Art History B.A.

Art history is the study of the visual world, both past and present. Starting from the premise that images, objects, and the built environment speak more directly and deeply about a culture than its written records, our courses prepare students to "read" and respond to the increasingly visual world in which we live. Through the close study of artworks from different times and places, majors acquire a unique understanding of the world and their place within it.

Art history's interdisciplinary curriculum covers the fine arts as well as visual and material culture more broadly defined: from paintings and sculpture to architecture and urban design; from film and photographs to ceramics and textiles; from scientific illustration and posters to performance art and graffiti. Through engaging with these and other forms of visual and material expression, majors develop crucial, transferable skills: visual analysis and interpretation, original research and careful argumentation, image-based thinking and communication, and clear and persuasive writing in a variety of modes.

Art history majors' ability to critically evaluate sources, sharp communication skills, and nuanced understanding of diverse cultures make them natural creative thinkers, storytellers, and community advocates. Thanks to their powerful skill set, students of art history also go on to enjoy higher job satisfaction and lower unemployment rates over the course of their working lives than peers in vocational tracks.

Graduates pursue careers in range of fields: the visual arts (e.g., art criticism, art appraisal and sales, art therapy, museums, and conservation), humanities (e.g., grant writing, historic preservation, and philanthropy), media and marketing (e.g., advertising, film, and journalism), K-12 and post-secondary education (e.g., teaching and administration), information science and collections management (e.g., libraries and archives in non-profit and corporate contexts), as well as medicine and law.

Art history is the history of humanity's creative expression. Majors are therefore asked to fulfill a selection of distribution requirements, which, together, highlight continuities as well as differences across geographic regions and historical eras. To help students gain a more intimate understanding of the important role artistic processes play in knowledge production, the department also requires majors to take one studio art class.

Typically spanning several centuries and continents, 1xxx-level courses provide a broad orientation to art historical topics and debates. 3xxx-level courses are also appropriate for students new to art history, offering introductions to specific subfields (e.g., the history of Chinese painting, the history of photography, etc.). Courses at the 5xxx-level offer more intimate, seminar-style learning experiences, the opportunity to explore focused topics, and pursue individual research under the guidance of faculty experts. Most courses have no prerequisites. This, combined with the total number of required credits, makes art history an especially attractive option for double-majors and transfer students.