Welcome to the Department of Art History

Located in historic Voorhees Hall, once home to the Rutgers Library, the Department of Art History at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, offers unique opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students studying art history.

The undergraduate program in Art History provides students with the analytical skills to understand all forms of visual expression intrinsic to human experience.   Students learn about past and present artistic traditions that have shaped our world and gain the critical tools to interpret works of art, architecture, print media, photography and all forms of visual culture.  Courses taught by our internationally recognized faculty cover both European and American historical periods, and wider global traditions including Islamic, Latin American, African and Asian art.  The art history collection of thousands of digital images is available to the entire university community through ArtStor.  Summer programs in Athens, Paris, and Rome give students the opportunity to study great artistic monuments at first hand.  A Certificate program in Historic Preservation exposes undergraduate and graduate students to practical issues of preservation at the state and national level through specialized courses and internships.  In addition to the PhD, a vibrant graduate program offers both a Masters in Art History and a recently established Masters of Cultural Heritage Preservation.  Grad Students may also elect to complete the Certificate in Curatorial Studies, which affords professional training through internships in major museums throughout the tri-state area.