Doctoral Program Overview

This online graduate manual offers a description of the program, which is designed to assist students in navigating the PhD as well as to provide prospective students an overview of its structure. For further details or questions, contact the Director of Graduate Studies.


DOCTORAL PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The University of Minnesota's Doctoral Program in Art History is a fully funded PhD program that trains scholars who go on to careers in universities, colleges, museums, and other arts institutions throughout the nation and the world. The faculty’s unique range of expertise allow us to offer specialized training that only a few other institutions worldwide are able to match.

Our current faculty and institutional strengths support specialization in the art and visual/material culture of the following overlapping fields: American, contemporary, early modern Europe and the Atlantic world, East Asia; film/photography, Islamic, modern Europe, and South Asia.

Applicants with the necessary preparation holding a BA or an MA are equally encouraged to apply, and our incoming classes routinely include students with both backgrounds. All students apply to the PhD program, although they have the option to earn an 'in-process' MA on their way to the PhD degree. Students with previous graduate work in art history may be allowed to transfer credits from their former institution and apply them towards their graduate coursework requirements at Minnesota. All admitted students receive a five-year funding package consisting of a full-tuition scholarship, health insurance and annual stipend. The University of Minnesota does not offer a terminal MA in art history.

The PhD in Art History is designed as a full-time program to be completed in five to six years. It consists of 72 credit hours (54 credit hours of coursework with distribution requirements and 24 Doctoral Thesis Credits), language requirements, a substantial research paper, preliminary written and oral PhD examinations, the PhD thesis and final oral examination. While the department provides all students five years of funding, students are encouraged to apply for external funding to support their research and to build their CV. Students who are awarded and take an external fellowship will be allowed to save a year of their UMN funding for a sixth year (See Appendix B, below, for Department and Graduate School policy on time to degree).

Yearly Review: All students in the program are evaluated by the faculty yearly, normally at the last faculty meeting of the semester. Students receive yearly evaluation letters from the DGS providing feedback on their progress to degree in accordance with university policy. These incorporate feedback from the entire faculty as well as the student's advisor and communicate the expectations of the department for the coming year. For students in advanced candidacy, these letters can communicate departmental expectations required to maintain standing in the program, including, when necessary, a strict deadline for finishing the PhD. Students are required to submit a statement in advance of each yearly review. See Appendix C below for more information on the yearly review and content of the statement.

FIRST TWO YEARS OF THE PROGRAM

During the first two years of the PHD program students will:


1.1 CONSULT THE DGS AND SELECT AN ADVISOR

The Director of Graduate Studies advises all new graduate students during orientation to map out their program. The DGS will sign all forms, which require an advisor's signature and aid students in course selection. In addition the DGS will adjudicate and assign transfer credit, contingent on departmental policy, and adjudicate and certify transfer of language certifications from previous graduate programs. All credits applied from transfer credit must be approved by the DGS. Consult the Graduate School Catalog for additional details on credit transfer and the administrative policy.

During the first or second year of coursework, students select an academic advisor in the appropriate field from the graduate faculty. Once the advisor is chosen, the student must inform the Graduate Program Coordinator.


1.2 COMPLETE 36 CREDITS OF THE 48 CREDITS OF PHD COURSEWORK AND FULFILL ONE LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT.

During the first two years students must complete a minimum of 36 credits (about 12 courses) out of the total 48 credits required for the PhD coursework. A minimum of 21 of these initial 36 credits must be in Art History.

Note on Grading Basis: All program requirements must be taken for a grade. The S/N ('pass/fail') cannot be used as a grading basis for any ARTH doctoral program coursework requirements (i.e. the primary art historical concentration, secondary art historical concentration, global distributions, minimum minor/external program coursework, 8001 and the two seminars). While university policy allows for the proportion of classes taken S/N to constitute 1/3 of coursework applied to a degree, the department enforces a stricter standard.  Apart from circumstances judged truly extraordinary by the DGS, students in the PhD program in Art History may only use the S/N grading basis for elective courses or for language study (where permitted by the language department certifying the completion of the graduate requirement).

1.2.1 Department of Art History Coursework

Students concentrating in Western art or art of the Global North must take one course in Eastern art or art of the Global South. Students concentrating in art of the Global East or South must take one course in Western art or art of the Global North. Please refer to the global perspectives course list.


1.2.2 Extra-Departmental Coursework (Graduate Minors and Supporting Programs).

Students must complete either a graduate minor or a supporting program of extra-departmental coursework designed by the student and approved by the DGS and advisor. According to Graduate School policy, at least 6 credits are required in a single field to constitute a graduate minor; however, the department of the minor field determines credit requirements and procedures for the minor. Students must complete a workflow request to elect (or remove) a minor. The workflow must be submitted before the doctoral oral preliminary exam. Students who have elected a minor will need to submit a GPAS planner for the minor, separate from their major. The graduate minor’s GPC and DGS approve the minor in the new GPAS planner.  A supporting program comprises a set of courses, equivalent to 6 credits, which represent a coherent area of work that is outside the primary focus of the student’s program. Students design these programs in consultation with their advisor and the DGS.


1.3 OPTIONAL IN-PROCESS MASTER’S DEGREE

The department does not admit students to an MA program of study, nor does it generally award the degree as part of the graduate degree plan. However, if during the course of the PhD students wish to file for an in-process Master’s degree, they may do so after completing the requirements listed below. In addition, in some cases, students choose to leave the program and wish to file for an MA to recognize the graduate work they have done. Finally, in rare cases, the faculty may advise a student that their lack of progress is such that they will not be permitted to progress to the PhD and that they should file for an MA prior to leaving the program. In all cases, the following conditions should be met: 


1.3.1  Complete the Required 36 Credits of MA Coursework and Fulfill One Language Requirement

The student must complete a minimum of 36 credits (about 12 courses). A minimum of 21 of these 36 credits must be in Art History.

1.3.2 Submit a GPAS plan for the In-Process MA

The GPAS plan must be submitted before students can submit their M.A. examination committee for approval. It is recommended that the plan be submitted no later than two months prior to exams. The GPAS planner is accessed through MyU.  The GPAS plan is completed with the assistance of the Graduate Program Coordinator, with the guidance of the DGS, in consultation with the student's advisor. The GPAS planner lists all coursework that will count toward the 36 credit degree requirement. It reflects completed coursework with grades and proposed coursework for the remaining terms of registration. It also details the fulfillment of the language requirement and lists any transferred coursework. (To apply transfer coursework from other institutions or CCE, consult the Graduate Education Catalog.) The GPAS plan must be approved by the student’s advisor(s) and DGS.


1.3.3 Prepare and Take the Comprehensive Written Examination (the “In-Process MA Exams)

The student applies to take the comprehensive exam after:


Comprehensive Exam Procedures

The examination committee consists of at least three members, including the advisor. At least two members (including the advisor) must be from the Art History department. At least one member must represent a field outside the student’s major. If the student has a declared minor(s), the outside member(s) must be from the minor field(s) (e.g. EMS; GWSS; HIST etc.). Students prepare a (1.5 - 2 page) bibliography for each of their three areas of study in consultation with their committee members. The exam is a three hour essay exam with approximately an hour for each list, plus an additional hour for editing, revising, and printing the exam. The exam is “closed-book,” so it usually takes place on campus (normally the ARTH seminar room or a similar type of classroom), unless other arrangements are made with the approval of the DGS.

Before the Exam

It is the student's responsibility to:

1) Initiate the first stage of the process by telling their advisor they wish to take the exam and set  a general time frame when they will take it (e.g. early Fall, beginning of Spring semester etc.),

2) Ask faculty to be on the committee and to ask one member (normally the advisor) to serve as Chair of the Examining Committee,

3) At least one month prior to the exam, assign the Comprehensive/MA-level Examining Committee members by submitting an electronic form

3) Work with each committee member to develop a reading list for their respective section of the exam

4) At least one day prior to the exam, initiate the Final Exam form


It is the Chair of the Examining Committee's responsibility to:

1) Set the time and date and arrange for a room

2) Ensure that the Committee contains at least one outside member and all members are graduate faculty

3) Contact the other Committee members in order to solicit questions for the exam two weeks in advance of the exam

4) Submit the questions to the DGS at least a week in advance of the exam, who, in consultation with the Graduate Studies Committee, will approve the format of the exam and the exam questions

5) Record the votes of all the committee members using the Final Exam form workflow immediately following the final vote

During and After the Exam

The exam is three hours in length, with an additional hour for editing, revising and printing the exam. Upon completion of the exam essays, the student sends copies of them to the committee members electronically to evaluate on a pass/fail basis. A hard copy of the exam goes to the Graduate Program Coordinator. Students are normally discouraged from taking the MA exams during the summer as faculty are on nine-month appointments and many are unavailable when classes are not in session; however, this is up to the discretion of the Examining Committee Chair and committee.

The Chair of the Examining committee will report the results of the examination to the GSSP office via the Final Exam form workflow following the final vote.

1.3.4 Prepare and Submit Two Qualifying (‘Plan B’) Papers

Two 'Plan B' papers are required to demonstrate the student's mastery of the essential skills of scholarship. One paper is written on a subject in the area of the student's primary concentration. This paper is supervised by the student's academic advisor. The second paper is written on a subject in the area of the student's secondary concentration and is supervised by someone other than the academic advisor. Term papers or seminar reports may serve as the basis for the Plan B papers, or the topic may be the result of independent study. The student and the project supervisor should decide upon a suitable length for an adequate treatment of the chosen topic.

The projects will be evaluated and approved by two Art History Graduate faculty, one of whom is the project supervisor. Both are required to sign the title page of the paper. Upon completion of the Plan B papers, they should be submitted electronically to the DGS Assistant.

Students who opt for the in-process MA but do not file their Plan B papers by the end of their fourth semester in the program are not eligible for departmental travel funding until they do.

Filing the Plan B Papers: Format and Specifications

The Department of Art History maintains a digital archive of all Plan B papers.  Completed Plan B papers must be saved as PDF files and submitted to the Graduate Program Coordinator and formatted according to the following specifications:

1. A Plan B project must be properly documented using either footnotes or endnotes and must include a bibliography. If the project supervisor offers no specifications, A Manual of Style (The University of Chicago Press) should be consulted.

2. The ordering of the parts of the papers will be: (a) title page, (b) list of illustrations, if included, (c) body, (d) endnotes, unless footnotes are used, (e) bibliography, (f) illustrations, with captions.

Illustrations should be high resolution digital images.

3. Acceptable type is any easily readable size font, 10-12 point.

4. Margin requirements are 1 inch on all sides.

5. The text must be double-spaced; longer quotations, footnotes or endnotes, bibliography and list of illustrations may be single spaced with double spacing between items.

6. The title page must be signed by both Art History readers as proof of acceptance, scanned, and  included in the PDF file that is submit to the Department.


1.3.5 File for the In-Process MA

After fulfilling any outstanding requirements, students will apply to graduate, after which they will be awarded the in-process MA in Art History. Please review the degree completion steps and the graduation steps on the OneStop website. Apply to graduate no later than the first day of the anticipated month of graduation. Review the date ranges and deadlines for monthly graduation on the OneStop website. 

THIRD AND FOURTH YEARS: REMAINING COURSEWORK, THESIS CREDITS, RESEARCH PAPER, PRELIMS AND DISSERTATION PROSPECTUS.

During the third and fourth years, students will complete any remaining coursework requirements, fulfill their second language requirement, take their preliminary written examinations, write their dissertation proposal, and take the preliminary oral examination. Information on language requirements is contained in Appendix A below. The Graduate School requires five semesters total of full-time registration for PhD students. It is the intent of the department that all coursework and preliminary exams will be completed no later than the end of the fourth year in the PhD program. The Graduate School imposes an eight-year time limit for finishing the PhD, although the department expects that most students should graduate by their sixth year. Information on time to degree is contained in Appendix B.

2.1 COMPLETE ANY REMAINING PHD COURSEWORK (48 CREDITS TOTAL) AND THE DOCTORAL THESIS CREDITS (24 CREDITS)

The student, in consultation with the advisor and other relevant faculty members, designs a program that brings their coursework to completion and fulfills the following requirements. Students arrange for courses to be listed in the GPAS planner with the assistance of the Graduate Program Coordinator, and in consultation with their advisor and the DGS.


2.2 COMPLETE THE RESEARCH PAPER

Prior to the beginning of the third year of study, the student must complete an original research paper of 20-25 pages in an ARTH course. The paper is intended to demonstrate the student's mastery of the essential skills of scholarship and provide experience in identifying and developing a consistent theme and argument within an article-length space. It need not be in the student’s primary area of study.

The paper will be evaluated and approved by two Art History Graduate faculty, one of whom is the advisor. The research paper must be completed and evaluated no later than the end of the summer after the student’s second year in the program, that is, prior to the start of fall semester classes of their third year. Students who have opted for the in-process MA may count the research paper toward one of their required Plan B papers.

2.2 FILE A  GPAS PLAN FOR THE PHD

At the end of the third year in the PhD program, the student  submits a GPAS plan for the PhD. The  GPAS plan must be processed before students can submit their preliminary examination committee for approval. It is recommended that it be turned in no later than two months prior to the exams. The GPAS planner is accessed through MyU.  The GPAS plan is completed with the assistance of the Graduate Program Coordinator, with the guidance of the DGS, in consultation with the student's advisor(s).  The GPAS plan lists all coursework that will count toward the 54 credit degree requirement. It reflects completed coursework with grades and proposed coursework for the remaining terms of registration.  It also details the fulfillment of all language requirements and lists any transferred coursework. (To apply transfer coursework from other institutions or CCE, consult the Graduate Education Catalog.) The GPAS plan must be approved by the student’s advisor(s) and DGS.



2.3 SET THE EXAMINING COMMITTEE

Committee assignments for the Oral Preliminary Examination must be completed at least one  semester prior to the exam.  Assignments are made online by the student.  To change advisors or add or remove a co-advisor, consult with the Director of Graduate Studies, who will complete a special online form.  Please note that updates to an advisor should be submitted at least one month prior to any examination to allow time for processing and changes to the record.

Students should contact proposed advisors and committee members to obtain their commitment to participate on the Examining Committee. Members of the Committee should be familiar with the student and  their work. The Examining Committee consists of a minimum of four members: three faculty members from Art History and one or two from the outside minor or supporting program. One member from Art History must reflect the area of primary concentration and one must reflect the area of secondary concentration. The student's advisor cannot serve as the chair of the Final Oral Examination Committee; however, the advisor can chair the preliminary examinations. (The “chair” simply means the person who chairs the meetings of the committee–the person who brings the meeting to order, makes sure that the procedures are being followed, provides instructions to the faculty, and records the committee votes.) The advisor from the secondary concentration serves as one of the two remaining art history members. Instructors whose courses are art historical in content may not serve as examiners from the minor or supporting program.

The Committee is the same for the written and oral preliminary examinations.

2.4 PREPARE FOR AND TAKE THE PRELIMINARY EXAMS (WRITTEN AND ORAL) AND WRITING THE DISSERTATION PROSPECTUS

The student must pass preliminary written and preliminary oral examinations in order to proceed with work on the dissertation. There are at least four goals of the examinations: 1. they allow the student to show comprehensive knowledge of issues in their fields of interest; 2. they should demonstrate critical thinking about important issues in the history of art and relevant fields; 3. they should demonstrate the student's capacity to think critically in relation to the prevailing literature, to find the limitations and strengths of particular texts, to place different texts in conversation, and to take up and support positions relative to the views of other scholars; 4. they offer the opportunity for students to take stock of what they have studied and to think systematically about what they have learned so that they can fill in gaps and intellectually organize ideas and issues.

2.4.1 The Written Exam

The written exam is a two week, take-home exam, which consists of three essay questions to be given to the student at the beginning of the exam period. One of these should be written by the student's advisor, the other two questions may be written by a combination of other faculty members from the student's committee. For example, a student in consultation with their advisor might find it most useful to have questions from all three of the committee members in the art history department, or they may want to have the outside member write one of the questions. This should be determined by the advisor in consultation with the student. The content of the exam should be focused on the student's coursework, and the questions should allow the student to show a comprehensive knowledge of issues appropriate to  their field(s) of study. Each essay should be approximately 10 pages, double spaced in 12 type font, and should include footnotes/endnotes and/or a bibliography.

The Examining Committee consists of a minimum of four members. At least three members are drawn from the Faculty of the Art History Graduate program; two of the members should be professors with whom the student has taken courses; one member of these should represent the secondary field in art history. The remaining one or two members are drawn from Graduate faculty outside the Department of Art History. Any faculty member who is an affiliate member of the art history department may serve as an inside member or an outside member, but not both at once. The role that an affiliate member may serve on PhD committees is determined by the specific nature of their graduate appointment. For more information about affiliate faculty, contact the DGS.

Preparing for the Written Exam

The student should first discuss with the advisor the intent to take the examinations approximately one semester in advance.

At least 8 weeks before the exam is scheduled the student should personally contact each member of the committee and discuss the material for which the student will be responsible on the exam. The student and faculty collaboratively produce a bibliography for each of the areas of the exam from which questions may be drawn.

About 6 weeks before the proposed exam date the advisor should contact the other committee members about whether they will need to prepare questions.

About 4 weeks in advance of the exam date, the advisor should collect questions from the other members of the committee and compose the examination, which  they must then submit to the Graduate Studies Committee, via the DGS, for approval.

Taking the Written Exam

Following the completion of the written exam, the answers will be given (either in hard copy or digital form) to all of the members of the Examining Committee for review. A digital copy must be given to the Graduate Program Coordinator for the student's permanent file.

The Chair of the Examining Committee must give the entire committee at least seven working days to read the written exam; once all the committee members have read the exam and deemed it passable, the advisor will give the results to the Graduate Program Coordinator who will report the results to the Graduate School via an online form. Students who are reported to have failed to meet the written examination requirement(s) will be terminated from the doctoral program.

2.4.2 Dissertation Prospectus and Oral Examination

The dissertation prospectus and preliminary oral examination allows the Examining Committee to evaluate the student's readiness to proceed with writing the PhD thesis. The oral exam is taken after the successful completion of the written examination, in a period not to exceed six months (unless explicit consent for an extension is granted by the DGS in consultation with the dissertation advisor). The exam may address the written exam and its relation to the area(s) of specialization, or the minor or supporting program; however, the focus is primarily on the subject of the dissertation.

In advance of the oral examination students must prepare a dissertation prospectus. The exact format of the prospectus may vary, but it should be about 15 pages in length and contain the following:

   1. a literature review in which the student lays out the current literature on their topic;

   2. a statement on methodology in which the student explains the primary methods they will use in researching and writing the dissertation;

   3. a brief summary of the project, which positions its goals in relation to the current literature and situates the project intellectually;

   4. chapter summaries, which sketch out the form that the dissertation will take and indicate how it will be organized;

   5. a plan of work, in which the student provides a proposed timeline for researching and writing the dissertation, including what archives, libraries, museums, or archaeological sites, they plan to visit (or has already visited).

Scheduling and Taking the Oral Examination

In order to schedule the oral examination, students must demonstrate to the Graduate School that they have passed the written examination by the filing of the Preliminary Written Examination Report, which is done by the graduate program coordinator. Students preparing to take the oral exam must schedule it with Graduate Student Services and Progress (GSSP) at least one week in advance of the exam date. This is done by submitting an online form on the GSSP website. The student is also responsible for scheduling the oral exam with members of the Examining Committee. All assigned members of the Examining Committee must be present for the exam to be considered valid.   At least one day prior to the preliminary oral exam, the student will initiate the preliminary oral exam report. The committee chair will receive a link to the form. This form lists the official members of the Examining Committee. If special circumstances arise, immediately consult the Department and the GSSP office in the Graduate School (see the Addressing Last Minute Committee Changes Graduate Education Catalog). At the exam, the chair will record the votes of each committee member listed on the form and submit it. The exam is evaluated as pass, pass with reservations, or fail.

Decision definitions

Pass: the graduate program’s standards for a successful preliminary oral examination were satisfied, and the student can continue their doctoral studies.

Pass with reservations: the graduate program’s standards for a successful preliminary examination were satisfied, and the student can continue their doctoral studies; however, the committee determined that the student must gain and demonstrate additional academic competency(ies) in specified area(s) as an eligibility requirement for the final oral examination.

Fail: the graduate program's standards for a successful preliminary oral examination were not satisfied. One retake, if approved by the committee, is allowed.

If a final decision is “fail” all committee members must vote whether or not the student is allowed to retake the exam. If the committee does not approve a retake, or if the student fails the second attempt, the student will be terminated from the doctoral program.

If the result of the exam is “pass with reservations,” the committee will upload a letter of reservations outlining the committee’s concerns. A copy of this letter will be sent to the student and all committee members.

Once the exam form is submitted, the student and each committee member will receive a copy of the decision via email. For further details on the exam, particularly on committee voting and passing requirements, consult the Graduate Education Catalog or see the One Stop Student Services website.

Upon the successful completion of the oral examination (pass, or pass with reservations), the student is considered an official candidate for the doctoral degree.

FIFTH AND SIXTH YEARS: RESEARCHING, WRITING, AND DEFENDING THE PHD THESIS.

The PhD thesis is a major work of scholarly research and writing and must demonstrate originality and ability to conduct independent investigation. The results of the research must embody a unique contribution to the field and must be presented with a satisfactory degree of literary skill. Students will work with their advisor and committee to establish a time frame for writing the dissertation.

Graduate School specifications on the preparation and format of the Doctoral Thesis can be found here. 


3.1 SET THE FINAL ORAL EXAMINING COMMITTEE

Committee assignments for the Final Oral Exam must be completed at least one month prior to the exam. Assignments are made online by the student.

The final oral examination committees must consist of at least four members, including the advisor(s). All members of the committees and the candidate must participate.

The final oral examination committee is not required to include the same members who served on the prelim oral committee.

3.2 FILE FOR THE PHD

After satisfying all degree requirements, students will apply to graduate, after which they will be awarded the PhD in Art History. Please review the degree completion steps and graduation steps on the OneStop website. Apply to graduate no later than the first day of the anticipated month of graduation. Review the date ranges and deadlines for monthly graduation on the OneStop website. 

Information about the Art, Sciences, and Engineering Graduate Commencement ceremony is available here or by contacting asecommencement@umn.edu

3.3 SUBMIT THE FINISHED WORK FOR THE THESIS REVIEW

When the thesis is complete, it must be certified as ready for defense prior to the Final Oral Examination. Thesis Reviewers must be notified at least two weeks in advance that the final draft of the thesis will be ready for review on a specified date. Additionally, the reviewers must be given a minimum of two weeks to review the thesis before the final oral examination.

Thesis reviewers will certify that the dissertation is acceptable, acceptable with revisions, or not acceptable for defense by completing the Reviewers’ Report form. The Reviewers’ Report  form is initiated by the student at least one week before the final exam. The Thesis Reviewer's Report should be submitted to the Graduate School at least three to four days  prior to the final oral examination. Further information on the faculty who may serve as Thesis Reviewer is contained on the OneStop/GSSP website.


3.4 SCHEDULE AND TAKE FINAL ORAL EXAMINATION (THESIS DEFENSE)

The student schedules the Final Oral Examination with the Graduate School at least one week in advance. The student will receive an email with a link to access the Final Exam form workflow after they have scheduled the final exam and been cleared by the Office of the Registrar (OTR) to take the final exam.

The final oral examination requires that the student present and defend their PhD thesis.

The Final Oral Examining Committee consists of a minimum of four members. The committee registration designates three members as thesis readers (one of whom must be outside the Art History Graduate faculty) and one examiner. The student's advisor cannot function as the chair of the Final Oral Examination Committee. (The “chair” simply means the person who chairs the meetings of the committee–the person who brings the meeting to order, makes sure that the procedures are being followed, provides instructions to the faculty, and records the committee votes.)

All members of the committee must read the dissertation; those officially designated as "Readers" are simply those whose signatures must appear on the Reviewers’ Report, which must be submitted before the student is allowed to schedule the final defense.

Once the student initiates the Final Exam form, the committee chair will receive an email from wfgen-nr@umn.edu with a link to the form. The chair will need a computer at the final exam in order to complete the form following the defense. The chair must record the votes of each committee member listed on the form. If there are alternates, the committee can record their names and votes on the form. To pass the examination, all committee members, or all committee members save one, must vote in favor. Students are not allowed to retake the doctoral final oral examination.

Once the chair submits the Final Exam form, the student is immediately notified of the committee’s final decision. OTR processes the form and updates the student’s record.

The Final Examination Report Form should be received by the GSSP Office from the committee chair no later than the last business day of the anticipated month of graduation. Graduation checklists, graduate application for degree, and formatting and submission guidelines are all included on the Degree Completion Steps document. Questions can be answered by the GSSP staff at 612-625-3490.

Public Presentation

At the commencement of the thesis defense, the student is required to give a 20-minute oral presentation on the thesis. This presentation is open to the public. Announcements should be posted in Heller Hall and in other relevant places at least one week in advance. Please supply an image, dissertation title, presentation time, and location to Erik Farseth at farse003@umn.edu at least two weeks before the exam so an announcement can be prepared.

3.5 SUBMIT FINAL VERSION OF DISSERTATION

Prior to the last business day of the month, the student initiates the Thesis/Dissertation Approval & Deposit agreement. Advisors must submit their approval no later than the last business day of the anticipated month of graduation, so please plan accordingly.

The student submits the dissertation to ProQuest no later than the last business day of the anticipated month of graduation. Details about dissertation formatting requirements and submission are available at https://z.umn.edu/thesissubmit


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APPENDIX A: FOREIGN LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

PhD students are required to attain a reading knowledge of a minimum of two languages appropriate to the student's research. The final choice and number of languages is to be determined in consultation with the primary advisor. For example, students working in the ancient world are expected to learn several ancient languages as well as additional modern research languages depending on subspecialty. The first language requirement should be fulfilled during the first year; students will not be allowed to take the in-process MA exam until it is. The second language requirement must be fulfilled by the end of the second semester of the student's third year in the PhD program. If unsuccessful in meeting any aspect of these requirements, the student will not be allowed to take any courses other than relevant language courses until the requirement is fulfilled and if this impedes their progress to degree may be asked to leave the program since during this time, the student is not eligible for financial support. If a certification for a third language is required by the student's advisor or a supporting program, the time frame for demonstrating proficiency in it is determined in consultation with this major advisor.

The minimum language requirements for the degree can be satisfied in the following two ways:

A student who has passed a required foreign language exam at another institution must nonetheless take and pass the relevant University of Minnesota departmental foreign language exam. Exceptions will be granted only when the exam taken at another institution (1) has been passed within the last two years and (2) can be demonstrated to have been equivalent in nature to that of the University of Minnesota departmental foreign language examination.


Overall Research Competence


A Solid competence. Although the student occasionally uses the dictionary, he/she is sufficiently skilled in the vocabulary and grammar of the research language to read a text easily and understand all or nearly all of it.

B Competent. Despite some gaps in vocabulary (specifically specialized jargon), the student is sufficiently proficient in the basic vocabulary and grammar to derive the pertinent meaning of a text.

C Some knowledge of research language, but student relies heavily on dictionary to understand even basic vocabulary. He/she fails to deconstruct grammatical structures to the extent that intelligibility of text is frequently undermined.

D Low competence. Errors in vocabulary and grammar are so significant that the student does not appear to grasp the general meaning of the text.


 Grammar

A Clear, with few errors. Grammatical structures are properly deconstructed and translated into English.

B Comprehensible, some errors.

C Substantial and significant errors.

D Largely unintelligible.


Style 

A Competent, accurate translation. Elegant English.

B Comprehensible translation using English constructions.

C Literal translation, attempts at using English constructions.

D Literal translation without attempts to use English constructions.

 

EVALUATION GUIDELINES 

Cut-off score
 

Pass: B and higher

Fail: C and below



APPENDIX B: TIME TO DEGREE

While the Graduate School has established a maximum time to degree for the PhD, it encourages departments to set a more restrictive time frame. The Department of Art History regularly imposes a deadline for students who have not graduated after six years (see Appendix B below). The DGS will establish this timeframe in consultation with the student's advisor and communicate any milestones to be met along the way in the student's yearly evaluation letter (see Appendix C below). Students will be terminated from the program if they do not meet this deadline and any associated milestones.

Graduate School Policy on Time to Degree

All requirements for the doctoral degree must be completed and the degree awarded within eight years after admission and matriculation to the graduate program, or a more restrictive time frame specified by the program. Students who are unable to complete the degree within the time limits described above may petition the program and collegiate unit for one extension of up to 24 months.


APPENDIX C: Yearly Review of Graduate Student Performance

The Graduate School requires that departments offering Masters and Doctoral degrees evaluate student performance every academic year to determine whether they are making satisfactory progress toward the completion of their degrees. The review period includes the academic year in which the form is filed. For example, if you were to complete the form in April of 2023, you would report on activities in summer and fall semester of 2022 and spring semester 2023.

For the Graduate School, satisfactory progress includes the following:

In accordance with these standards, students report on degree milestones achieved since the last yearly review, timelines to fulfill any outstanding requirements, and plans to fulfill the next set of milestones according to the program timeline. If a milestone or requirement is still outstanding, students should provide a compelling case that it can and will be fulfilled before the end of the academic year or (in extreme cases) by the start of the next.

A student failing to make adequate progress toward the degree according to the timelines and expectations outlined in the handbook, by the Graduate School, and by their advisor, may face termination from the program. This only occurs in very rare circumstances, and only after the student has been notified in writing of their deficiencies. This written communication must also include a timeline during which the student is allowed to address those deficiencies. Termination from the graduate program of the Department of Art History becomes official when the student is so notified in writing by either the Director of Graduate Studies or the Graduate School.

In addition to  monitoring satisfactory degree progress, the Department of Art History uses the annual review process as an opportunity to look more broadly at students' efforts, and includes not only the requirements listed above, but also:

Completed forms are shared with the full faculty at the final departmental meeting in May, during which, the adviser and DGS note evaluative statements made by the faculty (such as, for example, about the student's performance as a T.A. or academic performance in a class). 

The DGS then prepares a brief form noting whether the student remains in good standing and identifying any concerns with respect to the fulfillment of specific degree requirements. The form is then passed to the adviser, who supplies additional comments and issues any recommendations as necessary. Finally, the form is shared with the student, and the adviser may suggest a meeting to discuss it.