Doctoral Degree In Photography

<p>Yes, this is a serious question to which I might expect to receive an answer akin to "no, never." But still I ask: is there or will there ever be a doctoral program in photography? A number of disciplines offer more practical doctoral degrees that differ from the more philosophical PhD. Examples include:<br>

Pharmacology: Pharm D<br>

Psychology: Psy D<br>

So now, what about--><br>

Photography: Photog D?<br>

Or do you just get the MFA as the terminal degree, except perhaps for certain scientific applications such as clinical photography, etc?</p>

 

<p>Photography is too broad. It's a form of communication, like writing. Nobody gets a PhD in "writing," but rather in a far more specific subset.</p>

<p>Matt- Interesting thought. Indeed PhD's are available, for example, in English literature. More recently, an MS in medical writing is available (although I wouldn't bother with it).<br />There's an MS program in medical illustration.<br />Well, how about a Weddingphotog D? Or (perhaps more seriously) a doctoral degree in Western photojournalism?</p>

<p>chip,<br>

it would be difficult to get away from the journalistic stance of photography or the philosophy of image making if you are a writing 80-100,000 words doctoral thesis. why would you want to do a phd? in this day and age, unless you have money to burn and of retirement age with nothing else to do, a phd should only be pursued if you wish to teach and embark upon an academic research career.<br>

what aspect of photography interests you the most? the portrayal of the human being, the fascination with light and darkness, the ethics of photography are all areas that are yet to be exploited fully. however, you do need to think what it is that you wish to achieve with your phd.<br>

i recently finished my second masters and am thinking of starting a phd sometime next spring. since i work and have to fund myself, that in itself is what is holding me back the most. my research interest is definitely non-photographic, however, i am keeping an open mind with regards to what i could work on. if you are serious about a phd, one of the many important questions you need to ask yourself is about the 'supervisor'. a good supervisor is often more useful than a more prestigious institution.</p>

<p>Well I think photography programs at most schools that offer PhD's are part of the fine arts department and to my knowledge there is no such thing as a doctoral degree in any studio-based art major. You can get a PhD in art history, but not in painting or drawing or ceramics or, I believe, photography. MFA is the terminal degree in studio based art.</p>

<p>Chip,<br>

I see your point and that is an issue that has been raised for many years in academia. Unfortunatly for you as far as an answer goes, Matt is right. Photography is too broad. We teach students "right" exposures, lights, developing, but what is "right" to me isn't right to you (i.e. an underexposed image to me will be trash but my students brighten it up and call it <em>artsy</em> ). Thus <strong><em>Beauty is in the eye of the beholder</em> </strong><br>

Good Luck,<br>

Adam</p>

<p>In the UK you can do practice-based PhDs. Typically, you do a body of work and a written thesis of 30 000 words, both of which together constitute the thesis. But 'photography' would be too broad a subject - you need a research question that you pursue through your research, and that constitutes your thesis.<br>

Chris</p>