G1 - Course Requirements

Academic Standing and Satisfactory Progress

The necessary (but not necessarily sufficient) condition for students to remain in good standing in the History of Art and Architecture Department is that they receive a minimum GPA of 3.5 (B+) in all departmental courses. At the end of each semester the faculty discuss the progress of each student; if there are problems (e.g. academic performance overall, participation in classroom discussion, written exposition, completion of required coursework), a letter is sent at that time and follow up meetings organized with the Director of Graduate Studies and any appropriate members of the faculty. Students seeking accommodations for medical or other factors that may impede or adversely affect progress should contact the Accessible Education Office.

It is important that all of the graduate students in our program develop skills in both oral and written exposition, sharing their thoughts with colleagues in the classroom and through their written work. The faculty places equal importance in both speaking and writing in the formation of art historians regardless of their career path. A large part of what we do as scholars, as researchers and teachers, is fundamentally social.

On the basis of grades and written evaluations (grades are not the only criteria), the department faculty may vote that a student's degree candidacy be terminated or that a warning letter be sent which will specify the department's expectations for the following semester or year. Suitability to the program is a major factor and may be grounds for terminating candidacy. If the student fails to meet these expectations, the department will ask the Graduate School to terminate the student's degree candidacy.

Requirements for Satisfactory Progress

• G1 students may not receive any grades of Incomplete.
• No G2+ shall be permitted more than one grade of Incomplete per semester. If not completed within the following semester, the grade becomes Incomplete on the permanent record. No more than two permanent Incompletes will be permitted. A student who accumulates more than two will be required to withdraw, unless the faculty determines by a two-thirds' majority vote that extraordinary circumstances warrant an extension, which shall in no case exceed one semester.
• For students to remain in good standing, the History of Art and Architecture Department requires that they must receive a GPA of 3.5 in all departmental courses.

Registration

Each semester, before the beginning of classes, students must follow the Check-In and Registration process outlined by the GSAS. Details on the registration procedure can be viewed in the GSAS Policies. Prior to registration, the department will prompt first and second year students to schedule an advising meeting with the Director of Graduate Studies. Students are expected to have reviewed the course catalog and bring their intended Plan of Study for the semester. The Plan of Study will be reviewed, discussed, and approved by the DGS. Registration holds will be removed after the advising meeting.

Students in their third year will register for HAA 380: Graduate Teaching (8 credits) and HAA 390: General Exam Preparation (8 credits).

Students in their fourth year and beyond have the following registration options:

• Apply for Traveling Scholar status
• If teaching, register for HAA 380: Graduate Teaching (8 credits) and HAA 399: Direction of Doctoral Dissertation (8 credits)
• Register for HAA 399: Direction of Doctoral Dissertation (16 credits)

The Department currently offers instruction in the following broad fields of the history of art and architecture:

• African
• Greek and Roman
• East Asian
• Islamic
• Latin American
• Medieval/Byzantine/Armenian
• Modern (eighteenth and nineteenth centuries)
• Modern (twentieth century) and Contemporary
• Renaissance and Baroque (fifteenth through eighteenth centuries)
• South Asian

The graduate curriculum is designed to ensure breadth across the discipline, both in terms of field distribution and methodology. Students must take one course in at least three fields of art and/or architectural history other than their own. For students working on art and architecture in Europe and North America, one of those courses must be in the art and architecture of Asia, Africa, Latin America, or the indigenous art of North America. For students working on art and architecture in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, one of the required courses must be in the art and architecture of Europe or North America. Non-field-specific courses such as HAA 201, "The Study of Architectural History: Issues and Methodology," or HAA 206, "Science and the Practice of Art History," may be taken in place of one of the three field requirements. In non-field-specific courses, a topic should be studied which promotes extra diversification methodologically and geographically.

Students may instead wish to develop a minor field in which a cluster of three courses must be taken. In that case, the regular field distribution requirement is waived, but one course outside the double fields is required to ensure breadth. As above, in non-field-specific courses, a topic should be studied which promotes extra diversification methodologically and geographically. Students pursuing a minor filed outside the department still must meet departmental distribution requirements.

If a course falls between two fields of study (which is commonly the case in our team-taught courses), it is important to specify the field, and to clarify the arrangement with the DGS during the semester the course is taken. In such cases the requirement may be considered as fulfilled if the main paper assignment is in the field of the requirement; individual cases are to be presented to the DGS in consultation with the instructor, and when relevant with the adviser. It is the student's responsibility to clarify such special arrangements with the DGS.

On the basis of course work done at their undergraduate institution, students may petition to have one of the three distribution requirements waived. Following discussion with the DGS, and only upon their recommendation, the student should submit a petition to the faculty documenting the previous course work in the field. Ordinarily this will be two courses at the baccalaureate or masters level. Should a distribution requirement be waived, the total number of courses required for the degree is not altered. This is the only context in which undergraduate courses are considered.

• A=4.00, A-=3.67, B+=3.33, B=3.00, B-=2.67, C+=2.33, C=2.00, C-=1.67, D+=1.33,D=1.00, D-=0.67.
• The requirements for languages should be met by the end of the fourth semester. These are fulfilled by taking a course in a given language, or by studying it abroad in one of the institutions commonly used for this purpose. No formal exams are required.
• The completed and approved qualifying paper (with signed QP cover form) should be filed in the department office not later than June 1 of the 4th semester in residence.
• Students are expected to take the General Examination in the third year of residence. A preliminary dissertation proposal (Thesis Prospectus) is required at the time of petition to take the General Examination. A final and approved Thesis Proposal is required within three months of passing the General Examination.
• G4+ students are required to submit a progress report to the department of dissertation research and writing by December 15 of each year.
• The final draft of the dissertation should be submitted to the readers at least six weeks prior to the registrar's deadline. Once the two readers have informed the director of graduate studies that the dissertation is “approved for defense,” the candidate may schedule the date, room, and time for the defense in consultation with the department and the appointed committee. Once the defense is passed, the approved final version of the dissertation will be submitted to the FAS Registrar’s Office.

Course Requirements

• A total of sixteen, 4-credit courses are required for academic residence.
• One 4-credit course must be HAA 310 (310a & 310b count as one course). 
• At least nine 4-credit courses must be chosen from the offerings of the History of Art and Architecture Department. 
• Students must take one course in at least three fields of art/architectural history other than their own. For students working on art and architecture in Europe and North America, one of those courses must be in the art and architecture of Asia, Africa, Latin America, or the indigenous art of North America. For students working on art and architecture in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, one of the required courses must be in the art and architecture or Europe or North America. Non-field-specific courses may be taken in place of one of the three field requirements. In non-field-specific courses, a topic should be studied which promotes extra diversification both methodologically and geographically. 
• Students may wish to develop a minor field in which a cluster of three courses must be taken. In that case, the regular field distribution requirement is waived, but one course outside the double fields is required to ensure breadth. A non-European/North American course must be taken if a European/North American field is both the primary and minor field and a European/North American course must be taken if an Asian, African, or Latin American field is both the primary and minor field. As above, in non-field-specific courses, a topic should be studied which promotes extra diversification methodologically and geographically. 
• If a course falls between two fields, it is important to specify the field, and to clarify the arrangement with the DGS during the semester the course is taken. 
• Field distribution and 200-level course requirements may be fulfilled by the same course but may not be counted twice towards the 16. 
• Five 4-credit courses, in addition to HAA 310, must be primarily for graduates at the 200-level or the equivalent (e.g. 100 level seminars); partial credit may be given for graduate-level courses from other institutions, in which the student participated while enrolled in HAA.
• Two 4-credit courses may be in any language(s) appropriate for your field of research. SAT/UNSAT courses may not be counted towards the 16 for the Ph.D.  If you take two languages as SAT/UNSAT you may substitute an HAA 300 course in the total 16 for the two languages.
• Graduates enrolled in undergraduate lecture courses will not be required to fulfill additional requirements.
• The examination of graduates enrolled in undergraduate lecture courses will be of the same format as those for the undergraduates, but it may be tailored to a graduate level, as long as this does not lead to a quantitative increase. For example: when the examination consists of a written exam, a separate set of questions might be designed for the graduate students; or the questions might be the same, but the results judged by higher standards.
• Graduate students can request a course upgrade. For this, they will need the consent of the teaching faculty member and the approval of the DGS.
• Variation in course requirements will be considered only through written request to the department after consultation with the DGS and a faculty adviser.

Continuing support from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences is contingent upon maintaining satisfactory progress toward the degree. The Department judges satisfactory progress based on course work, languages, and the Qualifying Paper in the first two years; completing an approved Thesis Prospectus and Thesis Proposal, successfully completing the General Examination and forming a dissertation committee and performance as a Teaching Fellow in year three; then completing the dissertation in the fifth or later years. Advisors' reports and G4+ updates are used to discuss the progress of each student, generally in the sixth year and above, with the Dean of the Graduate School in February, and as the basis of the Graduate Student Review meeting of the Department in May.

Students in the HAA Department are encouraged to apply for the A.M. degree after completing one year of course requirements, typically at the beginning of the fall semester of their second year of graduate study.

Credit for Courses Taken Elsewhere

In the majority of cases, the HAA Department does not give credit for courses taken elsewhere before coming to Harvard. Only in exceptional cases can the department depart from the rule. This requires: first, the consent of the intended thesis supervisor; second, the approval of the DGS to submit the request to the Faculty; third, the approval of the Faculty. The student must successfully complete two semesters of course work in the Department before applying for such credit; no credit for coursework will be granted if there are any incomplete grades. The Department may allow credit for less than the requested amount, according to the Faculty's assessment of the student's progress. The appropriate petition form may be obtained from the Department Administrator or Graduate Coordinator.

Grading Criteria for Graduate Students

Graduate Seminars

Proseminars

Lecture Courses