Art History, B.A.

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Why do people make art? Where do you find art? What can art tell us about our world? Why does some art cost millions of dollars? Art history majors grapple with these questions by studying art across history and across cultures. Art history explores the world through images and objects. Our courses emphasize visual learning. They cover creative traditions in painting, sculpture, graphic arts, decorative arts, ritual objects, architecture, photography, design, performance, experimental media, and eco-art. Students are trained to examine, assess, research, and write about art objects. Graduates are prepared for a variety of careers, including teaching and museum work, or for graduate school.

Art history students visit local and regional galleries and museums and are encouraged to study abroad. Majors learn about careers in the field by studying how exhibitions are made, how collections are cared for, and how education of the public supports these efforts. Students can get practical experience through internships at a number of prestigious organizations, such as the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, the Connecticut Historical Society, the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, the New Britain Museum of American Art, Real Art Ways, the Joseloff Gallery, and many others.

Students who enter the University with advanced-placement (AP) credits in art history should elect at least one course at the 200 level before proceeding to 300-level work, and this course should not significantly duplicate material for which AP credit was awarded. A maximum of 3 credits in AP art history may be applied to the major or minor.

General Education Requirements (Hartford Art School, B.A.)

In addition to major requirements, students must meet the General Education Requirements that correlate to their degree.

Major GPA and Grade Requirements

Students must maintain a minimum grade point average of 2.0 in courses required to complete the major. All courses required for the major must be taken for a letter grade.

Requirements for the Major

Required credits: 41-42

The requirements for the art history major are as follows:

Introduction (12 credits)

ART 210W - History of Western Art I 3 credit(s)
ART 211W - History of Western Art II 3 credit(s)
ART 215W - Art across Borders 3 credit(s)
ART 216W - Introduction to Non-Western Art 3 credit(s)

Distribution (12 credits 300-level or above)

four of which must be distributed among the following five content areas:

Ancient or Medieval
Renaissance, or Baroque and Enlightenment
Modern or Contemporary
Non-Western (African, Asian, Mesoamerican, Islamic, Native American, or other)
Topical: ART 355W - History of Visual Media (only when it is offered as History of Prints), and other courses that overlap the boundaries of the first four areas. These may be offered as ART 383W - Artforms or ART 390W or ART 490W - Special Topics in Art History and will be designated in the schedule as topical.

Additional Requirements (6 credits)

ART 367W - Museum and Exhibition Practices 3 credit(s)
ART 493 - Art History Internship 1-3 credit(s) (3 credits required)

Art History Elective (3 credits)

3 credits in Art History at the 200-level or above.

Studio electives (5-6 credits)

Student takes 5-6 credits of studio coursework.

Capstone (3 credits)

ART 492W - Seminar in Art History 3 credit(s)

Additional Information:

With permission from the chair, ART 100 may be substituted for a 200-level course, but this course must be taken before any other art history course. With the permission of the department, 3 credits from 300-level courses in a related discipline may be applied toward the 15-credit distribution requirement in the major.

Since a working knowledge of at least one foreign language is a requirement for entrance to graduate training and an essential tool in this field, courses in French, German, Italian, or Spanish are strongly recommended. HLM 100 , CIN 150 , or DRA 160 are advised as breadth supplements to the major.

All courses required for the major must be taken for a letter grade. Students must maintain a minimum grade point average of 2.0 in art history courses to complete the major successfully.