Career Opportunities

With its broad emphasis on culture and history and its focus on writing, analysis, and research, History of Art and Architecture is an excellent liberal arts major for students seeking flexible but rigorous training for a variety of careers. The History of Art and Architecture major not only prepares students to work in arts-related fields, but also fosters the kinds of skills necessary in any profession involving visual culture in its broadest sense, historical and cultural understanding, critical analysis, persuasive argumentation, thorough research, and effective writing.

Among graduates of the department are college and high school teachers, architectural historians specializing in historic preservation, an arts foundation consultant, numerous museum staff members, private art dealers, specialists at auction houses, digital image librarians, art program officers at private charitable foundations, and arts administrators at state, local, and federal agencies. History of Art and Architecture majors have gone on to graduate study at the University of California Berkeley, Columbia, Delaware, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University, Princeton, Rutgers, Virginia, and other universities. Their areas of specialization, aside from the history of art and architecture, have included art education, anthropology, archaeology, material culture, conservation, museum training, public history, management, and library science. Students should consult their advisor and the Director of Undergraduate Studies for information on M.A. and Ph.D. programs in art history and such related areas as museology, conservation, archaeology, and arts management. All Ph.D. programs in Art History require reading knowledge of German and French.