An art history degree can open paths into museums, law, education, historic preservation and graduate study. The connection between those fields may not be obvious at first, but each draws on skills you’ll practice in art history: looking closely, evaluating evidence, building an argument and communicating what you find.
You don’t have to know yet where your interest in art history will take you. Through internships, independent research and professional experiences, you can start exploring different paths before you graduate, with faculty helping you connect your interests to what could come next.
See Where Art History Can Lead
An art history degree doesn’t point toward just one profession. Transylvania graduates have taken their interests in art, visual culture and critical thinking in different directions.
Hannah Leatherman: Building a Career in Museums
Hannah Leatherman has built a career connecting museums with the communities they serve. Her experience includes work as a community engagement specialist at the Clark Art Institute and at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas.
Ben Gallenstein: From Art History to Art Law
Ben Gallenstein continued his education at Washington and Lee University School of Law, specializing in art law.
Ben’s path shows how an interest in art can intersect with law — and how an art history education can become a foundation for professional study beyond the museum world.
Build Experience Before You Graduate
You don’t have to wait until after college to begin exploring where your interests could lead. Work in a museum or gallery. Help prepare an exhibition. Pursue a research question beyond the classroom.
Art history students have completed for-credit internships in areas including museum curation, gallery operations and sales, exhibition preparation and museum administration. Along the way, you’ll see how museums, galleries and exhibitions operate while building experience and professional connections of your own. Some internships have also led to long-term employment.
Independent research can take you beyond campus, too. Art history students can apply for university grants to support scholarly projects. One student received funding for summer archival research in San Francisco that contributed to an art history capstone project.
Careers With an Art History Degree
Career fields related to art history span museums, galleries, archives, historic preservation, education, law and other work centered on research, interpretation and communication.
Museums, Galleries and Cultural Organizations
- Museum curation and education
- Archives
- Arts administration
- Exhibition coordination
- Gallery management
Preservation and Heritage
- Historic preservation
- Heritage site management
Law and Art Services
- Art law
- Art appraisal and consulting
Education
- Teaching
- Higher education
Prepare for Graduate and Professional School
If graduate or professional school is part of your plan, your coursework and capstone give you experience with independent research and substantial scholarly work. Your capstone can also become a writing sample for graduate or professional school applications.
Transylvania art and art history alumni have continued their education at graduate and professional programs including:
- New York University
- School of the Art Institute of Chicago
- University of Chicago
- University of Edinburgh
- University of Glasgow
- University of Michigan
- Syracuse University
- Savannah College of Art and Design
- Rochester Institute of Technology
- University of Oregon School of Architecture
- Washington and Lee University School of Law
- University of Kentucky College of Law
Faculty mentors can help you identify programs that fit your interests and prepare for your next academic or professional step.
Take the Next Step
Where could your questions take you? Explore art history at Transylvania and see how the questions you pursue in college could shape what you do next.