Art and Art History, B.A.

Minimum number of credits required to graduate:  124

Minimum Cumulative GPA required to graduate:  2.0

Minimum number of credits to complete the major:  52

Art and Art History Major

As an Art and Art History major, you will investigate the arts through the dual lenses of studio art and art history. Your studies will combine academic research, creative practice, craft-based skills and techniques, as well as communal and experiential learning. You will learn to sharpen your critical-thinking abilities, master a wide-range of artmaking skills and techniques, and embody an in-depth understanding of the historical and contemporary artworld. After taking a broad range of foundational studio art and art history courses, you will tailor your degrees by selecting a concentration track in either Studio Arts or Art History. 

The Art and Art History Program establishes the intrinsic connection between the art historian and the practicing studio artist. The program seeks to graduate well-rounded citizen artists and historians, who have a keen understanding of both the art world and the larger contextual society in which it operates. The program emphasizes a post-structuralist, multi-channeled approach to exploring all aspects of the historical and contemporary artworld, and champions research, creativity, innovation, sustainable and ethical practices, and collaboration and community. 

Through small class sizes that guarantee in-depth, personal mentorship from the Art and Art History faculty, and a curriculum designed to allow specialization, you will be able to tailor your major to your specific interests, taking advantage of directed studies, art-focused study abroad programs, and professional internships in regional art galleries and museums.

In the Art and Art History program, you’ll learn to:

• Have a deep understanding of the breadth and complexity of the history of the field of art, and understand how the arts have been, and continue to be, a driving influencer on human history, society, and the economy. 

• Understand and grapple with the intensely personal nature of creative practice and analysis of artistic culture.

• Possess the practical skills and experience to conceive, craft, and create well-constructed artworks, academic essays, and theses. 

• Gain the knowledge and skill set to effectively establish, develop, and sustain a professional creative practice. 

• Understand how to implement the creative process (generative thinking, iterative thinking, brainstorming, mind mapping etc.) within their own artworks, research, writing, and individualized professional goals. 

• Possess the knowledge and experience to analyze and interpret, through both verbal and written assessment, the formal and theoretical elements of art, art history, design, art theory, and the art world at large.