About the Department  

Art History cultivates critical and self-reflective perspectives on diverse forms of cultural production and social organization across time. The Department's course offerings investigate the ways in which visual art and media inform our understanding of issues comprising race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, environmentalism and climate, as well as the complexity of political expression and contestation in specific historical contexts.

We offer a selection of degrees, including a major and minor in Art History, minor in Archaeology, 4+1 M.A. in Art History for continuing UCI graduates, and interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Visual Studies. Through a generous endowment from the Steckler Family Initiative in Art History, the Department also supports a wide range of professional development for our students through paid student internships and fully funded experiential learning trips to study artworks and cultural sites in person. New students to the Department also are encouraged to enroll in a unique course we call the Art History Social Hour, where you’ll get to know fellow incoming majors, meet the faculty, and share a field trip together, too. All majors in Art History are individually mentored by members of the faculty, pursue a truly global focus in their degree, and benefit from an exceptional range of opportunities.