Art History, B.A.

A speciality of the institute in Göttingen is curatorial training with the institute's art collection, ranging from use of the objects in teaching to training students to organise their own exhibitions. The courses offered include regular excursions inside and outside Germany and periods of study abroad at European partner universities. The art history department in Göttingen is a member of interdisciplinary centres, degree programmes and research associations. It also cooperates closely with the disciplines of archaeology, history and cultural sciences at Göttingen University.

The programme of studies in the B.A. subject Art History conveys to students comprehensive, fundamental knowledge of major works, categories, subject-related terminology, artistic techniques, theories and methods of European art history from post-antiquity to the global present, including elementary knowledge of subject-related occupational fields. Following a methodology- and terminology-oriented introductory phase during the first year, the 2nd to 5th semesters serve to acquire knowledge and skills by way of exemplary learning. In the 5th semester, students can choose between a practical profile and an explicitly scientific profile. The former focuses mainly on practical skills to prepare students for professional work; a mandatory internship of at least three weeks serves to develop the practical skills acquired during study and helps students to make contacts at an early stage. The scientific profile offers students the opportunity to choose more freely than before from the range of courses available and thus define their own thematic and epoch-oriented areas of specialisation. This ensures qualified preparation for a more scientifically oriented Master's degree programme. In addition, students can expand their foreign language skills and learn new languages in courses offered by the language centre. It is also possible to study for one or two semesters at one of our foreign partner universities, for example in Venice or Barcelona. In planning a period of study abroad, students will receive advice and support from the department.

The occupational fields for art history include employment in museums, in the preservation of monuments or at a university, but also in galleries, the art trade, tourism, the publishing industry, newspapers and magazines, media institutions, insurance companies and all areas of cultural administration. A degree in Art History is intended to qualify graduates for all of these occupational fields and requires on the one hand a wide range of courses, but on the other hand targeted setting of priorities towards the end of the degree programme. To strengthen the competitiveness of our students on the international labour market, the proportion of practice-oriented modules is significantly increased during the academic year preceding graduation. Here we make use of our specific locational advantages in Göttingen: the subject-related orientation of our own teaching staff, the neighbouring disciplines and, as a special asset, the University's own art collection.