The School of Art participates with the faculties in music, theatre & dance, and philosophy in an interdisciplinary program leading to the Doctor of Philosophy with a major in Fine Arts. Students engage a core curriculum of 15 hours that emphasizes interdisciplinarity among the arts: four required courses include a colloquium that explores disciplinary formation and types of interdisciplinary engagement; arts histories; arts in a contemporary context; and philosophical aesthetics. An additional approved topics or aesthetics course completes a student’s core program.<br>In addition to the fine arts core curriculum, students engage a “Critical Studies and Artistic Practice” Core of 12 hours, consisting of interdisciplinary topics in the visual arts. Beyond the two groups of core classes, students must complete a minimum of 33 hours of individualized coursework, including 12 hours of dissertation work. Individualized coursework may be chosen, with consent of the advisor, from two of the following fields of study: history of art, art education, critical studies, museum studies, arts administration, and studio art (if the student holds an appropriate master’s), as well as theatre and music.