Doctor of Philosophy

Collaterals are courses offered outside the Department of Art & Art History that complement a student’s area of concentration. These courses strengthen the student’s interdisciplinary study of art history and film and media studies.

Students entering with a B.A. must take a minimum of three collateral courses. Students entering with an M.A. must take a minimum of two collateral courses. If appropriate to the student’s course of study, one collateral may be a course in studio art.

Students must consult with their primary advisor about their choice of collateral courses prior to enrollment, to ensure that each course supports the student’s research interests and overall program of study. Collateral courses taken at the 200 level or higher may count toward the 100 units of graduate coursework required for the degree.

Collaterals are not a requirement for advancement to candidacy. Students typically take collateral courses during their first three years of study and must complete all collaterals by the end of Spring Quarter, Year 3.

NOTE: Courses that are cross-listed with ARTHIST or FILMEDIA do not fulfill the collateral requirement.

The department offers two distribution requirement tracks: Art History and Film & Media Studies.

The Art History track has five areas of distribution:

• 1000 BCE-13th Century

• 14th Century-17th Century

• 18th Century - Present

• Film & Media Studies

• Asian/African/Islamic/Indigenous

Students must take at least one course in each of the five distribution areas.

The Film & Media Studies track has five areas of distribution:

• Theories of Cinema

• Media Studies

• Art History

• National Cinemas (includes international)

• Form, Function, and Aesthetics

Students must take at least one course in each of the five distribution areas.

Fulfilling the distribution requirement with graduate seminars is strongly encouraged. If students have entered the Stanford program with an MA, they may transfer courses taken at the graduate level to fulfill up to two areas of the distribution requirement.

All courses must be taught by different faculty members. Students are strongly encouraged to fulfill the distribution requirement with graduate seminars taken for 5 units.

The qualifying exam should ideally be taken by the end of winter quarter in the student’s third year of PhD study.  (Students entering the program with an MA should aim to take it in the fall quarter of the third year.) The exam consists of a written and an oral component. Each portion of the exam is administered on separate days during the same week, with the written portion taking place first. Both parts of the exam are graded on a High Pass/Pass/Fail system. 

To prepare for the exam, students may enroll in up to two 5-8 unit exam preparation courses (ARTHIST620), one per quarter.

If a student fails one or both parts of the exam, they are allowed to retake that portion or portions of the exam they have failed. For a detailed account of the written and oral exam format, see the Graduate Student Handbook opens in a new tab for the Department of Art and Art History.

Students are required to take ARTHIST405A Graduate Pedagogy. This course is offered every other academic year,ideally taken either before or during a student’s first teaching assistantship.

Students are required to complete three quarters of teaching experiences. Students can complete more than the required number of teaching quarters, given availability.

At least one teaching experience  must be in a course from the following list:

• ARTHIST 1A

• ARTHIST 1B

• ARTHIST 2

• ARTHIST 3

• ARTHIST 5

• FILMEDIA 4

Teaching is core to the academic and professional training of doctoral students in our program. All students are required to complete 3 quarters of teaching experience by the end of their third year in the program regardless of their financial support. Students may teach additional quarters beyond the degree requirement as part of their professional training and financial support.

During the spring quarter of the second year of study, faculty formally review graduate students’ progress to determine whether they meet the requirements for candidacy.

To apply for candidacy, students must submit a file at the beginning of the spring quarter of their second year demonstrating that they have completed all candidacy requirements. Students entering the program with an MA are encouraged to apply earlier during the autumn quarter of their second year. All students must advance to candidacy by the spring quarter of the second year.

The following candidacy requirements (as further detailed in the department’s Graduate Handbook) must be completed by the candidacy filing deadline at the beginning of Spring Quarter, Year 2:

• Completion of all language requirements

• Completion of all distribution requirements

• Completion of 45 units of coursework

Note: Collaterals are not a candidacy requirement; they must be completed by Spring Quarter, Year 3.

The graduate student does not become a formal candidate for the PhD degree until they have satisfied these requirements and the faculty has voted to confer candidacy. Failure to advance to candidacy may result in the student’s dismissal from the program.

Additional details on qualifying procedures can be found in the Graduate Handbook https://artgradguide.stanford.edu/phd-programs/candidacy-phd-degree opens in a new tab.

The department requires three colloquia between the student and their dissertation reading committee, each marking a key stage of dissertation progress.

Proposal ("Prospectus") Colloquium. Held once the dissertation proposal is fully drafted, this colloquium brings together the student, their advisor, and the members of the reading committee to review the proposal. The committee either approves the proposal or requests revisions. Students must provide the committee with the proposal at least two weeks before the colloquium. Approval is recorded on the signed Dissertation Proposal form. Students may submit the proposal as early as the third year and must do so by the end of Autumn Quarter, Year 4.

First Chapter Review. Students must schedule a review of the first completed chapter of the dissertation with their committee. This need not be the first chapter in sequence but the first one the student completes. The review typically takes place 12 to 18 months after the proposal colloquium.

Dissertation Colloquium. Held on the completed or near-completed dissertation, this colloquium takes place prior to the final submission and oral defense.

By the beginning of the autumn quarter in the fourth year, students should have identified a dissertation topic and prepared a proposal in consultation with their principal faculty advisor.

The proposal must be 12–15 pages in length, excluding the bibliography and appendix of images. Students may enroll in ARTHIST 640 (5 units) to prepare the proposal.

The student must submit the dissertation proposal directly to their dissertation reading committee for review and approval. This should happen no later than early November of the autumn quarter in the student's fourth year of study.

If the proposal is not approved, the Faculty Committee will specify the conditions for its revision, resubmission, and reconsideration.

Students must submit an approved dissertation that makes an original contribution to scholarship in Art History or Film & Media Studies. A complete draft, accompanied by an abstract, must be submitted to the dissertation reading committee at least 30 days before the oral defense. Students are expected to submit the final dissertation in the same quarter as the oral defense, and the department generally expects the dissertation to be completed within five years of admission to candidacy.

Graduate students must demonstrate proficiency in one language relevant to their field of study. Students focusing on Western Art typically satisfy this requirement by demonstrating reading proficiency in a European language. Students focusing on Asian Art typically satisfy this requirement by demonstrating proficiency in an Asian language.

The language requirement must be satisfied by the candidacy filing deadline at the beginning of Spring Quarter, Year 2. Students entering the PhD program with an M.A. are expected to have satisfied the language requirement before admission.

The language requirement may be fulfilled by passing a reading examination administered through the Stanford Language Center or by demonstrating equivalent proficiency through Stanford language coursework, as determined by the faculty. Students who satisfy the requirement through coursework must complete the course for a letter grade (when that option is available) and submit a letter from the instructor confirming reading proficiency.

Students may petition for the sub-plan designation, either on the basis of their coursework or the focus of the dissertation.