Minimum Requirement 13 c.u.
1. History of Art 001 and 002* are required. Prospective majors are advised to take both courses very early in their undergraduate program and to discuss a course of study with the undergraduate chair when they begin to consider majoring in art history, preferably in the fall of their sophomore year.
2. All majors in History of Art must earn a minimum of 13 c.u. in departmental courses, including two that may be art-history related. (The Honors Program requires 14 c.u.) The 200- and 400-level courses must be distributed among chronological areas as follows, with at least two in each time period: ancient to 400 AD, 400-1400, 1400-1800, and 1800 to the present. It is required that at least one of 200 or 400-level course be in the arts of Asia, Africa, or the Americas ('Non-Western').
3. Students will take two seminars with department faculty at the 300 level. These may be taken at any time but students are advised to distribute them over a period of four semesters. Please note that the requirement for sophomore and senior seminars as given in earlier bulletins is now abolished.
4. Students are encouraged to take as many as two related courses in
other departments in fulfillment of these requirements. Such courses fall
into several categories and are treated differently: (a) any course in Fine
Arts or DOE 200 may be counted toward the requirement, but no more than one
such course may be counted; (b) courses that deal with art historical subjects
in other departments (notably Anthropology, Classical Studies, and Historic
Preservation) may be counted, subject to the case-by-case approval of the undergraduate
chair; (c) courses that are broadly relevant to the study of art history (e.g.,
aesthetics) may be counted, subject to the approval of the undergraduate chair;
and (d) courses that are relevant to the studentās demonstrated area of special
interest in art history (e.g., courses in the history, literature, third-year
language, or philosophy of the period or region of interest) may be counted,
subject to the approval of the undergraduate chair; (e) on-site study, or courses
taken abroad. Categories b, c, and d will require the review of a course
syllabus by the undergraduate chair.
See "sample"majors worksheet.
7. As many as three courses may be taken abroad in Penn programs. They should be chosen in consultation with the undergraduate chair. Under no circumstances will credit be given for ARTH 001, 002, 101, or 102 taken elsewhere. Thus students considering becoming art history majors must take 001 and 002* early in their undergraduate careers.
8. A comprehensive examination is taken by all majors in the spring semester of the senior year and must be passed for graduation.
9. The Department of the History of Art does not require majors to enroll in specific major-related courses. Nevertheless, it is expected that majors will seek to broaden their comprehension of the cultural and historical origins of the arts with elective courses. The undergraduate chair assists majors in choosing electives suited to their areas of particular interest. Majors who intend to continue their studies in graduate school are particularly encouraged to select electives in literature (classical and post-classical) and history.
10. Language requirements are not a formal part of the major, but all majors are strongly advised to take at least three years of French or German. A reading knowledge of one of these languages is useful for advanced work in the major and both are essential for graduate work in the field. In addition, languages necessary to continued work in special fields (ancient Greek, Latin, Italian, Arabic, Hindi, Sanskrit, etc.) should be acquired as early as possible.
11. During their senior year art history majors are encouraged to attend the faculty colloquium series during the fall.
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*ARTH 001 and ARTH 002 replaces ARTH 101 and ARTH 102 in the daytime. While ARTH 101 and ARTH 102 continues to be offered in the evening and during the summer sessions, it will satisfy Distribution Requirement III: Arts and Letters for CGS students ONLY.