Art education - Ph.D.

The Ph.D. program in Art Education presents opportunities for students with experience in schools or other educational settings to develop necessary philosophical, theoretical, and methodological competence to make scholarly contributions to the field. Working as researchers, scholars, policy makers, and practitioners, graduates become educational leaders in many contexts – universities, colleges, P-12 school districts, museums, community arts organizations, government agencies.

Our students typically carry out dissertation inquiry in local urban and suburban schools, several renowned art museums in the greater Minneapolis area, and within the initial teacher licensure program at the University. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods have guided Ph.D. candidates’ in depth focus on issues such as comprehensive art and visual culture curricula; teaching, learning, and critical literacy in and through the arts; art teacher development and retention; innovation in standards-based arts education and assessment; and other knowledge building questions. Students in this program are eligible to apply for and have been awarded prestigious scholarships and fellowships.

Program faculty work closely with national-, state-, and local-initiatives in art education and encourage graduate students to collaborate in the development, implementation, and evaluation of these programs. Faculty publication exhibits a strong commitment to curriculum innovation, issues of diversity, and life-long aesthetic and artistic development.

Faculty

• James Bequette
  My research explores the promise of culturally relevant arts education increasing American Indian school success; the role art education plays in alternative settings – charter schools, ethnocentric magnet and independent schools; new teacher preparation and induction; and the scholarship of teaching and learning.
• Faith Clover
  My research and teaching interests focus on curriculum development and the aesthetic development of children and adults with a special emphasis on diverse populations.

Course requirements

See also: Ph.D. student resources.

Financial support

Ziegfeld Scholarship Fund for Art Education

Amount: One annual award of $3,500
Deadline: May 1
Award date: Notification spring semester; award made fall semester
Contact: Faith Clover, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, 612-625-6098, clove002@umn.edu

Criteria: For current M.A. or Ph.D. student in art education; minimum grade point average of 3.5 in coursework.

Application: Please complete the CEHD Scholarship Application. Provide two letters of recommendation from current faculty members. Submit a copy of your most recent transcript. In a personal statement, explain why you are applying and what makes you a worthy recipient of this scholarship. All application materials should be submitted in a single envelope to Art Education Program Area Coordinator, 125 Peik Hall, 159 Pillsbury Drive SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455 and postmarked by the deadline noted above. Print the name “Ziegfeld” in the lower left-hand corner of the envelope. All applicants will be notified of the scholarship committee decision by U.S. mail.

Student profile

Judi Petkau

Like many older graduate students I have a checkered past of education, work and life experiences. I grew up in Pennsylvania, moved to Ohio and received my BA in Art History and Anthropology from Kent State University, eventually ending up in Minneapolis trying on lots of arts, retail and food service jobs. I have a background in weaving and fiber arts and those skills opened up the doors to teaching, giving me the opportunity to work in schools as a visiting artist. Eventually life took me to Austin, Texas where I continued to create textile work, and teach. At the University of Texas, I pursued my K-12 art teaching certification and received my M.A. in art museum education. My thesis examined sustaining qualities of a long-term museum, community and school collaborative program.

Upon graduation, I moved back to Minnesota and found work with the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Young Audiences of Minnesota and for the past six years at the University of Minnesota’s Weisman Art Museum as the Coordinator of Youth and Tour Programs. I am excited by the opportunity to research the art museum as a context for the teaching and learning of critical literacy. For the last three years, I have worked to develop a program called Artful Writing that focuses on building visual and verbal literacy skills. In 2006, the Artful Writing Classroom Resource Kit was published by the Weisman Museum, with funding from the Institute of Museums and Library Services. For the past two years I have worked to present Artful Writing to various teacher groups, including the Minnesota Writing Project, Art Educators of Minnesota, The Minnesota Council of Teachers of English, The Minnesota Department of Education, The Perpich Center for Arts Education and the National Art Education Association.

Pursuing my PhD full-time while working full-time is challenging. Fortunately, in the department of art education, there is great professional camaraderie. This positive environment not only enlivens our coursework and challenges us in our academic research, but also provides essential encouragement when we need it most.

Sample dissertations

Baden, M.D. (2003). The development and modification of discipline-based art education in Minnesota, 1986-1996. Unpublished doctoral thesis. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.

Frenzel, M. (2001). Being an art-teacher: Interpreting meaning from experience. Unpublished doctoral thesis. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.

Johnson, C.W. (2001). The evolution of post-baccalaureate students’ conception of the artist-teacher role during a teacher certification program. Unpublished doctoral thesis. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.

Tomhave, R.D. (1999). Portfolio assessment in the visual arts: A comparison of advanced secondary art education strategies. Unpublished doctoral thesis. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.

Alumni in action

Roger Tomhave, Ph.D., art education

After teaching for 11 years at Mahnomen High School on the White Earth Indian Reservation in northwestern Minnesota, I decided to pursue doctoral studies in art education. After searching the nation for a program that would best meet my needs, I decided on the University of Minnesota. 

Without a doubt, the influence, instruction, and mentorship of the faculty in the program shaped who I am as successful teacher, administrator, and professor in the field of art education. The professors truly subscribe to the philosophy of a reflective practitioner, shifting seamlessly between theory and practice, continually staying in touch with schools to ensure that current practice is informed by theory, and tirelessly promoting solid theory as the underpinning for successful art education in schools.

I had the honor of being a research assistant funded by the Getty Institute, which allowed me the rich opportunity for training at the Getty Institute in Los Angeles, California. I had the opportunity to see first-hand the difference that a quality art education can make in the lives of students, a school, school system, or community. 

My master’s thesis research adapted models from general education literature to make an impact on the discourse in art education literature, as it related to multicultural art education. My dissertation research led to a process for assessing high-level student portfolios that is used throughout Fairfax County Public Schools today.

I am currently the fine arts coordinator for Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia. It was my research in multicultural art education that drew Fairfax County Public Schools to my resume and candidacy for the art specialist position for the school system. Fairfax County Public Schools students come from over 150 different countries of origin and speak over 100 different languages. In this position, I oversee the K-12 fine art program delivered by over 1,000 certified dance, music, theatre arts, and visual arts teachers for 138 elementary schools, 25 middle schools, and 25 high schools. I was awarded the National Supervision/Administration Art Educator of the Year in 1999 from the National Art Education Association for my work in Fairfax County.

Doctoral dissertation

Tomhave, R.D. (1999). Portfolio assessment in the visual arts: A comparison of advanced secondary art education strategies. Unpublished doctoral thesis. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.

Revised February 2007