PhD in Art History in Charlotte United States | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Earning a Doctor of Philosophy degree adheres to The Graduate School's standards outlined in the Graduate School Handbook's degree requirements section. Department-specific procedures for progressing through the program, including dissertation committee formation and meeting schedules, are available on the department's Sakai site.
UNC-Chapel Hill's Art History program ranks among the nation's elite, with the National Research Council (NRC) placing it in the top 10% alongside institutions like UCLA, Northwestern, Harvard, and Yale. Our program delivers exceptional training in visual arts history at both graduate and undergraduate levels, employing a rigorous, interdisciplinary methodology for examining images, architecture, and artifacts. Our distinguished faculty includes prominent scholars whose field contributions are evidenced by extensive publications, honors, professional leadership, and museum engagements. As one of America's premier public research universities, UNC-Chapel Hill provides students access to exceptional area studies centers and robust interdisciplinary connections. Beyond our traditional strengths in European art from antiquity through modern times, we specialize in Asian, African, and American art from medieval to contemporary periods. Key research and teaching focuses include representation theories, cultural exchange, gender studies, museum scholarship, and architectural history across pre-modern Europe, Asia, and Africa. Doctoral candidates complete nine courses, including four advanced research seminars (900-level) and the culminating ARTH 994 (Dissertation Registration), with two electives permitted from other departments.