<p>So I've heard various comments about the graduate school at u of c, yet not a lot about undergraduate experience with the major. Any words of wisdom or sagely advice regarding the the art history major at u of c? </p>
<p>I only recently changed my major to art history, but I’ve taken four classes so far with the department. Hopefully I’m helpful in some way.</p>
<p>The major is small; only 10-20 students graduate with the BA each year, sometimes less. One of the strengths of the major is its flexibility. You can choose to take a focused route just in art history but you can also incorporate another field (usually in the humanities) to contribute to your program. You also have to choose a special field, which could be defined by time period, location, theme, medium, etc. At the same time, you’re required to have some breadth, including at least one course each in Pre-modern Western, Modern Western, and Non-Western art.</p>
<p>There are lots ways to get experience in the field, with the Smart Museum, Renaissance Society, and Oriental Institute right on campus, not to mention the other excellent museums around the city.</p>
<p>The biggest strength of the program I think is really the quality of the faculty, not to mention the prestige of the department and the abundance of resources. The courses are quite rigorous, and you’re often learning from some of the top people in the world. I’m sometimes amazed at how articulate and brilliant the professors in the department are. The major here is excellent preparation for grad school, and UChicago is undoubtedly one of the best options if you’re considering going that route. Of course, a lot of graduates pursue careers in finance, nonprofits, etc., but whatever you end up doing, it’s a great experience in the major.</p>
<p>Sure, the art history major at UChicago (and any other top-10 university) is great in terms of the quality of education and professors, but the real question you should be asking is if it’s a financially smart move to major in art history. </p>
<p>No, that’s not “the real question you should be asking” at all – in fact, it’s a pretty stupid question. </p>
<p>There are two sets of real questions worth asking: First, will majoring in art history be a good way for you to get educated? Will that be the best way for you to learn key skills of analysis, research, argument, and communication, as well as beginning to understand what it takes to really specialize in anything? Is it something that is going to hold your interest and inspire you to do your best work? </p>
<p>Then, the second set of questions begins with this: If you are majoring in a field that – like most academic fields – does not lead directly to a specific job, what else do you have to do, both inside school and out of it, to make yourself attractive as an employee to a wide enough range of employers so you have a high likelihood of employment when you graduate?</p>
<p>One of my college roommates was an art history major. He also took accounting and economics courses (but no double major), and through our college got an internship with a real estate development firm. He wound up working there after college, then getting an MBA at Harvard. He has had an amazing (and amazingly lucrative) career as a commercial real estate developer, and has assembled one of the best non-brand-name contemporary art collections I have ever seen. One of the things he has always been good at is using his enthusiasm for and knowledge of art to show people (mainly rich, powerful people) what kind of a person he is, how smart, insightful, and passionate he can be, and convincing people that those qualities carry over (as they do) into his business activities.</p>