Art History combines the study of art, artifacts, and the built environment with the study of culture. By developing skills in visual literacy, critical thinking and writing, and historical research, students learn to situate objects and structures within their cultural contexts and explore how they fashion, preserve, and challenge beliefs and values. The discipline of art history offers a unique perspective on the past since it considers the places history was made as well as the images, objects, and documents that recorded it. Moreover, art history’s attention to the lives of objects–their production, use, and reception–makes it inherently cross-cultural and interdisciplinary. Students are encouraged to draw on other subjects of study, including archaeology, anthropology, business, gender studies, literature, music, religion, science, and technology, and to transfer that knowledge to their understanding of art history and visual studies.
The wide range of skills acquired in the BA program prepare students for a variety of employment opportunities in the creative economy. Recent graduates are employed by museums, galleries, non-profit arts organizations, government agencies, libraries, schools, and businesses across the nation and around the world. They curate exhibitions, edit publications, develop educational programming, manage community outreach projects, teach students of all ages, and work to preserve the nation’s architectural and cultural heritage. They also participate in strategic development, human resource and operations management, and long-term planning for private and public companies. Finally, many students continue their studies at the graduate level in art and architectural history, art conservation, education, law, library science, and museum studies.
COMMON CAREER PATHS
You can do nearly anything with a Mizzou degree, but here are some common career paths taken by graduates of this major:
September 2025
College of Arts and Science
317 Lowry Hall,
COLUMBIA,
Missouri,
65211, United States
Students must complete High School Coursework with 13 units (one unit = one year in class) of the following core coursework: Mathematics - Four units (algebra or higher), Science - Three units, Social Studies - Three units, Languages - Two units, Fine Arts - One unit.
High School grades
Your core coursework grades must meet one of the following requirements:
If your high school does not use one of the scales listed above, your grades will be converted to a U.S. 4.0 scale. Scores are determined by the AACRAO International Education Services.
English Language Requirements:
Duolingo English Test (DET): minimum DET score of 110 on the test with 3 of the 4 section scores at or above a 100.
Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL): minimum TOEFL score of 79 on the online test with no section score below 17.
International English Language Testing System (IELTS): minimum IELTS score of 6.5 with no section score below a 6.
Cambridge English C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency: a minimum overall Cambridge English C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency score of 180.
Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE): a minimum overall PTE score of 59.
*There may be different IELTS requirements depending on your chosen course.
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