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Department of
History of Art and Architecture

Students standing in the rain on immersion trip in Maine

Study Abroad

An experience overseas can be transformative for your undergraduate experience. For students interested in study abroad, refer to Vanderbilt’s Global Education Office website for a complete list of opportunities.

Choosing a Study Abroad Program

To see courses that other students have taken through Vanderbilt’s pre-approved programs and how those courses were evaluated for Vanderbilt credit, use the Study Abroad Course Search Tool. The tool provides information on whether the course is transferrable and whether it counts for a specific major and minor. (“HART Non-Equivalent” just means that there is no exact equivalent numbered course at Vanderbilt.)

If there is a course offered through a program that does not appear in the evaluation list, you may request a review of the course for possible transfer credit. You will need to obtain a complete, up-to-date syllabus for the course, and the complete name of the instructor.

When planning to incorporate art history courses taken abroad into the HART major, keep in mind that courses advertised by a particular program may not always be available. Courses may close due to over- or under-enrollment, or sometimes the faculty teaching certain courses may change or may not be available during a given semester. Typically, HART majors are able to take one or two courses in study abroad programs that will count toward the major, most commonly as electives.

Sometimes the scope and content of a course can count as an area requirement for the major, and even as one of our specific numbered courses, although the latter is not as common. However, it is most prudent to plan to complete your area requirements on campus and save your two electives for study abroad. The department will accept a maximum of two study abroad courses toward the major. Remember that HART majors must take the 1000-level course and two HART 4960: Advanced Seminars on Vanderbilt’s campus.

There is no specific semester-long HART study abroad program. Many students take an art history course abroad, regardless of major or country of study. Many HART majors study with Vanderbilt’s programs in Italy, France, the UK, and Denmark, but also occasionally in Australia and New Zealand. There are plenty of other possibilities, which are listed on the GEO website.

Maymester

Maymester programs also provide an excellent opportunity to study abroad. When offered by HART faculty, these courses will count toward the HART major or minor. See the list of available Maymester courses.