Art & Art History, BFA
for the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts Major in Art & Art History
The Program in Art & Art History at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign is unique. Housed in the School of Art & Design in the College of Fine and Applied Arts, the Program in Art History offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in a combined Art History and Studio/Design course of study, providing a broad cultural education that unites academic and studio training. Students who earn this degree will be qualified to pursue a range of careers, museum work, or graduate study in either art history or studio practice.
A portfolio review is required for admission to the School of Art & Design.
Departmental Distinction: a student must earn a 3.25 overall GPA, and 3.50 GPA in Art History. The student will complete at least 4 semester hours of independent research to write a senior research paper. See the undergraduate adviser for further details.
for the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts Major in Art & Art History
Graduation Requirements
Minimum hours required for graduation: 122 hours.
University Requirements
Minimum of 40 hours of upper-division coursework, generally at the 300- or 400-level. These hours can be drawn from all elements of the degree. Students should consult their academic advisor for additional guidance in fulfilling this requirement.
The university and residency requirements can be found in the Student Code (§ 3-801) and in the Academic Catalog.
General Education Requirements
Follows the campus General Education (Gen Ed) requirements. Some Gen Ed requirements may be met by courses required and/or electives in Art and Design.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Composition I | 4-6 | |
| Advanced Composition | 3 | |
| Humanities & the Arts (6 hours) | 6 | |
fulfilled by ARTH 110 and any other course approved as Humanities & the Arts | ||
| Natural Sciences & Technology (6 hours) | 6 | |
| Social & Behavioral Sciences (6 hours) | 6 | |
| Cultural Studies: Non-Western Cultures (1 course) | 3 | |
| Cultural Studies: US Minority Cultures (1 course) | 3 | |
| Cultural Studies: Western/Comparative Cultures (1 course) | 3 | |
fulfilled by ARTH 110 | ||
| Quantitative Reasoning (2 courses, at least one course must be Quantitative Reasoning I) | 6-10 | |
| Language Requirement (Completion of the third semester or equivalent of a language other than English is required) | 0-15 | |
First Year Curriculum
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| FAA 101 | Arts at Illinois | 1 |
| ARTF 101 | Contemporary Issues in Art | 2 |
| ARTE 101 | Art, Design, and Society | 2 |
| ARTH 110 | Introduction to the History of Art and Visual Culture | 3 |
| ARTF 103 | Design I | 3 |
| ARTF 105 | Design II | 3 |
| Select one Drawing course: | 3 | |
| Observational Drawing | ||
| Expressive Drawing | ||
| Visualization Drawing | ||
| Total Hours | 17 | |
Art History
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 6 courses at the 200-400 level (3 credit hours each) | 18 | |
| Students must take at least one course in three of the following areas: 1) Africa and the Middle East; 2) Asia; 3) the Americas; 4) Europe; Students must also take at least one course that covers material before 1700 and one course must cover material after 1700. | ||
Though students must take a total of 6 courses, some courses may count toward the fulfillment of more than one area and period requirement. For instance, a course in 20th century African art could count as a class covering both Africa and the Middle East and material after 1700. | ||
With an advisor’s approval, up to 6 credit hours of courses in the history of architecture or landscape architecture at the 200-400 may be taken towards the fulfillment of these required hours. | ||
Other courses may be approved in consultation with the advisor. | ||
1. Africa and the Middle East | ||
| African Art and Society I | ||
| Central African Art | ||
| Modern and Contemp African Art | ||
| West African Art and Ideas | ||
| Sacred African Diaspora Arts | ||
| Islamic Gardens & Architecture | ||
2. Asia | ||
| East Asian Art History | ||
| Art in China | ||
| Sacred Sites in Japan | ||
| Ways of Seeing in Edo Japan | ||
| Word and Image in Chinese Art | ||
| China through Film | ||
3. The Americas | ||
| Art Since 1940 | ||
| American Art | ||
| Graffiti and Murals | ||
| Arts of Colonial Latin America | ||
| Arts of Modern Latin America | ||
4. Europe | ||
| Greek Art | ||
| Ancient Greek Sanctuaries | ||
| Medieval Art | ||
| Italian Renaissance Art | ||
| Northern Renaissance Art | ||
| Art, Power and Culture in 17th-Century Europe | ||
| Modern Art, 1880-1940 | ||
| Art Since 1940 | ||
| Spanish Modern Art | ||
| The Archaeology of Greece | ||
| The Archaeology of Italy | ||
| Romanesque Art | ||
| Gothic Art | ||
| Topics: Italian Art 1300-1500 | ||
| Topics: Northern Art 1300-1500 | ||
| Sixteenth-Century Italian Art | ||
| Fifteenth-Century Italian Art | ||
| Italian Baroque Art | ||
| 17th-Century Dutch & Flemish Art | ||
| Romantic Art | ||
| The Russian Avant-Garde: Revolutionary Forms and Socialist Norms | ||
| European Art Between the Wars | ||
| France and Its Others | ||
| At least one course must cover material before 1700 | ||
| Greek Art | ||
| Ancient Greek Sanctuaries | ||
| Medieval Art | ||
| Italian Renaissance Art | ||
| Northern Renaissance Art | ||
| Art, Power and Culture in 17th-Century Europe | ||
| Arts of Colonial Latin America | ||
| Women and the Visual Arts | ||
| The Archaeology of Greece | ||
| The Archaeology of Italy | ||
| Romanesque Art | ||
| Gothic Art | ||
| Topics: Italian Art 1300-1500 | ||
| Topics: Northern Art 1300-1500 | ||
| Sixteenth-Century Italian Art | ||
| Fifteenth-Century Italian Art | ||
| Italian Baroque Art | ||
| 17th-Century Dutch & Flemish Art | ||
| Medieval Architecture | ||
| Baroque & Rococo Arch | ||
| At least one course must cover material after 1700 | ||
| Design History Survey | ||
| Art of the Nineteenth Century | ||
| Art Since 1940 | ||
| History of Photography | ||
| Graffiti and Murals | ||
| Art Criticism and Writing | ||
| Arts of Modern Latin America | ||
| Spanish Modern Art | ||
| Realism to Postimpressionism | ||
| American Art 1750-1900 | ||
| Early American Modernism | ||
| Contemporary Art | ||
| Romantic Art | ||
| The Russian Avant-Garde: Revolutionary Forms and Socialist Norms | ||
| European Art Between the Wars | ||
| France and Its Others | ||
| Institutional Critique | ||
| Modernity’s Mirror: Nineteenth-Century Architecture 1750-1900 | ||
| The Architecture of the United States, c.1650 to Present | ||
| Modern and Contemporary Global Architecture | ||
| One Advanced art history course (300 or 400 level) not used elsewhere | ||
| Total Hours | 18 | |
Art History Seminar
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ARTH 495 | Undergraduate Seminar in Art History (3 hours, completed twice) | 6 |
Art & Design Electives
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 4 ARTS or ARTD courses (at any level) | 12 | |
| Seven (7) additional courses in the School of Art and Design (at any level), including courses with the following rubrics: ARTE, ARTD, ARTH, ARTJ or ARTS | 21 | |
| Total Hours | 33 | |
Summary of Credit Hours for the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art and Art History
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| General Education | ||
| First-Year Curriculum | 17 | |
| Art History | 18 | |
| Art History Seminar | 6 | |
| Art & Design Electives | 33 | |
| Electives to bring the total hours earned to 122, including a minimum of 40 credits at the 300- or 400-level. | ||
| Total Hours | 122 | |
for the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts Major in Art & Art History
This sample sequence is intended to be used only as a guide for degree completion. All students should work individually with their academic advisors to decide the actual course selection and sequence that works best for them based on their academic preparation and goals. Enrichment programming such as study abroad, minors, internships, and so on may impact the structure of this four-year plan. Course availability is not guaranteed during the semester indicated in the sample sequence.
Students must fulfill their Language Other Than English requirement by successfully completing a third level of a language other than English. For more information, see the corresponding section on the Degree and General Education Requirements page.
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| FAA 101 | 1 | ARTE 101 | 2 |
| ARTF 101 | 2 | ARTD or ARTS ### (3D Category) | 3 |
| ARTH 110 | 3 | ARTS ### (4D Category) | 3 |
| ARTF ### (Drawing Category) | 3 | Composition I or Language Other than English (3rd level) | 4 |
| ARTD or ARTS ### (2D Category) | 3 | General Education course | 3 |
| Composition I or Language Other than English (3rd level) | 4 | ||
| 16 | 15 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| ARTH 200-400 level course | 3 | ARTH 200-400 level course | 3 |
| ARTH 200-400 level course | 3 | ARTH 200-400 level course | 3 |
| Art & Design Elective (ARTS, ARTD, ARTE, ARTH, or ARTJ courses not otherwise required in major) | 3 | Art & Design Elective (ARTS, ARTD, ARTE, ARTH, or ARTJ courses not otherwise required in major) | 3 |
| General Education course | 3 | General Education course | 3 |
| General Education course | 3 | General Education course | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| ARTH 200-400 level course | 3 | ARTH 200-400 level course | 3 |
| ARTS or ARTD course (any level) | 3 | ARTS or ARTD course (any level) | 3 |
| ARTS or ARTD course (any level) | 3 | ARTS or ARTD course (any level) | 3 |
| General Education course | 3 | Art & Design Elective (ARTS, ARTD, ARTE, ARTH, or ARTJ courses not otherwise required in major) | 3 |
| General Education course | 3 | General Education course | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| First Semester | Hours | Second Semester | Hours |
| ARTH 400-level seminar | 3 | ARTH 400-level seminar | 3 |
| Art & Design Elective (ARTS, ARTD, ARTE, ARTH, or ARTJ courses not otherwise required in major) | 3 | Art & Design Elective (ARTS, ARTD, ARTE, ARTH, or ARTJ courses not otherwise required in major) | 3 |
| Art & Design Elective (ARTS, ARTD, ARTE, ARTH, or ARTJ courses not otherwise required in major) | 3 | Art & Design Elective (ARTS, ARTD, ARTE, ARTH, or ARTJ courses not otherwise required in major) | 3 |
| General Education course | 3 | General Education course | 3 |
| Free Elective course | 4 | Free Elective course | 3 |
| 16 | 15 | ||
| Total Hours 122 | |||
for the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts Major in Art & Art History
- Students will develop art historical knowledge and skills in tandem with their development of a studio or design practice.
- Students will be able to demonstrate familiarity with key artistic monuments and modes of art production from various global contexts.
- Students will be able to analyze and interpret works of art and architecture situated in a variety of historical and social contexts, and in comparative perspective.
- Students will be able to use visual and verbal primary sources, secondary sources, and core critical frameworks of art historical analysis to develop and articulate persuasive arguments about works of art and the cultures that produced them.
for the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts Major in Art & Art History
School of Art & Design
School of Art & Design
Art & Design faculty
Director of Undergraduate Studies: Professor Terri Weissman
143 Art and Design Building, Champaign, IL 61820
Advising
Academic Advisor: Bryan VanGinhoven
143 Art and Design Building, Champaign, IL 61820
(217) 300-2520
Advising email
College of Fine & Applied Arts
Fine & Applied Arts
Admissions
University of Illinois Undergrad Admissions
FAA Undergraduate Advising
Undergrad Admissions email