Majoring and Minoring

For complete information about majoring and minoring, see the online catalog.

The Major Programs

The department offers two majors: studio art and art history. Students are not permitted to double-major in studio art and art history because there is significant overlap in courses required for each major. There is more information in the catalog.

Students majoring in studio art must complete at least one 300-level studio art course in ceramics, drawing, painting, photography, digital media, or sculpture before enrolling in ART 491 Senior Art Practice. (The course cannot be an internship or independent study.) To meet the studio art major requirements, students must declare the major and select a full-time faculty member as an advisor by the end of their sophomore year (preferably the faculty advisor the student will work with at the 300 level).

All studio art majors must take ART 311 Studio Seminar on Contemporary Art Theory and Practice in the junior year. Art majors are required to have completed one art history course before ART 311. In the spring semester of the senior year, all senior art majors are required to take ART 492 Senior Art Projects and work with their advisors on finalizing the installation of their proposed project(s) in the Senior Art Exhibition on campus.

Art history majors should complete either ART 401 Art After 1945 or ART 451 Theory in Practice before registering for the required ART 493 Senior Seminar: Art History. The senior seminar must be taken in the fall semester of a student’s senior year. In addition, art history majors are strongly encouraged to complete their interdisciplinary requirement by taking HIST 300 Historical Materials, PHIL 203 Philosophy of Art and Beauty, SOAN 245 Visual Anthropology, ENG 241 Text and Image, or ENG 281 From Scroll to Codex: Working With Medieval Manuscripts before registering for the ART 493 Senior Seminar: Art History.

Major Requirements: Studio Art

A minimum of 44 semester credits, distributed as follows:

• Two courses in art history; at least one in non-Western art. At least one must be at the 200 level or higher. 
• One introductory course in two-dimensional media chosen from the following:

  ART 112	Digital Media I
  ART 115	Drawing I
  ART 117A	Painting Fundamentals
  ART 117B	Figure Painting
  ART 120	Photography I

• One introductory course in three dimensional media chosen from the following:

  ART 112	Digital Media I
  ART 113	Sculpture I
  ART 116	Ceramics I

• Two elective courses in studio art (any level).
• Two 300-level elective courses in studio art. 
• ART 311: Studio Seminar on Contemporary Art Theory and Practice. Must be taken in the junior year. 
• ART 491: Senior Practice: Required course offered fall only for seniors.
• ART 492: Senior Art Projects

Major Requirements: Art History

A minimum of 44 semester credits, distributed as follows:

• Two courses chosen from the following:

  ART 100	European and North American Art
  ART 150	Key Monuments in the History of Chinese Art
  ART 207	Pre-Columbian Art

• Any two studio art courses
• One of the following interdisciplinary courses

  ENG 241	Text and Image
  ENG 281	From Scroll to Codex: Working with Medieval Manuscripts
  HIST 300	Historical Materials
  PHIL 203	Philosophy of Art and Beauty
  SOAN 245	Visual Anthropology
  SOAN 247	Space, Place and Landscape

• One course in pre-1800 art history chosen from the list below. ART 150 or ART 207 may only be applied once to the major.

  ART 150	Key Monuments in the History of Chinese Art
  ART 207	Pre-Columbian Art
  ART 208	Ancient Art of the Mediterranean World
  ART 230	Baroque Art Worlds
  ART 301	Italian Renaissance Art and Architecture
  ART 333	Visual Perspectives on Dante’s Divine Comedy

• Three additional elective courses in art history
• One course at the 400 level (ideally taken before ART 493)

• ART 493: Senior Seminar: Art History, which must be taken in the fall semester before graduation. It is only offered in the fall semester.

Minor Requirements: Art and Art History

A minimum of 24 semester credits (six courses), distributed as follows:

• Two courses in art history; at least one in non-Western art. At least one must be at the 200 level or higher. 
• One course in two-dimensional studio art chosen from the following:

  ART 112	Digital Media I (may only be used once to fill minor requirements)
  ART 115	Drawing I
  ART 117A	Painting Fundamentals
  ART 117B	Figure Painting
  ART 120	Photography I

• One course in three-dimensional studio art chosen from the following:

  ART 112	Digital Media (may only be used once to fill minor requirements)
  ART 113	Sculpture I
  ART 116	Ceramics I

• Two elective courses in studio art or art history.

Students majoring in art or art history may not pursue the combined minor.

Advising Checklists:

Art Studio Program

Art History Program

Art Minor Program

Outside the Classroom

Our annual senior exhibition showcases the work of our graduating majors in the professional space on campus, the Ronna and Eric Hoffman Gallery of Contemporary Art. Our visiting artist lecture series features nationally and internationally recognized artists working in a broad range of disciplines. Our students have been awarded numerous arts-related internships in Portland. The Art Club is an entirely student-run organization that organizes lots of extracurricular art opportunities, including art exhibitions, visiting artists, and the annual Art Week.