Art History
Department of Art History
College of Arts and Sciences
608 Clemens Hall
North Campus
Buffalo, NY 14260-4640
Phone: 716.645.2435
Fax: 716.645.5978
Web: wings.buffalo.edu/academic/department/AandL/ahi/
Charles Carman
Chair
Jolene Rickard
Director of Undergraduate Studies
About the Department
The Department of Art History is committed to exploring what the visual arts (painting, sculpture, performance art, graphic arts, architecture, photography, and decorative arts), reveal about the cultures that produced them. Using a diverse range of methodological approaches, the art history faculty helps students acquire the necessary tools and knowledge to make sense of our visual world. Courses cover all of the world’s major geographic areas, with individual professors exploring specific interests in law, social history, gender and race, postcolonialism, problems of taste and patronage, as well as myth and narrative. An art history major is ideal for students who wish to pursue a career in the arts, but it is equally valuable for those seeking to develop visual, analytical, and communicative skills. Recent graduates have gone on to work in museums and art galleries, to enroll in a variety of humanities graduate programs, and to pursue careers in law, government, and business.
Degrees Offered
Undergraduate: B.A., Minor
Graduate: M.A.
About Our Degrees
Acceptance Criteria - B.A.
Minimum GPA of 2.0 overall.
Minimum GPA of 2.0 in departmental courses.
Completion of or registration in any two of three required introductory courses: AHI 101, AHI 102, AHI 103.
Acceptance Criteria - Minor
Minimum GPA of 2.0 in AHI 101 Survey of Art History: Egypt to Renaissance, AHI 102 Survey of Art History: Italian Renaissance to Contemporary, or AHI 103 Survey of Art History: Non-Western.
Current Applications Information
Deadlines: Rolling
Number of applicants (2002-2003): 19
Number of accepted majors (2002-2003): 19
Total number of majors currently enrolled: 50
Degree Requirements
See the Undergraduate Catalog.
Transfer Policy
All art history transfer courses must be evaluated and approved by the department. Forms may be obtained from the Office of Admissions, 15 Capen Hall. Generally, the following transfer courses will be accepted: the equivalent of AHI 101 and AHI 102 covering the history of art from ancient to modern, and any two of the area courses. Transcripts are required for all courses, and course descriptions are required for any of the area courses.
About Our Courses
The typical class size for:
Freshman/introductory courses is: 223
Sophomore/intermediate courses is: 35-45
Upper level/advanced courses is: 35-45
In the Department of Art History, what do teaching assistants (TA’s) do?
TA’s are used in AHI 101-AHI 102, and UGC 111 and UGC 112; they teach recitation sections once a week to smaller groups taken from the main student body in the course.
For course descriptions, please see the Undergraduate Catalog.
About Our Faculty
The art history faculty has compiled a distinguished record of teaching, scholarship and grant acquisition.
Faculty specialize in: Medieval, Ancient, Renaissance, non-Western, Architecture, Islamic, American and Modern art. One faculty recently published a book entitled Art and Methodology of Xu Bing; two faculty have books in press: Crete in the Bronze Age; and The Century’s Utopia. Six faculty have recently published books with the titles A Century in Crisis: Modernity and Tradition in the Art of Twentieth-Century China; Van Gogh's Progress; Utopia, Modernity, and Late-Nineteenth Century Art; The Cave Sanctuary of Zeus at Psycho: A Study of Extra-Urban Sanctuaries in Minoan and Early Iron Age Crete; Portals, Pilgrimage and Crusade in Western Tuscany; Man Made: Thomas Eakins and the Construction of Gilded Age Manhood; and Images of Humanist Ideals in Italian Renaissance Art.
One faculty has an exhibition entitled Re-imagining Iroquoia: A Cross-Disciplinary Examination of Indigenous Representation and Museum Practice. Other faculty have published books on subjects ranging from architecture to Renaissance and Romanesque sculpture.
Members of the department have recently received grants from The Smithsonian Institution, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NEA (National Endowment for the Arts), NEH (National Endowment for the Humanities), ACLS (American Council of Learned Societies), the American Academy in Rome, NYSCA (N.Y.S. Council on the Arts), the Getty Center for the Study of the History of Art and the Humanities, and National Geographic for research and writing. In aulition, Professor Glass received the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1977; Professor Watrous received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2002/03; and Professor Rickard was awarded Exceptional Scholar for the Young Investigator Achievement Award.
Special Academic Opportunities
Independent Study
One 3-credit independent study may be undertaken with a faculty member. It must be an outgrowth of course studies already completed, and not a substitution for any of the required coursework. One (3 hour) course may be applied toward the degree.
Honors Program
Junior year art history majors who have a minimum GPA of 3.5 in AHI and a minimum GPA of 3.3 overall may be admitted to a senior honors program. By taking AHI 401 Directed Reading Tutorial during the fall semester and AHI 402 Honors Thesis Tutorial during the spring semester, accepted seniors may pursue specialized, independent study leading to an honors thesis with two faculty members who will be assigned to direct the student's program.
Museum Internships
Internships may be available to art history majors and minors at such local museums and galleries as the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, the Amherst Museum, the Buffalo Arts Commission, the Buffalo Historic Preservation Coalition, the Buffalo Museum of Science, the Castellani Art Museum@Niagara University, the CEPA Gallery, The Center for the Arts’ Art Gallery, Erie County Cultural Commission, and Hallwalls. Internships may not be used for distribution credit for the art history major or minor.
Junior Year Abroad
Overseas programs are available to art history majors and are encouraged by the department. Interested students should make inquiries to the Study Abroad Advisor, Office of International Education Services, 210 Talbert Hall (645-3912).
Extracurricular Activities
The Art Historical Association is a student-run organization funded by the Student Association of UB. Officers plan activities that usually include a trip to a major museum in Toronto, Cleveland, or Rochester; a meeting on the subject of careers in art history; social activities; and the sponsorship of a film or speaker. The club also functions as a liaison between art history majors and the faculty. In the last two years, the Art Historical Association has won awards for “Outstanding Leadership” and “Academic Commitment to Excellence.”
See the UB Student Association.
Complementary Programs and Courses
Majors that Complement Art History
- Anthropology
- Classics
- English
- History
- Studio Art
- Women's Studies
Minors that Complement Art History
- Anthropology
- Classics
- History
- Photography
Courses Outside the Major that Could Improve Employment Opportunities
We recommend a broad liberal arts background.
Career Information
Art history provides a student with a broad overview of world art history and draws upon history, art, archeology, anthropology, psychology and other disciplines. It emphasizes on visual skills and verbalization of the visual, both of which are increasingly important in an image-saturated world.
Art history majors gain an excellent liberal arts background and have pursued many different careers and many different work settings. Some pursue careers as curators or archivists at the many museums and galleries across the country. Others use the art history degree to hone their intellectual abilities in art for careers in media, advertising, publishing, fashion or design. Another path for art historians is art therapy, working with people with disabilities. Others move into careers in business, government, and non-profit organizations. In recent years, some students have gone on to law, business training, library science and other graduate degree programs at UB.
Skills gained in this program include:
Critical visual skills by evaluating works of art, and oral and written proficiency through presentations and papers. Researching, managing cultural resources, appraising, designing, writing, promoting, selling, teaching, analyzing, interpreting policy, editing, advising, ability to think conceptually, organize, problem solving, and detail orientation.
Career Choices
- Advertising specialist
- Appraiser
- Art director
- Art/music critic
- Curator
- Designer (display, fashion, set, stage)
- Editor/publisher
- Gallery manager
- Graphic designer
- Lawyer
- Librarian
- Photographer
- Printmaker
- Research assistant (document/records)
- Technical illustrator
What percentage of graduates goes on to find related employment?
40%
Alumni in Art History have found employment in the following fields:
- Advertising
- Art consultant
- Art gallery
- Art investment
- Art law
- Artist representative
- Art therapist
- Bookstore manager
- Corporate curator
- Cultural center manager
- Documentary filmmaker
- Fashion
- Fine arts appraiser
- Freelance writing
- Historic preservation
- Lawyer
- Librarian
- Magazine research manager
- Merchandise display
- Photographer
- Professor/educator
- Public defender
- Public relations
- Publishing
- Realty analyst
- Researcher
- Retail buyer
- Slide curator
- Teacher
- Textile designer
- University annual giving director
- Video producer
Work settings include:
Museums, historical societies, historic sites, galleries, U.S. and state governments, K-12 schools, corporations, colleges/universities, antique dealers, archives, parks, magazines/newspapers, publishing firms, non-profit organizations, and restored communities/estates.
Salary Information
Salaries range greatly from one occupation, position, and work setting to another. According to the April 1998 NACE national salary survey for bachelor's degree graduates, history graduates' salaries averaged $25,896, and letters graduates' salaries averaged $28,129.
Career Hints
Employers are looking for experience and development of skills from that experience. Internships, part-time jobs, and volunteer activities in areas related to a student's career goal offer excellent methods of gaining experience and developing skills.
Students should participate in leadership roles in extracurricular activities, take electives relating to their career goal, participate in a directed research project through the department, and volunteer at places like museums, galleries, or historic preservation organizations (depending on career goal).
What percentage of graduates goes on to graduate school?
15% to such schools as: Temple University, University of Texas/Austin, University of Virginia, Emory University, and University of North Carolina/Chapel Hill.
Aulitional Resources
The Association for Art History home page for information and vacancies.