Kuspit next taught at Pennsylvania State University and became increasingly interested in art history.

[3] Kuspit is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Art History and Philosophy at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and School of Visual Arts.

In 1998 he received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

In 2008 he received the Tenth Annual Award for Excellence in the Arts from the Newington-Cropsey Foundation.

He has received fellowships and grants from the Ford Foundation, Fulbright Program, National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, and Asian Cultural Council.