Art and Art History
Academic Department
The Department of Art and Art History provides a unique opportunity to study the visual arts and their relevance in contemporary culture within the context of a comprehensive liberal arts education. Led by dedicated and talented professionals, our small classes foster creative and practical skills along with constructive dialogue between students and professors.
Depending on their talents and interests, students choose to major in either art history or studio art. Art history majors explore visual and material culture as forms of communication, while studio art majors customize their study of the visual arts through concentrations in ceramics, graphic design, illustration, interactive media arts, painting and photography.
Students may also choose to major in cultural and historic preservation, which provides a diverse foundation in the field's major disciplines, including architectural history, archaeology, museum studies and urban planning.
Programs
Art History (B.A., Minor)
Our bachelor's degree in art history explores visual and material culture as forms of communication. We seek to understand painting, sculpture, architecture, decorative arts, textiles, jewelry and archaeological objects within the historical and cultural contexts in which they were created. Images have the power to tell stories, and we study works of art to better understand the motivations, beliefs, ideologies, fears and hopes of the people who made them.
Cultural and Historic Preservation (B.A., Minor)
As one of only nine undergraduate programs recognized by the National Council for Preservation Education, the Noreen Stonor Drexel Cultural and Historic Preservation Program prepares students for careers that explore and protect the places, objects and stories that create our history.
Studio Art (B.A., Minor)
Our bachelor's degree in studio art provides unique opportunities for students to develop their creative and practical skills while exploring the theory, practice and history of art. In small class settings, students customize their study of the visual arts through concentrations in ceramics, graphic design, illustration, interactive media arts, painting and photography.