Course offerings in art history at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs reflect the unique strengths of local and regional museum collections in the areas of Native American, Hispanic, Spanish Colonial, and Modern and Contemporary art. Courses in these areas are complemented by fieldwork and visits to museums and historic sites in Denver, Colorado Springs, the San Luis Valley, Taos, Santa Fe and New York City. Many additional courses are offered in Western European art, art of the Pacific Rim, African art, African American art, feminist art and theory, and the history of photography and round out the major. The art history major is also supported by a group of lower and upper division courses required of all students in the Visual and Performing Arts Department that focus on the intersections of art, film, theatre, and music.
In their senior year, art history majors produce a substantial research project that is presented publicly to the students and faculty of the Visual and Performing Arts Department. The seminar taken in conjunction with this senior thesis project (AH 400: Seminar in Art History Practice) provides art history majors with a supportive intellectual environment comparable to that offered at a small, private college.
Art-related and scholarly resources in Colorado Springs enhancing the undergraduate experience of VAPA students concentrating in art history include a visiting scholars lecture series and related events at the Heller Center for the Arts & Humanities, a visiting artists lecture and workshop series supported by the department, courses in museum and curatorial practice, and internship opportunities at local cultural institutions.
Art History Option: 60 credits
Students intending to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Visual and Performing Arts with an Art History option must complete 60 credit hours: 33 in Art History, 9 in Visual Art, 12 in VAPA, and 6 within another VAPA option for the Cross-Disciplinary component.
Art History Concentration Requirements: 33 credits
Core Requirements: 6 credits
AH 2500: Art Matters: Reading, Writing and Research in Art History OR AH 150: Art and Ideas: Michelangelo to Basquiat
AH 400: Seminar in Art History Practice
Lower Division Requirements: 12 credits
Upper Division Requirements: 15 credits
These courses must be distributed among four different areas of study.
These areas include: Ancient Cultures, the Medieval World, the Art of Africa, North American Native Arts, Mesoamerican Art, Islamic Art and Architecture, Renaissance and Baroque Art of Europe, the Arts of the Pacific Rim, the History of Women in the Arts, Public Art and Architecture, Art of the Contemporary Period, and Current Issues in Art History.
Visual Art Requirements: 9 credits (from the following list)
VA 1010: Beginning Studio 2D
VA 1020: Beginning Studio 3D
VA 1040: Beginning Drawing
VA 2100: Digital Imaging
VA 2110: Introduction to Photography
VA 2130: Beginning Painting
Students with proper prerequisites may elect to take upper division visual arts courses to fulfill this requirement.
VAPA Requirements: 12 credits
3 credits VAPA 1000 level
6 credits VAPA 3000 level
3 credits VAPA 4000 Capstone
Cross-Disciplinary Requirements: 6 credits
2000 / 3000 / 4000 level courses in Film Studies, Music, Theatre or Visual Art
Art History Minor Requirements: 18 credits
9 credits of lower division 2000 level
9 credits of upper division 3000 / 4000 level
For a current schedule or course descriptions please check out the UCCS Bulletin: http://www.uccs.edu/course.html
Links to Local & Regional Art Resources & Museums
Heller Center for Arts & Humanities
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center
Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver
Denver Art Museum
Museo de las Americas
Sangre de Cristo Art and Conference Center
Vance Kirkland Museum
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