Bachelor of Arts in Art History

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About

Art historians study items that have an aesthetic quality and ask questions about the people and societies that construct/ed them. Graduates of our art history program often go on to further study and complete master’s degrees and/or PhDs. Students frequently gain employment in art-related areas such as museums, galleries, the care and maintenance of collections, conservation and heritage management. Some students enter the art market and even become practicing artists themselves.

As an art history major, you’ll get a foundational education in studio art. You’ll get hands-on experience with both 2D and 3D art and digital art. You’ll also learn how to conduct research in art history. In addition, you’ll choose from a wide variety of electives that cover art from different periods of history such as antiquity, the Renaissance and the modern era.

Curriculum & Requirements

Ready to declare an Art History Major? email the Art director for an appointment.

Curriculum & Requirements

Art History Major, Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Notes:

  • two years of a single high school foreign language or one year of a single college-level foreign language is required.
  • degree and program requirements may be updated annually–check the Catalog Archives for your major declaration year catalog. Authorized Art advisors may replace courses no longer taught with equivalent courses.
Required Foundation Courses
ART 201STUDIO I: IMAGE AND TECHNOLOGY5
ART 202STUDIO II: TECHNIQUES AND MATERIALS5
ARTH 210VISUAL CULTURE (a BACR for humanities and arts)5
or ART 213 THE VISUAL ART EXPERIENCE
Required Art History Core
ARTH 300ART ACROSS TIME: PREHISTORY TO 17TH CENTURY5
ARTH 302ART ACROSS TIME: 18TH CENTURY TO CONTEMPORARY5
ARTH/GWSS/HONS 303THE BODY IN ART (a UGR–diversity)5
Electives–choose from the following ART and ARTH courses15
INTERNSHIP (may be repeated for credit)
INTERNSHIP (may be repeated for credit)
WORLD ART (a UGR-global)
HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY
CONTEMPORARY ART
NATIVE NORTH AMERICAN ART (a UGR–diversity)
TOPICS IN ART HISTORY (may be repeated for credit)
Non-Art History Elective–in consultation with their faculty advisor, students choose 5 upper-division credits from this list of subject codes: ANTR, ART, CHST, CMST, CRWR, DSST, ECON, ENGL, FILM, FREN, GEOG, GERM, HIST, IDST, JAPN, PLAN, PHIL, PSYC, SOCI, SPAN, WMST.5
Required Professional Practices Course
ARTH 400WRITING ABOUT ART5
Required Senior Thesis
ARTH 491SENIOR THESIS (a UGR–capstone)5
Total Credits60

Catalog Listing

General Education

University Competencies and Proficiencies

English 
Quantitative and Symbolic Reasoning
Placement and Clearance Exams 
Prior Learning/Sources of Credit AP, CLEP, IB

General Education Requirements (GER)

  • Minimum Credits—180 cumulative credit hours 
    • 60 upper-division credits (300 level or above)
    • 45 credits in residence (attendance) at Eastern, with at least 15 upper-division credits in major in residence at Eastern
  • Minimum Cumulative GPA ≥2.0

Breadth Area Core Requirements (BACR)

Humanities and Arts 
Natural Sciences 
Social Sciences

University Graduation Requirements (UGR)

Diversity Course List
Foreign Language (for Bachelor of Arts)
Global Studies Course List
Minor or Certificate
Senior Capstone Course List

All admitted students must officially Declare a Major by the time they reach 90 credits (junior standing).
Application for Graduation (use EagleNET) must be made at least two terms in advance of the term you expect to graduate (undergraduate and post-baccalaureate).

Use the Catalog Archives to determine two important catalog years.

Degree Works calculates based on these two catalog years.

  1. The catalog in effect at the student's first term of current matriculation is used to determine BACR (Breadth Area Credit Requirements) and UGR (Undergraduate Graduation Requirements).
  2. The catalog in effect at the time the student declares a major or minor is used to determine the program requirements.

Program Learning Outcomes

Students who earn a BA in Art History at EWU should be able to do the following:  

  • formally analyze works of art using appropriate terminology. PLO-2;
  • interpret works of art using a core concept or theory. PLO-4;
  • interpret works of art within historical and cultural contexts. PLO-3;
  • write a well-crafted art-historical text for a specific audience. PLO-1.