Students interested in examining history through the lens of paintings, sculptures, film, architecture, graphics, and decorative arts will find Art History to be an ideal major. Throughout time, humans have expressed their emotions, beliefs, and ideals through these mediums, and today's students can use these objects to understand culture, society, politics, economies, and religions and apply the lessons learned to modern issues.

What can you do with an Art History major? The answer turns out to be quite a bit.

Art HIstory majors follow a variety of career paths, and their skills are applicable to many types of jobs. Popular careers include teacher or professor, museum or gallery curator, art dealer, arts administrator, art appraiser, and historic preservation consultant, some of which require education beyond a bachelor's degree. Other students choose to branch out into related fields that require a broad knowledge of culture and communication such as journalism, law, marketing, administration, interior design, photography, library science, and cultural/heritage studies.

Much of what happens after college depends on what a student does during college. A student who wants to work in a gallery should ensure the s/he gains hands-on experience during college through internships, volunteer work, and part-time jobs. Experiential learning is critical - it grounds what a student learns in the classroom with the real world.

Students in Art History at UWM have unique access to thousands of pieces of artwork. The Emile H. Mathis Art Gallery contains over 7,000 objects covering Western and non-Western art and spanning a time frame from ancient to contemporary art. Notable artists represented in the Gallery include Jean Arp, Joan Miro, Henry Moore, Victor Vasarely, Alexander Calder, and Pablo Picasso. Check out the video of the Mathis Gallery.

Please download our fact sheet to the right to learn more about the diverse classes we offer in the major. Students who are more interested in the production of art (such as becoming a film maker or artist) should explore the majors offered through UWM's Peck School of the Arts.