Majors in the Art Department
The Department of Art insists that its programs of major study be deeply integrated with the overall liberal arts education that Oberlin both endorses and offers. In planning their programs of study, students should therefore keep in mind the fact that all three major programs may be completed within the two final years of work towards the BA degree. Requirements for the three majors are as follows:
Art History
The department offers Art History courses in four separate groups. Courses with 100 and 200 numbers provide a broad introduction to the field and are open without prerequisite. Courses with 300 and 400 numbers comprise the core of the major in Art History, and are available only to students who have completed the prerequisites or have received the instructor's consent to enroll.
- Courses in the 100-numbered group have been designed to provide broad, synthetic overviews of Art History as an intellectual enterprise. In this group are both large lecture courses and First-Year Seminars. Note: The First-Year Seminars meet none of the requirements for completing the major in Art History and may not be applied towards major credit. No more than one 100-numbered large lecture course may count towards the major.
- 200-numbered courses provide entry into the Art History curriculum by introducing students to the methods and concepts peculiar to the discipline. They place particular emphasis on acquiring the visual skills necessary for the close, analytical scrutiny of works of art. To that end, these courses make intensive use of the collections of the Allen Memorial Art Museum. The 200-numbered courses give access to courses numbered 300 and 400, and are among the major requirements.
- 300-numbered courses provide lectures on the major periods and styles in the art-historical fields taught in the Department.
- 400-numbered courses focus on selected problems in art history in a discussion-oriented format. They treat themes, techniques, traditions of representation, or particular critical issues.
At the 300- and 400-levels, students pursue advanced topics that provide training in art-historical research and writing. Some majors complete their work in the department in the year-long Honors (500-numbered) Program.
Major in Art History
This major requires at least 30 credits in the Art Department. These credits must include a minimum of 24 credits in Art History and three credits in Studio Art.
- Major requirements within the department are:
- Six 3-credit courses distributed as follows:
- one 200-level course
- three 300-level courses
- two 400-level courses
- At least one and no more than two 3-credit courses in Studio Art
- Stipulations:
- At least one Art History course must focus on non-western art.
- Of the six required courses, four must be taught by different instructors in the department.
- No more than 6 hours on the 100- and 200-level may count toward the major.
- Six 3-credit courses distributed as follows:
- Major requirements outside the department are:
- Two 3-credit History courses in two different periods or cultures (may be courses cross-listed with History by other departments, such as Classics, African American Studies, or East Asian Studies).
- A demonstrated ability to read a foreign language at the level of competence equal to two semesters of introductory language study at Oberlin. Students may meet this requirement in a number of ways, including but not limited to: (1) completing a two-semester introductory language course at Oberlin; (2) placing above the first-year level on a placement test administered by one of the language departments; or (3) transferring the equivalent of an Oberlin introductory language course taken elsewhere.
For students who are considering graduate work in Art History, the department strongly recommends advanced language courses. In general, within the first year of graduate study in any field of Western art, students are expected to demonstrate reading competency in French and German; for East Asian Art students will need a working knowledge of Japanese and/or Chinese. Depending on the area of specialization, other languages may also be necessary, e.g. Greek, Latin, or Italian.
- A grade of D may not be counted toward the art history major
Transfer of Credit to the Art History Major
A maximum of 12 credits may be transferred to the Art History major for work completed at other institutions. The department grants transfer credit from other accredited institutions of higher education only. Note: Students who plan to transfer credit for courses taken away from Oberlin must obtain the department's approval of the course of study well in advance of their departure.
Minor in Art History
Students with 15 or more credits in Art History may graduate with a minor in Art History entered on their transcripts. No more than three credits may be transferred for the minor in Art History; departmental approval is required for such transfers (see section on Major or Minor Credit for off-campus study). Note: Students are responsible for notifying the Office of the Registrar if they wish to have the minor in Art History entered on their transcripts.
Major in Studio Art
No fewer than 30 hours. A Studio Art major must have taken at least one course with at least four different studio instructors before enrolling in the Senior Studio and Thesis.
Required courses are:
- Four "Visual Concepts and Processes" courses (Senior Studio and Thesis may substitute for one of the four required "Visual Concepts and Processes" course and, under special circumstances, a problems level course may substitute for one "Visual Concepts and Processes course). Vis/Pro courses may be repeated for credit if taken with a different instructor.
- Two "Problems in: (Discipline): (Title)" courses (These courses may be repeated one time only for credit with the consent of the instructor).
- Two courses in Art History, one of which must be in 19th- and/or 20th-century art, and one in an earlier field or "Approaches to Western Art." Only courses with a grade of C-/P/CR or better may be counted toward the Studio Art major. It is recommended that students interested in majoring in Studio Art take the 19th and 20th century course in Art History as early in their program as they can.
- Courses in African American Studies "Talking Book", "Blues Aesthetic: Continuity and Transformation", and "Something From Something" may be counted towards Studio majors and minors.
Major in Visual Art
This major is offered within the Studio Division of the Art Department. It allows individual students greater flexibility to pursuing an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the visual arts. Concentrations in this major permits students to study art within a particular social or historical context - urban or environmental studies, critical theory, museum studies, or art conservation. In addition this major can serve students wishing to pursue projects in the creative arts that may combine for example creative writing, theater, dance, music, performance art, or architectural design. It may also be designed to accommodate students who wish to study more wide-ranging topics such as environmental aspects of art and/or architecture, art in the context of another discipline such as psychology, sociology, philosophy, critical or cultural studies, art and the law, arts management, multi-media work in computer science, music, or even such disciplines as geology.
Only courses with a grade of C-/P/CR or better may be counted toward the Visual Arts major.
Requirements of the Visual Art Major Include
The Visual Arts major consists of 36 hours. Students should be aware that 12 of the required 36 hours make up the Concentration for the Visual Arts Major. Students should therefore consult with an additional advisor in the appropriate department or program offering the coursework for this concentration. Students interested in this major must consult with members of the Studio Art division in the Art Department for further information.
A Visual Arts major must be grounded in Studio Art coursework. Twenty-four hours must be within the Studio division of the Art Department. Of those 24 hours, students are required to take 9 hours of the Visual Concepts and Processes level courses, 3 hours of Problems In: (Discipline), and three hours of Art History. The remaining nine credits may be chosen by the student in consultation with her/his Studio Art advisor.
Students are required to work with an advisor in the Studio division of the Art Department to create a written proposal that explains the rationale for this major, namely how the two disciplines (studio art and the chosen concentration) are closely interwoven. A one-page statement is sufficient. This proposal must be approved by your studio art advisor and signed by the department chair before it can be formally declared with the Office of the Registrar. A copy of this proposal remains with your advisor and on file in the Art Department office. Because this major requires more advanced planning than the standard Studio Art major, it is required that it be declared at the beginning of the junior year. Any revisions to the proposed Visual Arts major must be re-submitted to the student's Studio Art advisor for approval. Visual Arts majors are strongly urged to apply for the Senior Studio and Thesis (SST) course. Admittance to SST, a one-year production/seminar course, is by portfolio only. Applications are available in the Art Department office. In order to adequately prepare for admittance to SST students must consult their Art Department advisor in the first semester of their junior year.
The Concentration in the Visual Arts Major
As noted above, the Visual Arts major requires students to take 12 hours of study in an area outside of the Art Department and include this as part of their major. Students must be clear in their proposal as to why these particular courses are relevant to their Visual Arts major. This is done in consultation with an advisor in the Studio Art division of the Art Department.
Transfer of Credit/Major Credit for Off-Campus Study
The Art Department's preliminary approval must be obtained before beginning work away from Oberlin if this work is to be counted as credit for the major. Students must receive tentative prior approval from the Chairperson of the Art Department before leaving campus. On return, students must supply both an official transcript and evidence of the nature of the work done. Such requests, as well as those of transfer students, will be handled on an individual basis. The department is not obliged to give credit for work that fails to fit the general patterns of the Oberlin curriculum or that fails to come up to Oberlin's standards, no matter how valuable a student feels the experience has been, or how much time and effort has been expended.
Art History: No more than 12 credits may be transferred to an Art History major, unless the courses were taken in an Oberlin-affiliated program. Students should submit transcripts, syllabi, class notes, term papers, and examinations in order to obtain final approval for credit.
Studio Art: No more than six credits may be transferred to a Studio Art major. Students should submit transcripts and Syllabi to their advisors to obtain major credit for work completed at other accredited institutions.
Visual Arts: No more than six credits of studio art may transfer towards this major.
Minor in Art History or Studio Art/Transfer of Credit
Students with 15 or more credits in Art History may graduate with a minor in Art History entered on their transcripts. Students with 15 or more credits in Studio Art may graduate with a minor in Studio Art entered on their transcripts. These Studio Art courses must be taken in at least three fields with three instructors. There is no minor in Visual Arts.
No more than three credits may be transferred for the minor in Art History; departmental approval is required for such transfers (see the section "Transfer of Credit/Major Credit for Off-Campus Study" above). No credit may be transferred to the minor in Studio Art.
Note: Students are responsible for notifying the Office of the Registrar if they wish to have the minor either in Art History or Studio Art entered on their transcripts.
Honors Program
Admission to the Honors Program is at the discretion of the department. There are three paths to honors in the Art Department, dependent on one's major, Art History, Studio Art, or Visual Art. In art history, projects generally begin in one of two ways. An instructor may approach a student in his or her junior year and indicate a willingness to work with that student towards Honors. Alternatively, before spring break of the junior year, a student may broach the topic with his or her academic advisor, following which he or she may then approach a specific instructor whose interests coincide with the student's. If the instructor agrees, the student collaborates with the instructor to develop a project proposal. This proposal must be submitted to the Art Department's art history faculty by the instructor who will sponsor the Honors project by the end of the spring semester of the junior year. Students who are away from Oberlin in this semester may submit a proposal on the last Friday before orientation begins in the fall. Final credit will depend upon effective presentation of the results of such studies. In Art History, Honors students are required to take ARTS 401:Research Methods and Resource/Visual Art.
Studio Art and Visual Art majors may apply for honors using the following paths. Students advised to apply to the Senior Studio and Thesis course, (see description and timeline under Senior Studio and Thesis) are simultaneously applying for honors as it is assumed that all students accepted into the SST are on an honors track. Students may also declare their interest in honors with their art department advisor, following which he or she may then approach a specific instructor whose interests coincide with the student's. If the instructor agrees, the student collaborates with the instructor to develop a project proposal. This proposal must be submitted to the Art Department faculty by the instructor who will sponsor the Honors project before spring break of the junior year. Final honors credit will be dependent upon effective presentation of the results of such studies.
GLCA Arts Program in New York
The program consists of a semester of work, normally in the junior year, combining an internship in an artist's studio, or one of a variety of other artconnected organizations and agencies, with a seminar in the arts of the city, and an independent study. Successful completion earns 15 hours of credit towards graduation; these credits cannot count as major credit towards any of the departmental majors.
Winter Term
Various Winter Term projects, including off-campus projects such as gallery or museum internships or studio assistantships with artists, and on-campus ones such as supervised individual or group research projects, are typically sponsored by members of the Art Department.
Preparation for Further Professional Study
Students interested in preparing for graduate studies in Studio Art, Museum Studies, and Art Conservation should consider the following programs of study:
- Studio Art. It is suggested that studio art majors who wish to prepare for graduate study leading to the MFA degree take as many studio courses as allowed and it is strongly recommended that they apply for Senior Studio and Thesis. Many of the candidates competing for the limited number of placements in graduate schools will have received the BFA (studio) degree (not offered at Oberlin) and have earned a substantially higher number of studio credits than those required for the studio major at Oberlin.
- Museum Studies. Students wishing to pursue a museum career are advised to consult with the curatorial staff of the Allen Memorial Art Museum at their earliest convenience. There are both research and teaching opportunities as curatorial interns and docents available to interested and qualified students. Either an Art History or a Visual Arts major would provide suitable pre-graduate school preparation for this field. Knowledge of a relevant foreign language (French, German, Chinese, Japanese) is essential for museum curatorial work and helpful preparation for other areas of the museum profession, such as administration or education.
- Conservation of Art. It is suggested that students who wish to prepare for graduate study in Art Conservation fulfill the requirements for the BA with a major in either Art History, Visual Arts, or Studio Art. Most schools of conservation require between 18 to 21 hours of art history, between 8 and 15 hours of studio, and a portfolio. Additionally, most schools require: a reading knowledge of German, French or Italian, two classes in organic chemistry with labs, and an additional one or two science courses with labs. The following may also be useful: Physical Chemistry 309; GEOL 201 Mineralogy, PHYS 103-104 or PHYS 110, 111. For further information, consult with Mr. Inglis.
- Classical Archeology. Students interested in classical archeology as a profession should note the availability of a concentration in classical archeology within the Archeological Studies Major. For further information, see the separate listing under Archeological Studies above, or consult Ms. Kane in the Art Department.
