- Average class size of 12 means highly individualized attention from credentialed faculty
- Emphasis on developing research and writing skills through faculty-mentored projects
- Internship network with local and national art organizations provides career connections in the field
- Travel study opportunities foster a global perspective on contemporary and historical art movements
Do you like looking at art? Are you curious about other places and times, and what people believed in and valued? Do you like to look at art and ponder the intent of the artist who created it?
Consider the Art History program at Converse. In addition to graduating with a well-rounded liberal arts education, the art history major is equipped with the knowledge and skills to compete successfully in graduate programs and professional careers.
Degrees Offered
- BA in Art History
- Minor in Art History
About Art History
Art History at Converse combines the diversity of a liberal arts foundation with the critical and creative study of the history of art, enabling to expand your written, oral and visual communication skills. In addition, students gain work experience as interns at art museums or art auction houses, and may take travel study trips abroad to visit sites where art is created.
Our students develop an understanding of visual culture through lectures and discussions, but also through field trips to museums, internships, and travel study opportunities. Art history courses are enhanced with museum and gallery visits, and guest lectures. The Converse collection of 20th-century prints and the Milliken Art Gallery exhibits provide an opportunity to see the art styles that are discussed in class.
Study Travel
Travel study programs also offer students an opportunity to view art first-hand. Previous trips have included:
- “The Art And Culture of Rome And Florence”: Italy
- “In the Footsteps of Picasso”: Madrid, Barcelona and Paris
- “From the Ancient Aegean to the Venice Biennale”: Italy
- New York City art galleries and museums
- Williamsburg, Virginia
- Washington D.C.
Internships
Museum internships are a vital part of the art history program at Converse. They are designed to broaden the student’s experience and professional contacts in the art field. Some of the internships have included art auction houses such as Sotheby’s in New York, and art museums throughout the United States, including Atlanta, GA; Washington, DC; Charlotte, NC; Knoxville, TN; Colorado; and Texas.
Converse’s Art History program will provide you with an understanding of visual culture through the ages complimented with an exploration of the major artists and artworks and their historical context. Our classes emphasize the philosophy behind the art, as well as the artist’s social, cultural and political context. By developing your analytical and written skills you will learn to competently discuss the style, content, theory, and historical context of specific periods and artists.
Our art history degree provides a strong liberal arts education and prepares you for graduate programs in art history as well as entry-level positions in galleries, museums and art auction houses. The Bachelor of Arts with a major in art history is offered in cooperation with the Department of Art History at Wofford College. Converse art history majors should expect to take at least two art history courses on the Wofford campus.
BA in Art History
A major in art history must complete 33 credit hours of course work in art history. Students in the art history major are urged to take their electives in such liberal arts areas as philosophy, history, religion, humanities or literature, and have a strong background in French, Italian, German or Spanish. A double major is a possible option with an art history major.
BA in Art History Major Worksheet
Art History minor
The requirements for a minor in art history consist of 18 credit hours including ART 201-202: Introduction to the History of Western Art, plus four additional upper-level art history courses in four different subject areas (not including art history travel programs or museum internships).
Typically with a graduate degree, art historians become art curators who organize museum exhibitions and write the catalogs. Art history majors have also pursued careers as art gallery directors, art appraisers, corporate art consultants, art critics, art journal writers, art auction house coordinators, community arts and museum administrators, art history professors and other career paths.
What are the most common careers in art history?
Typically, usually with a graduate degree, art historians have careers as:
- Educators at art museums
- Curators of private art collections
- Art critics and writers for art journals
- Art gallery directors
- Community arts and museum administrators
- Art appraisers
- Art restorers
- Art history professors
What are art history alumni doing?
Grad Schools
Art history graduates frequently choose programs in museum studies or arts administration at places such as Johns Hopkins University and Savannah College of Art and Design. There are many graduate programs in all areas of art history.
Jobs
- Curatorial assistant of the White House Art Collection in Washington, D.C.
- Art librarian, Johnson Collection
- Collection Manager and Registrar, Johnson Collection
- Curatorial assistant, National Portrait Gallery
- Art consultant
- Assistant to professional artist
Department News
Converse Art Students Revive Grad’s Spartanburg Sculpture
When Instructor of Art Education, Andrea Elliott, heard that a local sculpture by a Converse alumna needed some love, she and students in Converse’s Art Department stepped up. The students …
Professor Zeisler Wins Chapman Cultural Center Grant
Assistant Professor of Art Therapy Laura Zeisler won a community grant from the Chapman Cultural Center. The grant will support a community-engaged photography project. Professor Zeisler created this project, titled …
2021 ‘Young Women in Art’ Competition Open for Entries
Converse College’s Department of Art and Design is now accepting entries for the 2021 Young Women in Art Juried Virtual Exhibition. South Carolina young women in grades 9 through 12 …
Programs of Study
Converse offers over 100 majors, minors, certificates, and graduate programs across 2 campuses and online.
