Undergraduate Study in History of Art & Architecture

The Department of Art & Architecture offers both lecture courses and seminars on art and architecture across the globe and from many historical periods – including the present. Required coursework for majors and minors allows broad exposure to the field from a variety of critical and interdisciplinary perspectives while also affording students the flexibility to engage in the focused study of specific periods, regions, and works of art and buildings.

Diverse approaches to the art, material culture, and architecture of Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Islam provide not only a broad chronological sweep but also a focus on understanding historical, social, political, and cultural contexts from various critical perspectives. Boston’s world-class museums, contemporary art galleries, and rich architectural traditions are a focus in many classes. The Undergraduate History of Art & Architecture Association and the Undergraduate Architecture Association sponsor visits to museums, galleries, and buildings throughout the northeast as well as to architectural offices and behind-the-scenes tours of museums.

Graduates pursue various careers not only in research and teaching, but also in conservation and preservation, in auction houses, as art lawyers, architects, museum curators, in municipal and state cultural programs, in publishing, in government service and business.