ACADEMICS - Art History

The B.A. in Art History offered by the Department of Fine Arts, with its focus on active looking, critical writing, research and experience, is an excellent preparation for a variety of careers or graduate programs in the arts, but also nurtures the types of skills essential for a richer encounter with our own visual and material culture. Courses for both majors and non-majors are frequently designed in conjunction with museum exhibitions, gallery events and performances; whenever possible students experience works of art at first hand and participate in partnerships with local arts organizations, including internship opportunities. Most recently, students have held internships at Open Satellite, Seattle Art Museum, and the Frye Art Museum, among others. 

Local Resources for Art History

All Art History courses require students to visit local museums and collections to complete written assignments. The three collections of the Seattle Art Museum (the main downtown collection, the Asian Art Museum and the Olympic Sculpture Park) and the museum library provide a rich set of resources for art historical study. The Frye Art Museum, within walking distance to campus and always free to the public, also serves as a great resource for Art History students. Its proximity facilitated the internship program described above.

In upper-level courses and seminars there are often guest lectures by artists, curators, critics and gallery owners and these courses also often include off-campus visits to museums, local collections and public art works. Seattle Art Museum curators, in particular, have been especially willing to lead tours and discussions on curatorial practice for upper-level courses. On one recent occasion, local artists collaborated with students in an ART 460 seminar, “Space & Site in Contemporary Art,” to create a work and performance about the nature of public art at the SAM Olympic Sculpture Park. 

Degree Program in Art History

An Art History major is 55 credits, including: 

ART 100 Design and Color (5 credits)
ART 120 Drawing I (5 credits)
ART 211 Survey of Western Art I, Ancient -> Medieval (5 credits)
ART 212 Survey of Western Art II, Renaissance -> Modern (5 credits)
ART 214 Global Topics in Art History (5 credits)
ART 411 Theory and Methods in Art History (5 credits)
ART 460 Art History Seminar (5 credits)
Art History Electives at the 300-400 level (20 credits; 5 credits may be studio) 

Art History Electives include: 

ART 214 Global Topics in Art History (5 credits; may be repeated)
ART 310 Art Since 1945 (5 credits)
ART 316 History of Modernism (5 credits)
ART 317 History of Photography (5 credits)
ART 496 Frye Museum Gallery Guide (5 credits)
ART 496 Internships (variable credits) 
Among others… 
  

For more detailed information regarding the degree program in Art History and other Fine Arts programs, visit the Online Catalog.