Art History

The art history program offers a wide range of courses in the art of various periods and cultures. These serve majors in art history and many count toward the humanities requirements for the College of Letters and Science.

Art history explores painting, sculpture, architecture, and the graphic and the decorative arts but is interdisciplinary by nature. It relates to the study of anthropology, history, history of science, literature, philosophy, religion, and language. To complement their study of art history, students are encouraged to elect courses in all of these fields beyond the general L&S requirements.

Career and Professional Opportunities

An art history major with a good undergraduate record can move on to a number of different professional and graduate opportunities both inside and outside the art world. A BA in art history may lead to employment in historic preservation, art-related publishing, television, film, or computer software production. An MA in art history is generally required for positions in museums, galleries, art centers, auction houses, and archives. Some professions require specialized training; art conservation, for example, requires the study of chemistry. Students who plan to pursue careers as post-secondary teachers and scholars, or as museum curators and directors must acquire a PhD. For information on current career opportunities, see Career Alternatives for Art Historians (maintained by Charles Rosenberg, Notre Dame University). There is also a very useful chapter in Christina Maranci's A Survival Guide for Art History Students (Prentice Hall, 2005) entitled "What do you do with a degree in Art History?"  This book is available in the Reference section of the Kohler Art Library.

A useful resource on campus is the L&S/Human Ecology Career Services Office (in the William S. Middleton building, 1305 Linden Dr.), which provides students and recent alumni with information on internships, careers, and graduate schools. Advisors there can help you make career decisions, plan your job search, and facilitate the application process. Their Reference Letter Center provides assistance to students applying to professional schools (law, medical, dental, grad, etc.) by collecting and mailing letters of evaluation.

Courses in Art History

You can begin your study of art history in several different ways. Students unfamiliar with art history usually elect introductory courses. In Art History 201, 202, 203, 241 and 242 (all of which are open to freshmen), students explore the principal developments in architecture, sculpture, painting, and printmaking from ancient to modern times. We strongly urge students interested primarily in western art to take the western surveys (201 & 202) in chronological order and as early in their career as possible.  They are required for majors in the standard program.  There is also an Asian Option.

Intermediate and advanced courses (courses numbered 300 and above) more closely examine areas of art introduced and broadly treated in the survey courses. These courses address specific regions, periods, and topics in a more detailed manner than the broader surveys. In these and subsequent courses you will engage in more specialized art historical scholarship as you prepare and write research papers. These count towards the L & S requirement of fifteen credits of upper level work in the major.

The 500-level proseminars are undergraduate seminars for small groups of students that focus on a specific topic. At least one 500-level proseminar is required for graduation, and should be taken as a junior, preferably after previous coursework in that area. Many students take more than one proseminar. (The proseminar does not fulfill an area requirement.) Note: course enrollment is open to declared majors only. Information on future proseminar offerings is e-mailed to all majors well before registration begins, and as courses fill quickly, students are advised to contact instructors as soon as possible.

The 600 Special Topics number is generally assigned to courses offered only once or occasionally. 601-602 is a museum course that is offered irregularly, generally taught in connection to planned exhibitions at the Chazen Museum of Art.

Students may also elect to write senior theses (692, Senior Thesis; 681-682, Senior Honors Thesis) or undertake independent research (Directed Study, 698, 699). All of these research projects require considerable planning before the work is undertaken. If you are going to write a senior thesis you should begin to discuss your plans during the junior year with the faculty member who will supervise it. Grant deadlines for senior thesis and independent projects are in the fall and winter.