The Honors Program in Art History offers talented majors the opportunity to take an active role in their own learning and to pursue their interests in-depth. Honors and independent study courses help students develop important skills of life-long learning, especially those involving critical thinking, writing, and research that will be useful in graduate study or future careers. Students apply (via the undergraduate art history advisor) no earlier than Spring of the sophomore year and no later than the last day of the Spring semester of the junior year. The application should include a half-page proposal of the research project. Once accepted, students will be assigned to a faculty mentor. Financial assistance is also available for honors students to conduct research between their junior and senior years.
To remain in the Honors Program students must maintain a grade point average of 3.3 or higher and receive an A or A- in both semesters of the Honors Thesis. Students who maintain a grade point average of 3.7 or higher and who receive an A in both semesters of the Honors Thesis may be awarded high honors by vote of the department. If students are not able to maintain the requirements of the honors program, or if they do not receive 3.3 or higher each semester, they can still graduate with the regular art history major or the specialization in architectural history.
Twelve courses required whether single or double major
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at least two courses (200-400 level) ancient-medieval (premodern)
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at least two courses (200-400 level) Renaissance-18th century (early modern)
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at least two courses (200-400 level) 19th century-present (modern to contemporary)
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at least six courses must be at the 300-400 level
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of the twelve courses, at least three courses must be seminars
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two-semester senior thesis (six credits total)
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of the courses listed above, at least two (200-400 level) must be from the Asian, Middle East/Islamic, and Latin American traditions or any course pre-approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
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The honors track is excellent preparation for any student who wants to go on to study art history at the graduate level. Since knowledge of foreign languages is important for graduate study in art history, acquiring proficiency in at least one foreign language is strongly encouraged.
Honors Thesis Schedule
Students register for Honors Thesis 402 in Fall semester, and Honors Theses HART 403 in Spring semester, of their senior year. Students generally spend the fall semester conducting research on their topic and spring semester writing the thesis. The final result is a 25-30 pp. paper with an original statement, well supported by research. Students' interpretative, analytical, research, and writing skills evidenced in the thesis are expected to approach graduate-level work.
The final step of the Honors Thesis is the defense, in which students present their thesis to the faculty and students of the Art History department in a 20-minute talk, followed by 20 minutes of questions and discussions.
In addition, Art History majors are encouraged to take advantage of the opportunities provided by museum internships, study abroad programs, and travel fellowships.
