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Research

There is no shortage of research topics for students interested in taking their study of art history to the next level. Faculty members are enthusiastic mentors who are eager to deepen students’ understanding of subjects that may have only been peripherally covered in the classroom.

Research Fellowships

There are University grants for student research as well as summer research fellowships to fund independent scholarly or creative projects. In addition, many students successfully apply for undergraduate research grants to fund costs in preparation for writing their senior theses including trips to archives, libraries, and museums.

Recent research topics that students have pursued include:

  • Curating the University Museum’s exhibition “Sacred and Sensuous: Hindu Art from the Collection”
  • “Conflict as Fashion: the Cultural and Power Relationships Visible in the Art of Nouveau Kimono of Greater Taisho Era Japan”
  • “Economics of Aesthetics: Neoclassical Charleston and Philadelphia Furniture, 1790-1815”
  • “Art for a Decade: The Young British Artists of the 1990s
  • The Age of Devotion: Stained Glass by Marc Chagall”
  • “Engaging Experience: Reconciling Subject and Object in the Early Paintings of Gustave Caillebotte”
  • “Performance, Intent, and Aspiration in the Self-Portraits of Francisco de Goya”

Independent Study

Independent studies are individually designed programs conducted under faculty supervision. Independent studies cannot be substituted for required courses in the art history major.