General Questions

The BA in the History of Art and Architecture offers a curriculum that identifies and promotes continuing contact with the enduring values of the world’s artistic heritage and the application of these values to the future. It aims educationally to provide a broad foundation in the history of art and architecture that emphasizes the exquisitely diverse ways that peoples across time and place have inscribed their most cherished cultural traditions onto their material world.

No, there are no concentrations within the HAA major. In addition to the BA in the History of Art and Architecture, HAA offers three minors: 1) a minor in the History of Art and Architecture, 2) an Architecture and Urbanism minor, offered jointly with the Department of Geography, and 3) a Museum Studies Minor, offered jointly with the Departments of History and Anthropology. The BA in HAA engages students in sophisticated discussion and critical analysis of diverse cultural, ethnic, and gender traditions in the visual arts within and outside of the student’s own culture and encourages an in-depth awareness of the history of art as a discipline, with an emphasis on its most compelling theoretical issues and its various methodological approaches.

Interdisciplinary by its very nature, the program teaches students to see connections beyond the classroom to help prepare them for life after the degree. Faculty use the city of Chicago as an extension of the classroom with assignments that encourage practical engagement with real objects at local museums and galleries, as well as with the living architecture that distinguishes this great urban center. By requiring a range of geographic, chronological, and cultural courses at different levels, the program ensures mastery of general knowledge about the problems and issues within the discipline but also in-depth study of complex intellectual content.

View Major Requirements
View Minor Requirements

In general students new to the discipline of the History of Art and Architecture should begin with 100-level classes. 100-level HAA courses cover large geographic areas over significant periods of time and are appropriate for majors and non-majors equally. They cover fundamental skills in thehistory of art and architecture, including visual and iconographic analysis, and introduce students to the specialized vocabulary of the discipline.

HAA offers the following four 100-level classes, at least two of which are offered each quarter:

HAA 101: Introduction to African Art
HAA 115: Introduction to Asian Art
HAA 130: Introduction to European Art
HAA 145: Introduction to Arts of the Americas

View complete list of classes, including descriptions for all HAA courses

A broad range of career opportunities in many different areas exist for graduates with a major in the History of Art and Architecture. These include, but are not limited to, opportunities in museums, publishing, historic preservation, art and architecture conservation, art law, education, and the antiquarian book trade with titles that include, but are not limited to, Curatorial Consultant, Art Gallery Professional, Arts Organization Consultant, Antiques Dealer, Estate and Art Appraiser, Artist’s Representative, Art Lawyer, and Art Educator.

Additional information on these and many other career paths for students who major in the History of Art and Architecture may be found by visiting the Career Center and the Alumni Sharing Knowledge site.  A more general overlook can be found in this brochure, created by the Career Center.

Students seeking advisement or further information in the Department of History of Art and Architecture or wishing to declare a major or minor in the History of Art and Architecture should contact  the chair of the department (see Contact Us). The department chair welcomes your questions regarding the major or minors within the department. Continuing students who do not know their faculty advisor should contact the HAA Department Assistant, also listed on the Contact Us page.