Bachelor of Arts in Art History

Think critically about the visual arts and visual culture and focus on the meaning of images and media, and their historical development, roles in society, and relationships to disciplines such as literature, music, and philosophy. The undergraduate program is designed to help students think critically about the visual arts and visual culture. Courses focus on the meaning of images and media, and their historical development, roles in society, and relationships to disciplines such as literature, music, and philosophy. The discipline of Art History teaches students how to analyze and interpret works of fine art (paintings, drawings, prints, and sculpture), photography and moving image media (film, video, television, and digital art), material culture (ritual objects, fashion, advertisements, and the decorative, applied, and industrial arts), and the built environment (architecture, urbanism, and design). We take it as axiomatic that the skills of visual literacy and analysis are not innate but may be acquired through training and practice. Ranging from antiquity to the present, our objects of study are drawn from the rich and complex cultures of Africa, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Western, Central, and Eastern Europe. Art History is a historical discipline that seeks to reintegrate the work of art into the original context of its making and reception, foregrounding its significant status as both historical document and act of social communication. At the same time, Art History seeks to understand the ways in which the work of art transcends the historical moment of its production, taking on a range of different meanings in later historical periods, including our own.

ACT or SAT test scores (test optional)
School Report form and counselor letter of recommendation
Official transcript(s) or academic results
Letters of recommendation from two teachers
Midyear transcript