BA/BS in Visual and Performing Arts, Other

This undergraduate degree teaches students to examine how art, culture and politics have influenced one another from ancient times to today. Close visual analysis and engagement with current research drive the curriculum. After foundational classes, students specialize in topics such as Renaissance and Baroque Europe, photography, Latin American art and modern and contemporary work. The degree builds skills in research, writing, critical thinking, persuasion and interdisciplinary work, preparing graduates to work as art professionals or to pursue graduate study. It complements the department's studio degree and encourages interaction between practicing artists and historians. The degree totals 120 credit hours, and students are admitted directly into the major when they join the university. Graduates leave with a clear understanding of how images and objects reflect the societies that produced them, a skill that supports careers in museums, galleries, teaching and scholarship.