Academic Program

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This information is part of the Colgate University catalog, 2024-25.

Faculty

Professors Godfrey, Kaimal, Marlowe (Chair), McVaugh, Schwarzer, Stephenson
Associate Professors Guile, Haughwout, Luthra
Assistant Professors Cui, Hatton
Visiting Assistant Professors Boate, Klein

The Department of Art offers courses of study in the history, theory, and practice of the visual arts for the general liberal arts student as well as the art history or studio art major.

Art History The department offers more than 20 courses that trace the visual arts from antiquity to the present day. Classroom lectures are supplemented by visits to museums in the area and in New York City, as well as Colgate's Clifford Gallery, Picker Art Gallery, and Longyear Museum of Anthropology. In this way, students increase their understanding of the visual arts as expressions of fundamental cultural values.

Studio Art Courses explore creative modes of expression and problem solving while gaining familiarity with contemporary issues in visual art. The curriculum supports a variety of mediums including digital art, drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and video art at the introductory and advanced levels. Studio arts courses are enriched by an ongoing series of visiting artists' lectures, exhibitions, and screenings as well as regular visits to New York City galleries, museums, and artists' studios.

Effective spring 2024, departmental subject codes will be adjusted to reflect the various topics offered. The ARTS subject code will be reserved for studio arts courses. Art History courses will have the subject code of ARTH and architecture courses will have the subject code of ARCH.

Departmental Exhibitions, Lectures and Screenings

The Clifford Gallery is a teaching gallery featuring four to six exhibitions a year. Exhibitions are selected by the art and art history faculty to explore issues central to the academic curriculum, with the primary focus on professional work by contemporary artists. These artists are often featured in the weekly public lecture series described below. The Clifford Gallery is open to the entire community and contributes to the cultural life of the central New York area.

The Department of Art Lecture Series Lectures take place throughout the semester in Little Hall's Golden Auditorium. The series features presentations by studio artists, art historians, and critics, and serves as an arena for discussion of a wide range of subjects relevant to the study of the visual arts. Recent participants have included art historians and practicing sculptors, painters, film and video makers, printmakers, photographers, architects, and artists working in digital art and performance. The series is required as part of the curriculum and is open to the community. It also serves as a venue for welcoming Colgate graduates back to discuss their work in the visual arts and architecture.

The Alternative Cinema Series takes place weekly on Tuesday evenings. Tied to the film and video art curriculum, this series is programmed to include films and videos ranging from "classic" cinema to the current avant-garde. Each semester several film/video makers, historians, or curators visit campus and present work in person.

Honors and High Honors

After completing  or  in the fall semester, students have the opportunity to apply to continue their project in the spring semester as an independent study,  in Studio Art or Art History. Some projects completed in  may be nominated for honors at the end of the spring semester. The award of honors is dependent on departmental evaluation.

GPA Requirements: Honors — 3.20 in courses within the department; High Honors — 3.70 in courses within the department.

Awards

The Fitchen Award for Excellence in Art and Art History — awarded by the department to an outstanding major.

The Harriette Wagner Memorial Award — established in 2004 by Professor Joseph Wagner, created in memory of Harriette Zeppinick Wagner. The award will be given annually to the senior major whose work exemplifies the way visual arts enrich the spirit and express the dignity of human beings.

Transfer Credit

The department allows two courses to be transferred for credit toward the major, with prior approval of the courses by the department. No seminar taken outside Colgate or outside the art department will fulfill the seminar requirement within the art history major.

Study Groups

Students are encouraged to participate in study groups; they may not schedule off-campus study during the senior year. For information, see .

Majors and Minors

Major

Minor

Courses