Architectural Option

Description | Option Requirements | Program/Option Faculty | Course List

Summer Field Course | Press Links | Download Brochure (PDF)

Introduction

The Architectural Option is a Ph.D. curriculum within the Art History Department designed for students whose research is focused on historical study of architecture. The Option offers training in specialized skill areas for students working in this area. It also takes advantage of a collaborative relationship between UW-Madison faculty and faculty in the School of Architecture at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee that enables students to take courses at both campuses (known as the Buildings-Landscapes-Cultures companion initiative). It is part of the Material Culture Program, which offers students interdisciplinary training in interpreting the material world.  The Architectural Option was approved in June of 2008, and we are accepting applications for our first class beginning in the Fall of 2009.

Description

The Ph.D. Architectural Option allows students flexibility in their coursework that enables them to meet requirements of the Ph.D. in Art History while also taking specialized coursework necessary for them to work effectively in the field of architectural history. Core requirements include an advanced, specialized methods/historiography course in architectural history that would also include students from UWM (to be taken during the student's 2nd semester in residence) and a summer fieldschool. Because work in the field of architectural history requires training not only in art history but also in related fields (such as landscape history, design, material culture, and cultural geography), students also would take some of their required coursework outside of Art History. Students may also enroll in the Material Culture certificate program, and they are encouraged to take material culture courses as part of their coursework (see the Material Culture website).

The collaborative relationship between faculty at the UW-Madison and the UW-Milwaukee afforded by the Traveling Scholars Program (CIC) offers an unparalleled opportunity for students in this area. Our faculty are also committed to using the buildings and landscapes of the Upper Midwest in our research and teaching. This region offers tremendous possibilities for students to pursue original research on understudied resources.

For more information on the Architecture Option, please contact Prof. Anna Andrzejewski (avandrzejews@wisc.edu).

Option Requirements

All students entering the Option are vetted through the admissions process in Art History. Any deficiencies will be made up in the usual fashion per the department's requirements, and will be established at the time of admission. They will be expected to meet the minimum requirements for Graduate School degrees generally (http://www.wisc.edu/grad/catalog/degreq.html) and in the Department of Art History (http://arthistory.wisc.edu).

For the Option, the minimum requirements are proposed as follows:

• Art History 701
• One graduate seminar in Art History
• Seminar (800-level) in architectural history offered jointly with Ph.D. students at UWM (2nd semester)
• Two lecture courses - one of which must be outside of art history (in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Cultural Geography, Anthropology, etc.) for disciplinary breadth
• Summer Field Course (joint with UWM students) on field methods

The Option differs from the standard Art History Ph.D. primarily the collaborative relationship with UW-Milwaukee and in the requirement that courses be taken outside of the department for disciplinary breadth.

Should a student opt out of the Architecture Option at any point, courses taken may be applied toward the regular Art History Ph.D. or be used to fulfill minor requirements. Exceptions may be possible to allow coursework taken to count toward the standard track in Art History.

Sample Schedule for Students Enrolled in Architecture Option

1st Semester (Fall):

• Art History 701 (if not taken as part of the M.A.
• Graduate Seminar in Art History or Lecture elective

2nd Semester (Spring):

• Seminar in Architectural History Methods/Historiography (joint with UWM)
• Graduate Seminar in Art History, lecture elective, or minor coursework

Summer Field Course (Art History 600)

3rd Semester (Fall)

• Graduate seminar in Art History or Lecture elective (if not already fulfilled)
• Minor coursework (including methods courses in fields related to research)

4th Semester (Spring)

• Minor coursework (including methods courses in fields related to research)
• Independent Study toward Preliminary Examinations

5th Semester (Fall)

• All departmental course requirements, minor requirements, and preliminary examinations should be completed no later than the end of this semester

Program/Option Faculty

The following individuals would be actively involved in teaching and advising in the program. The student's primary advisor would be on the home campus. The formation of the prelim and final oral committees would consist of five people one of whom could be from UW-Milwaukee and the other four from UW-Madison campus with the approval of the Art History faculty executive committee. The list of faculty members who teach courses that count toward the option may grow as the program develops.

Anna Andrzejewski, Asst. Prof., Art History

Narciso Menocal, Prof., Art History

Sam Dennis, Asst. Prof., Landscape Architecture

Janet Gilmore, Asst. Prof., Landscape Architecture

Arnold Alanen, Prof., Landscape Architecture

Preeti Chopra, Asst. Prof. Languages and Cultures of Asia

Arijit Sen, Asst. Prof. Architecture (UWM)

Manu Sobti, Asst. Prof., Architecture (UWM)

Thomas Hubka, Prof., Architecture (UWM)

Press Links

UW-Madison Press Release (Sept. 24th, 2008)

Channel 27 News (Sept. 24th, 2008)

The Badger Herald (Sept. 25th, 2008)