The departmental Honors BA in art history is composed of 24 Honors semester credit hours (12 in the Honors Program; 12 in the Art History program) that merge with the 36 semester credit hours of the BA degree. Art history majors pursuing an Honors degree must earn a B or higher in any of the required courses for Honors and must maintain an overall GPA of 3.4. The honors degree will be cited on your transcript and diploma. An Honors certificate or a University Honors degree can also be obtained through the Honors Program (1975 DeTrobriand, Building 619, 581-7383).

As an honors student, you will complete ARTH 2500 and ARTH 4000 as described under Required Coursework for the Art History Major. From the Honors Program, the following courses are required: two of the three courses entitled Honors Core in Intellectual Traditions (Honors 2101, 2102, 2103); Honors 2211 Writing in Honors; and Honors 4473 Seminar/Workshop in Fine Arts.

The art history upper-division course requirements for the honors student are as follows:

ARTH 4910 Honors Art History in Asian Art

This course meets with one of the 4000-level courses in which the topic concerns an area of Asian art. It counts as an upper-division course in the art history major.

ARTH 4910 Honors Art History in Western Art

This course meets with one of the 4000-level courses in which the topic concerns an area of European or American art. It counts as an upper-division course in the art history major.

ARTH 4985 Honors Senior Seminar in Art History

This course meets with one of the annual 4000-level senior seminars (ARTH 4x90, 4x95, 4x96) and serves as the capstone class for the major as well as preparation for the Honors Thesis. It is the equivalent of the senior seminar in the art history major.

ARTH 4999 Honors Thesis/Project

This course is intended for research and writing of a thesis. The Honors Program Senior Honors Thesis Information Pamphlet provides a full explanation of the timeline for completing the thesis as well as pertinent information on the format approval process. Honors students will work directly with an art history faculty member to shape a critical research paper, which must be completed with distinction. The aim of the paper is to allow you to carry out advanced, independent research: to define an art historical issue and to organize a thoughtful research strategy. Ambitious papers will make a contribution to the discipline of Art History through original thought. You might choose to expand on a topic that captured your interest earlier in an art history course – perhaps already partly developed in a term paper. You are welcome to write on new material but should think carefully about how much advance preparation will be necessary to demonstrate original research. Your faculty advisor will help you organize a timetable of due dates for the outline, the preliminary bibliography, one or more rough drafts, and your final version. Honors students will be expected and encouraged to submit their abstract to the annual Undergraduate Research Symposium.