Bachelor of Arts: Art History

Art History Curriculum

The general education fine arts course is a lecture-discussion course that introduces students to the characteristics and history of the visual arts.

Formal study of the history of art begins with survey courses. There are three such courses in Western art and two in non-Western art. There are no prerequisites for these courses, but sophomore standing or higher is advised. These courses are assigned 300-level numbers. They cannot be taken for graduate credit. Students are encouraged to take Art 301, 302 and 303 sequentially if possible.

Topical or specialized courses reflect the expertise and research strengths of the faculty members. The prerequisite for one of these courses is the relevant survey course, or permission of the instructor. These courses are assigned 400-level numbers, and they can be taken for either undergraduate or graduate credit.

Seminars are titled generically by major periods or cultural divisions in the history of art (e.g. Baroque art, 19th-century art). When a seminar is offered, a specific topic will be announced and listed in the schedule of classes. These are considered advanced-level courses and are thus assigned 400- and 500-level numbers. Enrollment will be granted by permission of the student's departmental adviser on the basis of previous study in art history or cognate fields. Undergraduate participation in a graduate-level seminar is feasible for selected students through enrollment in a suitably titled, independent-study course.

A small group of independent-study courses, titled generically by major periods or cultural divisions in the history of art, are assigned 490-level numbers. Enrollment in these courses is granted only by the instructor who will supervise the study. (These students are carried as an overload by the instructor except in special cases.) Graduate credit is possible only when a student is admitted to graduate study.

Cluster courses are taught through the program of integrated studies in the humanities. These are interdisciplinary courses offered in conjunction with one or more similar courses in cognate disciplines, but in our case, with an emphasis on the knowledge base appropriate to the history of art.

Degree Requirements

1. The three Western surveys: Art 301, Art 302, and Art 303.
2. At least three topical/specialized courses (400-level with at least two different faculty).
3. At least two non-Western courses (survey or topical/specialized).
4. At least nine hours of studio art: Art 112, Art 121 and Art 131 are recommended.
5. College-mandated capstone course: Art 482.
6. At least 12 hours each in two cognate fields (e.g. history, literature).

Grade-point Average Requirements

Any regularly admitted student can declare a major in art history. Art 110, Introduction to the Visual Arts, will not be accepted as one of the required art history courses. The department recommends that the foreign language requirement for the B.A. degree should be taken in either French or German.

For transfer students wishing to major in art history, an evaluation of previously completed courses in art history will be made at the time of their first meeting with a departmental adviser, and their departmental record will be annotated as to the equivalencies given to the UMKC requirements. In any case, regardless of the amount of previously completed art history courses, a transfer student majoring in art history must take at least two topical/specialized courses with two different faculty members.

The Combined Major in Art History and History

Enrollment in the combined program will be plotted by the coordinators of the program in both departments working individually with each student. A detailed set of requirements is available on request, but the combined major requires 39 hours with 18 specified hours in the primary department; nine specified hours in the secondary department; nine restricted elective hours; and a three-hour capstone course (directed studies) in which a student pursues a senior project related to a problem of study common to history and art history and directed by faculty members in both disciplines.

Minor in Art History