Art Education
College of Arts and Architecture
School of Visual Arts
There is a dual-title degree at the master level (M.S.) and at the doctoral level of study.
The Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Art Education and Women’s Studies
The Ph.D. dual degree program in art education and women’s studies is an interdisciplinary academic research degree. Ph.D. candidates are expected to conduct independent research in which they make a significant contribution to art education through the development, extension, refinement, or evaluation of theoretical issues. Candidates usually find it necessary to take extensive course work in related disciplines such as philosophy, psychology, sociology, or anthropology in order to acquire the necessary theoretical and methodological backgrounds to carry out their inquiry. The Ph.D. is expected to take three to four years beyond the M.S. degree to complete. According to Graduate School regulations, all requirements must be met within eight years, though the department reserves the right to stipulate that a student fulfill remaining requirements within a shorter period.
Required Courses
There is no fixed number of courses or credits required for the Ph.D. degree; however, students must fulfill the minimal course requirements listed below. All Ph.D. students are expected to complete the following 12-credit core of four courses: Art Education 502: Introduction to Research in Art Education, Art Education 505: Foundations of Art Education, Art Education 536: Curriculum Development in Art Education, and Art Education 588: History of Art Education. Additionally, while in residence, Ph.D. students are expected to enroll in Art Education 590: Colloquium for at least one credit each fall semester. In Women’s Studies, Ph.D. students must take a core of three required courses: Women’s Studies 501: Feminist Perspectives on Research and Teaching, Women’s Studies 502: Global Feminism and Women’s Studies, Women’s Studies 507: Feminist Theory. Students in the dual degree program must complete an additional nine credits of women’s studies course work.
Additional Course Requirements
There are no required additional courses; however, many students find it desirable to take courses that support the scholarly inquiry that they are undertaking. Additional courses are chosen in conjunction with the candidate’s committee and are related to the student’s area of research. Areas of study include academic disciplines related to art education and women’s studies, such as philosophy, education, psychology, anthropology, and studio inquiry. Students should organize this course work, as much as possible, around an identifiable unifying research area or a similarly specific, well-defined problem involving art education and women’s studies.
Residency Requirement
The Graduate School requires that all Ph.D. candidates must complete two continuous semesters of residency during their doctoral program. There is no required minimum of credits or semesters of study, but over a specific twelve-month period during the interval between admission to candidacy and completion of the Ph.D. program, the candidate must spend at least two semesters (which may include the semester in which the candidacy examination is taken) as a registered full-time student.
English Language Competency Examination
Prior to taking the Candidacy Examination, all candidates for doctoral degrees are required to demonstrate high-level competence in the use of the English language, including reading, writing, and speaking, as part of the requirement for the doctoral program. Competency must be formally attested to by the student’s committee before the comprehensive examination is held.
Candidacy Examination
The purpose of the candidacy exam is to determine whether the student should continue to work toward the Ph.D. The exam must be taken early in the Ph.D. program (no later than the second semester of doctoral study), so that this decision can be made before either the department or the student has made an extensive commitment. The exam is based in part on: a Statement of Research Goals; a Plan of Study; and a selection of papers written while in the graduate program. This packet of information should address the student’s interdisciplinary research interests in both women’s studies and in art education. It is prepared prior to the examination. The candidacy examination itself will be an oral examination addressing the scope and quality of the materials presented and the proposed research questions.
The Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination
After the permanent committee has been appointed and the doctoral candidate has completed from three to six semesters of course work, he or she takes a comprehensive written and oral examination. For students in the dual degree program, the doctoral committee will include at least two members from art education and two members from women’s studies. The women’s studies portion of the exam will focus on the following areas: feminist theory, feminist methodology, global feminism, and feminist studies in the student’s discipline. Following the written examination, a two-hour oral examination will cover the material presented in the written examination plus any other material deemed appropriate by the candidate’s committee.
The Dissertation
The dissertation, required of all doctoral candidates, represents an original contribution to knowledge, either an original interpretation, or the presentation of new material. For students in the dual degree program, the dissertation must reflect research in both art education and women’s studies. The dissertation topic will be approved by the student’s committee. The Graduate School establishes specifications for the format of the dissertation (see Thesis Guide). An oral defense of the completed dissertation will cover the dissertation, the dissertation field, any subjects raised by the dissertation, and the literature in the dissertation field. See further information on procedures and in a guide to the Ph.D.