Art history major

College Search & Selection
21

<p>Don’t overlook Johns Hopkins. JHU has a strong art history faculty ([The</a> Chronicle: Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index](<a href=“http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/page.php?primary=10&secondary=93&bycat=Go]The”>http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity/page.php?primary=10&secondary=93&bycat=Go)). The Baltimore Museum of Art is located at the edge of campus. The fabulous Walters Gallery is a shuttle ride away at the university’s Mount Vernon campus. By car or train, it is also only an hour or so away from many museums in Washington DC. </p>

<p>I believe that as a JHU student, you can take studio art classes at the Maryland Institute College of Art.</p>

<p>Hopkins has less than 5,000 undergraduates. So in size, it’s a nice compromise between a LAC like Williams (~2K students) and a huge place like NYU (>20K undergrads). It’s also a little less selective than Williams, Yale, or Columbia. </p>

<p>Check out the JHU “Museums and Society” program:
[url=&lt;a href=“http://krieger.jhu.edu/museums/about/]About[/url”&gt;About – Krieger School of Arts & Sciences]About[/url</a>]</p>

22

<p>I “third” the recommendation of Penn. Fantastic art history program (generally ranked among the top 10 in the nation), and terrific world-class museums on campus ([Penn</a> Museum](<a href=“Page Not Found | 404 - Penn Museum”>http://www.penn.museum/) and [Institute</a> of Contemporary Art](<a href=“http://www.icaphila.org/]Institute”>http://www.icaphila.org/)) and easily accessible within a mile or two of campus ([Philadelphia</a> Museum of Art](<a href=“Philadelphia Museum of Art”>http://www.philamuseum.org/), [The</a> Barnes Foundation](<a href=“Barnes Foundation | Homepage”>Barnes Foundation | Homepage), [Pennsylvania</a> Academy of the Fine Arts](<a href=“http://www.pafa.org/]Pennsylvania”>http://www.pafa.org/)).</p>

<p>Here’s the Art History Department web site:</p>

<p>[Department</a> of the History of Art](<a href=“http://www.arthistory.upenn.edu/index.htm]Department”>http://www.arthistory.upenn.edu/index.htm)</p>

23

<p>Art History at most top colleges/universities will be strong. What will benefit you the most are the school’s resources and location. I would advise you not to get into a lot of debt for an undergrad degree in Art History, regardless if it is the best program in the nation. Because of it’s location and connections, a school like UCLA, could provide the opportunity to intern(even use your work study) with some of the local museums(Getty/Hammer/Fowler). Even if those museums don’t become an option for interning, there are many Santa Monica/Downtown LA galleries that look for interns. I even think you’ll have an easier time getting more hands on experience at local art galleries than at museums.
I would advise you to apply to a large range of schools in a city or near a city or a school with the highest academic reputation(if they are not in a city or near a city). If you qualify for merit or need based aid, then pick the best school you can get into with the lowest total cost.
Also take into consideration that your interests might change upon entering college. You may find yourself interested by other majors once you start college. I know when I transferred to my current school, I was considering two majors very strongly, one of which was Art History. I ended up picking a different major I never considered nor had experience with.</p>