students drawing at easels
Two students looking at negatives on a lightbox
A student reading from her journal in a critique

In 2010, the Department of Art and Art History moved to its new 170,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art facility, the Visual Arts Complex located at the heart of the CU campus near downtown Boulder. With nearly 1000 undergraduate art majors and 50 graduate students, the department is a vibrant community of students, artists, and scholars. The department’s 26 full-time faculty compose 7 areas including Art History, Ceramics, Foundations, IMAP (photography, digital media, video, integrated arts), Painting and Drawing, Printmaking, and Sculpture and Post-Studio Practice. 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.

Undergraduate Degrees

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. 

At the University of Colorado Boulder, we provide a high-quality educational experience—now backed by predictable four-year tuition for all of our undergraduate students. Effective summer 2016, all new undergraduate students receive a 4-year tuition guarantee from their initial enrollment, enabling students and their families to accurately predict the total tuition cost of going to CU Boulder. Our goal is to help eliminate the uncertainty of what a CU Boulder degree will cost, shifting financial risks related to changes in the economy from students and families to the university.

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. 

Apply today!

Undergraduates may pursue the following degrees:

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 an overall grade point average of 3.3 in the major. 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 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

Art & Art History Department:
Jean Goldstein
Administrative Assistant
Jean.Goldstein@Colorado.edu
303.492.3580, Office VAC, #330

College of Arts & Sciences:
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

Katie Vahey
History; English Advisor
katie.vahey@colorado.edu
303.735.3744, office VAC #330C

 

Graduate Degrees

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.

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. For detailed information about the MA in Art History please review the handbook.

MA Art History Handbook & Degree Requirements     MA Art History Application

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, IMAP (photography, digital media, video, integrated arts), Painting and Drawing, Printmaking, and Sculpture and Post-Studio Practice. Additionally, in collaboration with the Department of Cinema Studies & Moving Image Arts, the Department of Art and Art History offers a film MFA.

MFA Degree Requirements     MFA Art Practices Application

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.

MA/MBA or MFA/MBA Application

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. in Arts of the Americas Application

A number of certificates are offered at CU depending on your research interests and career goals. More information.
In addition to the required coursework, MFA and MA students gain insights about their respective fields through the Visiting Artist Program and Visiting Scholars Program, both of which invite distinguished artists and scholars to CU for talks, seminars, and individual meetings with students.
Explore our graduate students and their work in Art & Art History.

Current Graduate Students

University-wide Financial Aid:
The federal loan program for graduate students is administered by the Office of Financial Aid

Departmental Support:
The department’s own resources include fellowships and teaching and non-teaching part-time positions:

  • Graduate Part-time Instructor (GPTI)
  • Graduate Assistant (GA)
  • Teaching Assistants (TA)

TAs teach recitation sections of World Art Studies 1 & 2, a large introductory art history course. GPTIs typically teach introductory courses in their home areas (e.g. Photography 1) or Introduction to Studio Art 1 & 2 (Foundations). GAs provide assistance either in their home area or elsewhere in the department (e.g. the Visual Resources Center) or in the CU Art Museum.

Each of these types of appointments comes with a salary, 5 (GA) or 6 (GPTI) credit hours of tuition remission per semester and 70% health insurance premium through CU-Boulder.

MFA students in our Film Track are also supported by the Department of Cinema Studies & Moving Image Art which has its own GPTI and TA (Teaching Assistant) positions for graduate students who work with the moving image.

There is no separate application form for departmental support but applicants are encouraged to express their interest in GA, TA and/or GPTI appointments in their personal statement of purpose accompanying the application. Decisions regarding departmental support are made at the time of admission.

Graduate Program Contact
Catherine Cartwright
Graduate Program Coordinator Art & Art History
Catherine.Cartwright@Colorado.edu
Phone 303.492.2419
Office: VAC #330B

Post-Baccalaureate

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.

Post-Bac Application

Faculty Excellence

As a faculty, we are highly active in our fields, and frequently publish important articles and books on historical and contemporary art, exhibit in galleries and museums, and create new opportunities in non-traditional artist venues. We are also dedicated to teaching and mentoring our graduate students, and commit ourselves to help them realize their individual visions as artists, art historians, and critics.