北京大学艺术学院从2020年起设立英文博士生项目，面向世界招收对中国文化和艺术有兴趣的优秀学生，从事艺术史与艺术理论研究，该项目已培养博士生17名，来自美国、英国、法国、意大利、比利时、瑞典、韩国、马来西亚、加拿大、巴西等国家。

 

Since 2020, Peking University’s School of Arts has offered an English-language doctoral program in the History and Theory of Art, recruiting outstanding students from around the world interested in Chinese culture. To date, the program has enrolled seventeen PhD candidates from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Belgium, Sweden, South Korea, Malaysia, Canada, and Brazil.

 

 

The 3rd International Forum on Chinese Contemporary Art and the World

 

 

Peking University, School of Arts

 

The School of Arts at Peking University invites outstanding international students to apply to the 2027 English-language Ph.D. Program in the History and Theory of Art. The program offers advanced doctoral training in art history, art theory, cultural industry and arts management, musicology, and film studies.

 

Why Peking University

 

Founded in 1898, Peking University is China’s oldest national university and a leading center for higher education and research. The School of Arts’ Art Theory discipline consistently ranks among the nation’s top programs, placing first in the national First-Level Discipline Assessment in 2012, receiving an A+ rating in the 2017 Fourth Discipline Assessment, and being selected as a national “Double First-Class” discipline.

 

Program Details

 

Full-time registration, standard duration of four years

 

English as the primary language of instruction

 

Research-based doctoral training under faculty supervision

 

PhD Degree awarded by Peking University

 

Five Areas of Specialization

 

Art Theory · Art History · Cultural Industry and Arts Management · Musicology · Film Studies

 

International Faculty

 

The School of Arts brings together scholars working across Chinese and global art history, art theory, aesthetics, philosophy of art, film and media studies, musicology, cultural industries, visual culture, religious art, archaeology, and arts management. The list of formal supervisors for the 2027 History and Theory of Art Ph.D. Program is in the following table.

 

 

Eligibility Requirements

 

Applicant must be non-Chinese citizens holding a valid passport

 

Applicants must hold a master’s degree from an institution recognized by the Ministry of Education of China

 

TOEFL 100 / IELTS Academic 7.0 (native English speakers and applicants educated entirely in English are exempt)*

 

*Please refer to PKU Office of International Relations for updated requirements.

 

Tuition and Scholarships

 

Tuition: RMB 50,000 per year (RMB 200,000 total for four years). Admitted students may apply for the Chinese Government Scholarship (Type B), the Beijing Government Scholarship for International Students, or the Peking University Scholarship for International Students, which may cover tuition, accommodation, and a monthly living allowance.

 

Apply

 

Applications are submitted through the Study at Peking University Online Application System. For detailed admission requirements, required materials, and the 2027 application timeline, please refer to the “Application Information for International Doctoral Students” at: https://www.isd.pku.edu.cn/en/detail.php?id=729. Please note that the information currently available at this link is for the 2026 admissions cycle and is provided for advance reference only. The official requirements and timeline will be subject to the 2027 version once it is released.

 

Join Us at Peking University

 

The English-language Ph.D. Program in the History and Theory of Art offers an interdisciplinary and internationally oriented environment for advanced research in the arts.

Through close faculty supervision, rigorous academic training, and access to the cultural and intellectual resources of Peking University and Beijing, students develop original research that advances art scholarship in China and around the world.

We welcome applications from talented and committed researchers seeking to pursue doctoral study in art theory, art history, cultural industry and arts management, musicology, and film studies.

 

We look forward to welcoming the next cohort of doctoral researchers to the School of Arts at Peking University!

 

Professor Martin Powers giving comments at 3rd International Forum on Chinese Contemporary Art and the World

Group Visit to UCCA Center for Contemporary Art

Group Visit to the Great Wall