Department ofArt History
Historical + interpretive studies
A Humanities Major in the Arts
Students can major or minor in art history, pursue a minor in architectural history, or work toward earning a museum studies certificate. Students have the opportunity to hold internships or assistantships at Penn State’s Palmer Museum of Art, known particularly for its strong holdings in American, African American, and contemporary art.
Advanced studies with renowned scholars
Our M.A. and Ph.D. programs provide candidates with the opportunity to pursue advanced study directly with renowned scholars. The department’s faculty are internationally recognized scholars and critics known for their dedication to their students.
Contact + Connect
Research
Virtual/Material: Color/Pigment Graduate Workshop
Funded by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, this workshop will offer an integrated curriculum of Technical and Digital Art History via the special case history of color. Through a combination of seminars, demonstrations, and hands-on labs led by a distinguished faculty of scientists and historians, participants can expect to leave the workshop better equipped to understand historical colorants and their production as well as the ways in which digital cultures can distort or ameliorate historians’ approach to such colorants.
Art History awarded Mellon Foundation grant to develop and host Sawyer Seminar
The College of Arts and Architecture’s Department of Art History in collaboration with the College of Liberal Arts has been awarded $225,000 by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support a Sawyer Seminar entitled “Transmission, Containment, Transformation: A Comparative Approach to Architecture and Contagion in Early Modern Cities.”
Degrees +
Certificates
B.A. in Art History
The B.A. in Art History offers an opportunity for students to explore and examine art while developing a deep understanding of how and why it brings the world closer.
M.A. in Art History
The M.A. degree in Art History transforms a passion for the arts and cultural history into a career path. Through the completion of a master’s paper or thesis, foreign language...
Ph.D. in Art History (+Dual Ph.D.)
Advanced study of visual arts spanning periods, cultures, and geographies. The Art History Ph.D. program – with Asian Studies or Visual Studies dual-title options – can deepen your expertise and advance your Art History career.
Art History Minor
Explore art from ancient to contemporary times, in Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. This minor relates visual images to the big questions of humanity.
Architectural History Minor
The Architectural History minor teaches exceptional visual acuity and analysis. You will better understand space, design processes, and construction practice within historical periods.
Museum Studies Certificate
Learn the fundamentals of museum studies. Explore the history, theory, and practice of institutional collecting and conservation. Engage in a technical investigation of art.
News from A&A
Mansfield chairs ASECS session
Elizabeth Mansfield will chair the session Do-Overs: Repetition and Revision in the Long Eighteenth Century at the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies (ASECS) annual conference, taking place virtually, Saturday, April
Solari presents at Humanities Institute
Amara Solari, Professor of Art History and Anthropology presents "Pigment Selection and Catholic Evangelization in the Yucatecan Mayalands, 1540-1600" for the Society for the Study of Religion, Humanities Institute Thursday,
Read More
Bruhn facilitates Sustainability Roundtables
Heather McCune Bruhn will facilitate the upcoming Sustainability Roundtables "Paper from Invasives and Yard Waste" discussing invasive plants problems and their effect on the native ecosystem. Register to hear some
Read MoreFaculty Spotlight
Amara Solari
Associate Professor of Art History
Amara Solari teaches courses in Latin American art from the pre-Columbian through the colonial period. Her research focuses on processes of cultural, visual, and theological interchange between indigenous groups and Spanish settlers of New Spain. She recently received a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities in support of her research project, “Maya Christian Murals of Yucatán: Indigenous Catholicism in Early Modern New Spain,” which focuses on fragile religious murals painted by Christianized Maya artists in Yucatán, Mexico, between 1550 and 1750.
Our Facilities
Our broad program offerings are supported by rich research, archive, and display spaces.
See All Our Facilities
Visual Resources Centre
The Visual Resources Centre (VRC) supports the faculty and students of the Department of Art History by fostering the use of new technologies and Learn More
Palmer Museum of Art
The Palmer Museum of Art, a dramatic structure designed by Charles W. Moore, is the most prominent visual arts facility on the University Park Learn More
Borland Project Space
The Borland Project Space (BPS) illuminates the vibrant research culture of the College of Arts & Architecture. With this initiative we move beyond traditional Learn More
Alumni Spotlight
Alumni Spotlight
Ryan Jacobs
B.A. in Art History 2016Ryan Jacobs is a College of Arts & Architecture Alumni that graduated in 2016 majoring in Art History with a double minor in Architectural History and Architecture Studies. Upon graduating Penn State he enrolled at Virginia Tech to attain a Master’s in Architecture. His thesis, “The Troupes of Theatre”, combined both of his passions for architecture and theatre. After finishing his graduate studies, returned to PA and works at PWWG Architects in downtown Pittsburgh.
