Program Requirements and Opportunities

The Department of History of Art revised the requirements for the major and minor effective fall 2022. Students who register for the major or minor in fall 2022 or later must follow the requirements as described below. Students who registered for the major or minor in spring 2022 or earlier have the option to follow either the old or the new requirements. Students should contact the current Director of Undergraduate Studies with any questions related to the old or new requirements.

Major Requirements: The major requires ten units, approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies. These courses include:

• two 100-level lecture courses homebased in the Department of History of Art (that is, designated with a HART course number). It is recommended that these courses be completed in the first or second year and prior to enrolling in the required 200-level “critical approaches” seminar.
   
• one 200-level “critical approaches” seminar (course numbers HART 200-249 ONLY) homebased in the Department of History of Art (that is, designated with a HART course number). This course also fulfills the departmental writing intensive requirement. It is recommended that this course be completed by the end of the second year and prior to enrolling in the required 300-level seminars.
   
• the 100- and 200-level courses completed for the major must fulfill the following distribution requirements: (a) one course must be pre-modern (ancient to early modern/sixteenth century); (b) one course must be modern/contemporary (seventeenth century or later); and (c) one course must be non-Western (the non-Western course can be double-counted with the chronological distribution such that the three distribution requirements can be fulfilled through two courses).
   
• two 300-level seminars homebased in the Department of History of Art (that is, designated with a HART course number). It is recommended that these seminars be completed by the end of the third year and prior to the senior-year Capstone Sequence.
   
• two-course Capstone Sequence (Senior Conference I HART 398 in the fall semester and Senior Conference II HART 399 in the spring semester) through which students produce a thesis of 25-40 pages in length, based on original research. The Capstone Sequence may be completed only in the senior year.
   
• three additional courses taken in any year and conforming to any of the following categories: (a) courses at any level homebased in History of Art (including up to one 400-level Praxis courses); (b) up to two courses at any level in another Bryn Mawr department or program that are “tagged for” History of Art (i.e., listed as “counting toward” History of Art on the department website course listing); (c) up to two courses at any level at Haverford, Swarthmore, and University of Pennsylvania in History of Art or related fields (including Studio Art) that have been approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies to count toward the major; or (d) up to two study abroad courses at any level in History of Art or related fields that have been approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies to count toward the major.
   
• no more than three courses in the History of Art major may count simultaneously toward another major, minor, or concentration.

Honors: Seniors whose work is outstanding (with a minimum 3.7 GPA in the major at the beginning of the second semester senior year and excellent performance in seminars homebased in History of Art) may be invited to undertake an honors thesis. Consideration for honors is by invitation only. At the end of the spring semester, if the submitted thesis fulfills expectations for honors, the candidate will be invited to discuss the thesis with faculty members in a one-half-hour oral examination.

Minor Requirements: A minor in History of Art requires six units, approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies. These courses include:

• one 100-level lecture courses homebased in the Department of History of Art (that is, designated with a HART course number).
   
• one 200-level “critical approaches” seminar (course numbers HART 200-249 ONLY) homebased in the Department of History of Art (that is, designated with a HART course number).
   
• one 300-level seminars homebased in the Department of History of Art (that is, designated with a HART course number).
   
• three additional courses conforming to any of the following categories: (a) courses at any level homebased in History of Art (including up to one 400-level Praxis courses); (b) up to two courses at any level in another Bryn Mawr department or program that are “tagged for” History of Art (i.e., listed as “counting toward” History of Art on the department website course listing); (c) up to two courses at any level at Haverford, Swarthmore, and University of Pennsylvania in History of Art or related fields (including Studio Art) that have been approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies to count toward the minor; or (d) up to two study abroad courses at any level in History of Art or related fields that have been approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies to count toward the minor.
   
• no more than three courses in the History of Art minor may count simultaneously toward another major, minor, or concentration.