Majors & Minors

Majors | Minors | Major/Minor Declaration

Explore and Discover. The Department of History of Art and Architecture critically explores the major fields in world art, from the ancient period through today, and serves to connect the arts to the other humanities. Interdisciplinary by definition, the department encourages students to develop both visual and cultural literacy by extensively studying works of art and the historical contexts in which they were created. The department offers a major and a minor in two distinct, engaging areas:

• Major in History of Art
• Major in Architecture and the Built Environment
• Minor in History of Art
• Minor in Architecture and the Built Environment

The Major in History of Art

The history of art major requires 30 hours of coursework. The program is designed to allow for concentration in particular periods and areas of interest. By requiring courses in both the lecture and seminar formats, the program aims to provide a basis of comprehensive knowledge and challenging opportunities for more specialized instruction.

Students should consider related offerings in cognate disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. Those planning graduate work in the history of art should pursue advanced studies—which may include honors—and take advanced courses in other departments offering complementary course work. Advanced language studies are strongly recommended, as graduate programs expect reading facility in one language for the master’s degree and two for the doctorate, with French and German the most commonly required. Non-European languages should be considered for those primarily interested in non-Western traditions.

Requirements

Students must complete a minimum of 10 courses (30 credit hours) to obtain the major, distributed as follows:

1. One 1000-level course (3 credit hours) in history of art or architecture

• Selected from HART 1100, 1105, 1120, 1121, 1122, 1200, 1205, 1220, 1300, or 1400. This course is not a prerequisite for further history of art coursework, but must be taken at Vanderbilt, and AP credit will not be accepted for the major (but will be accepted for the minor; see below).
• Note: A HART freshman seminar or a HART 1000W course can count toward the major as an elective with departmental permission. Please contact the director of undergraduate studies.

2. Area requirements (15 credit hours)

Five history of art courses at the 2000 level or above, one from each of the following areas:

• Ancient: HART 2200, 2210, 2220, 2230, 2250, 2260, 3224, 3226, 3228W, 3240W, 3252, 3256W; CLAS 2250, 3200, 3700, 3710, 3720, 3730
• Medieval: HART 2270, 2275, 2285, 2288, 2290, 3364W and CLAS 2180 (with Prof. Bogdanovic)
• Renaissance/Baroque: HART 2310, 2320W, 2325, 2330, 2362, 2390, 3320, 3332, 3334
• Modern: HART 2600, 2620, 2622, 2625, 2650, 2660, 2662, 2665, 2710, 2720, 2722, 2740, 2750, 2755, 2760, 2765, 3605W, 3712W, 3718W, 3725W, 3735, 3740, 3757W, 3765W, 3766W, 3767W
• Global: HART 2100, 2110, 2120, 2130, 2150, 2151, 2155W, 2160, 2165, 2170, 2175, 2180, 2192, 3112, 3140, 3164W, 3173W, 3174

3. Electives (6 credit hours)

• Two upper-level courses in history of art (any courses in the HART 2100 to 3850 range, HART 3890, CLAS 2250, CLAS 3200, or CLAS 3720) in addition to the area requirements.
• Note: A HART freshman seminar or a HART 1000W course can count as an elective with departmental permission. Please contact the director of undergraduate studies.

4. Advanced seminars (6 credit hours)

• Two HART 3000W courses will count for the advanced seminar requirement. These courses must be taken at Vanderbilt and are in addition to the courses taken to complete HART area requirements and HART electives.

Important Notes:

• A course may only fill one category for the major. Thus, for example, an advanced seminar in ancient art cannot also fulfill the area requirement for “ancient.”
• If a student is a double or triple major, 24 credit hours must count only toward the HART major, and thus a student can only double-count 6 credit hours (usually two courses) between two different majors.

Return to top

The Major in Architecture and the Built Environment

The major in architecture and the built environment requires 30 credit hours and promotes interdisciplinary and transinstitutional study. It enables students to develop breadth and expertise in the history and theory of architecture, landscape architecture, and constructed environments; design studies; and theoretical and historical approaches to analyzing urban scale and city planning.

Students can build a foundation for graduate work in these fields as well as for spatially related specializations in cognate disciplines such as anthropology, political science, public policy, sociology, demography, public health, environmental studies, civil engineering, computer science, and geography and geographic information systems.

Requirements

1. One 1000-level survey course (3 credit hours) in history of art or architecture

• Selected from HART 1100, 1105, 1120, or 1121 or 1122, 1200, 1205, 1210W, 1220, 1300, 1330W, 1400, 1740W, or CLAS 1020. This course is not a prerequisite for further history of art and architecture course work but must be taken at Vanderbilt; AP credit will not be accepted.

2. Three courses (9 credit hours) in architectural, design, landscape, or urban history

• Selected from HART 2100, 2110, 2120, 2130, 2150, 2151, 2155W, 2160, 2175, 2180, 2200, 2210, 2220, 2225, 2230, 2250, 2260, 2270, 2275, 2285, 2290, 2650, 2662, 2665, 2720, 2722, 2740, 2780, 2781, 2782, 2815, 2815W, 2820, 3112, 3140, 3174, 3252, 3790; and CLAS 2180 (with Professor Bogdanovic), 2250, 3200. These courses are taken at VU and are not fulfilled by study-abroad or transfer credit.

3. One advanced seminar in architectural history (3 credit hours)

• Taken at VU and selected from HART 3164W, 3240W, 3256W, 3725W, 3757W, 3765W, 3766W, 3825W, or 3810W (when course topic concerns architecture and the built environment, landscape architecture, design studies, or urban planning).

4. Five electives (15 credit hours)

• May include any HART or CLAS courses listed above in major requirements (numbered items 1, 2, or 3) not used to satisfy any of those requirements, or courses chosen from the list below. A maximum of two electives may be taken from any one department (with the exception of History of Art), and a maximum of two electives may be taken at the 1000 level. Study-abroad credit for HART 2095, 2096 will apply in this category.

Students will work with the director of undergraduate studies and departmental advisers to design a program of study that addresses their academic interests and career goals. Students interested in graduate programs in architecture and design should review elective selections with the pre-architecture adviser.

Important Note:

The Architecture and the built environment major is not a professional program. Such programs are highly specialized, with a focus on professional training and studio design; these necessarily maintain rigid requirements across five years of coursework and result in a BArch degree. The degree we offer at Vanderbilt is a B.A. for undergraduate students, earned through the College of Arts and Science.

Since this is an undergraduate major and not a professional program, students may declare the major as early as their sophomore year, just like any other College of Arts and Science major. There is no formal admission nor entry process into the major. Likewise, no portfolio is required as there would be in a professional program leading to the BArch.

The program in architecture and the built environment is a flexible interdisciplinary liberal arts major that can serve as excellent preparation for a master in architecture degree. Students considering graduate study in architecture or related design fields should explore the resources provided by Vanderbilt’s Pre-Architecture Advising program.

Return to top

The Minor in History of Art

The history of art minor requires 18 hours of coursework, distributed as follows:

• Two 1000-level courses selected from HART 1100, 1105, 1120; or 1121 or 1122, 1200, 1205, 1220, 1300, 1400; or CLAS 1020.
• Any four upper-level history of art courses at or above the 2000-level (any courses in the HART 2100 to 3850 range, HART 3890, HART 4960), and classes designated CLAS 2180 (with Professor Bogdanovic), CLAS 2250, CLAS 3200, or CLAS 3700 to 3730 range.

Note: AP credit will be accepted toward the HART minor. A HART freshman seminar or HART 1000W course can count as an elective for the HART minor with departmental permission. Please contact the director of undergraduate studies.

Return to top

The Minor in Architecture and the Built Environment

The minor in architecture and the built environment requires 18 credit hours of coursework, distributed as follows:

• One 1000-level survey course (3 credit hours) in history of art or architecture selected from HART 1100, 1105, 1120, or 1121 or 1122, 1200, 1205, 1210W, 1220, 1300, 1330W, 1400, 1740W, or CLAS 1020.
• Three courses (9 credit hours) in architectural, design, landscape, or urban history selected from HART 2100, 2110, 2120, 2130, 2150, 2151, 2155W, 2160, 2175, 2180, 2200, 2210, 2220, 2225, 2230, 2250, 2260, 2270, 2275, 2285, 2290, 2650, 2662, 2665, 2720, 2722, 2740, 2780, 2781, 2782, 2815, 2815W, 2820, 3112, 3140, 3174, 3252, 3790; and CLAS 2180 (with Professor Bogdanovic), 2250, 3200. These courses are taken at VU and are not fulfilled by study-abroad or transfer credit.
• Two electives (6 credit hours). May include any HART or CLAS courses listed in the above minor requirements not used to satisfy either of those requirements or courses chosen from the electives list for the architecture and the built environment major. No more than one elective course may be taken at the 1000-level. Study-abroad credit for HART 2095, 2096 will apply in this category.

Return to top

Declaring a Major or Minor

Please be sure to review the above HART or ARCH major or minor requirements so that you are familiar with them. Once ready to declare your major or minor:

• Visit the University Registrar website.
• Click on “Major/Minor Declaration/Change.”
• Sign in and follow the prompts to select your major(s)/minor(s).
• Once you have completed all of the required information, click Submit.

Refer to this user guide for help.

Return to top