The art history program at Arkansas State University serves the following purposes: It offers a major leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree for those students who choose to concentrate their undergraduate education in art history. These students take a wide range of survey and period courses in art history, generally including at least one "studies in art history" course in which a single student and a single professor create an independent study course tailored to the student's interest. Art history majors are also encouraged to take complimentary courses in history, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities. The major carries a four-semester language requirement. Altogether, the art history major is an excellent way to graduate with a well-rounded, liberal arts education. It offers a robust minor, for the student who wants to delve deeply into art history while pursuing a major in some other area. Students majoring in other programs in the Department of Art (studio, graphic design, or art education) take the two-semester Survey of Art History as well as several upper-level art history courses chosen in consultation with their advisor. The history of art is seen by the department as an integral part of the training of artists and art teachers. Art history majors are well-prepared for the general job market by virtue of the major's emphasis on critical thinking skills, writing skills, and the ability to verbalize visual experience. Art history majors have gone on to jobs in a wide variety of fields including art gallery work, book store management, editing and publishing trades, visual resources management, and freelance writing. The major is also good preparation for further study in art history (especially if one wishes to do research in art history and/or teach art history on the college level), arts management, art law, art investment, curatorial work, or computer science/information studies (that's right; museums large and small now have a web presence and need people versed in technology and art history).

Resources In addition to holdings of traditional book and journal resources, the university library has an expanding list of electronic resources and research aids that permit use of resources in other locations. The library also has a very active interlibrary loan department that is able to secure books and other items from other libraries.   On-campus holdings of original works of art include the permanent collection of the Department of Art, the Arkansas Print Club, the ASU Foundation, the ASU museum, and the Arkansas Archaeological Survey. Both the Museum and the Department of Art Gallery have active exhibition seasons of works from elsewhere. There are ample opportunities for students to study original works of art on campus and in the nearby collections of museums and galleries in Memphis and Little Rock.

- ASU Art Department Arkansas State University