Requirements

Requirements for Concentration in Art History: The major consists of a minimum of 12 units. 10 units, including Art 105-106, must be graded art history courses taken at Vassar.  2 units may be taken in studio art or architectural design, or may be transferred from work completed outside of Vassar, such as courses taken during Junior Year Abroad.

Distribution:  6 units at the 200-level must be divided equally between groups A, B, and C. 3 units must be in 300-level art history courses:  two seminars in different art historical groups and 301 (senior project).  300-level seminars are to be selected on the basis of courses in the same area already taken on the 200-level.  Majors are urged to take a 300-level seminar before 301.

A: Ancient, Medieval, Asian art

B: Italian and Northern Renaissance and baroque art, Renaissance and baroque architecture (Art 270, 271), American art (Art 250)

C: Nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first century art, American art (Art 251, Art 266), nineteenth century to contemporary architecture (Art 272, Art 273), African art

Departmental and interdisciplinary courses that do not conform to the groupings listed above may be applied to the distribution requirements upon approval of the student’s major adviser.

Ungraded/NRO work may not be used to satisfy the requirements for the art history concentration.

Senior Year Requirements: Art 301 and 1 additional unit at the 300-level. Majors concentrating in art history are required to write a senior paper, based upon independent research and supervised by a member of the department. Petitions for exemption from this requirement, granted only in special circumstances, must be submitted to the chair in writing by the first day of classes in the A semester.

Recommendations: The selection and sequence of courses for the major should be planned closely with the major adviser. Students are advised to take courses in the history of painting, sculpture, and architecture, and are strongly encouraged to take at least one studio course. Students considering graduate study in art history are advised to take courses in foreign languages: German, and the Romance, Classical, or Asian languages, depending on areas of interest. Students with special interest in architectural design and/or city planning should meet with the departmental adviser to discuss this concentration.

The art department offers a correlate sequence in art history to allow students to develop an area of significant interest outside their major field of concentration. In consultation with a departmental adviser, the student selects a body of courses encompassing introductory through advanced study and covering more than one historical period. The Correlate Sequence in Art History: 6 graded units including Art 105-106, three 200-level courses in at least two art historical period groups, and one 300-level course.

Advisers: the art history faculty.

Requirements for Concentration in Studio Art: 13 units; 4 units must be in graded art history courses, consisting of Art 105-106 and two 200-level courses in different groups (A, B, C) listed above; 9 studio units, 7 of which must be graded units taken at Vassar, including Art 102-103; 4 units in 200-level studio courses, of which 2 must be Art 204-205 and 2 must be in sequential courses in painting, drawing, printmaking, photography or architecture drawing and design; 3 units in 300-level studio courses including Art 301. By special permission up to 2 units of Art 298 and 399 work can be included in the major.

Senior Year Requirements: Art 301 and 1 additional unit at the 300-level.

Studio Art: Entrance into the studio concentration is determined by evaluation of the student’s class work and by a review of the student’s portfolio by the studio faculty. The portfolio may be submitted for evaluation at any time, ordinarily between the spring of the sophomore year and the spring of the junior year. Students taking studio courses are charged a fee to cover the cost of some materials, and they may be responsible for the purchase of additional materials. Studio majors are required to attend and participate in the majors’ critiques.

Students who wish to concentrate in studio art are advised to take Art 102-103 in their freshman year and at least one additional studio course in the sophomore year in order to have a portfolio of work to be evaluated for admission to the studio art concentration. Those students interested in the studio concentration should consult the studio faculty no later than the end of the sophomore year. NRO work may not be used to satisfy the requirements for the studio concentration. In order to receive credit for courses taken during Junior Year Abroad, students must submit a portfolio of work for review by the studio art faculty.

Correlate Sequence in Studio Art:  The correlate sequence in Studio Art offers the opportunity to investigate the visual arts through a progression of courses on the one hundred, two hundred, and three hundred level. The correlate is comprised of six units: Art 102-103 (2 units), a full year pre-requisite to the two hundred level courses, will give students a foundation in drawing and visual thinking.  At the two hundred level students may elect any three course units including drawing, painting (full year 2 units), sculpture (full year 2 units), printmaking, photography, video, and architectural design.  At the three hundred level, one unit of painting, sculpture, computer animation, or architectural design. 

Each year, the Art Department will provide an updated list of approved courses for the Studio Art correlate sequence.  From this course list, students define an appropriate course of study, which must be approved by the Art Department chair and a Correlate Sequence advisor prior to declaration.  Additional courses may be approved for the Correlate Sequence upon petition to the Chair. A maximum of two units of ungraded work may be counted toward the Correlate Sequence.

Advisers: the studio art faculty.

Architectural Design: Students interested in the field of architectural design should consult with members of the architectural design advisory committee.

Tobias Armborst, Harry Roseman, Andrew Tallon, Nicholas Adams