Research
Staff in the School of Art History are active and enthusiastic researchers whose publications are recognized internationally as excellent. Our principal strengths lie in the areas of medieval and Renaissance art, in European and American modernism, the history of photography, the decorative arts in Britain and Museum and Gallery Studies. Please view our staff profiles for individual research interests and activities. Twenty five postgraduate students from Europe, Asia and North America are currently studying for research degrees and we welcome enquiries from prospective students seeking a supervisor.
From 2009 the School is offering two scholarships a year for doctoral research and it also has access to funding from several private trusts which support postgraduate students. Many research students undertake Sub-Honours teaching early in their careers and may also find additional paid work in the Library and the Visual Resources Collection. For further information please contact the Director of Research, Dr Julian Luxford (jml5@st-andrews.ac.uk) or the Postgraduate Convener, Dr Natalie Adamson (na14@st-andrews.ac.uk)
School staff and students participate in University-wide research centres such as the St Andrews Institute of Mediaeval Studies and the Scottish Studies Network. We are also a partner in VARIE, the Visual Arts Research Institute based at the University of Edinburgh, and we collaborate on research projects with museums, galleries and other institutions in Britain and around the world.
The libraries of St Andrews and nearby Dundee, together with Edinburgh’s excellent national libraries, galleries and museums, offer remarkable resources for researchers. With the School’s full programme of lectures, international conferences and workshops St Andrews offers a lively and supportive environment in which to study for a research degree.
Featured Projects
A Corpus of Scottish Medieval Parish Churches
Second phase covering the dioceses of Dunblane and Dunkeld
"There has been a view that the loss of medieval ecclesiastical architecture since the Reformation has been so great that insufficient now survives for a detailed understanding of the pre-Reformation Scottish parish church. It is certainly true that relatively few parish churches still in use appear to be of predominantly medieval date. Nevertheless, it is becoming increasingly clear that a majority of parish churches survived the Reformation. Although many were subsequently rebuilt or abandoned, the purpose of this project was to determine if more medieval fabric has survived than might appear on first sight. "
Professor Richard Fawcett is heading this research project in collaboration with Dr Julian Luxford (University of St Andrews) and Professor Richard Oram (University of Stirling). Funded by the AHRC, a one-year pilot study sought to assess how much medieval work remains, concentrating on the dioceses of Dunblane and Dunkeld. The second phase, which commences in March 2012 and is also funded by the AHRC, will cover the dioceses of St Andrews and Brechin, and will involve a PhD student based at St Andrews and a post-doctoral researcher based at Stirling. For the results of the study see the publicly available electronic resource :
A Corpus of Scottish Medieval Parish Churches.
A Dictionary of Scottish Architects 1840-1980
The Dictionary of Scottish Architects (DSA) is a database providing biographical information and job lists for all architects known to have worked in Scotland during the period 1840-1980, whether as principals, assistants or apprentices. This fantastic resource is available free of charge and is an essential tool for anyone researching Scottish architecture in general or particular buildings and their designers. It was compiled by a team led by Professor David Walker, now Emeritus Professor in the School, and is still growing under the aegis of Historic Scotland. See the DSA www.scottisharchitects.org.uk