Foundation Courses. Foundations courses include the three-part introductory survey sequence (ARHS 1300 , ARHS 1301 , and ARHS 1302 ), which provide an overview of major art historical developments from prehistory to the present. Students are required to take one of the survey courses (ARHS 1300 , ARHS 1301 , or ARHS 1302 ) to fulfill 3 credit hours of the Foundations requirement. This requirement can also be fulfilled with ARHS 1303 or ARHS 1304 (which are used for AP or transfer credit).
In addition to 3 credit hours of Foundations fulfilled by the survey, any 1000 level ARHS course can be used to fulfill the other 3 credit hours of Foundations.
Temporalities/Challenging the Canon Courses. Temporalities courses are upper-level (3000, 4000, or 5000 level) art history courses that offer frameworks for a broad understanding of temporal dimensions: a duration of time, the power of some areas over others, the telescoping of past into present and vice versa, or questions of recurrence across time. The objects and narratives that constitute the history of art are in constant flux. Historically, our discipline has focused on artworks, artists, and ways of seeing that emerged from the European tradition and has privileged the viewpoints of individuals who were (among other things) white, male, heterosexual, and wealthy. Courses with the Challenging the Canon designation explore artistic objects and traditions that challenge the validity of such an exclusionary canon and narrow perspective.
Research and Methods. All Art History majors are required to take ARHS 4399 - Research and Methods in Art History . Students are encouraged to take this course before enrolling in another advanced (4000 level) Art History course.
Required Seminar. These small, advanced (4000 level) art history classes are reading and writing intensive and offer the occasion to think critically and carefully about the dynamics of historical change and to engage with issues and debates in art history.
Minimum required grade: Only courses passed with a grade of C- or better will count toward the major in art history. Courses passed with a grade below C- may count toward other, elective requirements in a student’s degree plan.
Many art history majors use free elective hours to complete minors or second majors in fields such as anthropology, chemistry (for conservation), English, history, international business, international studies, languages and psychology.
Honors Program
The Art History Honors Program is available to majors with exceptional academic records who seek a greater intellectual challenge. It is conducted as a two-term sequence (fall: ARHS 4391 and spring: ARHS 4392 ) during senior year, culminating with a 30-page thesis and faculty review. Students should contact the art history undergraduate adviser for more information.
SMU Degree Requirements
An SMU undergraduate degree requires a minimum of 120 credit hours and must include completion of the University’s Common Curriculum , one major and a combination of electives and/or other majors or minors. Completion of certain majors requires more than 120 hours to finish the degree. The credit hours within this curriculum are distributed as follows: