UCSB History of Art and Architecture - Prospective Graduate Applicants

Prospective Graduate Applicants

Welcome to all prospective applicants to our graduate program!

As you navigate through the process of applying to graduate school, you will inevitably have many questions about the programs you're considering. A great place to start as you look at our department is our graduate program page. It not only describes the many strengths of our department, and the resources you'll have available to you here, but also contains several links to other pages on our site where you can check out what kinds of awards our graduate students have won in recent years, what our funding situation is like, and much more. (If you want to go directly to one of those pages, there are links to all of them on the left.) For further information, you might also check out the University Grad Division's webpage for prospective applicants.

Down below you can meet some of our current or recent graduate students, and hear in their own words about the experience they've had at UCSB, and about the opportunities that have opened for them through their study in our department.

We hope you'll find answers to all of your questions on this website. If you still have questions, though, please don't hesitate to contact us!

E. Bruce Robertson
Graduate Advisor 2009-10

Ann Jensen Adams
Graduate Admissions Advisor 2009-10

Graduate Program Contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Amara Solari, Assistant Professor, Department of Art, Oregon State University (PhD. in the History of Art and Architecture from UCSB in 2007)

While it is impossible to concisely describe all of the positive aspects of UCSB's doctoral program, with the advantage of hindsight, I now recognize that the department's greatest strength may be the equal balance of intellectual and pedagogical preparation that they offer to their graduate students. The wide array of course offerings, provided by the individual expertise of the department's supportive faculty, allowed me to grow as a scholar, ultimately resulting in the interdisciplinary focus of my own research. Throughout my tenure, the department provided numerous research stipends that enabled me to solidly define my dissertation inquiries, making me competitive within the arena of extracurricular doctoral funding and resulting in the timely completion of my degree. Unlike many doctoral programs, UCSB's also focuses on pedagogical preparation, incorporating the actual development of teaching skills in the role of Teaching Assistants. I graduated from UCSB well-prepared for the job market, enabling me to secure two tenure-track positions, first at Binghamton University and now at Oregon State University.

George Flaherty, doctoral candidate (currently doing dissertation research in Mexico City on a CASVA Chester Dale Fellowship)

I was drawn to UC Santa Barbara because it offered a theoretically-informed faculty and a cluster of world-class interdisciplinary programs that I was able to integrate seamlessly into my course of study. Upon arriving I found that departmental resources were readily available to students with ambition, including foreign language study and conference and research travel support. I was able to take advantage of a variety of professional experiences outside the seminar room, from serving as the graduate assistant for the Subaltern-Popular Workshop, a University of California-wide research group, to conducting research for an international touring exhibition organized by the Santa Barbara Museum of Art and a leading Mexican museum. The contacts I made in the process greatly facilitated my current dissertation research in Mexico City. That said, what defines my experience at UCSB was the close mentorship I received from my advisor but also several other faculty members, all of whom had a vested interest in my development as a scholar.

Kelly S. Turner, doctoral candidate (currently interning in the Sculpture and Decorative Arts Department at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles while completing her dissertation)

I chose the graduate program in the History of Art and Architecture at UCSB because it offered interdisciplinary training, multiple opportunities to advance my research, and extensive professional development. During my tenure in the department, I have been exposed to diverse methodologies and approaches to the study and interpretation of the history of art and architecture, which was invaluable when the time came to conceptualize and research my dissertation project. A number of departmental and UC travel grants and fellowships facilitated the research of this project, giving me the opportunity to spend two years (2006-2008) in the libraries, archives, and museums of Paris. The department's working relationships with several museums in Southern California equally enhanced my educational experience. The graduate intern positions I held at The Huntington, the Architecture and Design Collection at the University Art Museum at UCSB, and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art allowed for me to gain in-depth knowledge of the intellectual and logistical aspects of curatorial work, and the projects on which I assisted extended my academic specialism and expertise and augmented my research skills through
direct contact with objects in their collections. Likewise, close advising from a supportive dissertation committee, and other faculty members, has been very important to the process of completing my dissertation.

Emily A. Engel, doctoral candidate (currently interning in the Photography Department at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art while completing her dissertation)

I selected UCSB, in part, because the faculty is dedicated to preparing graduate students for careers in both academia and the museum world. In 2004, Jeanette Peterson co-taught a seminar at the Getty on the relationship between text and image in Latin American art. While attending the seminar, I had the privilege of meeting the Head of Exhibitions at the GRI who invited me to work with her in organizing an exhibition of European manuscripts related to the history of Peru. Peter Sturman and Bruce Robertson later helped me to obtain an internship with the curator of photography at the Santa Barbara Art Museum. My internships have prepared me to begin working as a full-time curator and have enhanced my qualifications for academic appointments.