Majoring & Minoring

The Art and Art History Department offers courses leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree with majors in Studio Art and in Art History, and minors in Studio Art, Art History, and Architecture and Design Studies.

The major in Studio Art is a pre-professional program in a liberal arts context and deals with art as an expressive medium; it intends that each student should acquire technical proficiency in a principal medium, knowledge of a variety of media processes as well as liberal arts breadth in critical and verbal skills. The program is a preparation both for students intending to apply to Master of Fine Arts programs and go on to professional work as artists; and for students who wish to acquire a liberal arts degree which can lead to work in a wide variety of fields in graduate school both inside and outside the world of art (such as art history, architecture, commercial art, design, arts administration, teaching art in elementary and secondary schools, etc.).

The Art History program consists of six broad areas of study: Asian, Latin American, Pre-Modern (Classical and Medieval), Early Modern (Renaissance and Baroque), Modern, and Design History.  The program is strongest in the areas of Modern, and Asian art, and Art History majors are required to take at least one course in each of these areas. Majors are encouraged to take courses in each of the remaining areas of study. The Design History component of the program is closely tied to the Architecture and Design minor.

As a liberal arts program, the Art History major offers excellent preparation for any field benefited by critical thinking, broad cultural knowledge, and research and writing skills. It is an appropriate major for work in the visual arts, such as arts administration or museum professions, and also prepares students for application to MA and PhD programs in Art History as well as other academic disciplines.

The Architecture and Design Studies program is a minor which allows students to explore aspects of the design professions and to prepare for graduate school applications in architecture (normally three and a half year Master of Architecture programs which many schools offer) or for graduate schools in several related fields (e.g. landscape architecture, urban planning, interior design, industrial design, etc.).