VAC CU Boulder building

In 2010, the Department of Art and Art History moved to its 170,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art facility, the Visual Arts Complex located at the heart of the CU campus near downtown Boulder.

The Undergraduate Program

Apply Today!    Request for Information — Undergraduate Program

The Department of Art and Art History offers majors and minors that allow students to explore their interests and refine their skills in Art History, Ceramics, Sculpture and Post-Studio Practice, Printmaking, IMAP (photography, digital media, video, integrated arts) and Painting & Drawing.

Explore all of our Areas of Study

Undergraduates may pursue the following degrees:

Art History

Art Practices

The Bachelor of Fine Arts Program:

The Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree program offers advanced studio study to a limited number of highly motivated and talented students. 

The BFA student may choose one area of studio emphasis or an interdisciplinary focus where two or three studio areas are represented. 

Admission will be l limited not only in terms of capacity but also to ensure the type of record, motivation and the passing of a portfolio review. Eligible students must have completed 30 hours of Art & Art History credit.  It is strongly recommended for students to apply before reaching 45 credits in the major.

 Application Deadline:
October 15 — Fall semester
March 15 — Spring semester

BFA Information & Application

The Post-Baccalaureate Program:

Our Post-Baccalaureate option is for artists who have finished their undergraduate degree and would like additional time and space to develop work while immersed in a dynamic community of artists.

During their time at CU, post-bac students develop lasting professional relationships with their peers and faculty, relationships that often continue to influence their work as artists throughout their professional careers.

 Application Deadlines
April 15 — Fall semester
November 15 — Spring semester

Post-Bac Application

Undergraduate Opportunities

The Miramontes Arts & Sciences Program (MASP) is an inclusive academic community in the College of Arts & Sciences comprised of motivated students dedicated to pursuing academic excellence at CU Boulder. MASP supports traditionally underrepresented and/or first-generation college students who want to be part of a diverse, multicultural academic enrichment community. MASP is a cooperative and collaborative program that offers a participation scholarship and dedicated space for activities, advising, studying, and seminars.

The Student Academic Success Center is a multi-cultural academic learning community, serving low income and first generation college students with academic skills development, math and writing courses, supplementary instruction in gateway courses, tutoring, pre-collegiate opportunities and graduate research opportunities.

The Department of Art and Art History offers over $20,000 in merit-based awards for undergraduate and graduate students that are made possible through the generosity of donors.

Scholarship Application Information

A student may graduate with Departmental Honors, General Honors or both.

Requirements include creating an independent research project and presenting it for oral defense. Departmental Honors requires a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.3. For General Honors, the Honors Program offers special seminars for students whose G.P.A. is 3.3 or higher as part of the General Honors requirements. Students interested in graduating with honors should contact their departmental representative during their Junior year. The Honors Program application information including deadlines and additional details can be found at Arts & Sciences Honors Program.

Art & Art History Department undergraduate contacts are:
Robert Nauman (Art History) or Marina Kassianidou (Art Practices)
If you are interested in applying to this program please contact your department representatives at the beginning of your junior year.
The Arts & Sciences Honors Program is located in Norlin Library, M400M

CU Boulder has a rich culture for cultivating undergraduates as emerging scholars, artists and practicing researchers. The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) provides consultation services, informational workshops, and grants to promote undergraduate research as a high-impact learning practice for student success. Each year UROP funds hundreds of students who produce new knowledge and creative work in partnership with CU's world-class faculty. 

Undergraduate Art & Art History Department contact information:

Jean Goldstein, Administrative Assistant
Jean.Goldstein@Colorado.edu
303.492.3580, Office VAC, #330
Interested in touring our state-of-the-art facility? Contact us today at jean.goldstein@colorado.edu or finearts@colorado.edu

Art & Art History Undergraduate Advisors:
Sarah Matsuda
Art & Art History; Film Advisor
sarah.matsuda@colorado.edu
303.492.1439, office VAC #304

Rick Seydel
Art & Art History; Classics; Humanities; Philosophy Advisor
richard.seydel@colorado.edu
303.492.7076, office VAC #305

Art & Art History Students in the News

Shloka Dhar

Artist vivifies the pain, diaspora and tragedy of Kashmir

Shloka Dhar, who majored in art practices and molecular, cellular and developmental biology, is the College of Arts and Sciences’ outstanding graduate for fall 2022

A Home In Between, Partial C: God's plan for the redemption (Erin Hyunhee Kang)
CU Boulder artist embodies resilience in the wake of the Marshall Fire
Amy Hoagland artwork
CU Boulder artist wins national award for art about climate change
STEAM student tracing stump rings.
A scientist, an artist, and student interns walked into a forest
Alejandra Abad
Community helps finish hopeful messages art installation in Boulder

The Graduate Program

Ranked 23rd best program in the nation!
US News and World Report, 2023

Students who are accepted into our graduate programs join the University of Colorado-Boulder Graduate School, which serves the broader graduate student community, faculty, and staff, at one of the nation’s premier comprehensive research universities. The Graduate School offers guidance on a wide array of academic, social, and financial issues, and can assist in navigating the often complex world of graduate education. Serving as an umbrella organization since 1892, the Graduate School currently oversees 100 graduate and professional programs. The Graduate School works to guarantee a standard of quality and cohesion across all disciplines, ensuring the continuing integrity and value of a CU-Boulder graduate degree. The Graduate School also helps make possible the many connections between the campus and outside constituencies, in the state, the nation, and the world.

January 15 — Domestic applicants
December 1 — International applicants

The Graduate Information Session provides prospective graduate students with a broad overview of CU Boulder’s graduate program offerings, opportunities for CU Boulder graduate students and helpful resources for graduate students across the disciplines.

Questions about the art history or art practices graduate degree program? Please contact the Graduate Program Coordinator, art.grad@colorado.edu

Request for Information - Graduate School

MFA in Art Practices

The MFA in Art Practices is a rigorous program intended for artists committed to pursuing a professional life in the arts. It prepares students for careers as practicing artists and arts professionals as well as teachers in colleges, universities, and art schools. During the two and half-year program, students focus on one of several fields including, Ceramics, Film, IMAP (photography, digital media, video, integrated arts), Painting and Drawing, Printmaking, and Sculpture and Post-Studio Practice.

MFA Degree Requirements  MFA Art Practices Application

MA Art History

The MA in Art History is a rigorous 2-year program that provides students with a broad knowledge of Art History and equips them with skills in its methodologies. Graduates who have achieved a distinguished record in our program should be well prepared for acceptance into doctoral programs in Art History or related disciplines. Many of our students who do not pursue the Ph.D. go on to careers in the museum world, as well as non-profit, for-profit, education, and related fields. 

MA Art History Handbook & Degree Requirements   MA Art History Application

Dual Degrees: MA/MBA and MFA/MBA

The dual degree program is a collaboration between Art and Art History and the Leeds School of Business. Students can pursue a dual degree of an MA/MBA or an MFA/MBA. Candidates must apply to each program separately.

Dual Degrees: MA/MBA or MFA/MBA Program Description & Application

Ph.D. in Arts of the Americas

The Ph.D. in Arts of the Americas emphasizes the cross-cultural circulation of visual culture in the Americas from ancient to contemporary times. Our program encourages students to think across subfields (e.g., Pre-Columbian Art, Colonial Latin American Art, Modern and Contemporary Latin American Art, Native North American Art, Modern and Contemporary American Art, etc.) and to situate American visual culture in the fluid circuits of cross-cultural exchange, as well as global intellectual and trade networks. This interdisciplinary approach brings Art History into dialogue with Anthropology, History, Ethnic Studies, Women’s and Gender Studies, Religious Studies, and other disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Our accelerated Ph.D. program is ideal for students who already have an MA in Art History or an equivalent degree, including professionals in the art field seeking an opportunity to advance in their career by earning a Ph.D.

Ph.D Requirements  Ph.D. in Arts of the Americas Application

Scott Chamberlin in his studio

Faculty

The Art & Art History faculty members are highly active in their respective fields, from publishing important articles and books on theory and historical to contemporary art, to presenting their research in national and international conferences, exhibiting in galleries and museums, and participating in film and video festivals, as well as establishing non-traditional artist venues and opportunities. The faculty are also committed teachers and mentors who work closely with both undergraduate and graduate students, helping them to realize their individual visions as artists and art historians.

Read more about our faculty

Art & Art History Department Resources

Resources
students working in the VRC
Visual Resources Center (VRC)
Sam Van Aken visiting artist CU Boulder
Visiting Artists & Scholars Program
Details of many objects from exhibition "Archive: Notes from the Field"
Art & Architecture Stacks
Faculty Exhibition, 2017 CU Art Museum
CU Art Museum

Campus Resources

The Graduate School serves as the intellectual crossroads of the university. More than 5,000 graduate students from around the world come to CU Boulder to pursue graduate certificates, masters and doctoral degrees in over 150 programs. We offer degrees across a full range of disciplines which alongside our robust interdisciplinary programs and institutes provide an outstanding environment in which to pursue graduate work. Explore the Graduate School's Professional Development opportunities

The Center for Teaching & Learning fosters a community of educators dedicated to supporting teaching and learning, a cornerstone of our university. Our goal is to transform our teachers and students in their educational practice, inspire innovative and evidence-based teaching, and create a culture of continuous improvement. Through the CTL, we strive to promote a diverse and inclusive community of educators and learners who serve as the hallmark of our student-centered campus. 

The Hazel Barnes Flat in the heart of London is a gift to scholars in the humanities and arts by Hazel Barnes (1915-2008), the much admired professor of Philosophy at CU-Boulder and founder of the Interdisciplinary Program in the Humanities. Her will stipulates that the flat be made available to CU-Boulder faculty and graduate students in the humanities and the arts, and that its operation be entrusted to the Center for Humanities and the Arts and its director. The flat is arranged so that two independent parties may stay there at the same time, if necessary. There are two bedrooms (the second has just a single bed, however), and two bathrooms.

The Dennis Small Cultural Center exists to serve underrepresented student groups on the CU-Boulder campus by providing programmatic support and a safe space for cultural expression and community gatherings. It serves the campus community as a whole by providing opportunities to enhance cultural awareness and celebrate diversity. The DSCC is committed to facilitating programs and resources that contribute to the intellectual, cultural, social, ethical and personal growth of all students. Their office is located in UMC 457.

Special Collections houses rare works and contemporary artworks that support teaching and research in the arts, humanities, and sciences. The Archives of Special Collections contains more than 1500 collections and 50,000 linear feet of materials, including manuscripts, correspondence, files, diaries, photographs, posters, newspapers and published works. Established in 1917, the Archives holds internationally renowned manuscripts, photographs, records and media collections relating to Colorado, the Rocky Mountain West and transnational subjects. It also serves as a repository for the records of the University of Colorado Boulder. Special subject collections reflect the interests and research of the CU-Boulder community and the state. The SCA Reading Room (Norlin N345) is open to all students, scholars and members of the general public who wish to use our materials. Email spc@colorado.edu or call 303-492-6144 to schedule an appointment. You can also request copies and scans of materials.

ATLAS is an interdisciplinary institute for radical creativity and invention. We transform ingenious ideas into reality through research, experimentation and critical thinking. With labs and academic programs that inspire out-of-the-box ideas and creative exploration, ATLAS is a vibrant and exciting community of technology visionaries who reach beyond convention, take risks and innovate.

GPSG represents graduate and professional students at the University of Colorado Boulder. We support initiatives that empower graduate and professional students’ ability to pursue their goals. We promote actions that benefit their academic, professional and socioeconomic well-being.

Graduate certificates are available in a variety of departments across campus. A certificate usually consists of four additional courses taken in a department outside of your home department. While graduate certificates are not required to attain a graduate degree in Art History, a few certificates that may be of interest to art and art history students include:

A comprehensive list of On-Campus Resources including the Gender and Sexuality Center, Career Services, Dining and Housing, CU Nightride, the Recreation Center, the Office of Student Conduct, and the Office of Victims Assistance is highlighted on the main campus website.

Student Affairs encompasses many resources and services that support student success —where students live, eat, make friends, build professional skills and find help if needed.