Art, B.A. Art History Concentration

Art History is more than analyzing art—it broadens our worldviews, develops global understanding, and cultivates cultural sensitivity through close engagement with the rich history of artworks, practices, and material culture across time and space.

The UNC Greensboro Art History concentration within the BA Art degree is an object-focused program offering students global, historical, and contemporary perspectives on art through coursework and hands-on experiences, both locally and abroad. Through their training in cross-cultural and transhistorical critical analysis of the visual world, students will take their place as informed global citizens prepared for life-long critical engagement and a wide variety of scholarly pursuits.

Program Distinctions

The Art History program is distinguished by the breadth, quality, and diverse research conducted by its award-winning faculty. From contemporary South African pottery to Italian Renaissance portraiture, to performance by contemporary Latinx and Afro-Latinx artists, to histories of photography and Native American art in the Atlantic World, to the art and artists of the Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, innovative faculty research informs every course taught in this program.

Here, faculty and students co-lead meaningful and community-engaged projects based in art historical research, such as increasing the accessibility of public art in Greensboro. Working closely with faculty, you will develop your own critical voice in a range of high-impact, public-facing research projects, such as making historically underrepresented artists visible through new Wikipedia pages, social media takeovers and essays published on museum websites, as well as critical reviews of art exhibitions in national publications. 

In person, student engagement with works of art is a core value. This priority has led Art History faculty to actively engage students with the collections and exhibitions of the nationally-renowned Weatherspoon Art Museum on UNCG’s campus in their courses, develop student programs with the Greensboro Project Space in downtown Greensboro, and lead student field trips to other art institutions across the state including the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh and the Mint Museum in Charlotte and abroad in the Uffizi and the Accademia dell’ Arte of Florence, Italy.

The Student Experience

With the guidance and mentorship of area faculty, majors often present their work at local and regional undergraduate conferences and symposia. Majors have presented at the UNCG Undergraduate Research and Creativity Expo, State of North Carolina Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium, and National Conference on Undergraduate Research. Graduates have published their research in Explorations: The Journal of Undergraduate Research Activities for the State of North Carolina and co-authored work with faculty members for scholarly publications.

Our faculty have been strong supporters of the McNair Scholars Program, “a federal TRiO program funded by the U.S. Department of Education.” The program is designed to prepare undergraduate students who come from first-generation and under-represented backgrounds for the pursuit of a Ph.D. Our graduates have pursued degrees at highly-prestigious graduate programs.

https://success.uncg.edu/departments/opportunity-programs/trio/uncg-mcnair-scholars-program/

Every other summer, School of Art faculty lead an immersive, four-week study abroad trip to Florence, Italy. Focused on the art history of the Italian Renaissance and taught on-site, the program offers the opportunity to earn six credit hours of art history, all while living, studying and experiencing Italy firsthand.

Students may choose to participate in a range of university clubs and activities, including Co-WAM, the student organization of the Weatherspoon Art Museum on UNCG’s campus. Majors interested in museum work frequently hold summer internships at local institutions such as The Weatherspoon Art Museum, The Reynolda House Museum of American Art, The North Carolina Museum of Art, and the Mint Museum.

Students interested in Disciplinary Honors in Art History may pursue a focused course of advanced study that involves independent learning and student-faculty mentorship through a collaboration with the School of Art and Lloyd International Honors College. Many majors earn invitations to our nation’s most prestigious Honors Societies including Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi.

Art history classes develop the core skills of close looking, writing, research, creative and analytical thinking, visual literacy, and effective communication. Courses take the form of lectures, internships, independent studies, seminars, and on-site investigations in museums, archives, and even Renaissance churches and palaces. Small, major specific classes, such as the topical Sophomore Seminar in Art History (ARH 219) and the advanced Research Topics in Art (ARH 405), provide students with one-on-one experiences with the area’s dynamic faculty.

Students shape their own degree by selecting a minor and a foreign language that complement their future careers paths. Past majors have selected from a range of subjects, including Classical Studies, History, Religious Studies, Anthropology, English, Media Studies, Political Science, and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, among others.

After Graduation

Graduates of this versatile program are well equipped to meet the demands of the 21^st Century. Majors have joined competitive graduate schools and built careers in a wide range of professions from museum curators to art librarians, university professors to lawyers, and government service to social media executives.

AFFILIATED MINORS

The College of Arts and Sciences offers a minor in Videogaming and Esports that pairs well with this degree. Students complete one required course and 12 hours of electives in courses like Intro to 3D Animation and Fandom and Religion: Rituals, Texts, Communities. Learn More.