Explore the rich history of artistic expression with a BA in art history. As a student, you’ll extend your critical thinking skills through engaging coursework while diving into your own unique areas of interest. Whether you take a course on Islamic mosques, Medieval saints or women and art, you'll explore how the visual arts reflect and shape cultures. We’ll help you combine classroom skills with career-relevant experience to form a diverse, solid and professional skill set.
Denver’s many art institutions allow us to offer both academic knowledge and hands-on experience. Students frequently work on projects at the Denver Art Museum, the Clyfford Still Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver. Students also have access to employment, volunteer and classroom opportunities at the University of Denver’s Vicki Myhren Gallery and the Madden Museum of Fine Art.
Annual Art History Student Symposium
The Student Art History Symposium takes place every spring. Eight to ten students are selected to present their research papers to an audience of peers and faculty. Past research has been on topics such as Eastern European public sculpture and Banksy's street art.
This event serves as an opportunity to have your work recognized and critiqued by a wider audience. Each year one undergraduate student is chosen to represent the department at the annual regional symposium to renowned art historians from the Front Range.
Why Study Art History At DU?
Students refine their writing while developing analytical and critical skills, both of which are assets when securing employment.
The University’s Vicki Myhren Gallery and Madden Museum of Fine Art give students opportunities for hands-on experiences that supplement their classroom learning.
We introduce students to internationally renowned visiting artists, curators and scholars to expand their professional network.
Degree Requirements
- To major in Art History, you will complete 60 credits. This includes 48 credits in art history and 12 credits in studio art.
- For distinction in the major you will need to maintain a minimum 3.3 GPA in the major, 3.5 cumulative GPA, complete three 3000-level art history courses and complete a senior paper.
- BA students may combine majors or minors within the School of Art and Art History, but no reduction in total credits will be allowed.
- For the secondary major you will complete 60 credits.
- For the Art History minor you will complete 24 credits, including a World Art class and five electives.
See the DU Undergraduate Bulletin for full program requirements.
Application Information
Featured Courses
ARTH 3656
Curatorial Practicum
About this Course
Students will work in curatorial teams to plan and execute an effective exhibition of contemporary art. This process may include choosing a theme and selecting works of art, researching artists and themes, budgets, scheduling, developing an exhibition checklist, modeling the gallery, visual exhibition design, conservation and collections management factors, shipping, installation, educational outreach to the public, publicity and other issues related to exhibition planning.
ARTH 3850
Art and the History of Science
About this Course
This class explores the connections between art and the history of science, using a broad span of visual material, mainly European art from the Middle Ages to the present. Coverage of the material is thematic, focusing on three major categories: Art and the Natural World; Art and the Human Body; and Art and the Human Mind. We read a wide variety of art historical articles and selected chapters that examine works of art related in the first section to astrology, astronomy and alchemy; botanical, zoological and geological illustration; and color theory, perspective, optics, maps, contemporary earthworks and ecology. In the second section, we explore the evolution of anatomic illustration, as well as mythic, religious and genre images related to medicine, pharmacy and healing as well as works by contemporary artists who are concerned with genetic codes, hybridization and cloning. In the third section, we examine depictions of human temperaments, emotions and madness through the images of selected artists.
Ready to gain a strong, wide-ranging understanding of Art History?
Immerse yourself in the rich history of artistic expression.