PhD Art History and MPhil Art History
The PhD Art History constitutes an independent and original contribution to the study of art and visual culture. The doctoral thesis is intended for students who wish to pursue a sustained study of Art History with a view to producing original research. Study is undertaken as supervised research through tutorials, research seminars, research training, and independent enquiry. Student and supervisor jointly determine a schedule for study, tutorials, and the submission of written work.
The Dissertation for MPhil Art History should be 50,000 words and for PhD Art History around 100,000 words. For topics available see staff research interests.
All doctoral students are supervised by two members of staff: a primary supervisor with expertise in the proposed area of study, and a second supervisor who is research-active in a relevant area. In exceptional cases in which a student’s project is especially wide-ranging, a third member of staff (including staff from another department) may be involved in the supervision.
New students agree on a program of work with their supervisor by identifying research-training needs in a Teaching and Learning Compact that is monitored bi-annually. Discipline-specific training is embedded in the student/supervisor tutorials and further supported by Postgraduate Research Seminars that may include staff and students from related departments, as well as invited artists and art historians.
In addition, Aberystwyth University provides compulsory research training modules such as Ways of Reading. Annual residential writing schools prepare students for the final stages of dissertation writing.