As a student majoring in art history, you will begin with courses
that survey the arts of Asia, Europe, and America. More
specialized lecture courses and proseminars follow in global art
and visual culture from ancient times to the present day.
Students majoring in Art History are expected to fully engage
with the wide-ranging opportunities its curriculum presents for
learning and research. Students who complete a B.A. in Art
History should have acquired the knowledge and skills listed
below. The many students who take Art History courses for General
Education credit or as a designated minor benefit from them as
well.
Students in a variety of majors find they benefit from an Art
History minor. Because upper-division courses in Art History have
no prerequisites, our minor conveniently fits into many academic
plans. Art History is both visually-oriented and analytical, and
because it is a writing discipline, the minor has also provided
an interesting and useful source of core GE credits (AH, VL, WC,
ACGH, WE).
ART HISTORY MINOR MUSEUM STUDIES – 20
UNITS
Effective Fall 2021
Interested Art History majors should take the Emphasis in Museum
Studies within the major. Beyond these requirements, one or
more internships (course 192) are highly recommended, registered
either through Art History or the department of the student’s
major.
The Honors Program in Art History, taken senior year, is
encouraged for Art History majors who are considering attending
graduate school. The program entails a sequence of three courses,
12 units total,in addition to the sixty
units required for the major:
You might want to approach your professors for letters of
recommendation. Professors get lots of these requests, and they
are very time-consuming—they’re not a casual task. For most
applications, letters of recommendation are critically
important to your success (they’re not just generic quick
character references, but detailed assessments tailored for each
student and each position). So follow these guidelines carefully,
and be prepared and proactive:
International experience is becoming more and more critical for
all fields of study, and Art History is no exception. As the
world gets more and more globalized, the ability to tackle
societal problems cross-culturally will continue to become
increasingly important.
The Art and Art History Club is open to all art studio and art
history majors, minors, and friends. Our purpose is to learn
about and discuss all things relating to art and art history. We
do this through open discussions at meetings, going on field
trips to art museums and galleries, watching art-related movies,
selling student-made art, and promoting art education. We are
working hard to create an art community among UC Davis
undergraduates.
