When you study Art History at Assumption you will acquire an in-depth foundation in the discipline that enables you to understand and appreciate works of art and their relationship to the artists and the societies that produce them.
Studying Art History at Assumption also provides you with a broad-based liberal arts education and develops your critical thinking and communication skills. This foundation enables Assumption graduates to succeed in their professions and lives.
Art History is a concentration or a minor within the Visual Arts major and many students who concentrate in Art History also choose to concentrate in Education so that they can teach elementary, middle or high school.
Opportunities outside the Classroom
- Art exhibitions: Students’ works are exhibited on campus and in local galleries.
- Art Club: The club organizes art projects on and off campus, visits to museums and critiques of student work.
- Graphic design club: This group works to improve the overall aesthetic quality of campus publications, as well as give students interested in design a place to meet and talk about upcoming contests, critique one another's work and discuss historical and contemporary design.
- Museum visits: Opportunities are available for students to visit local, regional and national museums. Faculty teach courses based on collections at the renowned Worcester Art Museum, only two miles from campus.
- Internships: Students have had internships for credit at places like the Worcester Art Museum, Davis Publications, Preservation Worcester and Museum Action Corps.
- Study abroad: Asumption offers a number of study abroad options that complement art history. Assumption places students at schools such as AIFS (American Institute for Foreign Study) in Florence, Italy; IFSA (Institute for Foreign Study) in England; the University of the Arts in London and the Burren College of Art in Ballyvaughn, Ireland; and in other programs around the world.
Art History Concentration
Art History students take 11 courses to complete their concentration. As part of their program they complete a semester-long independent research project and present it during their senior year. Students with a concentration in Art History may become teachers, museum staff or curators, art critics, gallery workers, art historians, researchers or arts managers.
Minor
To earn a minor in Art History, students complete 6 art courses (18 credits). A minor in Art History provides students with a solid background that can be applied in professional positions from museum work to publishing to landscape architecture.