Art History

Art History opens your eyes. It teaches you to look deeply and searchingly. It explores the visual cultures of diverse peoples, places, and times. Emphasizing critical, historical, and linguistic skills, as well as creativity and innovation, Art History offers a bridge between traditional, language-based fields in the humanities and the creative worlds of art, architecture, and performance. The study of Art History will change the way you look at not only paintings and statues, but also advertisements and all types of  visual phenomena. Art History is more than the History of Art. It’s a way to look at the world. 

The Art History Department at Dartmouth teaches analytical skills that encourage probing and inquiring approaches to visual experience. Although one of our fundamental aims is to prepare our students for graduate study in Art History, and therefore for careers in this field, we also seek to equip students, whether majors or not, with skills – especially in visual analysis, logical reasoning, critical reading and writing, and public speaking – that will serve them well in any number of professions.

Requirements for the Major

For the Class of 2015 and later, twelve courses as follows:

Prerequisite: Two courses from ARTH 1 (Bodies and Buildings: Introduction to the History of Art in the Ancient World and the Middle Ages), ARTH 2 (Introduction to the History of Art II), or ARTH 4 (Introduction to World Architecture).

Requirements: 

• one Studio Art course;

• four Art History courses, each from a different area:

Pre-Modern (ancient and medieval art to 1400)

Early-Modern Europe (1400-1850)

Asia and the Middle East

Modern and Contemporary (1850 to the present);

• one advanced seminar in Art History (ARTH 80 through ARTH 84);

• ARTH 85 or ARTH 86, which will serve as the Major Culminating Experience;

• three other Art History courses numbered 10 or higher. (A Classical Studies course [CLST 20, CLST 21, CLST 22, CLST 24, CLST 25, or CLST 26] may be substituted for one of the three other Art History courses.)

N.B.: ARTH 1, ARTH 2, and ARTH 4 may serve only as major prerequisite courses.

Students planning an Art History major must first consult with one of the Department’s designated faculty advisors, complete a Major Worksheet (available outside the Department office) and three major cards, which will be checked by the Department Administrator, and then return to the advisor for final approval and signatures. A copy of the signed major card and the Major Worksheet must be filed with the Art History Department.

Modified Major

Students wishing to declare a modified major must consult with one of the Department’s designated faculty advisors, meet with the Department Administrator, then submit a short description of the proposed modification and a completed Modified Major Worksheet (available outside the Department office). If the proposal is approved by the departmental faculty, a copy of the signed Major Card, Worksheet, and rationale statement must be filed with the Department of Art History. The courses making up a modified major should constitute an intellectually coherent whole. The Department will consider proposals for modifying the Art History major only if they are presented before the end of the student's senior fall term.

Requirements for the Minor

For the Class of 2015 and later, six courses as follows:

Prerequisite: One or two of ARTH 1, ARTH 2, or ARTH 4.

Requirements: Four courses, one in each of four categories:

Pre-Modern (ancient and medieval art to 1400)

Early-Modern Europe (1400-1850)

Asia and the Middle East

Modern and Contemporary (1850 to the present) 

If only one prerequisite is taken, any additional Art History course may be taken as the sixth course. An Art History seminar (ARTH 80-ARTH 84) is not required, but is strongly encouraged. N.B.: ARTH 1, ARTH 2, and ARTH 4 may serve only as prerequisite courses.

Students planning an Art History minor must first consult with one of the Department’s designated faculty advisors, complete a Minor Worksheet (available outside the Department office) and three Minor Cards, which will be checked by the Department Administrator, and then return to the advisor for final approval and signatures. A copy of the signed Minor Card and the Minor Worksheet must be filed with the Art History Department.

1.       SAT Reasoning or ACT (with Writing);

2.       2 SAT Subject Test Scores;

3.       The common application essay;

4.       Within the Common Application, Dartmouth’s writing supplement requires that applicants write a brief response to one of the following supplemental essay prompts. Candidates choose one topic and respond;

5.       A counselor recommendation and two teacher recommendations. In addition, a peer recommendation is strongly encouraged;

6.       Resume;

7.       Brief abstract of an independent research project;

8.       IELTS or TOEFL (no minimum scores)

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