The director of graduate studies (DGS), the director of the curatorial track (CT director), and faculty advisors meet regularly with graduate students regarding their work in all classes and engage in ongoing discussions regarding their areas of specialty. Students keep a record of their degree progress using check sheets developed for each graduate program: M.A., 4+1 M.A., Ph.D., Direct Ph.D., CT Ph.D., and CT Direct Ph.D. Throughout, advisors provide constructive feedback on questions of scholarship and serve as resources for all other matters, including ways to develop better work habits, improve writing and exposition skills, and cope with the various stresses of graduate school. Crucially, they help graduate students build scholarly networks by connecting them with other graduate students and faculty related to their interests in UD departments and other universities. During the first years in the program, meetings are typically held on an as-needed basis, with a minimum of two meetings every term. Toward the completion of the program requirements, especially during the completion of the M.A. paper and the doctoral dissertation, meetings usually follow a research and writing schedule previously agreed on by student and advisor.
Faculty review all graduate students every year at the beginning of the spring semester. Prior to this review, students submit funding request forms, reporting on their academic progress, which include a summary of that year's work, whether coursework, exams, or dissertation research and writing, as appropriate to their status within the program. Following this all-faculty review, advisors confer with students to discuss further plans or, where appropriate, remedial action.
Through their major doctoral exams, students have the opportunity to work closely not only with their primary advisors but also with faculty in diverse fields and thereby establish wider mentoring networks. Doctoral students are also encouraged to expand their areas of specialization by preparing for minor exams in areas substantially different from their major fields and working closely with other faculty in the department and throughout the University. Their intellectual networks beyond the department are further developed by department regulations that require external scholars as part of their dissertation committees.
For students in the M.A. program for Museum Professionals and the Curatorial Track, the department facilitates museum, gallery and archive internships through which students gain significant professional experience and are able to expand their professional networks. The CT doctoral internships include a public colloquium wherein students present their internship work and its relevance to their studies for community feedback and constructive criticism. Institutional supervisors usually attend these events and provide detailed evaluations of student performance that can be shared with the student by their advisor. Graduate students can also expand their professional skill sets and mentoring networks through graduate assistantships offered annually by the department in conjunction with the UD Museums, Special Collections, the Delaware Art Museum and other entities both on and off campus.
For those students ready to develop their dissertation proposals or to apply for grants, the department offers an annual Dissertation Proposal Development Workshop. This is a semester-long fall seminar, timed to prepare students to meet fall and winter grant deadlines and to submit dissertation proposals the following spring. Typically co-taught by senior faculty, the workshop entails close analytical reviews of student writing. Students are expected to undertake multiple revisions of their proposals with the goal of producing a strong draft by the end of the semester. Each week, the workshop focuses on key sections of any dissertation or grant proposal, including abstracts, project descriptions, methodology, bibliographic essays and work plans. Other ad hoc workshops on abstract and grant application writing are also regularly offered in the fall semester.
Once their dissertation proposals have been approved, doctoral students are encouraged to take part in programs designed to enhance their writing and speaking skills, such as the Dissertation Boot Camps organized by the College of Arts and Sciences' Writing Center and the Delaware Public Humanities Institute (DELPHI), organized by the Center for Material Culture Studies. Students also often participate in ad hoc writing groups voluntarily organized by faculty, workshopping drafts of their written work and receiving constructive criticism from advisors and peers. Every year, the department also organizes dissertation colloquia, during which students who have completed dissertation chapters present ongoing research to the department and larger community.
