Program Overview
This program enables students to develop both the vocabulary and the conceptual framework for the analysis of artistic productions from a broad range of time periods and cultures. Students also develop the research and writing skills necessary for critical investigation. Familiarity with traditional and contemporary scholarship becomes a basis for focused, independent art historical inquiry.
Unlike many comparable programs, the study of art history at Drake is fully integrated within the studio and design areas of the department. The Art History major combines studio experience with an introduction to the practices, theories, and debates of the discipline. Students therefore gain experience in making images as well as in interpreting them.
B.A. Degree Requirements
The B.A. in art history prepares students to navigate the complexity of visual culture, whether past or present, by introducing them to the specialized language and strategies of image making as well as by providing them with a rigorous historical introduction to the production, interpretation and circulation of artworks. The curriculum employs new models of teaching and theorizing art history in order to acknowledge changes in the field. For example, unlike the longstanding emphasis on chronology in beginning surveys of art history, the introductory courses at Drake employ a thematic approach that traces formal and conceptual concerns across multiple time periods and cultures. Upper-level courses offer critical reexaminations of the categories fundamental to the founding of art history including national tradition, stylistic periods and definitions of modernity. The Art History Capstone introduces students to the professional practice of curating.
Foreign language study is strongly recommended for majors planning to attend graduate school in art history.
Course List | Code | Title | Hours |
| 3 |
| 2-D DESIGN | |
| CONSTRUCTING SPACE | |
| ART 015 | OBSERVATIONAL DRAWING | 3 |
| ART 016 | CONCEPTS IN DRAWING | 3 |
| ART 075 | THEMES IN ART HISTORY | 4 |
| 3 |
| INTRODUCTION TO PRINTMAKING | |
| INTRODUCTION TO RELIEF PRINTMAKING | |
| INTRODUCTION TO INTAGLIO PRINTMAKING | |
| INTRODUCTION TO LITHOGRAPHIC PRINTMAKING | |
| PAINTING I | |
| BUILDING IDEAS | |
| ART 199 | ART AND THEORY | 3 |
| ART 197 | ART HISTORY CAPSTONE | 4 |
| 15 |
| Total Hours | 38 |
In addition to requirements for all undergraduate degrees, which can be found in the “Graduation Requirements” area of the catalog, Art and Design students must meet the following requirements:
A student is placed on probation if either the cumulative grade-point average or the average in Department of Art and Design courses falls below 2.00 (a "C" average) during any semester in which a student has earned less than 30 total credit hours. A student may be placed on probation for failing to meet the University’s standards for satisfactory progress toward completion of degree requirements.
To continue progress toward a Department of Art and Design degree, a student must have at least a 2.5 cumulative grade-point average and a 2.5 GPA in the Department of Art and Design courses at the end of the academic term in which the student completes the 30th credit hour. For transfer students, the 30th-hour GPA must be based upon at least 15 credit hours earned at Drake. Students who achieve the 2.5 GPA at the 30th-hour level are placed on probation if their GPAs fall below 2.5 in a subsequent semester. If the GPA is not raised to 2.5 or better after the probationary semester, the student may not continue in the Department of Art and Design or re-enroll later.
In addition to programmatic requirements, students are responsible for satisfying all requirements of the Drake Curriculum, including Areas of Inquiry (AOI)
Student must also satisfy university graduation requirements for all undergraduate students..