The PhD programme is open to a limited number of students. The requirement is to pass a public selection process entailing the evaluation of academic qualifications, as well as of oral and/or written exams.
The Call for application for 40th cycle (a.y. 2024/2025) is now online. Deadine for application is Thursday, 23rd May 1PM (Italian Time).
For further information, please contact the PhD Office (phd.application@unive.it)
PhD programmes represent the highest level of university degree. The international PhD Programme in the History of Arts is designed to provide an outstanding scientific and professional qualification with an international perspective in the field of art-historical research and in the promotion of artistic, environmental and local heritage by exploring various disciplinary, thematic and chronological areas - with particular attention to the inter-disciplinary potential of the various forms of expression.
Key areas of focus are the history of architecture, sculpture, painting, miniatures, the sumptuary arts, graphics, photography, and all forms of expression of the visual arts from the Middle Ages to the present day; other areas of focus include the expressive intent and practice of performing arts from theatre to cinema, musicology and ethnomusicology. Our research is based on historical, theoretical and methodological modes of enquiry, and includes artistic literature, the history of taste, patronage and reception of art, of collecting, of the organisation of museums and exhibitions, and of artistic techniques. Particular attention will also be paid to the use of Information and Communication Technologies for the understanding, reception, and promotion of artistic and cultural heritage.
This broad range of skills and training will be acquired in a workshop like no other - based in the context of the art-historical and cultural heritage of Venice, a city with a strong national and international appeal. Doctoral research takes place in a highly internationalised environment that will provide students with the opportunity to study abroad for varying periods on the basis of their specific needs and allow them to become familiar with study contexts going beyond the national environment.
The PhD programme uses learning tools and scientific instruments that will allow students to acquire a systematic knowledge base in the various sectors and benefit from a wide network of international relations offering them the opportunity to acquire advanced skills equipping them for a career in education or in professional sectors linked to research or higher learning institutions.
Study modules and training, delivered by Faculty staff as well as by visiting lecturers from both Italian and international universities, are mainly targeted at students in their first and second year rather than at third-years who will be busy with their dissertations.
The programme, which will be communicated to all students by the end of October every year, is organised as follows:
Students will be required to obtain the following ECTS:
60 ECTS: 40 of which for training activities and 20 for research
Students will be required to obtain the following ECTS:
60 ECTS: 20 of which for training activities and 40 for research
The training activities are intended to equip students with a systematic understanding of the study sector as well as:
Doctoral students are encouraged to participate in the research teams set up within the Department of Philosophy and Cultural Heritage, learning to communicate the contents of their research to different publics (students, colleagues and lecturers).
Doctoral students will be expected to describe and discuss the progress of their research projects with the Teaching Committee twice a year.
The Ca’ Foscari University PhD Programme in the History of Arts has been running since 1982.
The University launched the International PhD Programme in the History of Arts in the academic year 2017-18 following an agreement with the State Institute for Art Studies Moscow.
The PhD programme trains researchers in the history of art of the 21st century, equipping them for a career in the arts world and including them in an international community that meets on a regular basis and shares its results via various channels (journals, bibliographic and documentary exchanges). The skills acquired can be applied to a career in academia or in secondary education as well as in professional sectors like research and in archives, libraries, museums, private research institutes, cultural foundations and institutions, and private companies.
At least 4 doctoral scholarships worth approximately € 1,250 net per month (with a 50% increase during periods of mobility abroad) are offered every year.
From 3 to 7 June 2024 a new edition of Research Communication Week is coming, the Ca' Foscari initiative created to raise awareness and provide tools and soft skills in research communication. Discover the 5 workshops on scientific posters, social media, storytelling and public speaking: limited places, registration by 3 April. Webinars also available soon.
