The Bachelor's Degree in Art History
The Art History and Visual Studies Program trains students to develop historically informed approaches to art and visual culture within the context of an interdisciplinary humanities education. Through lecture classes, discussion-based seminars, internships, and independent study, students learn multi-disciplinary approaches to the study of art and visual culture and gain essential skills of visual analysis, critical reasoning and effective communication. Students will be prepared for a range of entry-level positions in the public, private, or nonprofit sectors, or to undertake graduate study in an academic or professional program.
Program Director: Professor Elena Shtromberg
ADMISSION
Students must be admitted to the university to take major courses without needing permission from the course instructor pursuant to Undergraduate admission policy 6-404.
PROBATION
Students must earn a C- grade in Art History courses to advance in their BA for Art History. If a student does not earn a minimum of C-, they must re-take the course and earn a C- or better. Students who do not earn a C- or better in Art History courses cannot graduate with a BA degree. Students must maintain a culminative 2.0 GPA or higher to remain in academic good standing at the University of Utah.
DISMISSAL
Students may be dismissed for academic misconduct or by failing to maintain a culminative 2.0 GPA at the University of Utah. Policies are outlined here, and academic misconduct policy is outlined here.
We encourage students to declare a major/minor during their first or second year. You may declare an art history major/minor through the College of Fine Arts Academic Advisor. At this meeting, the advisor will review your academic record and assist you in developing a coherent course of study. We strongly recommend that each Art History major/minor meet annually with the College of Fine Arts Academic Advisor to monitor progress through her/his program of study and to discuss educational and professional goals.
We also encourage you to take advantage of our faculty mentoring. All art history faculty are available for consultation about the academic program, and we invite you to approach one of the professors for their willingness to become your faculty mentor. In this way, you can get to know us while simultaneously gaining a wider perspective on the discipline of art history.
As an art history major/minor, you will need to schedule an appointment with the College of Fine Arts Academic Advisor at the end of your junior year to ensure that all degree requirements are being met. In compliance with University policy, a graduation application must be filed one full year before your planned graduation date with the graduation division of the Registrar's Office at 250 SSB; 801-581-5808.
To complete a BA degree in Art History, you will take 36 semester credit hours in art history. Transfer students must meet with the College of Fine Arts Academic Advisor to review their transcripts for the possible award of art history credits.
The curriculum in our program begins with ARTH 2500 Introduction to the History of Art (or equivalent; see below) and ARTH 4000 Good Looking, a course that focuses on the methods of visual analysis. The course sequence includes a range of upper-division lecture courses at the 3000-level and the 4000-level and two of the Seminars in Art History (ARTH 4x90, 4x95, or 4985). The curriculum provides you with flexibility in the choice of upper-division art history courses, and you bear some responsibility for the design of your own program. Those with specific interests can specialize to some extent, and those who seek a relatively broad experience can receive such training. Read further for an explanation about the various requirements. To track your progress through the program, you may review your unofficial transcript (DARS) by logging into the Campus Information System.
-ARTH 2500 INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY OF ART
This course serves as the foundation class for your upper-division courses in the major and should be taken in advance of any other art history course. You will investigate the ways in which works of art and architecture have developed within a culture and how they continue to exert influence upon the present. We discuss how to analyze and interpret these artifacts and to write about them using methods of critical thought. You can become skilled in observing and interpreting your own visual environment. Your goal is to become more aware of art and architecture as visual embodiments of ideas and values.
-ARTH 4000 GOOD LOOKING
The course should be taken after you have taken ARTH 2500 and at least one 3000-level course, since it affords you the chance to learn how contemporary perspectives are incorporated in the subject matter of the upper-division classes. The course will introduce you to the multiple ways of discussing art and visual culture. You will develop and polish skills in different writing styles while also discussing texts that address thematic issues in the discipline of visual art. It is taught each semester by art history faculty on a rotating basis and satisfies the Bachelor degree (baccalaureate) upper-division communication/writing (CW) requirement.
-UPPER-DIVISION ART HISTORY
The majority of coursework in art history is comprised of upper-division courses at the 3000-level and the 4000-level. The curriculum is designed to provide you with opportunities to learn about art and architecture of many cultures. Areas of study include the arts and visual cultures of Asia, Latin America, Western Europe and America, covering periods from antiquity to the present day. We recommend that you work closely with the College of Fine Arts Academic Advisor and your faculty mentor to create a program of study that coordinates your interests. A series of courses successfully completed in multiple areas ensure that you have achieved an appropriate level of competency in art history.
-ARTH 4X90, 4X95, 4985 SEMINARS
After you have successfully completed two (2) upper division classes (3000 or 4000 level), you should enroll in two of the art history seminars, taught on a rotating basis by art history faculty. These capstone classes will focus on selected themes in art history and visual studies. In these seminars, you will actively participate in problematizing issues and planning research strategies related to your topic. You will also learn, through readings and discussions, where traditional and contemporary art history methodologies intersect as your particular research project is explored.
-ENHANCED CAPSTONE EXPERIENCE
The art history faculty would like to share in your accomplishments in the art history discipline. For this reason, we partner with Undergraduate Studies, the Honors Program, and UROP for the annual Undergraduate Research Symposium at which selected research papers by university students are presented before colleagues and friends. We encourage all our majors and minors to participate in this event regularly as they make their way through their course of study. Honors-track majors are strongly urged to consider the event for the publication possibility that enhances graduate school applications and can lead to the Undergraduate Research Scholar designation.
In order to be chosen for a conference session, you should submit an abstract for a twenty-minute paper directly to the Office of Undergraduate Studies (Sill Center). The one-page abstracts are juried for competency and quality, and you will be notified if the abstract for your paper was accepted. The Spring Symposium at which the students will deliver their twenty-minute papers (8-10 pages) will occur normally in early April. It is free and open to the public.
GRADING STANDARDS
Art history coursework must be taken for a letter grade. Credit/No Credit is not an option for these classes, as they are required for the art history major. No grade below C- will count toward fulfilling the art history major requirements.
CURRICULUM EXCEPTIONS
If you have exceptions to the standard curriculum you would like to make, you must fill out this application, justify your course exceptions (include syllabi, descriptions, etc.), and speak with the program director for Art History. If the Art History program director signs off on your exception, please bring the completed form to the Department of Art & Art History office in ART 161 to be processed.
CREDIT FOR ART HISTORY ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAMINATION
If you earned a score of 3, 4 or 5, you can be awarded six semester hours of University credit when it is used as a General Education fulfillment. The procedure is handled through the Admissions Office (250 SSB, 801-581-7286). It is necessary to earn a score of 4 or 5 in order to be excused from ARTH 2500 when it is used to satisfy art history major requirements.
-Art History Minor Information
Requirements for the art history minor include 21 semester hours in art history. Transfer students must meet with the College of Fine Arts Academic Advisor to review their transcripts for the possible award of art history credits. The curriculum in our program begins with ARTH 2500 Introduction to the History of Art (or equivalent; see below), and you will complete an additional 18 semester credit hours of upper-division art history classes.
Art history minors should take six courses at the 3000-4000 level. The curriculum provides you with flexibility in the choice of upper-division art history courses, and you bear some responsibility for the design of your own program. Those with specific interests can specialize to some extent, and those who seek a relatively broad experience can receive such training.
Read further for an explanation about the various requirements. You may review your unofficial transcript (Degree Audit Report - DARS) by logging into the Campus Information System.
-ARTH 2500 INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY OF ART
This course serves as the foundation class for your upper-division courses in the minor and should be taken in advance of any other art history course. In addition, it satisfies one of the General Education Humanities area Intellectual Exploration requirements (HF). You will investigate the ways in which works of art and architecture have developed within a culture and how they continue to exert influence upon the present. We discuss how to analyze and interpret these artifacts and to write about them using methods of critical thought. You can become skilled in observing and interpreting your own visual environment. Your goal is to become more aware of art and architecture as visual embodiments of ideas and values.
CREDIT FOR ART HISTORY ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAMINATION
If you earned a score of 3, 4 or 5, you can be awarded six semester hours of University credit when it is used as a General Education fulfillment. The procedure is handled through the Admissions Office (250 SSB, 801-581-7286). It is necessary to earn a score of 4 or 5 in order to be excused from ARTH 2500 when it is used to satisfy art history minor requirements.
-UPPER-DIVISION ART HISTORY
The majority of coursework in art history is comprised of upper-division courses at the 3000-level and the 4000-level. The curriculum is designed to provide you with opportunities to learn about art and architecture of many cultures. Areas of study include the arts and visual cultures of Asia, Latin America, Western Europe and America, covering periods from antiquity to the present day. We recommend that you work closely with the College of Fine Arts Academic Advisor and your faculty mentor to create a program of study that coordinates your interests. A series of courses successfully completed in multiple areas ensure that you have achieved an appropriate level of competency in art history.
-ENHANCED CAPSTONE EXPERIENCE
The art history faculty would like to share in your accomplishments in the art history discipline. For this reason, we partner with Undergraduate Studies, the Honors Program, and UROP for the annual Undergraduate Research Symposium at which selected research papers by university students are presented before colleagues and friends. We encourage all our majors and minors to participate in this event regularly as they make their way through their course of study. Honors-track majors are strongly urged to consider the event for the publication possibility that enhances graduate school applications and can lead to the Undergraduate Research Scholar designation.
In order to be chosen for a conference session, you should submit an abstract for a twenty-minute paper directly to the Office of Undergraduate Studies (Sill Center). The one-page abstracts are juried for competency and quality, and you will be notified if the abstract for your paper was accepted. The Spring Symposium at which the students will deliver their twenty-minute papers (8-10 pages) will occur normally in early April. It is free and open to the public.
GRADING STANDARDS
Art history coursework must be taken for a letter grade. Credit/No Credit is not an option for these classes, as they are required for the art history minor. No grade below C- will count toward fulfilling the art history minor requirements.
ADVISING
Students who intend to declare a minor must see a College of Fine Arts Advisor. The advisor will assist the student to track program requirements and will notify the Graduation Division at the time of graduation (minor) or completion of the coursework (certificate).
Students in the Honors College may complete an HBA (Art History) degree by fulfilling the Honors College degree requirements and completing an Honors Thesis Project. Honors Art History majors may enroll in Honors sections of select upper division Art History classes to help satisfy their Honors course requirements.
Honors students should meet with the departmental honors advisor, Elena Shtromberg, as early as possible when they begin taking courses in the major.
For additional information on the Honors College and Thesis requirements, as well as information on applying as a current student, please visit www.honors.utah.edu
-INTERNSHIPS
The Art History Program offers a formalized internship practicum, which is linked to a credit-bearing course, ARTH 4850 Internship. This is an opportunity for you to acquire hands-on experiences to help you see how the visual arts fit into diverse community contexts. You will also discover how you may customize your academic training to smooth the transition from classroom to career. Internships are based on semester-long (5-6 hours/week) projects. You must complete twelve semester hours of upper-division art history coursework before you may enroll in ARTH 4850. If you are interested and eligible, download these guidelines to get started. Contact the sponsor to ascertain that your résumé and cover letter fit with the agency's project. You will be expected to submit a work plan at the beginning of the semester, brief monthly reports on the status of the project, and a final report on your contribution to the project. Most internships are unpaid, but some come with a stipend. Internships awarded by nationally recognized institutions, such as the Metropolitan Museum in New York, are suitable for ARTH 4850. You may enroll for a maximum of two different internships.
-UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH SCHOLAR
All art history majors, regular track and honors track, may wish to earn the Undergraduate Research Scholar designation. This University award can be listed on your transcript. To receive this designation, you must successfully apply for an Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) grant to conduct a minimum of two semesters of research with a faculty mentor in our Art History Program; present at the annual UROP Symposium or at the annual National Conference for Undergraduate Research (NCUR); and have your abstract accepted for publication in the Undergraduate Research Abstracts Journal.
-STUDY ABROAD
A maximum of two courses done through study abroad programs is eligible for art history credit. Approval of credit for other study abroad coursework is determined by the College of Fine Arts Academic Advisor after the courses have been transferred and accepted by the Registrar's office. You may submit a course description, syllabus, and exams or written papers to the undergraduate advisor for evaluation. Since this is not an automatic process, it is strongly recommended that you discuss your plans with the advisor in advance of enrolling in any study abroad program.
Active participation in your own learning is the best indicator of your career commitment. Many of our students have embraced art history in their educational lives by involving themselves in events outside the classroom. For example, we can help you find local internships as well as those nationwide at institutions such as New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. Advanced research can be presented in public forums such as campus colloquia and national conferences. Indeed, specialized, funded research at research institutes here and abroad will bring a rewarding dimension to your degree program. Some activities of this type are, strictly speaking, awards earned through competition. We would be delighted to discuss possible endeavors that stimulate your art history study.
The emphasis on an advanced degree for professorial or curatorial positions has led some of our students with a BA in Art History to pursue graduate study at institutions such as New York University, Northwestern University, University of Texas at Austin, and Cornell University. Some of our MA students have gone on to PhD programs at Johns Hopkins University, University of Pennsylvania, and Harvard University. Selected students have been accepted overseas at places such as the University of Tübingen, Syracuse University Florence Center, and the Universiteit van Utrecht.
With your degree in Art History, you will be well suited to a career in either the public or private sector. The discipline is valued for its humanistic focus on cultural/historical awareness, critical thought, and communication skills. Your preparation in visual analysis and interpretation will be appealing to museums, art galleries, libraries, historical societies, arts councils, publishers, auction houses, and educational facilities. You can also take your knowledge and skills into a marketplace that seeks expertise in relating ideas and values to visual images. You should be open to the many exciting possibilities in the areas of business, medicine, law, and communications.
Opportunities for job placement may be explored at Career Services (350 SSB; 801-581-6186). See also the substantial list of career choices for art historians.
TEACHING ART HISTORY AT THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL
At present, our department does not offer either an art history teaching major or minor. Art history classes are offered at the secondary (high school) level either as an Advanced Placement course or integrated into humanities or honors programs. You may teach art history at the secondary level although at present there is no teaching certificate available from the Utah State Office of Education.
Currently the best preparation is to complete requirements for an art teaching composite. Studio art is considered a composite teaching major. Please contact the teacher education advising office in the Urban Institute for Teacher Education for licensure program requirements.