Members of the Department of the History of Art may also serve in other fields as well as their own, such as Medieval Studies. Our field, History of Art and Archaeology, constitutes approximately fourteen members. The field of History of Art and Archaeology offers a Ph.D. program in which an M.A. or Special Masters is granted at the successful completion of the admission to candidacy examination, or A-exam. A list of current field members is attached.
Students select their own committee members.
The faculty member representing the major subject is the chair of the Special Committee. If the student has not chosen a principal adviser, the Director of Graduate Studies initially acts in this role. This Special Committee system results in a flexible graduate education tailored to each individual student. Cornell faculty encourage interdisciplinary approaches to the student s selected major field. In the second and third years, when most students have teaching assistantships, the number of courses per term is two or three.