Bachelor of Arts [B.A] [Art History] From Willamette University

They conduct research at the on-campus Pacific Northwest Art and Artists Archive and curate exhibitions at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art. They travel abroad with professors or through internships to visit art museums and important monuments. And they participate in local internships at the Portland Art Museum or with regional art conservationists.

Alumni have gone on to graduate studies at Harvard, the University of California and the University of Oregon; or they pursue careers at the Denver Art Museum, the Corning Museum of Glass and the Art Institute of Chicago, as well as in fields such as education, law and business.

Careers in Art History

Recent alumni of Willamette?s Department of Art History pursued graduate degrees at institutions such as Harvard University, the University of California at Santa Barbara, and the University of Oregon. Current students and alumni also pursued recent internship and career opportunities with The New Yorker, The Denver Art Museum, The Art Institute of Chicago, The Corning Museum of Glass, and several other noted institutions.

Graduates of our program secure employment in a wide range of professions, including academia, art conservation science, primary and secondary school teaching, business, law, photography and many other fields.

Getting Involved

Our students collaborate with faculty in diverse ways, such as helping to research and curate exhibitions at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art on campus, or by traveling abroad with professors to document contemporary art and interview important artists in the field. Through local internships at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art, the Portland Art Museum, or with regional art conservationists, our students benefit from numerous opportunities to gain professional experience as they pursue art historical studies. In addition, students participate in a number of funded scholarly initiatives on campus that foster student-faculty collaboration, student research presentations in a public setting, and community service-based art exhibitions and projects. At the Pacific Northwest Art and Artists Archive (PNAAA), located in the Hatfield Library on campus, students gain firsthand experience conducting historical research by examining archival documents, works of art and artifacts.