• About the Program
• First Year Focus
• Degree Requirements and Honors
• Advising
• Forms and Procedures
• Student Activities and Events
• Student Awards and Achievements
• Undergraduate Research Opportunities
• Campus and Area Resources

First Year Focus

Welcome, 1^st year students!  Interested in majoring in Art History?  Read on!

• Why study Art History?
• AP Credits
• Good classes for freshmen
• Advising

WHY STUDY ART HISTORY?

Art History provides an excellent opportunity to develop the essential skills and talents that lie at the core of a good liberal arts education, including informed and critical reading, writing, and speaking. In Art History, we study the art and architecture of cultures around the world and across the millennia. We take a variety of approaches to our objects, but focus on understanding their aesthetic and historical significance as well as their social relevance and formal characteristics. We ask how people make meaning in visual terms and, in turn, how we read and understand a world that is largely presented to us as visual information. Since Chicago is fortunate enough to boast a large number of world-famous museum collections and some of the world’s most extraordinary architecture, many of our classes emphasize on-site study and field trips.

A major in Art History is designed to provide knowledge of a geographically and historically diverse corpus of artworks and related cultural practices. With its broad historical, cultural, geographic, and methodological range, Art History satisfies the expectations of burgeoning specialists while it also offers an excellent formation for those who intend to specialize in other areas including law, medicine, business, international relations, politics, or education.

AP CREDITS

Our department awards 1 Art History credit towards the major or minor for students who receive a score of 5 on the Art History Advanced Placement Exam. This credit transfers to count for 1 single 200-level class, of which 2 are required for the major and/or minor. 

The Art History AP exam does not transfer towards any of the required Distribution Credits.

GOOD CLASSES FOR FRESHMEN

There are no placement exams for 1^st year students and you are welcome to enroll in whatever class you’d like, with the proviso that it is best to start with a 200-level course with a broad area of focus.

ADVISING

You can take a look at major and minor requirements on our website, but if you have questions about our major and our courses, please contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Professor Hannah Feldman at h-feldman@northwestern.edu. Professor Feldman processes all Declarations of Major and Minor so you need to make an appointment to see her if you want to join us as either a major or minor.

For general information about advising in Weinberg College, go to:

Weinberg College:  http://www.weinberg.northwestern.edu/advising/index.html