Minor in Art History
Departmental Distinction
302 Henry Hall (HH)
(312) 996-3303
http://www.uic.edu/depts/arch/ah/
Administration: Chairperson, Virginia E. Miller
Student Services: Director of Undergraduate Studies, Martha Pollak
Our program introduces undergraduate students to the study of the built environment and the visual arts across time and space: architecture, painting, sculpture, design, and film and media arts. Beyond the chronological and geographical breadth of our fields of study, we are committed to understanding cultures through the lens of the visual. In art history classes, students are introduced to a variety of approaches including stylistic and iconographical analysis, criticism, and historiography. The architecture of Chicago and its suburbs and the many local museums and galleries are a living part of the general curriculum and are specific components in specialized courses. The department serves the entire UIC community, with students from all over campus choosing to take our classes for General Education credit and as electives.
While some of our majors pursue graduate education toward scholarly careers in teaching and museum work, others are attracted to positions with foundations, architectural and art periodicals, or freelance writing. Many students combine their art history background with further study in a wide variety of fields, such as business administration, law, library science, and urban planning. Still others find themselves in related professions such as filmmaking, editorial work, and arts management.
For information on the Department of Art History at UIC, see the Web page http://www.uic.edu/depts/arch/ah.
To earn a Bachelor of Arts in Art History degree from UIC, students need to complete University, college, and department degree requirements. The Department of Art History degree requirements are outlined below. Students should consult the College of Architecture and the Arts section for additional degree requirements and college academic policies.
| BA in Art History Degree Requirements | Hours |
| General Education and Foundation Courses | 36 |
| Foreign Language Requirement | 0–16 |
| Major Course Requirements | 36 |
| Electives | 32–48 |
| Total Hours—BA in Art History | 120 |
General Education and Foundation Courses
| Courses | Hours |
| AH 110—Art History Ia | 4 |
| AH 111—Art History IIa | 4 |
| Six hours of studio courses selected from among the offerings of the School of Architecture and the School of Art and Design, chosen with the approval of an advisor | 6 |
| ENGL 160—Academic Writing I: Writing for Academic and Public Contexts | 3 |
| ENGL 161—Academic Writing II: Writing for Inquiry and Research | 3 |
| Understanding the Past courseb | 3 |
| Exploring World Cultures courseb | 3 |
| Analyzing the Natural World coursebc | 4 |
| Understanding the Individual and Society courseb | 3 |
| Understanding U.S. Society courseb | 3 |
| Total Hours—General Education Requirements | 36 |
a This course is approved for the Understanding the Creative Arts General Education category.
b Students should consult the General Education section of the catalog for a list of approved courses in this category. Students may choose a General Education course that falls below the recommended semester hour value for a particular category as long as the student reaches a total of 24 hours of General Education distributed across the six categories.
c Students who select a course worth fewer than 4 hours from the Analyzing the Natural World list will need to take an additional General Education Core course as part of their electives.
Foreign Language Requirement
Knowledge of a foreign language is required, most commonly French, German, Italian, or Spanish, and should usually be attained by the end of the junior year. The requirement may be met by taking four years of high school language courses, two years of college language courses, or by passing a proficiency examination.
| Courses | Hours |
| Four semesters of college language courses or the equivalent |
0–16 |
| Total Hours | 0–16 |
Major Course Requirements
A minimum of 36 semester hours in art history courses at the 200-, 300-, and 400-levels, of which at least two courses (6 semester hours) must be at the 400-level. The major includes the following specific requirements:
| Courses | Hours |
| AH 200—Theories and Methods in Art History | 3 |
At least six semester hours at the 400-level,a of which at least 3 hours must be selected from the following courses: |
6a |
| AH 404—Topics in Architecture, Art, and Design (3) | |
| AH 422—Topics in the Literature of Architecture (3) | |
| AH 430—Contemporary Photography (3) | |
| AH 432—Topics in Film and Video (3) | |
| AH 434—Women and Film (3) | |
| AH 435—Topics in Modern and Contemporary Design (3) | |
| AH 441—Topics in Medieval Art and Architecture (3) | |
| AH 450—Topics in Renaissance Art (3) | |
| AH 460—Topics in Modern and Contemporary Art (3) | |
| AH 463—Topics in North American Art and Architecture (3) | |
| AH 470—Topics in Non-Western Art and Architecture (3) | |
| AH 471—Topics in Asian Art and Architecture (3) | |
| Six semester hours in courses in Western art covering material primarily before 1700 | 6 |
| Six semester hours of courses covering non-Western architecture and art | 6 |
| AH Electives | 15 |
| Total Hours—Major Course Requirements | 36 |
a 400-level courses in non-Western art and architecture and 400-level courses in Western art and architecture covering material primarily before 1700 can count toward fulfilling both the 400-level requirement and the non-Western and pre-1700 requirements.
Electives
| Courses | Hours |
| Total Hours—Electives | 32–48 |
Sample Course Schedule—Art History
| Freshman Year | |
| Fall Semester | Hours |
| ENGL 160—Academic Writing I: Writing for Academic and Public Contexts | 3 |
| AH 110—Art History I | 4 |
| Foreign language | 4 |
| General Education Core course | 3 |
| Total Hours | 14 |
| Spring Semester | Hours |
| ENGL 161—Academic Writing II: Writing for Inquiry and Research | 3 |
| AH 111—Art History II | 4 |
| Foreign language | 4 |
| General Education Core course | 3 |
| Total Hours | 14 |
| Sophomore Year | |
| Fall Semester | Hours |
| AH 200—Theories and Methods in Art History | 3 |
| Art History before 1700 | 3 |
| Foreign language | 4 |
| General Education Core course | 4 |
| Total Hours | 14 |
| Spring Semester | Hours |
| Art History—non-Western | 3 |
| Art History before 1700 | 3 |
| Foreign language | 4 |
| General Education Core course | 6 |
| Total Hours | 16 |
| Junior Year | |
| Fall Semester | Hours |
| Art History—non-Western | 3 |
| Art History Elective | 3 |
| Art History 400-level | 3 |
| General Education Core course | 5 |
| Elective | 2 |
| Total Hours | 16 |
| Spring Semester | Hours |
| Art History 400-level | 3 |
| Art History Electives | 6 |
| Electives | 6 |
| Total Hours | 15 |
| Senior Year | |
| Fall Semester | Hours |
| Art History Elective | 3 |
| Electives | 12 |
| Total Hours | 15 |
| Spring Semester | Hours |
| Art History Elective | 3 |
| Electives | 12 |
| Total Hours | 15 |
A minimum of 20 semester hours in art history courses, of which at least 10 hours must be taken at the University of Illinois at Chicago, distributed as follows:
| Required Courses | Hours |
| AH 110—Art History I | 4 |
| AH 111—Art History II | 4 |
| Twelve hours of AH courses at the 200-, 300-, or 400-level | 12 |
| Total Hours—Art History Minor | 20 |
Except for AH 110 and 111, courses taken to fulfill the requirements in the student’s major may not be counted towards the minor. A minimum grade point average of 2.25/4.00 is required for the minor.
To be eligible for Departmental Distinction, a student must have done the following:
- Attended UIC for at least three semesters.
- Attained a university cumulative GPA of 3.50/4.00.
- Completed 21 semester hours at UIC in courses required for the major.
- Attained a GPA of 3.75/4.00 in courses in Art History.
- Written a thesis that either expands work represented in a seminar or which grows out of an AH 492—Readings in Art and Architecture History course.
- Applicants for graduation with Distinction must take AH 490—Honors Thesis for three hours of credit.
- Students must enroll in AH 490 in their penultimate semester of course work.
- The completed thesis must be acceptable to a committee of two faculty members from the Department of Art History.
- The grading of the thesis and the grade in the course is either Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory. Students must receive a grade of Satisfactory in order to graduate with Distinction.
- Completion of AH 490 must be in addition to the 36 semester hours required for the major.