Art History and Archaeology Minor

Program Requirements

  • Total Units Required: 18
  • Grade Requirement: These courses may not be taken with the Pass/No Pass grading option. Students must earn a grade of C– or better in all courses.

The Department of Art History & Archaeology welcomes students who wish to pursue a minor in Art History & Archaeology. Students who choose the minor must complete two courses at the introductory level and four courses at the advanced level. 

Required Courses

Introductory courses6
Upper-level courses12

Introductory Courses

All minors must take two courses from a menu of Introductory Courses at the 1000 and 2000 levels. These courses are recommended foundations for upper-level lecture courses and seminars. The courses may be taken at any time and in any order. First-Year Seminars and Sophomore Seminars can be counted among these two introductory courses.* No specific course is mandatory for students in Arts & Sciences.**

  • ARTARCH 1515*** and ARTARCH 2020 will be offered every fall and spring, respectively.
  • ARTARCH 1510, ARTARCH 2035, or ARTARCH 2040 will be offered at least once every other year.
  • This list will be augmented by a rotation of 1000-level First-Year Seminars and 2000-level Sophomore Seminars (currently in development) as well as other 2000-level courses with broad regional, temporal, or topical coverage.*
*

Students will be allowed to count only one First-Year Seminar or one Sophomore Seminar toward this requirement.

**

ARTARCH 1515 and ARTARCH 2020 are mandatory only for students in the Sam Fox School.

***

A score of 4 or 5 on the AP Art History exam may be substituted for ARTARCH 1515. To receive this college credit, the score must appear on the student's Washington University student record, and the student must also earn at least a B in a related upper-division departmental course.

Upper-Level Courses

Minors must take at least four upper-level (3000- or 4000-level) Art History & Archaeology courses (12 credits); 2000-level courses may not substitute for upper-level courses and so do not count toward distribution requirements. At least one upper-level course must be taken in two of the following seven broad areas:

  • Ancient and Medieval (AM)
  • Renaissance and Baroque (RB)
  • Modern European and American (MEA)
  • Non-Western (NW)
  • Architecture (A)
  • Archaeology (ARC)
  • Cross-Cultural Exchange (CCE)

Additional Information

  • Students may opt to take a seminar at the 4000 level, but it should build upon a 3000-level course in a related field. Alternatively, students should complete the proper prerequisites or have the permission of the instructor. In cases of over-enrollment in seminars, priority will be given to majors over minors, including majors who have been waitlisted.  
  • Courses in other departments (including courses in the Sam Fox School) do not count toward the minor unless they are cross-listed as Art History & Archaeology courses at the 3000 level or above.
  • At least two of the 3000-level courses must be completed in residence at Washington University.
  • Any course taken outside the university, including study abroad courses, must receive preliminary approval from the study abroad advisor or as appropriate. Only one course (3 credits) may be transferred from approved study abroad programs.
  • No internship credit may be applied to the minor. (Internship credits do count toward graduation, however.)

Visit the Art History and Archaeology page
for additional information about this program.

Contact Info

Contact:Brad Parton
Phone:314-935-5270
Email:artarch@wustl.edu
Website:https://arthistory.wustl.edu/