Majors & Minor

The Twin Cities metro area is a vibrant cultural center, which ranks fifth in the nation in the Creative Vitality Index for its diverse arts events, extensive nonprofit arts venues, and deep private and public support of the arts. It is home to world class art museums such as the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Walker Art Center, the Minnesota Museum of American Art, the Rochester Art Center, and the Weisman Art Museum.

Our faculty have longstanding connections to these institutions and integrate their collections and touring exhibitions into our courses. They are rich resources for students who conduct research in their archives and libraries, who gain exposure to internationally famous artworks, artists, and visiting scholars through their programming, and who take advantage of the extensive internship opportunities they provide.

Our award winning faculty offer an array of innovative and dynamic classes ranging across historical periods and geographic regions, including: Age of Curiosity, Art and the Environment, Age of Empire: Ottomans, Safavids, Mughals, Art, Law, and Ethics, Cinema Now, and Photo Nation. Students study directly with internationally recognized research faculty in small classes and undergraduate seminars.

Majors in art history are required to fulfill a variety of distribution requirements across geographic regions and historical eras; one studio art class is also required for the major. Most classes have no prerequisites. The 30-unit credit for the major makes it an attractive option for double-majors and transfer students. Students considering pursuing graduate-level work in the discipline should aim to take more than the required two 5xxx-level courses, with as many professors in the department as possible; they should also strongly consider making French or German their chosen second language.