The Art & Art History Department

The Art and Art History Department offers a major in art with a required concentration in either studio art, art history, or arts administration. Majors in studio art may concentrate in secondary education with certification in studio art. The department also offers a minor in art with courses chosen in art history, studio art, or a combination of both.

The study of the visual arts at Goucher encourages students to develop creative talents and aesthetic sensitivity and to examine the historical emergence of art theory and practice. Goucher combines the professional faculty and up-to-date facilities of a larger school with the personal attention paid to each student’s artistic and scholarly development that is possible at a smaller college. The Meyerhoff Arts Center, located in the heart of the campus, houses the department’s offices, seminar and lecture rooms, and the studios for design, drawing, digital imaging, painting, sculpture, and photography.

The major in art prepares the student for graduate study or for a professional career in the visual arts. Courses in studio art emphasize independent thought and experimentation in transforming materials to communicate emotions and ideas. Courses in art history explore form, content, and meaning in art of the past and the present, with emphasis on historical and social contexts. To accommodate individual interests and career plans, students and their advisers may also design individualized majors that unite studies in art with course work in other fields.

The Art and Art History Department offers a variety of opportunities for personal and intellectual growth. Independent projects and research can be arranged under the direction of departmental faculty, and the Eleanor Spencer Award is granted to fund outstanding research projects in art history or studio art. Rosenberg Scholarships are awarded to deserving candidates based on the quality of their portfolios and academic excellence. Internships can be designed for college credit through established relationships with area museums, arts organizations, area artists, galleries and design studios. These provide students with hands-on experience and help establish professional contacts. Certain courses are open to Goucher students at a consortium of institutions which includes the Johns Hopkins University, Maryland Institute College of Art, and Towson University. Frequent exhibitions are mounted in the college's Rosenberg Gallery and students are encouraged to show in the Corrin student gallery. In addition to Goucher’s collection of original art objects, books, photographs and slide collection, students have easy access to the many libraries, museums, and art galleries in Baltimore, Washington, and Philadelphia. The department sponsors field trips to these and other cities along the East Coast and hosts a diverse roster of noted visiting artists, art historians, and art critics.