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http://www.ohio.edu/interarts/

The School of Interdisciplinary Arts at Ohio University offers a unique program of study in the arts. The Ph.D. program educates scholars who are grounded in a single discipline and able to view that area through the lens of other arts. The School also provides extensive course offerings at the undergraduate level that fulfill University general education requirements.

Interdisicplinary Arts is an exploration of interrelationships, interdependencies, and interactions among the arts. This approach employs various methodologies to examine one art form through the study of other crafts and other disciplines. Students and faculty cross disciplines to analyze the arts in such contexts as culture, history, theory, politics, religion, gender, ethnicity, and economics. Advanced study of the arts should be based on strong knowledge of individual art forms, coupled with insight into how the arts interact and are interrelated. The ethos of interdisciplinarity is that understanding of art and culture is enhanced through these approaches. The goal is the balance and synthesis of the artist, the thinker, the citizen, the human being.

Interdisciplinary Arts students at Ohio University undertake a strong education in a primary discipline, with study in a secondary area, and engage in a series of interdisciplinary seminars. The goal is to approach one area from multiple perspectives. Students take courses from faculty across the College of Fine Arts, as well as in disciplines outside the fine arts. This doctoral program emphasizes a cultural education, which may serve as preparation for a variety of professional careers, especially college and university teaching.

The program is informed by the principle that artistic expression and humanistic scholarship are interdependent, complementary endeavors. In addition, the cultural and intellectual contexts in which the works become significant are critical to the understanding of the works themselves.

The centerpiece of the program is a series of core interdisciplinary, team-taught seminars. Faculty and student scholars come together to investigate intensively a selected topic and period from multiple perspectives and disciplines.

In the era of postmodernity, the boundaries between arts are becoming increasingly permeable, and today’s scholars recognize that discipline-based research can be inadequate to illuminate arts of past eras. The School of Interdisciplinary Arts seeks to train scholars for the twenty-first century, who are grounded in the knowledge of a discipline and able to view the arts through the unique lens of interdisciplinary studies.

Full information regarding program requirements and procedures are available in the Graduate Handbook that is located on the school Web site. This handbook is also given to students upon enrollment.

Admission Requirements

Potential candidates must possess an M.A. or M.F.A. degree from a reputable American or international university (Master’s degree work may be in a historical-critical studies in one of the major art forms or may be in studio or performance fields. Master’s degree work in any of the humanities, e.g., history, philosophy, modern languages is acceptable.) Students completing master’s degrees from the Ohio University College of Fine Arts are encouraged to apply. The following materials also must be submitted:

1. Official transcripts of all previous degree/certificate work.
2. Three current letters of recommendation that address the candidate’s academic achievement and potential.
3. Intended primary and secondary areas of study.
4. Graduate Record Examination scores or Miller’s Analogies Test scores are required.
5. A three-to-five page essay in which the applicant discusses reasons for selection of interdisciplinary work for a graduate degree and a statement of philosophical and practical expectations from such study.
6. A sample research paper from the applicant’s previous course work.
7. Graduate Admission application forms.

• International students must submit evidence of proficiency in the English language. TOEFL scores of 550 or above are required on the paper TOEFL, or 213 or above are required on the computer TOEFL. (see English proficiency section of the Ohio University Graduate Catalog)
• International students applying for a Graduate Teaching Assistantship must submit their scores on the Test of Spoken English (TSE). Students must score 60 (see English proficiency section of the Ohio University Graduate Catalog) on the TSE to be offered a teaching stipend.
• International students must submit an affidavit of financial support as evidence of financial responsibility. (see International Students section of the Ohio University Graduate Catalog)
• All applicants must follow the Admission Policies and Procedures specified in the Ohio University Graduate Catalog.
• A personal interview is recommended.

Application deadline: January 31 for priority consideration for graduate teaching assistantship. Later applications may be considered depending on enrollment and availability of financial assistance.

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