Art History, B.A. : 120 units

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Offered by: College of Environmental Design, Art Department

Major Required Core
Major Electives

Unrestricted Electives
General Education Requirements

The Art History Major includes global art from antiquity to the present. Students develop skills in visual analysis, analysis of cultural context, and in scholarly research.

Program Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

Students obtaining the B.A. in Art History should be able to:

identify important works of art and design, artistic movements and trends;
analyze works of art and design using art historical tools of visual analysis and discipline-appropriate vocabulary;
explain how works of art and design relate to their contexts of production and reception;
demonstrate critical thinking about art historical, critical, or theoretical texts;
demonstrate skills of research and proper use of scholarly documentation.

Major Required Core: 30 units

AH 2301 - World Art: Prehistory through Medieval Europe (3) (C1)
AH 2302 - World Art: Renaissance through Modern Europe and the United States (3) (C1)
AH 2303 - World Art: Asia (Prehistory to 12th Century) (3) (C1)
AH 2305 - World Art: Africa, Oceania, and Native America (3) (C1)
AH 4610 - Senior Seminar (3)
CLS 1101 - Freshman Experience (2) (E)
CLS 1101A - Freshman Experience (1) (E)
HST 1101 - World Civilizations to 1500 (3) (C2a)
HST 1102 - World Civilizations from 1500 (3) (C2a)
HST 3300 - Theory and Practice of History (3)
VCD 1XXX/2XXX - A Lower Division Studio Course (3)

Major Electives: 39 units

Foreign Language Electives: 6 units

At least two semesters of a single foreign language of the student’s choice (C2b).

Groups A, B, and C: 21 units

Choose at least two courses from each group below (A, B, and C) for a total of 7 courses or 21 units.

Upper Division Group A

Upper Division Group B

Upper Division Group C

Approved Electives: 12 units

Select four upper-division courses (3000- and 4000-level) from among the following subject areas for a total of 12 units: AH (Art History), ANT (Anthropology), CHN (Chinese), COM (Communications), ENG (English), FRE (French), FRL (Finance, Real Estate, and Law), GER (German), HST (History), IBM (International Business and Marketing), MHR (Management and Human Resources), PHL (Philosophy), PLS (Political Science), SPN (Spanish), and TH (Theatre).

Unrestricted Electives: 3-15 units

Select a sufficient number of courses so that the total from “Major Required Core”, “Major Electives”, “GE”, and “Unrestricted Electives” is at least 120 units.

General Education Requirements: 48 units

Students should consult the Academic Programs website https://www.cpp.edu/~academic-programs/general-education-course-listings.shtml for current information regarding this requirement. Unless specific courses are required, please refer to the list of approved courses under General Education Requirements, Areas A through E.

	Course	Term Taken	Grade
Area A. English Language Communication and Critical Thinking (9 units)
1. Oral Communication
2. Written Communication
3. Critical Thinking
Area B. Scientific Inquiry and Quantitative Reasoning (12 units)
1. Physical Sciences
2. Life Sciences
3. Laboratory Activity
4. Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning
5. Science and Technology Synthesis
Area C. Arts and Humanities (12 units)
1. Visual and Performing Arts
2a. Philosophy and Civilization
2b. Literature and Language Other than English
3. Arts and Humanities Synthesis
Area D. Social Sciences (12 units)
1. U.S. History and American Ideals
2. U.S. Constitution and California Government
3. Social Sciences: Principles, Methodologies, Value Systems, and Ethics
4. Social Science Synthesis
Area E. Lifelong Learning and Self-Development (3 units)

For an alternative and interdisciplinary way to complete some of their GE requirements, students may choose the Interdisciplinary General Education program, see below.

Interdisciplinary General Education: 21 units

An alternate pattern for partial fulfillment of GE Areas A, C, and D available for students is the Interdisciplinary General Education (IGE) program. Students should see an advisor for specific GE coursework required by their major. Please refer to the University Catalog General Education Program section for additional information.

How IGE fulfills General Education Requirements:

GE Area	Courses
A2	IGE 1100 and IGE 1200
C1	IGE 2100 or IGE 2200
C2	IGE 1100 , IGE 1200 , IGE 2100 , or IGE 2200
D1	IGE 2300 or IGE 2400
D3	IGE 2300 or IGE 2400
C3	IGE 3100
D4	IGE 3100

revised 07/17/2024

American Institutions: 6 units

Courses that satisfy this requirement may also satisfy GE Area D1 and D2.

American Cultural Perspectives Requirement: 3 units

Refer to the University Catalog General Education Program section for a list of courses that satisfy this requirement. Course may also satisfy major, minor, GE, or unrestricted elective requirements.

Graduation Writing Test

All persons who receive undergraduate degrees from Cal Poly Pomona must pass the Graduation Writing Test (GWT). The test must be taken by the semester following completion of 60 units for undergraduates.