Majors & Minors

Art history is the study of art objects and their relationship to culture. Courses in art history strive to utilize local art collections, including those at the Getty Center and Villa, the Norton Simon Museum, the Huntington Library, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Art. With additional study at the graduate level, art history can lead to professional careers in college teaching, museum curatorship, fine arts librarianship, and publishing.

Studio art courses focus upon the creation of works of art: drawings, paintings, prints, sculptures, ceramic pieces and digital works. The studio art program emphasizes the concepts, materials, methods, and forms most commonly found in contemporary art. Students are guided toward mastery of technique and expression of ideas, which can be further pursued in graduate school, and lead to professional careers in fine arts, design, fashion , architecture, gallery and museum work, and teaching. Los Angeles is one of the most vital art centers of the world and serves as a rich learning resource.

GUIDELINES FOR a MAJOR IN ART

The major in art offers three tracks: Studio Art; Art History; and Art & Art History (offering an even balance between studio art and art history classes).

I. STUDIO ART TRACK (a minimum of 31 credits)
1. Foundation Courses (9 credits total). The following classes should be completed first, in any order:
Introduction to Art 2-D, ART 100 (3 credits)
Introduction to Art 3-D, ART 101 (3 credits)
Drawing 1, ART 210 (3 credits)

2. Intermediate Courses (12 credits total) The following classes should be completed next, in any order:
Painting 1, ART 222 (3 credits)
Sculpture 1, ART 252 (3 credits)
Printmaking 1, ART 242 (3 credits)
Contemporary Art, ART 370 (3 credits)

3. Advanced Courses (a minimum of 7 credits) After the foundation and intermediate courses have been completed, which must be accomplished before the senior year, one becomes eligible to take the advanced courses:

  • Advanced Art Seminar, ART 388 (3 credits). Must be taken at least two times (6 credits minimum).
  • Senior Project in Art, ART 389 (1-4 credits). The number of credits to be earned will be established through negotiation between the student and the faculty members in studio art. This component of the major is typically completed concurrent with the second semester of enrollment in Advanced Art Seminar.

4. Art History Elective (6 credits). In addition to Contemporary Art (listed among the intermediate courses above), at least one additional art history course must be completed. Art majors following the studio track are encouraged to take more than the minimum number of art history classes.

II. ART HISTORY TRACK (a minimum of 30 credits)
A minimum of nine art history courses (27 credits) must be taken. 15 credits are required from the list of intermediate courses. ART 391 or 392 is required as an advanced course. One studio art elective of the student's choice completes the track.

1. Introductory Courses
Western Art: Pre-history through the 14th Century, ART 205 (3 credits)
Western Art: 15th through 20th Centuries, ART 206 (3 credits)
Women and the Visual Arts, ART 207 (3 credits)
Expressive Arts of Africa, ART 211 (3 credits)

2. Intermediate Courses (a minimum of 15 credits).
Art of Ancient Greece and Rome, ART 361 (3 credits)
Art of the Medieval West, ART 362 (3 credits)
Early Renaissance Art in Italy, ART 363 (3 credits)
The High Renaissance and Mannerism, ART 364 (3 credits)
Art of the Eighteenth Century, ART 366 (3 credits)
Age of Impressionism, ART 368 (3 credits)
Age of Dada and Surrealism, ART 369 (3 credits)
Contemporary Art, ART 370 (3 credits)
Art of Mexico, ART 381 (3 credits)
Art of Colonial Spanish America, ART 382 (3 credits)
Special Topics in the History of Art, ART 390 (3 credits)

3. Advanced Course (a minimum of 3 credits). ART 391 or 392 must be taken within the junior or senior year. Either may be repeated for credit.

  • Seminar in Art from the Ancient through the Renaissance periods,
    ART 391 (3 credits)
  • Seminar in Art from the Early Modern through the Modern periods,
    ART 392 (3 credits)

4. Studio Art Requirement. One studio art course is required (a minimum of 3 credits).

5. Recommended. Not required but recommended for completion of the program is a Study Abroad experience and study of a foreign language. Also recommended is a double major (many combinations are possible) or an interdisciplinary minor, such as French Cultural Studies.

III. ART &ART HISTORY TRACK: The Balanced Curriculum (a minimum of 34 credits). This option allows a balance between studio and art history coursework. The balanced curriculum is designed to meet the needs of students with keen interest in both areas of study. It also provides much of the breadth (studio and art history) required by teacher credentialing standards in art.

1. Foundations Courses (9 credits total). The following classes should be completed first:
Intro to Art 2-D, ART 100 (3 credits)
Intro to Art 3-D, ART 101 (3 credits)
Drawing 1, ART 210 (3 credits)

2. Intermediate Courses (6 credits total). The studio requirements should be completed next:
Painting 1, ART 222 (3 credits)
Sculpture 1, ART 252 (3 credits)

3. Advanced Courses (4 credits minimum). After the studio requirements listed above have been completed, which should be accomplished by the end of the junior year, the art/art history major becomes eligible to take the advanced courses.

  • Advanced Art Seminar, ART 388 (3 credits); and
  • Senior Project in Art, ART 389 (1-4 credits)

4. Art History Requirement. (15 credits total). Completion of any five (5) art history classes.

 

GUIDELINES FOR the MINOR IN ART or art history

I. Minor in Art History (a minimum of 18 credits). The minor is fulfilled by the completion of any six (6) art history courses.

II. Minor in Studio Art (a minimum of 18 credits). The minor is fullfilled by the completion of the following list of courses:

  • Drawing 1, ART 210 (3 credits)
  • Introduction to Art 2-D, ART 100 (3 credits) or Introduction to Art 3-D, ART 101, (3 credits)
  • Painting 1, ART 222 (3 credits) or Sculpture 1, ART 252 (3 credits)
  • Any three additional studio art courses (9 credits minimum)