Art History Major

If you are looking for a small community with a large arts scene, one where you can make close connections with artists, curators, gallery directors, and more, look no further. Washington College, and downtown Chestertown just a few blocks from campus, are the place for you. The department also organizes a field trip to a major museum in the region each semester and regularly brings internationally known scholars and working artists to campus for public lectures.  
 
Not only are our experiential opportunities extensive, but our course offerings are unique. Our faculty are constantly innovating, offering special topics courses in response to what they see happening in the ever-changing art world, ensuring our teaching matches up with the current ways of thinking about art history. Courses are topic- and concept-specific, rather than based on geography or time period, because we view art as a form of inquiry that is highly interdisciplinary. Offering courses on topics and concepts allows us to have conversations about art outside of a vacuum, pulling in students' interests and perspectives and expanding our students' thinking and worldview.  
 
As part of the art history major, you will take courses in studio art to understand what it means to be a maker, working directly with materials and engaging in the creative process to bring ideas into fruition. Students are also welcome to submit to 100 Proof, the yearly juried exhibit of student work displayed in Kohl Gallery. Your time at Washington College will culminate in a Senior Capstone Experience (SCE), a year-long, independent research project answering any self-proposed question through the lens of art history.  
 
The art history major is flexible, making it easy to double major or minor in another area of interest, and the department encourages students to bring their other interests into the classrooms. There are also options for study abroad opportunities for one semester or one year.