Visual Studies Ph.D.

Visual studies ph.d.

Visual Studies Program

The Visual Studies Ph.D. offers an interdisciplinary program focused on visual-cultural scholarship, comprising specialized coursework and individual dissertation research in close coordination with faculty supervision.

The expansive expertise of our diverse faculty addresses, and offers a broad scope of supervisory possibilities in researching, a variety of art forms and visual cultures with historical and contemporary perspectives and with global reach, including such regions as Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, North America, Latin America, the Indigenous Americas (including pre-colonial California), Asia, Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Pacific Islands.

Our program provides students with unparalleled opportunities to consider the role of social, political, and cultural forces in both shaping and being shaped by assorted modes of visual experience and their relations as well to complex workings of multisensory perception. Areas of particular concern, both historical and current, include spatial and visual theories, environmental, social, and racial justice, colonial and decolonial visual culture, Anthropocene and Indigenous studies.

Our graduates consider a range of theoretical approaches and significant methodologies for the study of visuality, including object-centered, ecocritical, de- and post-colonial, new materialist, and social-historical (feminist, antiracist, Indigenous, and Marxist) varieties. Students explore diverse cultural perspectives across time and space, and cultivate the necessary skills, knowledge, and expertise—including those of archival analysis, site-specific research, live interview and digital humanities techniques—in order to excel in academic, curatorial, publishing, and other related professional careers.

Focusing on a wide range of visual culture, our program is unconstrained by traditional mediums of art or conventional canons of art history. The capacious array of subjects examined in our courses and in the research of our faculty and students are as diverse as landscapes, ritual, performance, material culture, bodily adornment, popular entertainment, digital art and cybernetic data, photography, film, advertising, and design, as well as painting, sculpture, and architecture. Our Ph.D. program is particularly strong in comparative studies with historical and geographical expansiveness, examining significant differences in how disparate cultural groups engage, shape, and interpret their visual worlds.

Apply to Visual Studies

Successful applicants will demonstrate their potential for original scholarship in the field, interest in academic or curatorial positions, superior oral, visual, and written skills and a commitment to education.

For detailed information about the application process, requirements and to apply, please visit Graduate Admissions.

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Designated Emphasis

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Visual & Media Cultures Colloquia Series

The annual Visual and Media Cultures Colloquia Series at UC Santa Cruz is a collaboration between the graduate programs in the Film and Digital Media Department and Visual Studies in the History of Art and Visual Culture Department. The series brings an array of cutting-edge scholars to speak on a broad spectrum of subjects.

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Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs)

PLO 1 – Core Knowledge: Students will demonstrate mastery of the history of visual culture theory and methods by being able to describe and analyze the internal and external criticisms, debates, and reformulations of the field, both historical and current.

PLO 2 – Research: Students will demonstrate the ability to use research methods and analysis appropriate for carrying out their independent and original research.

PLO 3 – Pedagogy: Students will demonstrate the ability to plan curricula and learning programs, to express ideas clearly and explain them to others, and to assess student work fairly and accurately.

PLO 4 – Scholarly Communication: Students will demonstrate effective communication skills in presenting research findings in oral and written forms.

PLO 5 – Professionalism: Students will demonstrate professional preparation including the ability to write grants, to submit publications to journals and presses, and to participate in professional organizations and conferences.

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Questions?

Email: visualstudies@ucsc.edu

Visual Studies Ph.D.