Why Study Art History at USC?

The Department of Art History at USC offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs that are designed to prepare students for teaching, research, and curatorial careers.  It draws its strength from a dynamic and productive faculty in the fields of North American, Continental European, British, Mediterranean, Latin American, and Asian Art. Studying objects in their complex physical, cultural and intellectual contexts, our program is committed to a historically situated, materially engaged, and theoretically nuanced approach to art history and visual culture.

Undergraduate Studies

Art history combines the study of art with the study of culture. The undergraduate major provides general knowledge of the history of art and, through upper-division courses, specialized knowledge in a variety of areas.

Graduate Studies

USC’s department of Art History offers its doctoral degree in a wide range of fields of Western and Asian art history, from ancient to contemporary.  It is designed to prepare students for university teaching, research, and curatorial careers.

Prospective Ph.D. Students

USC is a diverse community of scholars in the heart of Los Angeles — a dynamic center for technology, health services, media and the arts.

Department Calendar

News and Events

USC art historian, Kimia Shahi, plumbs the archives of the Documerica project, an early Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) effort to teach about environmental damage and how the agency prevents and repairs the harm.

Student Spotlight 2022-2023

    Weronika Malek-Lubawski

    Congratulations to Weronika Malek-Lubawski. She has received the Albert and Elaine Borchard Foundation European Studies Fellowship, a Fulbright Fellowship for research in Poland, and a three-month Wolfsonian fellowship to study constructivist books.

    Anne LaGatta

    Congratulations to Anne LaGatta for receiving an USC Endowed Fellowship in the Humanities 2023-2024

    Danielle Charlap

    Congratulations to Danielle Charlap for receiving an USC Endowed Fellowship in the Humanities 2023-2024

    Grace Converse

    Congratulations to Ph.D. Graduate, Grace Converse!

    Dissertation Title: “Making Belief: Theosophy and the Creative Production of Truth, 1875-1945”
    Advisor: Amy Ogata

    And, on receiving Karsh Curatorial Fellowship, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)

    Dina Murokh

    Congratulations to Ph.D. Graduate, Dina Murokh!

    Dissertation Title: “A Sort of Picture Gallery”: Encounters with Print in Antebellum US Society
    Advisor:  Vanessa Schwartz

    Isabel Frampton Wade

    Congratulations to Ph.D. Graduate, Isabel Frampton Wade!

    Dissertation Title: “Exposing Urban Form: Commercial Architectural Photography in Los Angeles, 1938-1981”
    Advisor: Vanessa Schwartz

    Robert Gordon-Fogelson – Ph.D. Alumni

    Congratulations on his new position as Visiting Lecturer, Rochester Institute of Technology

    Natalia Lauricella – Ph.D. Alumni

    Congratulations on position as Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow, Stanford University (2021-23)

    Avigail Moss – Ph.D. Alumni

    Congratulations on position as Paul Mellon Centre Postdoctoral Fellow, London, UK

    Isabel Wade – Ph.D. Alumni

    Congratulations on position as USC Dornsife Teaching Fellowship

    Jessica Brier – Ph.D. Alumni

    Congratulations on her position as Curator of Photography, Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College.

    The Belated Party on Mansfield Mountain Artist: Jerome B. Thompson (1814–1886) Date: 1858 Culture: American Medium: Oil
    The Belated Party on Mansfield Mountain Artist: Jerome B. Thompson (1814–1886) Date: 1858 Culture: American Medium: Oil
    The Belated Party on Mansfield Mountain Artist: Jerome B. Thompson (1814–1886) Date: 1858 Culture: American Medium: Oil
    The Belated Party on Mansfield Mountain Artist: Jerome B. Thompson (1814–1886) Date: 1858 Culture: American Medium: Oil
    The Belated Party on Mansfield Mountain Artist: Jerome B. Thompson (1814–1886) Date: 1858 Culture: American Medium: Oil
    The Belated Party on Mansfield Mountain Artist: Jerome B. Thompson (1814–1886) Date: 1858 Culture: American Medium: Oil
    The Belated Party on Mansfield Mountain Artist: Jerome B. Thompson (1814–1886) Date: 1858 Culture: American Medium: Oil
    The Belated Party on Mansfield Mountain Artist: Jerome B. Thompson (1814–1886) Date: 1858 Culture: American Medium: Oil
    The Belated Party on Mansfield Mountain Artist: Jerome B. Thompson (1814–1886) Date: 1858 Culture: American Medium: Oil
    The Belated Party on Mansfield Mountain Artist: Jerome B. Thompson (1814–1886) Date: 1858 Culture: American Medium: Oil
    The Belated Party on Mansfield Mountain Artist: Jerome B. Thompson (1814–1886) Date: 1858 Culture: American Medium: Oil

    Local Area Resources

    USC’s program takes great advantage of our location within the vibrant cultural environment of Los Angeles. undergraduate fieldtrips and Graduate seminars are regularly held on site or work with collections in area museums including the including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), the Getty Center, the Getty Villa and the USC Fisher Museum of Art among others.

    Los Angeles Museums

    USC Museums, Archives and Special Collections

    Contact

    Art History Main Office

    USC Dornsife Department of Art History
    3501 Trousdale Parkway, THH 355
    Los Angeles, CA 90089-0351

    Staff

    Elizabeth Massari

    Staff

    Tracey L Marshall