Doctor of Philosophy in History of Arts - Cinema and Media Studies

The History of Art at Penn embraces the long history of projected, reproducible and moving images, and many members of the History of Art graduate group teach and do research in this realm, including Shira Brisman (Early Modern), Julie Nelson Davis (Japanese prints and cinema), Andr Dombrowski (19th century photography and print culture), Sonal Khullar (photography, 20th- and 21st-century cinema and moving image-art), Michael Leja (mass media, including print culture, photography and early cinema), Kevin Platt (Soviet cinema), Karen Redrobe (cinema, photography, video, film and media theory), Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw (North American and Latin American cinema, critical race theory), Chenshu Zhou (Chinese cinema, film exhibition), and Liliane Weissberg (the Frankfurt school). Our students also work closely with the other core Cinema and Media Studies faculty: Peter Decherney (American film history, copyright and media policy), Meta Mazaj (Balkan Cinema, Global art cinema, Film Festivals), and Rahul Mukherjee (South Asian and African cinema and media, media ecology).

The committee reviews each application very carefully and weighs all aspects of a candidate's preparation for graduate study. The primary elements of the application include: academic transcript, (3) letters of recommendations, TOEFL scores for international students, personal statement (1000 word maximum), and writing sample (30 double-spaced pages maximum, including images). All offer insights into a student's past achievements and prospects for future development. It is normally expected that students have a solid background in art history, but it is not necessary to have majored in art history. In addition, applicants should demonstrate good proficiency in at least one foreign language. Two foreign languages will be required of all Ph.D and MA students before they advance to candidacy. GRE Test are no longer required for admissions.