Graduate Program
For more than a decade and a half, Binghamton University has pioneered new approaches to art history. The Graduate Program in the History and Theory of Art and Architecture was among the first graduate degree programs in the United States to offer opportunities for advanced study and research in a department with a particular commitment to new theoretical perspectives and to interdisciplinary, cross-cultural and global approaches to the history of art, architecture and visual culture. The success of the department in this has been aided by a campus with strong interdisciplinary programs in cultural history, theory and global studies and by University strengths in history, sociology, anthropology, and critical theory.

The program aims to foster innovative teaching and research and to develop scholars, teachers, museum curators, and planning professionals capable of interpreting the role of art, architecture, visual culture and cultural production in the broadest sense. Because of its programmatic links with other interdisciplinary research centers and graduate programs within the University, the program in the history and theory of art and architecture also offers a unique opportunity to graduate students wishing to undertake innovative studies of a cross-disciplinary nature, with a stress on the development of critical theoretical and historical perspectives in relation to the visual arts, photography, architecture, planning and the wider built environment, at local, national and global levels.

The program caters effectively to a broad range of students from diverse national backgrounds who wish to pursue careers in research, education, museum and gallery practice, and publishing, as well as in related areas in cultural policy, urban design, planning and conversation. Essential to our integrated program is the active working relationship between faculty and students in an intellectual environment in which students are offered a unique opportunity to engage in advanced studies and research in the theory and criticism, the social history of art, feminist interpretations of art, the history and theory of photography, the architectural history, from Medieval, Renaissance and Early Modern to Modern and Contemporary. In addition to organizing the department's cross-disciplinary lectures, workshop and symposia, faculty and students are actively involved in the teaching and conference activities of other interdisciplinary centers and programs, including: Africana Studies; the Center for Medieval and Early Renaissance Studies; the Fernand Braudel Center for the Study of Economies, Historical Systems, and Civilizations; Latin American and Caribbean studies; programs in Philosophy, Literature, and Criticism and Philosophy, Interpretation and Culture; and Women's Studies. Faculty also play a prominent role in interdisciplinary programs that offer graduate students the opportunity to study for Graduate Certificates in, for example, Feminist Theory or Global Studies.

Candidates for admission to the graduate program should write in advance to the director of graduate studies or to individual faculty members for more information about specific resources and opportunities in their areas of interest. Information on faculty, programs and course offerings may also be found on this web-site.

The Department receives an average of 28 MA and PhD applications per year, and accepts approximately 60 percent. There are currently 7 MA and 29 PhD students enrolled in the program. Of this number, 10 are male and 26 are female. On average 50% are in residence. Currently 56% of our students are international, coming from Brazil Canada, China, India, Jordan, Mexico, S. Africa, S. Korea, and Turkey.

For information on MA and PhD requirements, click here.

This page was updated 20-July-2006.

 
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