Program Overview

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Introduction to the Art History and Visual Culture Program

The Art History and Visual Culture program at the University of British Columbia Okanagan campus offers students the opportunity to explore human creativity, imagination, and beauty through the arts and visual cultures of the world, past and present.

Program Details

Degree

The program leads to a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree.

Length

The program is four years in length.

Faculty/School

The program is offered through the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies.

Why Study Art History and Visual Culture at UBC Okanagan?

The art history and visual culture program delves into the heart of human experience and identity, and its tangible expressions of cultural values, religious beliefs, and political agendas. Students work alongside world-class researchers conducting projects in Africa, South Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Indigenous America, Canada, and the contemporary global art scene. The program focuses on developing critical thinking and writing abilities, and professors employ cross-disciplinary approaches that draw from literary and cultural studies, gender and women’s studies, history, the digital humanities, and anthropology.

Degree Options

• Students can pursue a BA degree with either a major or minor in art history and visual culture.
  • Students can declare art history and visual culture as their major at the end of the first year.
• Undergraduates can also complete a combined major, which can currently be taken with creative writing, cultural studies, or English.
• Students can also complete a dual degree program with a BA and Masters of Management.
• BFA students can complete a minor in art history and visual culture, as well.

Sample Courses

The program offers a variety of global perspectives for exploring art and visual culture, with course offerings on the contemporary and historical arts of South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Examples of courses include:

• Year 1:
  • ARTH 101: Art & Visual Cultures of the World I
  • ARTH 115: Popular Music and Visual Cultures
• Year 2:
  • ARTH 202: The Critical Viewer
  • ARTH 203: Global Contemporary Art
• Year 3:
  • ARTH 301: The Critical Viewer
  • ARTH 309: Performance Art: Global Perspectives
  • ARTH 321: Art in Canada 1970 to the Present
  • ARTH 390: Indigenous Art and Visual Culture
  • ARTH 323: Creative Activism: Art, Media, and Social Justice
  • ARTH 385: African Dress and Fashion
• Year 4:
  • ARTH 450: Performance in Africa
  • ARTH 370: Story and Image Across the Islamic World
  • ARTH 410: Gender, Art, and Space in the Islamic World
  • ARTH 395: Renaissance Europe in a Global Context
  • ARTH 360: From the Salon to the Streets: 19th Century French Art In and Out of the Academy

Careers and Outcomes

UBC degrees are respected by employers around the globe. Program graduates will have the skills to pursue a career in a variety of fields, including:

• Architect
• Arts administrator
• Art buyer/consultant
• Art conservator
• Art critic
• Art educator for schools or museums
• Art law consultant
• Art librarian
• Curator
• Estate appraiser
• Exhibition installation specialist
• Freelance researcher
• Museum installation designer
• Museum or gallery curator or assistant
• Newspaper/magazine journalist
• Publishing house editor
• Reproductions designer
• University professor
• Visual and design assistant

Combined with the appropriate blend of electives, the major can be used to pursue a variety of graduate and professional programs in areas such as art history, museum studies, curation, education, library sciences, law, urban planning, architecture, public administration, and management.

Experiential Learning

Expand your horizons while studying abroad, conducting meaningful research, or working in the community with your UBC colleagues. Opportunities include Co-op, Go Global, Undergraduate Research Awards, and other experiential education programs.

Global and Close-Knit

At UBC Okanagan, you gain all the benefits of attending a globally ranked, top 3% university while studying in a close-knit learning community. The Okanagan campus borders the dynamic city of Kelowna, a hub of economic development with a population of more than 150,000 people—the fourth fastest-growing population in Canada.

Discover the Okanagan

A diverse natural region with sandy beaches, beautiful lakes, vineyards, orchards, and snow-capped mountains, the Okanagan is an inspirational landscape perfect for those seeking leisure or outdoor adventure.

Related Programs

• Visual Arts
• Digital Humanities
• Media Studies
• Communications and Rhetoric

The Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at the University of British Columbia Okanagan campus offers a unique and interdisciplinary approach to the study of art history and visual culture. With a focus on critical thinking, writing, and research, the program prepares students for a wide range of careers in the arts and beyond.