester. In the fourth semester of the program, they will then enroll in 9 credits of ARTARCH 9000 PhD Comprehensive Exam Preparation, and in the fifth semester in 3 credits of ARTARCH 9000 PhD Comprehensive Exam Preparation and in ASGS 9000 Full Time Graduate Research/Study. These students will, thus, normally complete all of the requirements for PhD candidacy listed above by the end of the fifth semester of graduate study at Washington University.

Each PhD candidate, as evidence of mastery of a specific field of knowledge and capacity for original, scholarly work, must complete a dissertation. The subject, as outlined on the Title, Scope, and Procedure Form, must be approved by a Research Advisory Committee consisting of at least three tenured or tenure-track faculty members. This committee is ordinarily led by the student’s major advisor and must be approved by the Office of Graduate Studies. Often, the members of the Research Advisory Committee serve as the foundational members of the dissertation defense committee. Students should refer to the dissertation guide for more information regarding the complete composition of the dissertation defense committee. The Title, Scope, and Procedure Form for the dissertation must be signed by the committee members and by the program Chair, and then submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies, no later than the end of the student's fourth year.

Upon completing the dissertation, students must defend it before a committee of at least five faculty members. Four of the five committee members must be tenured or tenure-track Washington University faculty; one of these four may be a member of the Emeritus faculty. The fifth member must have a doctoral degree and an active research program, whether at Washington University, at another university, in government, or in industry. Additionally, three of the five committee members must come from the student's degree program; at least one of the five must not. After successful defense, students must submit an electronic version of the dissertation online to the Office of Graduate Studies.

Required Courses

Course List

Code	Title	Units
ARTARCH 5002		3
ARTARCH 9000		3
ARTARCH 9005		3
ASGS 8005, 8010, or 8015		70 Units

Qualifying Examinations

Progress toward the PhD is contingent upon the student passing examinations that are variously called preliminary, qualifying, general, comprehensive, or major field exams. The qualifying process varies according to the program. In some programs, it consists of a series of incremental, sequential, and cumulative exams over a considerable time. In others, the exams are held during a relatively short period of time. Exams may be replaced by one or more papers. The program, which determines the structure and schedule of the required examinations, is responsible for notifying the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences, of the student’s outcome, whether successful or unsuccessful.

The PhD Comprehensive Exam is intended to test a student’s general knowledge as well as mastery of their area or areas of specialization. It is designed as both preparation for and preface to conducting the rigorous, in-depth research necessary for successfully completing a dissertation, and as a means by which students can enter the discourses of professional art history they will encounter in teaching, research, curatorial, and related practices. The comprehensive exam is not intended to be a singular, definitive event in and of itself, but rather a part of a larger process of scholarly and professional development that occurs as students move from coursework to dissertation writing, and it should be structured as an open and collaborative dialogue between students and members of the exam committee. Students will prepare for and sit the comprehensive exam in the semester after the completion of coursework requirements, which will typically be the 6th semester in the program for students completing both MA and PhD degrees at Washington University and the 4th semester for PhD students who have arrived with an MA in art history. Students will be examined by a PhD Comprehensive Exam Committee, normally consisting of two or three faculty members, in a major area and a minor area. The major advisor must be a tenure-stream faculty member from within the department. Students may exempt the minor area exam through related course work. Each student will normally follow one of two formats for the PhD Comprehensive Exam: a written exam to be followed within 2 weeks by an oral defense or an oral exam to be followed by a 2-week written paper in the major area.

Mentored Experience Requirements

Doctoral students at Washington University must complete a department-defined Mentored Experience. The Mentored Experience Requirement is a doctoral degree requirement that is notated on the student’s transcript when complete. Each department has an established Mentored Experience Implementation Plan in which the number of units that a student must earn through Mentored Teaching Experience(s) and/or Mentored Professional Experience(s) is defined. The Mentored Experience Implementation Plans outline how doctoral students within the discipline will be mentored to achieve competencies in teaching at basic and advanced levels. Some departments may elect to include Mentored Professional Experiences as an avenue for completing some units of the Mentored Experience Requirement. Doctoral students will enroll in ASGS 8005, 8010, or 8015 Mentored Teaching Experience - Assistant in Instruction; ASGS 8020 Mentored Teaching Experience - Mentored Independent Teaching; or ASGS 8120 Mentored Professional Experience to signify their progression toward completing the overall Mentored Experience Requirement for the degree.

Students must complete 70 units of ASGS 8005, ASGS 8010, or ASGS 8015 Mentored Teaching Experience - Assistant in Instruction.

The Doctoral Dissertation

A Research Advisory Committee (RAC) must be created no later than the end of the student's third year; departments may set shorter timelines (e.g., by the end of the student's second year) for this requirement. As evidence of the mastery of a specific field of knowledge and of the capacity for original scholarly work, each candidate must complete a dissertation that is approved by their RAC.

A Title, Scope & Procedure Form for the dissertation must be signed by the committee members and by the program chair. It must be submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences, at least six months before the degree is expected to be conferred or before the beginning of the fifth year of full-time enrollment, whichever is earlier.

A Doctoral Dissertation Guide and a Dissertation Template that give instructions regarding the format of the dissertation are available on the website of the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences. Both should be read carefully at every stage of dissertation preparation.

The Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences, requires each student to make the full text of the dissertation available to the committee members for their review at least one week before the defense. Most degree programs require two or more weeks for the review period; students should check with their faculty.

The Dissertation Defense

Approval of the written dissertation by the Research Advisory Committee (RAC) is strongly recommended before the student can orally defend the dissertation. The Doctoral Dissertation Committee that examines the student during the defense consists of at least five members. Normally, the members of the RAC also serve on the Doctoral Dissertation Committee. The dissertation committee is then additionally augmented to ensure that the following criteria are met:

1. Three of the five members (or a similar proportion of a larger committee) must be full-time Washington University in St. Louis faculty members or, for programs involving Washington University in St. Louis-affiliated partners, full-time members of a Washington University in St. Louis-affiliated partner institution. All members must be authorized to supervise PhD students and have appropriate expertise in the proposed field of study. One of these three members must be the PhD student's primary thesis advisor, and one may be a member of the emeritus faculty.
2. All other committee members must be active in research/scholarship and have appropriate expertise in the proposed field of study whether at Washington University in St. Louis, at another university, in government, or in industry.
3. At least one of the five members must bring expertise outside of the student's field of study to the committee, as judged by the relevant department/program and approved by the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences.

The approval processes outlined in the RAC section of the Doctoral Council bylaws also apply to the doctoral dissertation committee, including approval of each dissertation committee by the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences.

The student is responsible for making the full text of the dissertation accessible to their committee members for their review in advance of the defense according to program rules. Washington University in St. Louis community members and guests of the student who are interested in the subject of the dissertation are normally welcome to attend all or part of the defense but may ask questions only at the discretion of the committee chair. Although there is some variation among degree programs, the defense ordinarily focuses on the dissertation itself and its relation to the student's field of expertise.

Attendance by a minimum of four members of the Doctoral Dissertation Committee, including the committee chair and an outside member, is required for the defense to take place. This provision is designed to permit the student's defense to proceed in case of a situation that unexpectedly prevents one of the five members from attending. Students should not plan in advance to only have four members in attendance. If four members cannot attend, the defense must be rescheduled. The absence of all outside members or of the committee chair also requires rescheduling the defense.

Students, with the support of their Doctoral Dissertation Committee chair, may opt to hold their dissertation defense in person or by utilizing a virtual or hybrid format.

Submission of the Dissertation

After the defense, the student must submit an electronic copy of the dissertation online to the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences. The submission website requires students to choose among publishing and copyrighting services offered by ProQuest’s ETD Administrator. Students are asked to submit the Survey of Earned Doctorates separately. The degree program is responsible for delivering the final approval form, signed by the committee members at the defense and then by the program chair or director, to the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences. Students who defend their dissertations successfully have not yet completed their PhD requirements; they finish earning their degree only when their electronic dissertation submission has been accepted by the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences.

As part of their degree requirements, PhD students must complete a program-defined Mentored Experience Requirement (MER) as per these guidelines. The Mentored Experience Implementation Plan (MEIP) is the written articulation of a program-defined degree requirement for PhD students to engage in mentored teaching activities and/or mentored professional activities, collectively referred to as MERs.

Mentored Experience Requirements (MERs)

Philosophy of Teaching

Teaching — whether in the classroom, the gallery, the field, or beyond — is at the core of the disciplines of art history and archaeology. Engaging in teaching is a crucial experience for PhD students no matter their professional goals. Through the Department of Art History and Archaeology's Mentored Teaching Experience (MTE), our PhD students not only solidify their base of field-specific knowledge, they also learn how to guide undergraduate students to develop skills that extend far beyond disciplinary boundaries and in turn sharpen those skills themselves. These include the close attention to detail and precise observation of visual analysis, effective techniques for communicating ideas and arguments in speech and writing, and a sense of historical context and the development of cultural traditions, to name just a few. Students in Art History and Archaeology are carefully mentored in their teaching endeavors, and their efforts have been frequently acknowledged by school-wide awards for teaching excellence. Our students also have the opportunity to enhance their professional portfolios through mentored professional experiences.

Preparatory Engagement

Preparatory Engagement activities are those that represent an introduction to the foundational skills associated with teaching or communication. Pedagogical preparation engagement activities are normally completed before students are permitted to engage in assisting or teaching in a classroom.

PhD students in Art History and Archaeology are required to complete at least two activities in teaching preparation before the end of their first semester in the MTE. The precise combination of these activities will be determined in conjunction with a student's academic advisor and the departmental Director of Graduate Studies.

Potential activities include the following:

• The Center for Teaching and Learning's teaching orientation workshop
• The successful completion of ARTARCH 5003 The Digital Art Historian
• Attendance at three 90-minute Center for Teaching and Learning pedagogy workshops
• Targeted English-language coursework for second-language teaching, such as CAPS-ELP 470 Language, Culture, and Interaction Strategies for Instruction

Mentored Teaching Experiences (MTEs)

Assistant in Instruction (AI)

An Assistant in Instruction (AI) is a PhD student who is directly engaged in the organization, instruction, and/or support of a semester-long course primarily taught by a faculty member. An AI receives mentorship from a faculty member related to best practices in classroom engagement, instruction in the field, interpersonal engagement, and other relevant skills. Students and mentors complete a mentorship plan prior to the start of each AI experience. To complete each AI assignment and to ensure that it applies toward their degree requirements, students must register for the appropriate course number for each semester of engagement. Refer to the "Required Pathways for Completion" section below for course numbers and details.

All PhD students are required to complete 70 MTE units to successfully complete the program. Before each semester of the MTE, students and faculty will complete a mentorship plan, which will outline the roles and responsibilities of each party, as well as how feedback will be shared. For most students, the MTE requirements will take the form of five semesters of AI responsibilities in one of the department's 1000, 2000, or 3000-level courses. Assignments will be made according to departmental priorities, in some combination of the following, with the typical distribution being four semesters of 15 MTE units and one semester of 10 MTE units.

UG Spanish Seminar

ARTARCH 1510 Introduction to Asian Art
AI leading two sections	15 MTE units
AI leading one section	10 MTE units

UG Spanish Seminar

ARTARCH 1515 History of Western Art, Architecture, and Design
AI leading two sections	15 MTE units
AI leading one section	10 MTE units

UG Spanish Seminar

ARTARCH 2020 Introduction to Modern Art, Architecture, and Design
AI leading two sections	15 MTE units
AI leading one section	10 MTE units

UG Spanish Seminar

All other ARTARCH 2000- and 3000-level courses
AI without section-leading responsibilities	10 MTE units

Required Pathways for Completion

Students work with their faculty mentor and their Director of Graduate Studies to plan how and when they will complete their MERs. Students register during the normal registration period for courses in accordance with one of these approved pathways.

•  Preparatory Engagement

Pathway #1

UG Spanish Seminar

ASGS 8010	Take one time
ASGS 8015	Take four times

Pathway #2

UG Spanish Seminar

ASGS 8010	Take four times
ASGS 8015	Take two times

Pathway #3

UG Spanish Seminar

ASGS 8010	Take seven times

Optional Activity: Professional Intensive Pathway (PIP)

The PIP is an optional pathway for those students whose career interests lie outside of academia or who want to benefit from mentored professional experiences (MPEs). An MPE is an unpaid professional experience for PhD students that allows students to develop skills and experiences relevant to their intended career outcomes. Students and mentors complete a mentorship plan prior to the start of each MPE. Students who are interested in participating in this elective experience must formally request to participate, which is subject to program approval. Due to this experience being an elective, unpaid experience, students who participate in the PIP will not receive compensation. 

PhD Students in Art History and Archaeology may engage in up to two optional semesters of the MPE. Students who are also on the Teaching Intensive Pathway (TIP) may only engage in a maximum of one optional semester of the PIP.

The MPE in Art History and Archaeology can be fulfilled by a wide range of activities that advance the professional interests of PhD students. These could include, for example, activities within a museum context, whether in a curatorial department or in other branches of museum administration. They could also include experiences with nonprofit arts organizations, with libraries or archives, or with another unit within Washington University. Whatever their precise nature, the tasks undertaken as part of the MPE should be intellectually substantive, and they should offer a way for the student to develop new skills and knowledge bases. Ultimately, the scope of the MPE will be determined via conversations among the student, the external mentor, the dissertation supervisor, and the Director of Graduate Studies.

Prior to the start of the semester in which the MPE will occur, the student and the external mentor will submit a plan to the department detailing the scope of the activities to be undertaken, which should include a schedule and a list of projected outcomes. In addition, the mentor will provide an explicit commitment to the mentorship. During the course of the semester, the mentor and mentee should meet frequently (weekly or biweekly) to track the progress of the student's work. At the end of the MPE, the mentor should provide a written assessment (approximately 500 words) of the overall learning experience for the student and include comments on the quality of the student's performance.

Optional Pathway

UG Spanish Seminar

ASGS 8120	Take one or two times

Optional Activity: Teaching Intensive Pathway (TIP)

The TIP is an optional pathway for those students whose career interests lie in academia or another field that would benefit from extended teaching experiences. This immersive experience allows students to further explore the breadth and depth of teaching best practices and pedagogy related to their respective field. Students who are interested in participating in this elective experience must formally request to participate, which is subject to program approval. Due to this experience being an elective, unpaid experience, students who participate in the TIP will not receive compensation.

The department recognizes that some students have a particularly strong interest in developing their teaching abilities and offers an optional TIP for the MTE. Students have until the end of their third year in the program to decide whether they wish to pursue the TIP, the admission to which will be contingent upon faculty evaluations of the student's prior teaching as well as faculty's commitment to further mentoring. Students pursuing the TIP will complete 90 MTE units over their program length, and they are strongly encouraged to also complete the graduate teaching certificate with the Center for Teaching and Learning. The TIP offers students the opportunity to engage in Mentored Independent Teaching (MIT), and one semester of MIT is equivalent to 20 MTE units.

MIT can be completed in a variety of ways, including the following:

• Serving as the instructor of record for an ARTARCH 1000 or 2000-level course under the guidance of a full-time faculty member
• Serving as a co-instructor for an ARTARCH 1000, 2000, or 3000-level course alongside a full-time faculty member
• Serving as a supplementary instructor for an ARTARCH 1000-level course with substantial intellectual responsibilities, potentially including developing aspects of course design, delivering lectures, and supervising AIs

Optional Pathway

UG Spanish Seminar

ASGS 8020	Take one time