Overview

The art history program at Calvin will enable you to understand how visual images and objects affect the way we live. In this program, you will take courses in Western and non-Western art and museum studies and prepare for graduate work or to work in a gallery or museum. 

Careers in Art History

As a graduate of this program, you might find work as a:

• Curator
• Art Critic
• Journalist
• Lawyer
• More

See job placement rates for Calvin grads.

Student involvement

Participate in the Art History Society; join other students in writing and photographing for the Chimes or Dialogue; get involved with the Calvin Video Network and the Visual Arts Guild

Course Requirements 2011-12

Art History major

(33-35 semester hours)

• ART-153 Visual Culture

• One from:
  • ARTH-101 Intro to the History of Art I
  • ARCT-201 Architectural History I
• One from:
  • ARTH-102 Intro to the History of Art II
  • ARCT-202 Architectural History II
• One from:
  • ARTH-232 Early Christian & Byzantine Arts
  • ARTH-233 Medieval Art
  • CLAS-221 Classical Art & Architecture
• One from:
  • ARTH-234 Northern Renaissance Art
  • ARTH-235 Italian Renaissance Art
  • ARTH-237 Baroque and Rococo Art
• One from:
  • ARTH-238 Nineteenth-Century Art
  • ARTH-239 Modernism and the Arts
  • ARTH-240 Contemporary Art
• One from:
  • ARTH-241 Asian Art
  • ARTH-243 Art of the Americas
  • ARTH-245 African and Oceanic Art

• Two art history electives

• Two capstone courses:
  • ARTH-397 Methods in Art Historiography or ARCT-397 Architectural Theory & Criticism
  • ARTH-399 Symposium

Art History majors are encouraged to complete a second foreign language sequence in addition to their core foreign language. Specifically French and German are advantageous for students who want to pursue graduate school.

Art History minor

(24 semester hours)

• ART-153 Visual Culture

• One from:
  • ARTH-101 Intro to the History of Art I
  • ARCT-201 Architectural History I
• One from:
  • ARTH-102 Intro to the History of Art II
  • ARCT-202 Architectural History II
• One from:
  • ARTH-232 Early Christian & Byzantine Arts
  • ARTH-233 Medieval Art
  • CLAS-221 Classical Art & Architecture
• One from:
  • ARTH-234 Northern Renaissance Art
  • ARTH-235 Italian Renaissance Art
  • ARTH-237 Baroque and Rococo Art
• One from:
  • ARTH-238 Nineteenth-Century Art
  • ARTH-239 Modernism and the Arts
  • ARTH-240 Contemporary Art
• One from:
  • ARTH-241 Asian Art
  • ARTH-243 Art of the Americas
  • ARTH-245 African and Oceanic Art

Scholarships

Dollar amounts reflect awards given for the 2010-11 academic year.

Edgar G. Boeve' Art Scholarship

• award amount: $2,100
• junior or senior
• GPA 3.0+
• financial need required; preference to those with an interest in pursuing a career in art
• apply through the art and art history department

Maurice and Eunice Bolt Scholarship

• award amount: $1,500
• senior
• GPA of 3.0+
• financial need required; preference to those who wish to teach music or art within a public school system
• apply through the Calvin Portal

Sandra Bowden Art Scholarship

• award amount: $1,300
• sophomore, junior or senior
• GPA of 2.5+
• financial need not required
• apply through the art and art history department

Henry Van Andel Memorial Scholarship

• award amount: $2,200
• sophomore, junior or senior
• GPA of 3.0+
• financial need required; first preference to those majoring in art history, then to those majoring in art education
• apply through the art and art history department

Curt and Lisa Vander Meer Scholarship

• award amount: $1,500
• junior or senior
• GPA of 3.0+
• financial need required; intending to be a studio artist or art educator
• apply through the art and art history department

Johanna Kempers Wyngaarden Scholarship

• award amount: $5,100
• any class level
• GPA 2.5+
• financial need required; be pursuing an art studio major or an art education major OR be a music major concentrating in piano performance
• apply through the art and art history departmentor the music department

Faculty