Ph.D. in History of Art
About our History of Art Ph.D. Program
Bryn Mawr's Department of History of Art offers a Ph.D. degree in art history from late antiquity through the present. An M.A. degree is obtained in the process of doing work toward the Ph.D.. History of Art is one of three independent departments that comprise the interdisciplinary Graduate Group in Archaeology, Classics, and History of Art.
Why Choose Our History of Art Doctoral Program?
Bryn Mawr has a distinguished tradition in the study of the visual arts. The College has been cited as one of a few influential institutions that helped establish art history's place in the American academy. Erwin Panofsky produced his Studies in Iconology: Humanistic Themes in the Art of the Renaissance during his time at the College in 1937-38 on a Mary Flexner Lectureship. In the years since, the Department of History of Art, recognized today for its leading History of Art graduate program and graduate-level training, expanded its geography beyond its founding focus on the arts of Europe to embrace the study of visual and material culture of the Americas and the Caribbean, the Mediterranean World, South Asia, and China.
Areas of Study in our Graduate History of Art Ph.D. Program
Graduate faculty members in Bryn Mawr’s History of Art Ph.D. program cover the history of art and the study of visual and material culture from early Byzantium and medieval China through to the global present. Their areas of expertise represent the breadth of our graduate history of art research program, including: the medieval afterlife of classical art and artifacts (Alicia Walker); art and visual culture in early and medieval China (Jie Shi); global early modern and South Asian textiles (Sylvia Houghteling); the modern Atlantic world, with emphasis on the French empire and the colonial Caribbean (C.C. McKee); modern and contemporary art and visual culture (Lisa Saltzman); and film, photography, and new media (Homay King).
In their scholarship and teaching, the faculty bring a wide range of critical and interpretive approaches that shape the College’s History of Art Ph.D. program. Grounded in formalist and iconographic analysis, they train students pursuing the History of Art Doctorate in methodologies central to advanced study, including social art history, feminist and gender theory, psychoanalytic theory, trauma theory, reception theory, semiotics, post-colonial theory, and eco-criticism. This specialized range supports students in meeting the scholarly expectations associated with History of Art Ph.D. requirements.
Learn from our Art History Ph.D. Program's World-Class Faculty
Bryn Mawr's History of Art Ph.D. in Action
History of Art Ph.D. Student Opportunities
Graduates of Bryn Mawr’s History of Art doctoral program have established distinguished careers at universities, museums, galleries, foundations, and cultural institutions worldwide, making significant contributions to the advancement of the field. The following are just some of the resources and opportunities available to students in the program. Visit our Student Support page to learn more.
Study Carrels
History of Art graduate students receive study carrels in the award-winning Rhys Carpenter Library, which supports research in archaeology, classics, history of art and urban studies.
Teaching Experience
Graduate students have several opportunities to gain teaching experience at Bryn Mawr, with fellowships that support assistants in the History of Art department and in affiliated departments and programs such as Growth and Structure of Cities and Film Studies.
Curatorial Experience
Graduate students also have several opportunities to gain curatorial experience at Bryn Mawr, both through fellowships that support training in the College’s Department of Special Collections and at nearby institutions such as the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Institute of Contemporary Art-Philadelphia, PAFA, the Fabric Workshop, the Penn Museum, and others.