Courses for the Art History & Theory Major are listed in our digital Undergraduate Catalog.
View Major Courses
Courses for the Art History Minor are listed in our digital Undergraduate Catalog.
View Minor Courses
The BS degree in Art History and Theory is a professional degree program based on a curriculum historically developed in conjunction with studio BFA and MFA programs. It is designed to instill an understanding of artistic developments in the Western and global historical contexts, to provide students with the critical and theoretical tools necessary for functioning as art professionals, and to prepare them for the pursuit of graduate studies in the field.
The faculty of the School and the Division of Art History believe in the necessity of anchoring historical and theoretical knowledge with material practice. Consequently, admission to the program requires the submission and review of a portfolio that will assure the candidate’s ability to withstand the rigors of both academic and studio education.
Art History and Theory majors are required to earn a minimum grade of B- for the 300 and 400 level courses in Art History needed to fulfill the required core credits toward the degree major.
In the first year, Foundations in Art History consists of a series of half-semester courses taken in three categories: Non-Western, Ancient to Baroque and Modern/Contemporary. We believe that all courses at all levels of university education serve as points of access to motivated students. Foundation courses introduce students not only to the history of various periods and places but also to basic methods of doing research and writing about art.
At the sophomore level, students are required to take Issues and Debates in Contemporary Art, a course built around presentations of and discussions around issues relevant to the contemporary art world.
The minimum art history requirement for the BFA degree can be fulfilled with the successful completion of two additional courses at the junior and senior levels. Students in upper division classes study the history of art in a more focused manner by examining works organized according to a specific culture (African, Pre-Columbian), time period (Eighteenth-Century, Renaissance), movement (Modernism, Impressionism), topic (Women in Art) or medium (Ceramics, Photography).
