University of St. Thomas

When asked what one word best describes the art history major at St. Thomas, a faculty member replied, “innovative.”

A real student asks:

 

Is there more to art history than just looking at paintings?

An art history faculty member responds: Absolutely. An art history major includes a wide-ranging study of mythological and religious beliefs and draws parallels to historical, literary, theological and technological developments of a period. It also develops analytical thinking and writing skills through research papers and projects. Moreover, art history majors go on to pursue careers in education, art conservation, museum education and curatorship, art gallery direction, publishing and interior design.

What jobs are possible with an Art History major?

What are recent graduates doing now?

One of our students went to the M.A. program in arts at Sotheby’s in London and has recently returned to the Twin Cities. She is considering opening a gallery and arts consulting business, but also is considering further technical training for the management of digital images and copyright issues. She epitomizes what we try to stress about the potential for working in the field outside of the museum or college, particularly since our program emphasizes research, analysis, and presentation skills, rather than memorization. She also demonstrates the value of being ambitious, self-directed and building a network.

What opportunities are there to bolster my resume while I'm in the program?

Internships. Students have interned at the following places during the past few years: Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minnesota Historical Society, Minnesota Museum of American Art, Minnesota Center for Photography, 526 Gallery, St. Paul Art Cooperative and the Minneapolis Public Library. Students also have participated in the City Arts program of HECUA and obtained community-based internships.

Study abroad. Students have studied recently in France, Australia, Spain and England; some programs are semester-long, others a year. Usually they study art history, language, history and literature. We encourage art history students to study abroad because it gives them the opportunity to experience, first-hand, artistic and historical works that they could only study in the classroom at St. Thomas. Seeing is understanding.

Faculty at work

Faculty members are actively engaged in their own research agenda, presenting papers at national and international venues, publishing articles in peer-reviewed venues, and books with university and scholarly presses.

Faculty supervise a number of independent study projects to mentor and train undergraduates in their research and presentation skills.  Several students have received Young Scholars grants in the past few years to support their independent projects.

With the arrival of the American Museum of Asmat Art at St. Thomas and the implementation of a new exhibition program, we are looking to develop opportunities for students to work on exhibits, researching, and writing labels and essays for the exhibits. Through exhibits we plan to foster joint projects with faculty, graduate and undergraduate students.