Research & Study

The University of Pittsburgh is a major research institution surrounded by other fine universities and by museums, libraries, and other cultural institutions—all of this is in a dynamic, affordable urban environment. More information about Pittsburgh.

Museums and galleries

The department’s University Art Gallery has a permanent collection of approximately 3,000 works and hosts two to three loan exhibitions per year. Recent exhibitions have featured nationally and internationally prominent contemporary artists.

Across the street from the department’s building is the Carnegie Museum of Art, which has a comprehensive art collection with particular strengths in 19th- and 20th-century art of the United States and Europe. Faculty and graduate students use the collection regularly for teaching and research purposes. The museum also houses the Heinz Architectural Center, which sponsors innovative exhibitions and programming on modern and contemporary architecture. The prestigious Carnegie International, an enormous contemporary art exhibition held at the museum every three or four years since the early 20th century, brings an influx of artists and critics from around the world.

A few minutes away by car or public transit are:

Libraries

Interdisciplinary programs

The University of Pittsburgh has numerous interdisciplinary programs that enrich and support art-historical study. Graduate students in art history may earn certificates in most of these programs. A number of these programs also offer fellowships and awards that can support the work of students in art history.

The University Center for International Studies is a dynamic organization that includes federally funded area-studies centers that offer programs, certificates, and generous funding for graduate student language study. The area-studies centers are:

The Cultural Studies Program offers courses in critical theory as well as topics courses that often intersect with visual culture concerns. The program sponsors films, graduate student fellowships and symposia, and lectures by some of the best-known scholars working today.

Other interdisciplinary programs include:

Additional resources

Carnegie Mellon University, with its Center for Art and Society and its Studio for Creative Inquiry, is located nearby the University of Pittsburgh campus. Students may cross-register for courses offered there.

Pittsburgh is conveniently located near several other major city centers. Students take advantage of organized field trips and more informal visits to:

Research

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