PhD in Visual Studies in Irvine United States | University of California Irvine

The Visual Studies Ph.D. program, overseen by the Art History Department faculty, enables students to earn a doctoral degree focused on analyzing visual, spatial, and environmental artifacts and experiences through cultural perspectives. Emphasizing theoretically grounded research, Visual Studies integrates methodological approaches from diverse disciplines and interdisciplinary areas such as art history, archaeology, architectural history, design history, and environmental studies. This program culminates in a Ph.D. in Visual Studies. Although it may award an M.A. degree in some cases during doctoral studies, the program exclusively admits students committed to obtaining their Ph.D. at UCI.

Visual Studies embraces a wide array of methodologies and research subjects, spanning African American and African Diasporic visual cultures, Asian and Asian American art, Latin American and Latino/a/x visual traditions, modern art and exhibition histories, as well as the art, architecture, and archaeology of ancient Iran and the Persian world, including Islamic Central and South Asia.