This major prepares you for graduate study in art history or for entry-level positions in a number of art-related areas, including gallery and museum work. Special attention is given to the relationship of art to other humanistic disciplines, as well as to a deeper understanding of art itself and the roles it plays in society. Studio courses are included as sound preparation in creative procedures. Courses related to the historic, philosophic, religious, and social backgrounds for art are recommended, along with a strong command of one or more foreign languages.
Internships
Art History majors at Arcadia are strongly encouraged to pursue internships at one of our many art spaces on campus, off-campus at one of the network of cultural institutions in our region, or through one of our study-abroad programs. These practical internship possibilities complement the Minor in Arts Entrepreneurship and Curatorial Studies. Internships may be arranged as two- or four-credit courses.
Most recently, students have gained hands-on experience in museums, such as the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia Art Museum, and the Michener Art Museum. If you are interested in a similar internship experience, contact your advisor who will pair you with an off-campus mentor at an area institution.
In your internship, you can gain practical experience:
- hanging work
- lighting shows
- writing wall text
- helping to plan openings
- assisting faculty research projects
Requirements
Credits
52 credits as listed below, with Undergraduate Curriculum requirements and electives to total 128 credits
Two Art History survey courses
- AH 111 Western Art: Renaissance to Modern
- AH 112 Western Art: Prehistory to Medieval
Seven Art History elective courses (28 credits)
Selected from the following:
- AH 220 Medieval Art
- AH 222 Early Renaissance Art
- AH 224 Baroque Art
- AH 225 Nineteenth-Century Art
- AH 226 History of Photography
- AH 228 High Renaissance and Mannerist Art
- AH 232 Art of Ancient Greece and Rome
- AH 234 Global Modernisms
- AH 235 Contemporary Art: 1945 to the Present
- AH 236 Latin American Art
- AH 240 African American Art History
- AH 323 Contemporary Curatorial Practices
- AH 324 Seminar: Art and the Italian Renaissance Court
- AH 325 Leonardo da Vinci: Art, Myth, and Innovation
- AH 327 Seminar: Make an Exhibition
- AH 329 Art Now: Special Topics in Contemporary Art
- AH 378 Art History/Curatorial Apprenticeship (2 or 4 credits)
- AH 385 Studies in the History of Art
Senior Capstone Experience
- AH 383 Capstone Research (2 credits)
- AH 490 Senior Thesis
The Senior Capstone represents the culmination of your art-historical studies at Arcadia. For this project, you will identify a topic of interest in consultation with your Art History thesis advisor and engage in an extended research project over the course of the senior year. In the spring semester, majors present their research in a public presentation as part of Arcadia’s Capstone Day celebrations. The senior thesis process provides you the opportunity to engage with a variety of methods and approaches to art history. The writing and critical thinking skills developed during the Capstone project serve well beyond your time at Arcadia.
Two Studio Requirements
- FA 102 Studio Art Foundations I (3 credits) or
- FA 104 Drawing I (3 credits)
- FA 103 Studio Art Foundations II (3 credits)
One Studio elective
From one of the following areas:
- Ceramics
- Graphic Design
- Metals and Jewelry
- Painting
- Photography
- Printmaking
- Digital Fabrication
- Digital Imaging
Recommended
Art History majors are encouraged to take courses related to their studies in other disciplines, such as English, Modern Languages, History, and Philosophy. Advisers assist in identifying appropriate courses.
