Art History
Events & Activities in Art History at UK - for more information about the University of Kentucky Art History program.
Overview
The Art Department offers a Major (B.A.) and a Minor in Art History. Students in the Masters (M.A.) program in Art history may select either the thesis (Plan A) or the non-thesis option (Plan B).
Vision
Because today’s society is image-based, the ability of art history to interpret the role of images in culture makes it an intellectual endeavor central to an undergraduate education. Art History has a natural affinity with all disciplines involved with design – architecture, visual arts, interior and landscape design, and communications. Because it examines images within a global context and as part of visual culture, art history intersects not only with the liberal arts but with the social sciences as well.
Mission
The Art Department believes its mission is to integrate art history more fully in today’s undergraduate education and to collaborate across the university and within the community. Art history focuses on the visual arts within a broad liberal arts tradition. Besides a sound foundation in the history of art and art historical methodology, it equips majors with skills in visual analysis, critical reading, research, problem solving, communication (oral and written), and collaboration.
One of the advantages of art history is its interdisciplinary nature. The major requires fifteen hours of related electives that may be taken from a broad range of liberal arts, social science, creative arts, and professional fields. This generous number of electives enables undergraduates to explore a variety of disciplines or, for those who are interested, to minor in another area or even earn a second, related major. In the past Art History majors have earned minors or double majors in such disciplines as English, French, German, History, Interior Design, Architecture, Art Studio and Arts Administration.
At the graduate level, Art History serves students with a diversity of goals: those aiming for subsequent doctoral study and an academic career, those preparing for professional careers in art museums, as well as those pursuing graduate studies for more general professional and personal enrichment. The curriculum exposes graduate students to a broad array of art-historical specializations -- from European to American to non-Western art -- as well as diverse methodologies. The degree prepares candidates for professional placements in museums, galleries, or other arts organizations or to pursue further graduate study in Art History or related fields such as Arts Administration.
Undergraduate and graduate students can benefit from a growing research collection in The Lucille Caudill Little Fine Arts Library and the Visual Resource Collection, the Department of Arts repository of traditional and digitized images. Collaboration with the University of Kentucky Art Museum and other regional arts organizations provide access to a rich selection of internship opportunities.