Honors Program

Honors program

Departmental Honors are offered for both concentrations. Departmental Honors offers students an opportunity to pursue advanced independent research in a carefully defined project supervised by a member of the Art History faculty. Honors candidates must have a GPA of 3.5 in the major and must obtain the agreement of a member of the faculty to serve as advisor.

Fifty percent (50%) of the required coursework for the major must be advanced (300 level and above). Not more than 4 credit hours, equivalent to one of the required advanced-level courses, may be an independent study (ARTH 397).

Majors in Art History may elect the Pass/Fail grade option in only two ARTH courses (or a total of 8 credits). These courses may not include ARTH 496: Theories and Methods or ARTH 498-499: Honors Thesis. Courses passed with a grade of D do not fulfill requirements for the major.

Transfer credits toward the Art History major must be reviewed by the department. A maximum of 16 credits at the 100- and 200-levels may be accepted. All 300- and 400- level courses must be completed in residence.

All art history majors are advised to take at least two courses in other departments that relate specifically to their art historical work. Such courses might include the history, politics and/or literature of a temporal period or geographical region, or courses in philosophy, sociology, and/or anthropology. In addition, the department strongly advises majors to acquire a reading knowledge of French, German, or a research language appropriate to their field of interest. Courses should be selected with the advice of the Director of Undergraduate Studies. The department also encourages the pursuit of study abroad opportunities related to research interests, when feasible.