Student Paintings

Undergraduate Programs: Art History

Art Education | Art History | Studio Art | Graphics/Illustration Courses (GR/IL)

Our mission is to provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed as active members of the art historical profession. To accomplish this mission our students will:

  • Acquire knowledge of diverse cultures and their artistic production in sculpture, painting, and architecture from the pre-historic through the post-modern eras
  • Study artistic styles and developments in the Ancient Near East, Greece, Rome, Egypt, Islam, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, American, Modern, and Asian cultures
  • Gain factual knowledge about art historical terminology, classifications, methods, and trends
  • Develop skills in the areas of oral and written communication, critical thinking, visual analysis, and research strategies

Art History is a discipline focusing mainly on architecture, painting, sculpture, and also on photography, film, performance art, decorative art, the history of art history itself, and its critical methodology. Art historians study works of art in terms of aesthetic, cultural, and historical issues. The field is concerned with the definitions of style, materials, and modes of execution, iconographic and other interpretive methods, and with the economic, religious, philosophic, theoretic, and social factors that shape visual culture.

The field of Art History is a constantly expanding discipline that offers stimulating and challenging work. Graduates in the field have found opportunities in art related fields such as art magazine and book publishing, art galleries and art councils. Other professional opportunities, however, are available to those who pursue the study of art history at the graduate level, since an advanced degree is requisite for a career in teaching or curatorial work in a museum.

Sample Program:

Undergraduate Art History Major

Outlined below is a typical course sequence program for the Art History major. Each student's program is developed individually in close cooperation with department advisors and faculty.

 

 

FRESHMAN YEAR

COURSES

CREDITS

ENG 101-102

6

FRS 101

3

Mod. For. Lang.

6

ART 271 - 272

6

MTH/SCI (Persp. I)

7

Perspectives I

3

SOPHOMORE YEAR

COURSES

CREDITS

Perspectives I

15

MTH/SCI (Persp.II)

3

ART 171

3

Perspectives II

3

ART 106 - 107 (rec.)

6

JUNIOR YEAR

COURSES

CREDITS

ART History

12

Perspectives II

6

Lib. Arts. Elect.

6

Electives

6

WTG. 399

0

 

 

SENIOR YEAR

COURSES

CREDITS

ART History

12

ART 390

3

Electives

15

ART 499

0

Note: A GPA of at least 2.7 is required.