BA in Art History in Chicago United States | University of Chicago

Art history explores visual arts, architecture, and material culture across diverse regions and historical eras. Courses in this field enhance students' abilities in visual assessment, interpreting imagery and texts, utilizing historical resources, and participating in academic discussions. Viewed this way, art study forms part of a comprehensive liberal arts education, cultivating critical thinking, structured reasoning, and articulate communication—skills fundamental to numerous disciplines. While upholding the University of Chicago's intellectual traditions, the art history major equips students for graduate studies and various professions requiring visual expertise, design, investigation, and evaluation. The Bachelor of Arts in art history offers students extensive knowledge of artistic works, including architecture, while allowing focused exploration of specialized interests. Key program elements include: a customized Special Field developed with faculty advisors, coursework beyond the specialization, at least two art history research papers (drawn from departmental courses), and a third-year seminar on methodologies and key topics. Senior students pursuing honors undertake independent research on self-selected subjects, crafting a BA Paper under faculty and graduate mentor supervision.