Art History Major

The Art History program is housed in the School of Culture and Communication. The first program of its kind in Australia, it was founded in 1946. The School develops joint projects with many Australian museums including the National Gallery of Victoria and the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra. Students of Art History have the opportunity to undertake fieldwork overseas. Subjects taught in Rome and New York provide unrivalled access to major art collections such as those of the Vatican museums and the Museum of Modern Art. Alliances with the Centre for Cultural Material Conservation (CCMC) and Ian Potter Museum of Art also bolster the pre-eminent position of the School within the academic community of the Asia-Pacific region. Students benefit directly from these close links with industry and the arts community and are able to develop a wide range of transferable skills. Graduates of the Art History program occupy key curatorial, museum and administrative positions in the arts throughout Australia and overseas. Students have the opportunity to further explore their academic interests and develop specialist knowledge in art history through an articulated structure of higher degree options at the University of Melbourne.

Art History is concerned with the visual and material aspects of culture and how painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, design, photography and museums, may be interpreted. Students of Art History should develop critical and historical skills about the work of art as a physical object and the representation of subject matter. Art History subjects cover a broad spectrum from ancient classical art to the art of the postmodern. The School has particular research and teaching strengths in the study of Australian culture and Aboriginal art, the medieval, Renaissance and baroque periods.

A major in art history usually consists of eight 12.5 point subjects, totalling 100 points. It comprises:

• one first-year subject in art history (12.5 points); and

• second/third-year subjects in art history (87.5 points).

It is advisable for students to choose subjects from different periods of art history.

Students who commenced their degree before 2007 will need to complete 112.5 points in order to complete the major. For the specific major structure you must follow, refer to the handbook produced in the year you commenced your degree, available online at https://psc.unimelb.edu.au/.

If you have any questions about the major structure or subjects, please contact the Arts & Music Student Centre.

Art history: first year subjects

Art history: second/third year subjects