BA/BS in Art History

Art History trains students to interpret a broad range of visual and material works, covering sacred icons, temples, photographs, monuments and film. The department treats visual literacy as a skill built through sustained practice, and its scope runs from antiquity to the present over many regions, including Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas. Works are studied both as historical documents and as acts of social communication, with attention to how power is expressed or challenged. A minor and an honors option sit alongside the major, and the department recommends several survey courses as a starting point. The major sits within the School of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford University, an undergraduate campus in California. The Stanford Bulletin carries the official requirements, and the major page lists suggested introductory courses for students who want to sample the field before declaring.