Art History, B.A.

Overview

The art history major provides a foundation for answering key questions about what it means to be human as well as valuable skills for todays workplaces. A specialized focus on images, objects, and the built environment promotes critical and creative approaches to analysis, problem-solving, writing and visual communication in a variety of media. Interdisciplinary collaborations encourage aesthetic, historical, economic, and ethical questions in order to produce new knowledge, sophisticated readers, engaged writers, critical viewers, independent thinkers, and confident cultural citizens who are well prepared to thrive in global society.

Through innovative research, teaching, and outreach activities, the Department of Art History takes a leading role in promoting visual literacy, emphasizing careful attention to continuities and differences across human history and world cultures. Examining expressive forms, from artifacts to new media, the department explores the ways in which art and visual and material culture are fully integrated into larger cultural histories.

Study Abroad

The department strongly encourages art history majors to participate in study abroad programs. Students gain firsthand experience of other cultures and languages and have the opportunity to study major artistic monuments. Credit for appropriate coursework can be applied toward the major after arrangements have been made with the study abroad program, or, in the case of nonUW study abroad programs, the Office of Admissions and Recruitment. For more information, see the Study Abroad website.

1. Skill in visual analysis of single images and comparative analysis of multiple images and objects, evaluating a range of elements such as form, color, light, proportion, viewpoint, material, and narrative structure.
2. Proficiency in interpreting images and objects in ways that take into account the historical contexts in which they were produced and received.
3. Consolidation of knowledge across a range of time and geography to reach an understanding of the ways in which art and its meaning are rooted in culture.
4. Ability to locate and enlist research resources in both print and digital form and assess the strengths and weaknesses of various types of resources.
5. Knowledge and skills to interpret images and objects in ways that consider a variety of theoretical perspectives.
6. Ability to assess and critique scholarly arguments and evaluate the strength of the visual and textual evidence presented.

All undergraduate students at UW–Madison must complete the university-wide General Education Requirements, which are designed to convey the essential core of an undergraduate education. This core establishes a foundation for living a productive life, being a citizen of the world, appreciating aesthetic values, and engaging in lifelong learning in a continually changing world. These requirements provide for breadth across the humanities and arts, social studies, and natural sciences; competence in communication, critical thinking, and analytical skills necessary for success in college and beyond; and investigation of the issues raised by living in a culturally diverse society. This core is intended to provide students with intellectual and practical skills, basic knowledge of human cultures and the physical world, strategies for understanding these topics, and tools intended to contribute to their sense of personal and social responsibility. General Education complements the work students do in their majors and degrees. Together, these requirements help students learn what they need to know not just for making a living, but also for making a life.

Completing the General Education Requirements is an important part of achieving these competencies, and to do so, students choose from many courses in communication, ethnic studies, quantitative reasoning, and breadth of study across disciplines in the natural sciences, humanities, literature, and arts, and social and behavioral sciences.

Completing the General Education Requirements is an important part of achieving these competencies, and to do so, students choose from many courses in communication, ethnic studies, quantitative reasoning, and breadth of study across disciplines in the natural sciences, humanities, literature, and arts, and social and behavioral sciences.

Each school and college may choose to allow General Education courses to count toward other degree and/or major requirements. Students should always check with their advisors to discuss any additional degree requirements and determine if students are required to take specific General Education courses or to complete the requirements in a particular order. Students should review their Degree Audit (DARS) report to see how they are progressing toward fulfilling the General Education requirements. Please refer to.

The Department of Art History individually mentors its majors toward careers in a wide range of fields. Our academic advisor and director of undergraduate studies are always available to discuss postdegree options. We also work closely with SuccessWorks at the College of Letters & Science to help students best apply the knowledge and skills acquired in the art history major in conjunction with other certificates or majors. We encourage majors to seek information from art history faculty and advisors—as well as from L&S Advising—about career paths and internships; preparation for the job search; and applying to graduate school. Both the department and L&S also provide networking opportunities with professionals in the field (employers and alumni).

Letters & Science graduates, and art history majors in particular, have unique perspectives, knowledge, and skills that make them highly desirable to today’s employers.   

Students who wish to continue on to graduate studies in art history or related fields, or who simply desire more advanced work in art history, are strongly encouraged to pursue Honors in the Major. Students should begin to plan honors work in art history with their honors advisor as early as possible in their careers and should check with the departmental undergraduate advisor at least once a year to seek guidance about planning the best possible Honors in the Major curriculum that reflects their special interests.

Notes about the major requirements:

• Art History AP credits with a score of 4 or higher and 100-level Art History courses count only toward the nine-course minimum but do not count toward distribution requirements.
• Courses at the 200 level count only toward the nine-course minimum and 200-level requirements for the major (ART HIST 206 and ART HIST/​AFROAMER  242 are exceptions).
• ART HIST/​AFROAMER  242 is the only 200-level course that counts toward any content distribution requirements.
• All courses numbered between 200 and 680 count toward level requirements. 600-level courses generally count toward the 400-level requirement.  
• Most courses at the 300 and 400 level, and some courses at the 600 level, count toward content distribution requirements.  (Example: ART HIST 305 may count in each of the following requirement areas: 1. 300 level  AND  2. Chronological—either Ancient to Medieval or Early Modern AND  3. Geographic—either Cross-Cultural Diaspora or Africa/Middle East)
• Proseminars generally do not satisfy distribution requirements.
• Special topics (including ART HIST 600 Special Topics in Art History) and study abroad courses may satisfy one or more distribution requirements, even if they are not shown in Chronological, Geographic, or Theory and Method categories. In case of questions about how a course might count, students should consult the major advisor.
• Courses footnoted in the Requirements section may meet more than one area of Chronological distribution, Geographical distribution, or both.  In nearly all cases, the degree audit (DARS) will select the most advantageous category for students to complete their requirement. In the rare case that an adjustment is necessary, consult the major advisor.

Career Resources:

L&S career resources

SuccessWorks at the College of Letters & Science helps students leverage the academic skills learned in their major, certificates, and liberal arts degree; explore and try out different career paths; participate in internships; prepare for the job search and/or graduate school applications; and network with professionals in the field (alumni and employers). In short, SuccessWorks helps students in the College of Letters & Science discover themselves, find opportunities, and develop the skills they need for success after graduation.

SuccessWorks can also assist students in career advising, résumé and cover letter writing, networking opportunities, and interview skills, as well as course offerings for undergraduates to begin their career exploration early in their undergraduate career. 

Students should set up their profiles in Handshake to take care of everything they need to explore career events, manage their campus interviews, and apply to jobs and internships from 200,000+ employers around the country.

• SuccessWorks
• Set up a career advising appointment
• INTER-LS 210 L&S Career Development: Taking Initiative (1 credit, targeted to first- and second-year students)—for more information, see Inter-LS 210: Career Development, Taking Initiative
• INTER-LS 215 Communicating About Careers (3 credits, fulfills Com B General Education Requirement)
• Handshake
• Learn how we’re transforming career preparation: L&S Career Initiative

Art History Department Resources

• Art History professional development webpage

• Why major in Art History?

• Art History majors discuss the value of the degree

• Art History's internship course: ART HIST 697 Undergraduate Curatorial Studies Internship (Directed Study)

This directed study may serve as an elective for the material culture certificate program, or for a specific stand-alone project. The goal is to give students credit for applied learning experiences in museums and other curatorial settings. Students must identify internship possibilities and have them approved for credit by the faculty member who will serve as instructor of record, and oversee the academic side of the internship. The nature of the internship will vary according to the host institution, but to be accepted for credit, it must have a substantial research component. Examples include but are not limited to: assisting a curator or registrar with research for an exhibition or permanent collection display; producing wall texts and object labels in an exhibition or permanent collection display; researching and writing catalog entries or essays on an object or objects in an exhibition or permanent collection; preparing catalog entries for works in the permanent collection of a museum/historical society; assisting a curator preparing a dossier for acquisitions; researching conservation histories of objects; provenance research; preparing teaching materials associated with an exhibition or permanent collection either in print or online; preparing and giving public tours of exhibitions or permanent collections; participating in exhibition design. To fulfill a 3-credit internship, the student must average approximately twelve hours a week throughout the semester, including working at the host institution on individual projects, and performing any necessary research and writing outside the host institution. In addition, the student should meet with the faculty advisor for a minimum of one hour each month. Requires permission to work with faculty member to receive credit for internship project. 1–3 cr.

• Links to relevant career preparation information listed on professional association websites: 

Career Alternatives for Art Historians
Careers by Major—Art & Art History (University of Toronto)