Art History and Visual Arts

What Columbia University says about their program:

Art History and Visual Arts is an undergraduate programme at Columbia University. A major, minor, or concentration in the Department of Art History and Archaeology lays the basis for pursuing a variety of careers in and beyond the scholarly pursuit of the history of art, museum work, and work in the commercial art world of galleries and auction houses. The visual study of the world around us continues to increase in importance as global communication becomes more often based in visual media, and understanding the sources and significance of images that form a common language of communication is crucial for anyone who aspires to play an active part in society. Art History majors have gone on to graduate education as well as careers in law, medicine, business, and academe, among others.

Critical study teaches not only the particulars of the art, archaeology, and architecture under study, but also the broader analytical and synthetic skills needed for mature, reasoned, and inventive solutions to broad‐based questions in any field, with particular emphasis on the analysis of visual culture. As one of the largest Art History departments in the world, the Columbia–Barnard faculty include specialists in the art and architecture of an impressive spectrum of cultures and geographies from the Ancient Near East to Contemporary Global Art History. The curriculum offers coursework in the Pre‐Columbian New World; in the art and architecture of Africa, of the Indian Subcontinent, of China, of Japan; in addition to many aspects of the art and architecture of North America and Europe, including African‐American and diasporic art, and the art of First Nations in the Americas. Methodological approaches offered by the curriculum are equally diverse, including courses which explicitly address issues of gender and race. Several members of the faculty have extensive curatorial experience and regularly offer courses which comprise instruction in the history of collecting, display, and museum practices. Department courses take advantage of the extraordinary cultural resources of New York City and often involve museum assignments and trips to local monuments.

Surveys and advanced lecture courses offered by the Columbia and Barnard art history departments cover art history from antiquity to the present and introduce students to a wide range of materials and methodologies. Limited-enrollment seminars have a narrower focus than lectures and offer intensive instruction in research and writing. The opportunity for advanced research or a senior thesis is available to students who qualify.

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