Art History Certificate

Do you want to hone your skills in researching and writing about art from around the world?
Through our Art History Certificate program, you can pursue your passion by taking the full
range of courses offered in our curriculum. This certificate can be pursued independently
from or together with a PSU degree.

Our Certificate in Art History is a 24-credit course of study that allows you to forge your own
path based on your interests and goals. You will take upper-division and seminar courses that
will offer you a thorough grounding in art history while building visual, verbal, and written
communication skills.

Requirements

Here’s what you need to do to begin the Portland State Certificate in Art History:

• Be formally admitted to PSU.
• After being admitted to PSU email Anne McClanan (anne.mcclanan@pdx.edu), the Art History Certificate Coordinator, to request that your transcripts be evaluated for courses that can be used towards this certificate. Please include your name, PSU ID number, and that you are interested in doing the certificate.

Please note that you are required to complete a year-long lower-division art history survey as a pre-requisite to your 300- and 400-level coursework. This basic preparation does not count toward the 24 credits required for the certificate, but serves the role of preparing you to handle the upper-level classes that are the core of the certificate's requirements.

The survey courses must be completed with a grade of “C-“ or better; P/NP grades are not accepted. If you are taking the survey through PSU, you would take ARH 204, 205, and 206. WR 323, Writing as Critical Inquiry, is required for any certificate student whose first degree is from an institution where English is not the primary language of instruction.