BA Art History

About Art History
Art history is an academic discipline concerned with the production, consumption, and experience of art, architecture, design, mass media, and other artifacts that manifest themselves visually or tangibly. Art historians may study any period, region, or cultural tradition. To analyze the so-called “visual culture” of every period and place, and to understand its relationship to cultural contexts and social functions, art historians may employ diverse methodologies. Students pursuing the B.A in Art History must practice verbal and written communication as well as skills of interpretation, critical-thinking, and research.

Art History at Cal Poly Pomona
Our majors study the production, reception, and experience of art, architecture, design, mass media,
and other artifacts that manifest visually or tangibly. Art historians may study any period, region, or cultural tradition. Our courses span the globe and every age. We regularly offer courses in areas as diverse as “Contemporary Art,” “Medieval Art,” “Japanese Art,” and “Art and Architecture of India.” Through such courses, students become familiar with significant works and styles, differing ways of interpreting them, and an understanding of the social functions and impacts of visual and material culture.

Students pursuing the B.A in Art History must practice verbal and written communication as well as skills of interpretation, critical thinking, and research. These are foundations for various career paths. (A summary of common careers for those with a B.A. in Art History is included in this brochure.) To best prepare students for careers, our curriculum requires students to take elective courses to gain additional expertise or a minor most compatible with their goals. The faculty is dedicated to advising our students in this highly personal, yet consequential, process. 

Careers in Art History

The faculty takes an active role in advising students about their career options. There are many possible paths, and each requires a unique track of preparation. The faculty therefore provides the students with a menu of common career paths and suggests what they can do while obtaining their B.A. in Art History to prepare them and make them competitive. Below is a list of common career paths with a brief explanation of requirements and recommendations for pursuing them:

Scholarship and university teaching in art history or visual studies
Required credentials: Ph.D. in Art History or Visual Studies is required. Depending on the field of specialization, a Ph.D. in Classical Studies or Archaeology may be an appropriate alternative.

Recommended while an undergraduate at CPP: Students may pursue minors offered at CPP that are compatible with their interests in graduate education. The History Minor, for example, is always complementary to art history. Alternatively, since a Ph.D. in Art History or Visual Studies will require an examination in graduate school in two foreign languages, one of which must be French or German, additional coursework or a minor in French may be desirable. (To give students a minimum of preparation, the B.A. in Art History already requires a year of French or German.) Students with an interest in the burgeoning field of digital humanities—which includes digital art history, a growing specialization within art history scholarship—may wish instead to pursue the minor in Digital Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts.

Curatorship (Museums, galleries, or other institutions and events)
Required credentials: Typically, a master’s degree is required for museum curating. M.A. degrees in Art History, Museum Studies, or Curatorial Studies are relevant.

Recommended while an undergraduate at CPP: Pursue a museum or gallery internship while a senior.

The art history faculty regularly announces and encourages internship opportunities at local museums. But we offer academic credit for only one, a Gallery Assistant Internship supervised by the Curator of the university’s Kellogg Art Gallery and Huntley Art Gallery. For the Gallery Assistant Internship at the Kellogg and Huntley galleries, students assist in the research of artists and artworks, art-collection inventory, production of exhibition checklists, art labeling and captioning, cataloguing, archiving and documenting collections, and maintenance of data. The position is ideal for students interested in learning art collections management and other related museum and gallery skills. Required duties also include gallery attendance (greeting patrons, attendance-taking, distributing visitor surveys, providing security for artworks), general gallery maintenance (painting, cleaning, etc.), assisting with installation and de-installation of artworks (help with moving walls, art handling, hanging and presenting artwork, unpacking and packing of artworks, lighting of artworks), assisting with receptions and events, promotion through social media, and some administrative and clerical duties. Majors in art history may be given specialized projects to build further professional skills and expertise.

Collections management (Museums or other collecting or exhibiting institutions of art) or Librarianship
Required credentials: Collections managers typically work in museums, but may work in any institution that requires taking care and managing a collection of objects. Librarianship is vast. There are librarians in corporate, public, academic, museum, and government institutions. For collections management, it is common to have a M.A. in Collections Management or a master’s degree in Library and Information Science (MLIS). Those wishing to pursue Art Librarianship should additionally pursue a M.A. in Art History. Some graduate programs, such as the Pratt Institute in New York City, ready students for both degrees.

Recommended while an undergraduate at CPP: Students who want to do collections management for museums or other exhibiting art institutions should consider a museum internship while a senior. Those who think they might want to work in libraries should consider interning as a page in a library. They may need to take a college-level course in statistics that includes descriptive and inferential statistics and pass it with at least a C. Admission to the MLIS at UCLA, for example, requires such a course.

Museum education (Museums or other exhibiting institutions of art)
Required credentials: M.A. in Museum Education or Museum Studies is typical. Recommended while an undergraduate at CPP Consider pursuing a museum internship while a senior.

Arts administration (For-profit or non-profit institutions) or careers in art business (auction houses, galleries, or art specializations)
Required credentials: M.A. in Arts Administration or Arts Management or Art Business (depending on area of interest) is desirable. The Sotheby’s Institute of Art at Claremont Graduate University, for example, offers a M.A. in Art Business and a M.A. in Arts Management.

Recommended while an undergraduate at CPP: Consider a minor in Finance, Marketing Management, Business Law, or General Management.

Art editing and publishing
Required credentials: With a B.A. in Art History, a student will have a good foundation in the subject area, but will need further development of skills in writing and editing, journalism, and publishing. This can be accomplished in many ways, including work experience and education credentials. A M.A. in English, Journalism, or Arts Journalism is a fine option for the latter.

Recommended while an undergraduate at CPP: Consider pursuing an English minor, a Journalism minor, or a double major in English or in Communications.

Art Law
Required credentials: a J.D. (Juris Doctor degree) specializing in intellectual-property law or, as offered by Duke University, a J.D./M.A. in Law and the History of Art.

Recommended while an undergraduate at CPP: Choose a Political Science Minor, and, from the elective courses, select those pertaining to law. Take the LSAT exam (required for application to law schools).

Art Conservation
Required credentials: M.A. in Art Conservation or Technical Art History is required.

Recommended while an undergraduate at CPP: Graduate programs in this area may require a record of specific courses taken and/or work experience. For an example, see the UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archaeology’s UCLA/ Getty M.A. in the Conservation of Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials http://conservation.ucla.edu/. The site lists the following as requirements for admission into the program, in addition to a B.A. in one of the acceptable areas (which includes art history): Education: A minimum of one academic year (2 semesters or 3 quarters) of study is required in each of the following areas: Archaeology, Cultural Anthropology, or Ethnography; Art History (studies in archaeological or ethnographic materials and/or traditions preferred); General Chemistry (with lab); Organic Chemistry (with lab). One other Science (i.e., Physical Chemistry, Biology, Geology, Physics, etc.) is preferred, but is not essential to be considered for admission. Experience: Between 200–400 hours (the equivalent of 5 to 10 weeks of full-time work) of documented practical experience in conservation. Appropriate experience (volunteer, paid, or a combination) includes fieldwork, laboratory experience, exhibit preparation, or similar responsibilities performed under the supervision of a professional conservator. A letter of recommendation is required from at least one conservation supervisor.