BA Requirements
In addition to the program requirements, students must
- earn a minimum final cumulative GPA of 2.000
- complete a minimum of 45 academic credit hours earned from UNC-Chapel Hill courses
- take at least half of their major core requirements (courses and credit hours) at UNC-Chapel Hill
- earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.000 in the major core requirements. Some programs may require higher standards for major or specific courses.
For more information, please consult the degree requirements section of the catalog.
Core Requirements
Two art history foundation courses from ARTH 100 to ARTH 200 (6 hours)
Nine ARTH courses above 200, apportioned in the following way (27 hours):
- At least one course from three of four geographic areas (see below)
- At least one course from each of the three chronological periods (see below)
- At least three courses must be numbered above 399
- NOTE: A first-year seminar taught by an art history faculty member may substitute for one art history course numbered between 201 and 399. Students may also substitute an ARTS (Studio Art) course for one art history course numbered between 201 and 399
ARTH 391: Undergraduate Research Seminar (3 hours) NOTE: This course is offered in three chronological topic areas. It is strongly recommended that students take this seminar no later than the spring of their junior year. The department schedules ARTH 391 every other year, but occasionally that schedule is disrupted. If ARTH 391 has not been offered during a student’s junior or senior year in the major, the student may satisfy the requirement with an ARTH course numbered above 399 in addition to the three required as part of the nine ARTH courses above 200
Total Hours = 36
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 1300–1800 (II) | ||
| Women in the Visual Arts I | ||
| Art and Architecture of Viceregal Latin America | ||
| Art of the Aztec Empire | ||
| 1800–Present (III) | ||
| First-Year Seminar: African American Art of the Carolinas | ||
| First-Year Seminar: Art, Money, and the Market | ||
| Latin American Modernisms | ||
| Art of Exchange and Exploration: Early America and the Globe | ||
| Art Since 1960 | ||
| African American Art Survey | ||
| Fashioning Identities | ||
| Modern Architecture | ||
| Pop Art and Its Legacy | ||
| 20th-Century African American Art | ||
| Seen, Unseen, and Suggested: Representation and Hollywood Film Censorship | ||
| The Mexican Mural Renaissance, 1921-1945 | ||
| Brazilian Modernism | ||
| Art of the Harlem Renaissance | ||
| Introduction to Museum Studies | ||
| Art and Money | ||
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Prehistoric–1300 (I) | ||
| First-Year Seminar: Cathedrals, Abbeys, Castles: Gothic Art and Architecture (c. 1130-1450) | ||
| Archaeology of Egypt | ||
| Roman Art and Archaeology | ||
| Medieval Art in Western Europe | ||
| Medieval Iconography H | ||
| Hellenistic Art and Archaeology (350-31 BCE) | ||
| Cathedrals, Abbeys, Castles: Gothic Art and Architecture (c. 1130-1450) | ||
| Saints in Medieval Art | ||
| Cathedrals, Abbeys, Castles: Gothic Art and Architecture, ca.1130-1500 | ||
| Greek Architecture | ||
| Architecture of Etruria and Rome | ||
| History of the Illuminated Book | ||
| Roman Sculpture | ||
| Roman Painting | ||
| Art and Archaeology of Achaemenid Persia | ||
| 1300–1800 (II) | ||
| First-Year Seminar: Art, Gender, and Power in Early Modern Europe H | ||
| Northern European Art: Van Eyck to Bruegel | ||
| European Baroque Art | ||
| 18th-Century Art | ||
| The Arts in England, 1450-1650 H | ||
| Art and the History of Museums, 1750-2000 | ||
| Late Medieval Art | ||
| The Renaissance Portrait | ||
| Visual Art in the Age of Revolution | ||
| German and Netherlandish Renaissance | ||
| The City as Monument H | ||
| City, Architecture, Art: Nuremberg as a European Artistic Center,1300-1600 | ||
| Northern European Art of the 14th and 15th Centuries | ||
| Early Modern Art, 1400-1750 H | ||
| 1800–Present (III) | ||
| First-Year Seminar: Art, War, and Revolution H | ||
| Modernism I: Realism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism | ||
| Picturing Paris: 1800-2000 | ||
| Modernism II: 1905-1960 | ||
| Early Modern and Modern Decorative Arts | ||
| Monuments and Memory | ||
| No Chronological Classification | ||
| The Art of Dying Well: Death and Commemoration in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Times | ||
| Studies in the History of Graphic Art | ||
| H | = Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply. |
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 1800–Present (III) | ||
| African Art and Culture | ||
| Art, Culture, and Power in Africa | ||
| Arts of Southern Africa | ||
| Clothing and Textiles in Africa | ||
| Arts of West Africa | ||
| Art of African Independence | ||
| Art and Colonialism: France in Africa/Africa in France | ||
| Islam and African Art | ||
| Africa and Masks | ||
| Africa in the American Imagination H | ||
| Contemporary African Art | ||
| Urban Africa and Global Mobility | ||
| H | = Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply. |
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 1800–Present (III) | ||
| First-Year Seminar: World’s Fairs | ||
| First-Year Seminar: Picturing Nature | ||
| First-Year Seminar: Art and Technology | ||
| Making Material Histories: A Makerspace Course | ||
| Objects, Museums, and Meanings H | ||
| Picture That: History of Photography from Tintypes to Instagram | ||
| Women in the Visual Arts II | ||
| The Body in Social Theory and Visual Representation | ||
| Theories of Modern Art | ||
| Cultural Politics in Contemporary Art | ||
| Current Issues in Art | ||
| History and Theory of Museums | ||
| H | = Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply. |
Note: First-year students and sophomores who plan to major in Art History should consult with their College of Arts and Sciences/General College Advisor to plan their course work. Rising juniors should meet with their College of Arts and Sciences/General College advisor as well as their assigned faculty advisor for Art History about their program of study and concentration. Questions about credit for courses taken elsewhere, including Study Abroad courses, should be directed to the Undergraduate Advisor for Art History. General questions about the major can be directed to the Director of Undergraduate Studies for Art History.
Full catalog of undergraduate Art History courses: Undergraduate Courses
The Minor in Art History
Students majoring in another department may elect to pursue a minor in art history. The minor consists of five courses at any level in art history. Studio art majors may not pursue an art history minor.
Independent Study
Students may pursue independent study coursework with individual faculty members. Such work may be undertaken only with the permission
of the sponsoring faculty member. Students should consult individual faculty members prior to registration to secure permission. A proposal
and a contract must be approved by the appropriate director of undergraduate studies (studio art or art history) before students may enroll in ARTH 396. Since faculty members are limited to supervising only two independent study students each semester, students are strongly advised to contact the faculty member with whom they wish to work early in the registration period for the upcoming semester.
Independent study work requires a minimum of three hours per week per credit hour. For example, a typical three-credit-hour class would require at least nine hours of work per week. Once the semester begins, students must meet with the faculty member initially to confirm goals, review expectations, and establish semester deadlines. Thereafter, students must meet regularly to review work in progress, with a suggested biweekly frequency. Total time spent in direct interaction with the faculty member for the semester must average 45 minutes per week. This may be in the form of face-to-face meetings, blog or e-mail exchanges, or group critiques with other independent study students and their advisors.
Foreign Languages
Art History majors are strongly encouraged to study languages beyond the University requirement. Students planning to study Art History at the graduate level should be aware that virtually all graduate programs in Art History require an advanced reading knowledge of French or German, as well as any other languages necessary for the student’s area of specialization.
Transfer Students
The University accepts six semester hours in Art from students transferring from other institutions. Students interested in obtaining additional transfer credits must meet with the Undergraduate Advisor for Art History. A minimum of 18 credit hours in Art History at UNC-Chapel Hill (or through a study-abroad program sponsored by UNC-Chapel Hill) is required for the BA in Art History.
Courses Overseas
Students are encouraged to pursue study abroad opportunities. While there are many opportunities to study art abroad, the Department of Art and Art History maintains a special affiliation with the Studio Art Centers International (SACI) and the Lorenzo di Medici — both in Florence, Italy — and the Glasgow School of Art in Scotland. Students should discuss their study abroad plans with the undergraduate advisor in studio art to obtain prior approval for courses taken abroad. Basically, courses that have an equivalent in the UNC-Chapel Hill curriculum usually are approved. Courses that fall outside the UNC-Chapel Hill curriculum must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. No guarantee exists that a course will transfer for credit unless preapproved. Contact the Study Abroad Office to discuss the procedures for approval.
Internships
Art and art history majors are encouraged to pursue internships at local, regional, or national arts institutions or businesses. Students have worked in many art career contexts including museums and galleries, arts programming, and local businesses specializing in art-related production (photo studios, printmaking studios, illustration, design firms, and publishing). The departmental majors’ Sakai site has useful information about the requirements and how to set up the contracts for ARTH 293 and ARTS 493 as well as a partial listing of organizations that have worked with our students in the past. If you would like to discuss specific ideas about a possible internship, speak to any faculty member or the relevant director of undergraduate studies (art history or studio). All internships taken for UNC credit are subject to governmental guidelines, and students must have internships preapproved and under contract before enrolling for either ARTH 293 or ARTS 493.