PhD Admissions

January 1 has been the application deadline in the year's past, to be considered for Presidential and Dean’s fellowships in addition to full Teaching Assistantships and tuition waivers. Applications received between January 2 and February 1 would be considered for full Teaching Assistantships and tuition waivers only. At this time no applications are being accepted.

A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution with a GPA (or equivalent) of 3.5 or above–unless a compelling case can be made for the waiver of this requirement. (There is a section of the application that allows you to explain any impediments to high academic scores.) Please note that you are required to submit an application essay, a work sample, references, transcripts and pay an application fee. Failure to complete any one of these disqualifies your application from consideration.

We usually admit no more than two students annually, out of approximately 50 who apply internationally. This is in part to keep the program small and focused, and in part because there are a limited number of positions available for our graduates to fill.

GRE scores are required, and will be consulted, but are always contextualized within a range of other measures, recognizing that standardized tests are not subtle instruments of knowledge.

To be reviewed for admission all applications must contain the following:

1. Complete the online application (International students need to fill out the appropriate application form which is different from the domestic application). All materials should be uploaded as part of your application and should not be mailed to the Department. The standard Slate form offers only a binary selection of gender. If your gender falls outside that binary, feel free to leave the category blank.
   
2. A RESUME: Please upload your resume. This is a good place to list any publications, honors, research skills, extracurricular interests, special skills and/or teaching experience. The resume can be cut and pasted into the form.
3. A STATEMENT OF INTENT: Please upload your well-written statement of intent that describes your preparation (academic and related work/life experience) and motivation for graduate study in Visual Studies. Describe academic areas of focus that you are interested in pursuing, interdisciplinary interests, career objectives and any other information that may be helpful to the admissions committee. This can also be cut and pasted into the form.
4. A WRITING SAMPLE: Please upload a writing sample, which is commonly a well-written paper from an undergraduate course.
5. COPIES OF TRANSCRIPTS from all undergraduate institutions (with degree conferral indicated). Please upload these documents. (Note that official transcripts will be required upon acceptance to the program.)
6. A minimum of THREE LETTERS OF REFERENCE, preferably from former professors or museum professionals attesting to your level of maturity and intellectual capability. When you submit your references’ email addresses they will receive an automatic electronic solicitation.  It is crucial that you provide a viable email address for each referee. You may wish to notify them in advance so that they can have their letter ready to upload.  Please note that your recommenders will only receive this solicitation after you have submitted your application for final review.  As such, we recommend that you plan to finalize your application prior to the deadline.

To be reviewed for admission you must fill out the ONLINE APPLICATION FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS, provide all of the supplemental materials listed above and provide additional documentation to the department before the application deadline. YOU WILL NEED TO SUBMIT THE FOLLOWING:

1. COMPLETE FINANCIAL FORM WITH SUPPORTING BANK DOCUMENTS PER INSTRUCTIONS ON THE SLATE WEBSITE.)
2. ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF TRANSCRIPT
3. PROOF OF DEGREE.

All correspondence should be mailed to:

DOCTORAL PROGRAM IN VISUAL STUDIES/Admissions
Department of Art
202 Center for the Arts
University at Buffalo
Buffalo, NY 14260-6010

• APPLY NOW to the PhD Program through the UB SLATE online application.
• Visit the UB Graduate School to view information for prospective and current graduate students, faculty, and staff.
• Request More Information regarding admissions requirements, applications, funding opportunities and deadlines.