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. With nearly 1000 undergraduate art majors and 50 graduate students, the department is a vibrant community of students, artists, and scholars.

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.

The 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.

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. 

Undergraduates may pursue the following degrees:

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 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

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

 

Apply Today!    Request for Information — Undergraduate Program

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.

 Application Deadlines
April 15th (for fall semester)
November 15th (for spring semester)

Post-Bac Application

Bachelor of Fine Arts

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. Upon failure to pass a second BFA Portfolio Review, students will complete a BASA degree.

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 1 — Fall semester
March 1 — Spring semester

BFA Information & Application

The Graduate Program

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 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.

Application Deadlines
Domestic applicants: December 30
International applicants: December 1

Questions? Please contact the Graduate Program Coordinator, art.grad@colorado.edu

Request for Information - Graduate School

Art & Art History Graduate Degrees

MA in 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. For detailed information about the MA in Art History degree please review the University Catalog and the Art History Graduate Handbook.

MA Art History Handbook & Degree Requirements   

MA Art History Application

 

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

 

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 in Arts of the Americas Requirements

Ph.D. in Arts of the Americas Application

 

Graduate School Resources

A professional certificate might be just what you need to take your career or your coursework to the next level. Continuing Education partners with departments across the university to offer certificates delivered in a variety of formats (on-campus, online, or hybrid). Many certificate programs are open to nondegree students. Explore the Certificate Programs
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 a directory of graduate students currently pursuing their degree.

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.

Explore all Graduate Art & Art History resources

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 Information and Application

Art & Art History Students in the News

Alejandra Abad and Román Anaya, collaboratively known as Abad◮Anaya, pose draped in hand-colored fabrics. (Credit: Alejandra Abad and Román Anaya)

Art flags aim to unite people, celebrate culture, spark hope

The new year’s art project and its accompanying public art motorcade are the result of work by two CU Boulder graduate students and artists: Alejandra Abad and Román Anaya, collaboratively known as Abad◮Anaya. The two artists will use flags to artistically represent people’s hopes and dreams as a way to reclaim flags from being divisive symbols about the past and present, and allow them to embody a more inclusive future. Read more
Allyson Burbeck with mural

Street art portrays Denver’s Chicana/o culture

Allyson Burbeck has long been interested in graffiti and street art. She wrote her undergraduate thesis on graffiti art in 1980s New York. So, it wasn’t a surprise that the robust graffiti and street art scene in Denver drew her to CU Boulder for a master’s degree in art history. Read more
Elspeth Schulze

CU Boulder artist accepted into Tulsa Artist Fellowship program

Elspeth Schulze, sculptor, ceramicist and installation artist, was selected out of more than 1,200 applicants. Schulze innovatively modifies found materials into works of art that provide both entrancing visuals and layered meanings. In her world, the ordinary transforms into the exotic. Read more
Jasmine Baetz installing artwork

CU Boulder MFA student creates sculpture to remember Los Seis de Boulder

After watching a documentary, “Symbols of Resistance,” on the bombings, Jasmine Baetz, an Master of Fine Arts student at CU Boulder who studies American ceramics, wondered why there was no mention of them on the Boulder campus. “I thought it was a pretty wild oversight,” she said. In 2017 she started a project to create a sculpture dedicated to “Los Seis de Boulder,” the six of Boulder. The concrete, clay and grout monument stands a few feet tall and depicts the visages of the Los Seis in mosaics, with each one facing the direction in which they died, Baetz said. Read more
jasmine colgan

As artist's skin turns white, her art ruminates on the meaning

Diagnosed at 21 with vitiligo, which causes a loss of skin pigmentation, Jasmine Colgan says 'I am not a woman of color, but a woman of colors. … My skin, which is both black and white, is a literalization of this fact of my existence' Read more
Aaron Treher, lecturer in the Department of Art and Art History, developed a novel approach to conservation that’s part site-specific artwork and part structure to entice the birds into making it their home.

Pushing Boundaries: Grad students think like barn swallows to craft an artistic nesting site

Molly McDermott, a PhD student, and Aaron Treher, an MFA graduate, collaborated on the wooden sculpture that has been installed at a barn swallow colony on private land north of Boulder. Read more