Art History
The Ph.D. Program in Art History at the CUNY Graduate Center is dedicated to the development of scholars, teachers, museum curators, art critics, and other arts professionals.
Request InformationDegree Offered
Ph.D. in Art History
Full-time
Admissions Deadlines
January 1 for fall enrollment
(No spring enrollment)
Founded in 1971, the Ph.D. Program in Art History at CUNY Graduate Center is one of the foremost programs of its kind in the United States. Dedicated to the development of scholars, teachers, museum curators, art critics, and other arts professionals, our program provides students with a general background in the history of art to prepare them to serve their discipline and their communities in all areas of cultural endeavor.
In Fall 2019, we were awarded a $650,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to fund New Initiatives in Curatorial Training, a five-year project in the Ph.D. Program in Art History that aims to enhance the diversity of curatorial training at the Graduate Center and ensure the sustainability of the initiative beyond the end of Mellon funding.
We are proud to have produced a robust network of alumni, many of whom hold senior positions at esteemed universities, museums, and cultural institutions across the country and abroad. For more information about our program, its faculty and students, as well as our alumni, please follow the links below.
Art History Announcements
More Like This
Alum Sooran Choi Directs Cross-Gender-Ethnic-Korean-Asian Studies Initiative
Alum Sooran Choi (Art History Ph.D. '18) has won a grant from the Black, Race and Ethnic Studies Initiative at CUNY to direct a Cross-Gender-Ethnic-Korean-Asian Studies Initiative at Brooklyn College, where she teaches in the Art Department. As part of that initiative, she is running a symposium to foreground Korean studies while taking an intersectional approach to the subject. The symposium will be held Saturday and Sunday, April 22-23, online. More information can be found here.
- Announcement
Luisa Valle ('22) dissertation is honored
Luisa Valle who finished her dissertation in 2022, received an Honorable Mention from the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) for her dissertation "The Beehive, the Favela, the Castle, and the Ministry: Race and Modern Architecture in Rio de Janeiro, 1811 to 1945." Congrats to Luisa! All the LASA awards are listed here.
- Congratulations/Kudos
Professor Gail Levin featured on CUNY TV
Professor Gail Levin was featured on CUNY TV's Arts in the City. See the piece here.
- Congratulations/Kudos
Naiomy Guerrero accepted to a Museum Professionals Program at the Studio Museum
A round of applause goes to Naiomy Guerrero who was accepted to the Winter 2023 Museum Professionals Seminar at The Studio Museum in Harlem. The seminar is comprised of a series of workshops designed for emerging museum professionals to "incubate and ideate" their ideas. Congrats to Naiomy!
- Congratulations/Kudos
Our Program
Our doctoral program provides students with a general background in the history of art to prepare them to serve their discipline and their communities in all areas of cultural endeavor. Courses given at the Graduate Center cover the broad spectrum of the history of art; courses given at the senior colleges in their master’s degree programs are also open to doctoral students, as are courses given at universities within the Interuniversity Doctoral Consortium.
Review our curriculum
Faculty
The doctoral faculty consists of professors drawn from the Graduate Center and from the CUNY senior colleges. Courses given at the Graduate Center cover the broad spectrum of the history of art; courses given at the senior colleges in their master’s degree programs are also open to doctoral students, as are courses given at universities within the Interuniversity Doctoral Consortium.
View our faculty
Student Highlights
Find out more about our current doctoral students, their research interests, academic accomplishments, and professional careers. We work closely with our students to assist them with professional placement upon graduation. Many of our graduates hold prominent positions at cultural and educational institutions in the U.S. and abroad.
Read about our studentsProgram News
May 23, 2023
Art History Ph.D. Candidate Wins Multiple Prestigious Fellowships
Sonja Elena Gandert’s awards include a $42,000 Luce/ACLS Dissertation Fellowship.
- GC Stories
- Student News
May 19, 2023
Graduate Center Students Win Prestigious Dissertation Fellowships
Ph.D. candidates secure highly competitive grants for their dissertation projects.
- GC Stories
- Student News
Apr 3, 2023
Black, Race and Ethnic Studies Fellowships Awarded to 65 CUNY Faculty and Doctoral Students
The fellowship is designed to enhance Black, race and ethnic studies scholarship and teaching at CUNY and is part of a $3 million, Mellon Foundation-funded initiative.
- GC Stories
- Faculty News
- Student News
Mar 15, 2023
Her Art Once Graced Homes Across the U.S.
An Art History professor explores the remarkable life and art of nature-painter Fidelia Bridges.
- GC Stories
- Faculty News
Student Handbook
Review our student handbook for our policies and procedures, resources, and other important information.
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