Overview
https://www.design.iastate.edu/academics/departments/art-visual-culture/
The Department of Art and Visual Culture offers degree programs focused on fine arts and art history, including the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Art, Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Art History, Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) in Art, and the Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) in Integrated Visual Arts. Course offerings include studio arts, art history, art education, and scientific illustration and visualization.
B.A. in Art History
The Bachelor of Arts in Art History is a four-year program for students seeking a concentrated course of study in art history and visual culture, including theory, criticism, and museum studies. Students in the program gain a broad understanding of histories of art and visual culture, ranging from the prehistoric period to the present and including both western and non-western cultures. They then choose one or more areas—such as history of photography, 19th century, modern or contemporary art—for deeper study in advanced-level courses and seminars that encourage critical thinking and the development of research, writing, and presentation skills.
Flexibility is a key feature of the B.A. in Art History. Working with an advisor, students design their own program of study, one that targets their personal interests and career goals. In addition to art history and visual culture courses taught by faculty within the program, students can take courses in the histories of architecture, graphic design, industrial design, interior design, and landscape architecture. For students interested in museum studies, courses may include up to nine (9) credits of museum or gallery internship. Many students also choose to add a second major or minor to complement their Art History degree, such as advertising, business, entrepreneurship, history, journalism, psychology, or a myriad of other possibilities.
Students in the program can gain real-world experience through one or more internships in a museum or gallery prior to graduation. Local possibilities include the Brunnier Art Museum and Christian Petersen Art Museum on campus, the Octagon Center for the Arts downtown, and the Des Moines Art Center. Summers are a great time for internships in more distant locales.
Students are also encouraged (but not required) to study abroad to gain first-hand knowledge of another culture. The College’s Rome Program is a frequent choice for those wanting to spend a semester in Europe. Summer excursions are also available, with ISU faculty regularly leading multi-week trips to Europe, Asia, and Central America.
The B.A. in Art History offers students the opportunity to learn more about the world and themselves, and can serve as a springboard to a wide array of graduate school and career opportunities, including art criticism, art sales, conservation, and working with corporate art collections, galleries and museums, and art therapy. Further career possibilities include teaching at the college level and curating in major museum collections.
Student Learning Outcomes
Students will learn how to:
- Look at and think critically about art and visual culture, including both historical works and the images that surround them in daily life;
- Conduct research using digital and analog methods;
- Write and speak analytically and critically about art and visual culture;
- Express and defend positions on art and visual culture through written and verbal means.
Students will also learn to:
- Understand the relationship between art objects and the political, historical, and cultural contexts in which they were created;
- Respect and appreciate other cultures and perspectives, both historical and contemporary, through a study of their artistic production;
- Consider how art addresses the ethical, cultural, and ecological challenges we face today in a globalized world.