Total credit requirements for an Art History major: A student who enters Whitman without any prior college-level preparation in art history will have to complete 36 credits to fulfill the requirements for the Art History major.
- Required Courses
- Art History 203 and 490
- At least 4 and no more than 8 credits in Art History at the 100-level
- 8 credits chosen from Art History 210, 211, 228, and 229
- 8 credits in Art History at the 300-level
- Elective Courses
- 8 credits in Art History courses, transfer credits, or approved off-campus study or Whitman courses that focus on the functions and/or production of visual cultures, including studio art courses.
- No more than 4 credits taken at the 100-level may be applied as electives.
- No more than 6 credits of independent study and thesis courses (Art History 291, 292, 421, 422, 493, and 498) may be applied as electives.
- 8 credits in Art History courses, transfer credits, or approved off-campus study or Whitman courses that focus on the functions and/or production of visual cultures, including studio art courses.
- Senior Requirements
- Art History 490
- A written critical review of a piece of art historical scholarship
- An oral object analysis of a visual text or artifact
- Honors
- Students do not apply to admission to candidacy for honors.
- Receive an A- or higher in senior thesis.
- Pass the senior assessment with distinction.
- Major GPA of at least 3.500
- The department will notify the Registrar’s Office of students attaining honors by the third week in April for spring honors thesis candidates, and students’ registration will then be changed from Senior Thesis (Art History 493) to Honors Thesis (Art History 498).
- An acceptable digital copy of the honors thesis must be submitted to Penrose Library no later than Reading Day.
- Notes
- Students interested in writing a thesis enroll in Art History 421 (2 credits) in their final fall semester to develop an independent study proposal and annotated bibliography. If approved by Art History faculty, the proposal moves to the thesis writing stage as Art History 493 (4 credits) for the student’s spring semester.
- If an Art History major is also an Art major or minor, no course may be used to satisfy the requirements for both programs of study.
Total Credits
36