The graduate program in art and archaeology is a five-year program. This five-year period is referred to as regular enrollment. Graduate study is carried out within one of seven broad fields:

• Ancient
• Byzantine and medieval
• Renaissance and Baroque
• Modern and contemporary
• East Asian
• Islamic
• African and African diaspora

Students in ancient and East Asian will take a total of 15 courses. All other students will normally take four full semesters of coursework totaling 12 courses. One half of all of courses must be at the 400 level or higher. If a graduate student chooses to take a 200- or 300-level course within the department, the course will be designated as a reading course (700 level). If a student chooses to take a 200-level course outside of the department, the student must show that she or he is performing at the graduate level. Students are expected to take courses with each faculty member within their particular field of specialization. Students in all fields are required to take ART 500. In their first two years in the program, all graduate students, in all areas of study, are required to register and participate in the Graduate Seminar, ART 502 (a no-credit course). ART 502 meets on the mornings following talks given by speakers in the department's lecture series. These seminars will focus on topics and/or readings chosen by our invited lecturers. Attendance at both the lectures and the seminars is a requirement. Students are encouraged to consult with their advisers in selecting classes in other departments or at other institutions (see Graduate School Cooperative and Reciprocal Arrangements below).

For descriptions of the ancient art and archaeology and East Asian art and archaeology programs, see the specific sections below.

• Graduate students in the department must not take graduate seminars as pass/fail courses unless these seminars are offered only pass/fail (as is the case in the departments of history and Classics).
• Graduate students in the department may audit courses beyond the 12 or 15 mandatory classes.
• Reading courses may not be audited.
• If a graduate student chooses to take a 200- or 300-level course within the department, the course will be designated as a reading course (700 level) in consultation with the instructor. A reading course requires that you and the instructor submit a complete outline of the additional readings along with a weekly syllabus of the course. (Note: if the instructor is an interim faculty member, you must contact the Graduate Administrator ahead of time for approval by the dean of the Graduate School.)
• You may sit in on a course, but do not enroll via the TigerHub system as an auditor or for a grade. If you need access to Canvas, the Graduate Administrator will assign you special permission.

Advanced degrees are conferred five times each academic year—in September, November, January, April, and June—by the trustees of the University. A master's degree is awarded as an incidental degree for which doctoral students may apply after passing the general examination. For students in the ancient and East Asian programs, the general examination timeframe is spring of the third year; for all other students, the general examination timeframe is spring of the second year or fall of the third year. Ph.D. candidates are required to pass the general examination, present an acceptable dissertation, and pass the final public oral examination. A vote to advance the student to degree candidacy is made at the conclusion of the general examination by the faculty present.

“To be awarded an advanced degree, the candidate must fulfill the requirements of the department or program concerned and submit an application for the degree to the Graduate School office. When these obligations are met, the degree is recorded on the transcript. For a degree to be conferred at Commencement in June, the student must submit the degree application before the deadline established by the Graduate School.” See the Graduates School’s Standard Requirements and Graduate School’s degree deadlines.

Students in all fields except ancient and East Asian must satisfy the department's language requirements by passing a reading proficiency exam as soon as possible after enrolling, taking at least one exam early in their first term, and completing all language requirements before taking the general examination.

The language requirements are two modern languages (excluding English) necessary for reading the secondary literature in your subfield. These languages must be approved by your adviser. It is also expected that graduate students will be competent in all languages necessary for their dissertation research. For this reason, it is typical that students will demonstrate competency in one or more languages beyond the two required languages.

Students may take one of the language exams offered each fall semester by the Department of German, the Department of French and Italian, and the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. The Graduate Administrator will inform students when the language tests will be held. Those who fail a language exam in the fall may petition to take a comparable exam offered in the spring.

The successful completion of summer language courses taught on the Princeton campus will also count toward satisfying the language requirement. An examination from another institution does not fulfill the Princeton requirement.

Students in the ancient art and archaeology program will take a total of 15 courses, which shall include:

• whichever ancient art/archaeology seminars are offered in at least four of a student's first five terms. Some of these may be audited, with approval of the student's adviser, considering the student's specific program of study and course load.
• ART 502 (a no-credit course); ART 500; and, ideally, one non-Western course.
• For those working in the Greek and Roman fields, both the Greek and the Roman history proseminars (offered by the Department of Classics).
• For those working in the Greek and Roman fields, at least one 300-level literature course in Classics (i.e., a text-based course in either Greek or Latin literature).

Modern Languages

Candidates for the Ph.D. in ancient art and archaeology are required to demonstrate a reading knowledge of German and another modern language appropriate to the student's special field. Language examinations shall be arranged by the department, or may be satisfied in certain instances by coursework.

Ancient Languages

Students are expected to acquire proficiency in ancient languages.

Those working in Egyptian art are expected to have proficiency in Middle Egyptian, along with another area (i.e., Old or Late Egyptian, hieratic, or Demotic) as it is relevant to their dissertation research. Those working in Greek or Roman art are required to pass sight exams in both Greek and Latin (administered by the Department of Classics) or to satisfy the proficiency requirement by coursework (a 300-level course).

Exams

Typically, students in the ancient art and archaeology program spend the first two and a half years in course work. General exams are usually taken in the latter half of the third year. The general examination tests the candidate by means of an eight-hour written exam in ancient art and archaeology, and a four-hour written exam devoted to the general area of the dissertation; these are followed by a two-hour oral examination covering materials related to both written exams.

The Department of Art and Archaeology and the Department of East Asian Studies cooperate in offering a program at the graduate level leading to the Ph.D. in East Asian art and archaeology. The program combines East Asian studies with the history of art and museum training. Students take a total of 15 courses, including both Japanese and Chinese art and archaeology seminars as well as courses in cognate fields of East Asian studies. Students are encouraged to take at least two non-Asian courses (as part of the required 15) in the Department of Art and Archaeology. Individual programs will be determined in consultation with the candidate's adviser. Requirements for students in East Asian specializations outside the regular Chinese and Japanese tracks are set in consultation with program faculty.

A candidate for the Ph.D. in Chinese art and archaeology is required to show proficiency in classical and modern Chinese, and a reading knowledge of Japanese. A candidate for the Ph.D. in Japanese art and archaeology is required to demonstrate proficiency in classical Japanese and/or kanbun, as appropriate to the candidate's specialization, and modern Japanese, and a reading knowledge of Chinese or a European language. Elementary language courses may, at the discretion of the adviser, count toward the 15 required courses.

The general examination, which normally takes place no later than May of the third year, is designed to test the candidate's ability to integrate general, topical, and area knowledge in related fields chosen from Art and Archaeology and East Asian Studies. It consists of a first-day examination in the general field of Chinese and Japanese art history and archaeology, with six hours of writing in response to questions submitted by Department of Art and Archaeology faculty; a second-day examination in the field of the student's dissertation, with questions and length to be determined by the student's principal adviser; and a third-day examination in a related area of East Asian studies given by a faculty member in East Asian Studies with whom the student has studied, with the faculty member determining the questions and length.