WELCOME FROM THE CHAIR

Thank you for your interest in the Department of Art History at Rice University.  In 2009-2010, our department will consist of eleven full-time faculty, two postdoctoral fellows, and three visiting professors, including a museum curator.  Our program's main areas of focus are modern and contemporary art (including film), medieval and early modern art in Asia, Europe, and Middle East, and the ancient world.  We offer a breadth of methodologies, including theoretical analysis and hands-on investigation of artworks.  

We maintain close connections with Houston museums, especially the Menil Collection and the Museum of Fine Arts, where we offer fellowships that enable students to work with collections and curatorial staff.  Students may also apply for summer travel funds in the U.S. and abroad.  For more about Houston’s art museums and our fellowships, click here.

Last year the department revised our requirements for the major to offer three different tracks.  In addition to the regular major, students may choose to pursue honors or a special track focusing on the history of architecture.  Students at Rice for whom art history is their primary major go on to attend the best graduate schools in the field and achieve professional success as academics and curators. Other majors have chosen a broad variety of career paths, including law, medicine, and business.  In a world that is increasingly dominated by visual imagery, the study of art history provides invaluable training, and art history majors at Rice also develop strong writing and analytical skills.  For the undergraduate major, click here.

This year begins the first year of our doctoral program, which has been funded in large part to a grant from the Brown Foundation and generous individual donors.

The Art History department also plays a vital role in introducing the public to research in the field through our conferences and lectures.  Click here to see a list of upcoming events.

Should you have any questions about any of our programs, please contact our Administrator, Lucinda Cannady,  at lcannady@rice.edu or the Chair at wolfthal@rice.edu.

Welcome to our website and our department.
Diane Wolfthal