Art History Honors

 

Additional resources

Art historical scholarship engages with pressing societal issues regarding belief systems, identities, communities, institutions, and practices of oppression and resistance. Art history also teaches visual literacy and critical thinking skills that are important for navigating our image-based world. 

The Art History department’s distinctive approach to Honors is designed to affirm these commitments. By taking the 1-credit course AH 373 in the fall of senior year and creating public-facing projects, Honors candidates extend their learning beyond the classroom and beyond requirements for the major. Their public-facing projects

• connect with broader audiences within and/or outside the Skidmore community;
• make scholarly research accessible and inclusive;
• affirm the social relevance of art history;
• emphasize how visual and material cultures shape lives;
• contribute to the production of reliable sources of public information.

Honors candidates are expected to demonstrate motivation, initiative, the ability to give and receive constructive criticism, the ability to work independently, and a sense of civic responsibility. This means not only doing excellent work in AH 373, but also taking full responsibility for executing high-quality projects outside the framework of a credit-bearing course.  

AH 373 supports project development during the fall semester. January graduates who wish to be considered for Honors must execute their projects before the end of the fall semester. May graduates who wish to be considered for Honors may execute their projects at any time during the fall or spring semester.  

To submit a project for evaluation by the Art History faculty, please complete this form. The form should be submitted as promptly as possible and no later than April 15. If your project involves a live event or will be accessible for a limited period of time, you are expected to submit the form at least two weeks in advance. 

Skidmore College criteria for Departmental Honors, from the Catalog

Departmental Honors will be awarded to any student who graduates from Skidmore after no fewer than three semesters and who meets the following conditions: unless otherwise specified by the department or program, a GPA of 3.500 or higher for all work in the major; the completion of any other academic criteria established by the department and described in the Catalog; a GPA of 3.000 or higher based on all work taken at Skidmore; a favorable recommendation by the department; and approval by the faculty upon recommendation by the Committee on Academic Standing.

Double majors must meet the above criteria for each of the majors. (The student may earn Departmental Honors in one, both, or neither major.)  These criteria also apply to interdepartmental and to self-determined majors. The 3.500 or higher GPA applies to the interdepartmental course work considered as a whole.