Visual Arts: Art History Bachelor of Arts

Degree Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in Art History

42 credit hours required plus 8 credit hours of Visiting Artist Program

Core (15 credit hours):

ART 100Visual Concepts

3

ARTH 101Art in Culture from Prehistory to 1400

3

ARTH 102Art in Culture from 1400 to the Present

3

ARTH 350Art History Theory and Methods

3

ARTH 355Writing About Art

3

Total Credit Hours:15

Art History Electives, distributed as follows (27 credit hours):

200-Level Art History courses

6

300-Level Art History courses

6

200 or 300-Level Art History Electives

6

ARTS courses, as advised

6

ARTH 460Gallery Practicum

1-3

or

ARTH 490Learning Assistant - Art History

3

or

ARTH 497Research Practicum in Art History

1-3

or

ARTH 499Internship

1-15

Total Credit Hours:27

NOTE:

  • 200-level Art History courses: one course in Ancient, Pre-Columbian, Medieval or Renaissance art, and one course in Modern, Post-modern or Contemporary Art
  • 300-level Art History courses: one course in Ancient, Pre-Columbian, Medieval or Renaissance art, and one course in Modern, Post-modern or Contemporary art
  • ARTH 460, ARTH 497, and ARTH 499 are variable 1-3 / 1-15 credit hour courses. Students who elect any of these three courses must successfully complete the course with 3 credit hours to satisfy the degree requirements.

Visiting Artist Program (8 credit hours):

Eight (8) semesters at 1 credit hour per semester.
Total Credit Hours:8

NOTE: The Visiting Artist Program is only required each semester the student is a major within the department.

Total Credit Hours: 50

Additional Degree Requirements

All Art History majors (except for double majors) are required to complete a minor or a full-semester study abroad program. Each student selects a minor in consultation with an advisor. Students may minor in Visual Arts and New Media but must complete four (4) studio art courses beyond the two (2) required for the Art History major in order to complete the minor.

All Art History majors who plan to study at the graduate level are strongly advised to complete a Senior Thesis.  This senior-level paper is typically initiated in ARTH 355 Writing about Art and completed in a later ARTH 495 Independent Study.  Students should discuss this option with Art History faculty during the junior year of study.  Senior Thesis topics must meet required guidelines and be approved by art history faculty.

All Art History majors are strongly advised to pursue a foreign language beyond the requirement for the College Core Curriculum (CCC). Majors interested in pursuing graduate studies in art history should reach the intermediate to advanced level, preferably in French, Italian or German. All Art History majors are also strongly advised to study abroad at some point during their undergraduate career.