Art History

Art history prepares students to lead a more meaningful life. The vital skills of critical visual thinking, careful research, lucid writing, and persuasive argumentation developed through studying art history effectively prepare students for many potential career paths. In examining some of the most significant expressions of creativity in history, art history students gain profound insight into human experiences both past and present.

In the simplest terms, art history students explain why a work of art looks as it does. To answer this question, students learn to employ both evidence from the artwork itself and an understanding of the historical context in which the artwork originated. This requires developing critical visual thinking skills, which they use to discern precisely and articulate clearly how an artwork functions expressively. At the same time, students build critical reading and creative thinking skills, since art history often draws upon other disciplines—not just history, but also economics, religion, sociology, literature, and anthropology for instance—when forming an explanation for why an artwork appears as it does. Consequently, art history students become sharply perceptive, adept at research, skillful at presenting evidence and crafting arguments, and effective at thinking creatively and critically across disciplines. These durable skills are prized by employers and prepare art history students for any professional endeavor.

The Art History Program offers a range of degree options, which allows students to create a path of study that best aligns with their interests and aspirations. Students can obtain a Bachelor of Arts while majoring in visual arts with a concentration in art history or InterArts. Students can also pursue an interdisciplinary major combining art history with another area of study. Minors in art history and InterArts are also available.

Our course offerings include survey courses that provide students with a broad overview of the art and architecture of specific historical periods, while also introducing students to the practice of art history as a discipline. We also offer a broad range of upper-level courses on topics such as Renaissance art, the history of posters, African American art, the history of photography, medieval art, art in the Age of Encounter, impressionism, Greek and Roman art, Islamic art, and museum studies. These upper-level courses delve into historical contexts and grapple with challenging questions while also focusing on helping students hone their skills at visual analysis, critical reading, and writing.

Loyola’s Art History Program is distinguished by our emphasis on experiential learning, our investment in open and rigorous intellectual inquiry, and our commitment to the learning and success of each individual student. Experiential learning provides a bedrock for our program. We frequently visit local museums—sometimes going behind-the-scenes—to study artworks close at hand. In our classes, students confront real artworld challenges, such as designing exhibitions, questioning established assumptions, and considering the repatriation of artworks.

We are also set apart from other art history programs by our anchoring in Jesuit education. For our students this means developing a distinctively broad intellectual outlook based upon a wide interdisciplinary range of courses explored through Loyola’s Core curriculum. Art history students also experience the dedicated attention and care from faculty characteristic of the Jesuit ideal of cura personalis, or care for the whole person.

The Julio Fine Arts Gallery is a thriving art exhibition space at the heart of campus. In addition to regularly seeing new art by members of the campus community and professional artists in the wider region, the Gallery presents students with opportunities to gain hands-on art world experience. Loyola Notre Dame Library, with its holdings of artworks, rare books, and archival materials, provides further opportunities for students to conduct original research and participate in creating exhibitions. A generous gift from the Sehn family enables the Visual and Performing Arts Department to bring guest speakers to campus and allows students the opportunity to attend conferences and visit exhibitions.

Art history students benefit from the abundance of local galleries and art institutions, which present myriad opportunities for learning and inspiration, as well as potential internships, volunteer work, and research possibilities. Baltimore is home to a vibrant art scene, fascinating architecture, and two world-class museums in the Walters Art Museum and the Baltimore Museum of Art, as well as several smaller museums, such as the Evergreen Museum, located mere steps from Loyola’s Evergreen Campus. Washington, D.C., among its treasure trove of museums and monuments, boasts the National Gallery of Art, the Phillips Collection, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, and the Smithsonian Institution, which encompasses museums of African art, American art, Asian art, and Modern and Contemporary art.

Loyola maintains a robust study abroad program, with over 60% of undergraduates participating in the program by graduation. Art history students are well prepared to make the most of their encounters with artworks, architecture, monuments, and museums wherever they travel. Loyola’s study abroad programs in Rome, Athens, and Leuven, Belgium, are especially appealing to art history students. The Art History Program also offers a summer program in Italy.

With the abundance of museums and cultural foundations in Baltimore and the region, there are ample opportunities for internships for art history students looking to explore careers, gain experience, and burnish their resumés. Art history students have interned at the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Walters, and other area institutions. They have also received summer internships at the Hirshhorn, the Whitney, the Metropolitan Museum, and many others. The Art History Program can also provide funding to support students who take unpaid internships.

An art history degree opens doors of possibility. Many of our graduates have gone on to receive advanced degrees and now work in museums and the art world. The strong intellectual and professional foundation provided by our program is also underscored by the fact that many other art history graduates now enjoy successful careers in business, university administration, primary and secondary education, law, and medicine.

Art history students may elect to pursue an advanced degree in the discipline or a graduate degree in museum studies. An undergraduate art history degree also prepares students for graduate study in many areas within the arts and humanities. More broadly, an art history major or minor combined with coursework in other disciplines also serves as excellent preparation for graduate programs in professional fields.