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CIP 50.0703 Visual and Performing Arts

Art History, Criticism and Conservation

IPEDS Completions, US Department of Education · 2025

中文

Total graduates

3,589

2025 · 353 schools

International share

9.9%

354 international students

Bachelor's degrees

2,558

7.0% international

Master's degrees

733

16.9% international

Overview

Art History, Criticism, and Conservation is a multidisciplinary field that explores the history of art, the critical analysis of artworks, and the preservation of cultural heritage. This major combines theoretical knowledge with practical skills, allowing students to understand how art reflects societal values, historical contexts, and individual creativity.

Students in this program typically study various art movements, significant artists, and the evolution of artistic techniques across different cultures and periods. Courses often cover topics such as Renaissance art, modernism, and contemporary practices, providing a comprehensive understanding of the visual arts' historical trajectory. Additionally, critical theory plays a significant role, enabling students to analyze and interpret artworks through various lenses, including feminist, postcolonial, and psychoanalytic perspectives.

A critical component of this major is conservation, which focuses on the techniques and methodologies used to preserve and restore artworks and artifacts. Students learn about the ethical considerations involved in conservation practices and the scientific methods used to analyze materials and techniques. This knowledge is essential for ensuring that future generations can appreciate and study these works.

Graduates of Art History, Criticism, and Conservation can pursue careers in museums, galleries, cultural institutions, and academia. They may work as curators, art critics, conservators, or educators, contributing to the understanding and appreciation of art in society. This field not only fosters a deep appreciation for art but also emphasizes the importance of cultural preservation in an increasingly globalized world.

Graduates by year

Graduates by degree level (first and second majors)

AssociateBachelor'sMaster'sDoctoral

From 2002 to 2025, graduates grew 1% and the international share went from 3.6% to 9.9%.

International share (%)
Graduates by group, 2025
White
56.1%
Asian
6.5%
Hispanic
15.7%
Black
4.2%
Other
7.7%
Intl.
9.9%

Colleges that award this degree

In 2025, 353 schools awarded this degree as a first major. The table lists those in the 2027 U.S. News National or Liberal Arts rankings, plus the unranked schools with the most graduates.

RankSchoolStateGraduatesInternational
#2 Princeton University New Jersey 34 7
#3 Harvard University Massachusetts 30 6
#4 Yale University Connecticut 25 5
#5 Stanford University California 11 4
#7 University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 19 6
#8 Duke University North Carolina 13 3
#9 University of Chicago Illinois 20 5
#9 Northwestern University Illinois 11 2
#9 Johns Hopkins University Maryland 7 0
#12 Dartmouth College New Hampshire 11 2
#12 Columbia University in the City of New York New York 72 23
#14 Cornell University New York 18 3
#16 Washington University in St Louis Missouri 13 3
#16 Brown University Rhode Island 12 2
#16 Vanderbilt University Tennessee 8 1
#16 Rice University Texas 7 0
#20 University of California-Berkeley California 47 3
#20 University of California-Los Angeles California 56 7
#20 University of Notre Dame Indiana 3 1
#23 Georgetown University D.C. 10 1
#23 Emory University Georgia 11 2
#25 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Michigan 9 0
#26 University of Virginia-Main Campus Virginia 5 0
#27 University of Southern California California 19 2
#27 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill North Carolina 13 2
#29 University of California-San Diego California 15 3
#31 Boston College Massachusetts 9 0
#31 Tufts University Massachusetts 16 2
#31 New York University New York 89 29
#34 University of California-Davis California 24 2
#34 University of California-Irvine California 19 1
#34 University of Florida Florida 16 1
#34 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Illinois 9 2
#34 Boston University Massachusetts 31 8
#34 Wake Forest University North Carolina 6 0
#34 The University of Texas at Austin Texas 40 3
#34 University of Wisconsin-Madison Wisconsin 20 2
#42 Villanova University Pennsylvania 3 0
#44 University of California-Santa Barbara California 41 2
#44 Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Jersey 22 1
#44 Case Western Reserve University Ohio 10 1
#44 Ohio State University-Main Campus Ohio 19 2
#44 Lehigh University Pennsylvania 2 0
#49 University of Maryland-College Park Maryland 13 1
#49 University of Rochester New York 1 0
#49 University of Washington-Seattle Campus Washington 27 1
#52 University of Georgia Georgia 13 0
#55 Santa Clara University California 4 1
#55 University of Miami Florida 4 0
#55 The Pennsylvania State University Pennsylvania 16 1
#55 Purdue University-Main Campus Indiana 6 0
#59 George Washington University D.C. 18 3
#59 Florida State University Florida 25 1
#59 Tulane University of Louisiana Louisiana 10 1
#59 Brandeis University Massachusetts 6 0
#59 University of Massachusetts-Amherst Massachusetts 16 1
#59 University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minnesota 17 0
#59 Stony Brook University New York 19 2
#59 University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pennsylvania 35 6
#69 Michigan State University Michigan 5 1
#72 Syracuse University New York 17 1
#73 University of Connecticut Connecticut 2 0
#73 Indiana University-Bloomington Indiana 11 0
#73 Binghamton University New York 17 9
#73 North Carolina State University at Raleigh North Carolina 44 0
#80 University of California-Riverside California 23 1
#80 Pepperdine University California 4 0
#80 Drexel University Pennsylvania 4 0
#85 University of Delaware Delaware 13 2
#85 Fordham University New York 18 1
#85 University at Buffalo New York 3 0
#85 Southern Methodist University Texas 15 1
#90 Baylor University Texas 3 0
#90 Texas Christian University Texas 4 0
#95 American University D.C. 24 0
#95 University of Illinois at Chicago Illinois 7 0
#95 University of Missouri-Columbia Missouri 4 0
#100 Chapman University California 5 0
#100 University of San Diego California 5 1
#100 Florida International University Florida 18 1
#100 University of South Florida-Main Campus Florida 21 0
#100 University of Iowa Iowa 7 0
#100 Saint Louis University Missouri 1 0
#100 Creighton University Nebraska 2 1
#100 Elon University North Carolina 2 0
#109 University of California-Santa Cruz California 34 0
#109 Loyola Marymount University California 10 1
#109 University of Colorado Boulder Colorado 12 1
#109 Fairfield University Connecticut 3 0
#109 Temple University Pennsylvania 16 0
#109 The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Tennessee 2 0
#116 University of San Francisco California 11 0
#116 University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Oklahoma 7 0
#116 University of Oregon Oregon 20 2
#116 Brigham Young University-Provo Utah 27 0
#121 University of Arizona Arizona 12 0
#121 University of Denver Colorado 13 0
#121 Loyola University Chicago Illinois 9 0
#121 SUNY at Albany New York 2 0
#121 University of Dayton Ohio 3 0
#121 University of South Carolina-Columbia South Carolina 10 0
#121 The University of Texas at Dallas Texas 6 0
#121 George Mason University Virginia 19 4
#133 Clark University Massachusetts 1 0
#133 Miami University-Oxford Ohio 12 0
#133 University of Vermont Vermont 16 0
#137 University of Alabama at Birmingham Alabama 2 0
#137 California State University--Long Beach California 3 0
#137 San Jose State University California 6 1
#137 St John's University (NY) New York 1 0
#137 Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia Pennsylvania 2 0
#137 University of Houston Texas 11 0
#137 James Madison University Virginia 3 0
#148 Catholic University of America D.C. 1 0
#148 University of Kansas Kansas 14 3
#148 University of Kentucky Kentucky 5 0
#148 University of Rhode Island Rhode Island 1 0
#156 The University of Alabama Alabama 5 0
#156 California State University-Fullerton California 5 0
#156 University of St Thomas (MN) Minnesota 12 0
#156 CUNY--City College New York 4 0
#156 Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia 16 0
#169 Bradley University Illinois 1 0
#169 Butler University Indiana 1 0
#169 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Nebraska 4 0
#169 University of North Carolina at Charlotte North Carolina 12 0
#179 University of Louisville Kentucky 1 0
#179 University of Mississippi Mississippi 1 0
#179 CUNY Hunter College New York 29 2
#179 University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Ohio 9 1
#179 University of Utah Utah 14 0
#179 Seattle University Washington 1 0
#186 University of Hawaii at Manoa Hawaii 1 0
#186 Wayne State University Michigan 6 0
#186 Texas Tech University Texas 1 0
#191 University of Arkansas Arkansas 11 0
#191 Georgia State University Georgia 1 0
#191 Drake University Iowa 1 0
#191 Hofstra University New York 2 0
#191 Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Oklahoma 1 0
#202 Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Louisiana 1 1
#202 Ohio University-Main Campus Ohio 6 2
#208 California State University-Sacramento California 9 0
#208 University of La Verne California 1 1
#208 Willamette University Oregon 1 0
#208 Belmont University Tennessee 3 0
#208 University of North Texas Texas 26 1
#219 Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis Indiana 6 0
#219 University of North Carolina--Wilmington North Carolina 5 0
#227 San Francisco State University California 19 0
#227 University of Michigan-Dearborn Michigan 2 0
#227 The New School New York 36 11
#227 University of Texas-San Antonio Texas 9 0
#227 West Virginia University West Virginia 4 0
#236 University of North Florida Florida 6 0
#236 University of Nevada--Las Vegas Nevada 1 0
#236 University of New Mexico-Main Campus New Mexico 9 0
#236 Kent State University at Kent Ohio 16 1
#236 Pacific University Oregon 1 0
#236 Portland State University Oregon 13 0
#236 University of Texas-Arlington Texas 11 0
#250 University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth Massachusetts 2 0
#250 University of Missouri--Kansas City Missouri 8 0
#250 Pace University-New York New York 1 0
#250 La Salle University Pennsylvania 2 0
#262 University of Maine Maine 3 0
#262 Suffolk University Massachusetts 3 0
#262 Central Michigan University Michigan 1 0
#262 University of Texas--El Paso Texas 4 0
#262 Seattle Pacific University Washington 1 0
#276 Western Michigan University Michigan 4 1
#276 Bowling Green State University-Main Campus Ohio 3 0
#288 University of Hartford Connecticut 7 0
#288 Wichita State University Kansas 1 0
#288 Arcadia University Pennsylvania 2 0
#288 University of Memphis Tennessee 2 0
#288 Texas State University Texas 9 0
#288 Utah State University Utah 10 0
#288 University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee Wisconsin 12 0
#299 Azusa Pacific University California 16 0
#299 Southern Connecticut State University Connecticut 5 0
#299 Boise State University Idaho 3 0
#299 University of Nebraska--Omaha Nebraska 4 0
#299 University of Toledo Ohio 3 0
#308 Oakland University Michigan 2 0
#328 Old Dominion University Virginia 11 0
#342 Cleveland State University Ohio 3 0
#342 Lincoln Memorial University Tennessee 2 0
#342 Kennesaw State University Georgia 1 0
#353 University of Michigan--Flint Michigan 1 0
#353 University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras Puerto Rico 14 0
#365 Eastern Washington University Washington 2 0
#382 Columbus State University Georgia 2 0
#382 University of New Orleans Louisiana 4 0
#382 Wright State University-Main Campus Ohio 2 0
LAC #1 Williams College Massachusetts 10 2
LAC #3 Pomona College California 2 0
LAC #3 Bowdoin College Maine 3 0
LAC #3 Swarthmore College Pennsylvania 3 1
LAC #10 Wellesley College Massachusetts 8 2
LAC #12 Washington and Lee University Virginia 5 1
LAC #14 Wesleyan University Connecticut 3 0
LAC #14 Hamilton College New York 8 0
LAC #16 Grinnell College Iowa 4 1
LAC #16 Carleton College Minnesota 2 1
LAC #19 Barnard College New York 24 6
LAC #19 Middlebury College Vermont 6 0
LAC #21 University of Richmond Virginia 7 1
LAC #22 Colby College Maine 3 2
LAC #22 Smith College Massachusetts 12 0
LAC #26 Haverford College Pennsylvania 1 0
LAC #28 Macalester College Minnesota 3 1
LAC #29 Bucknell University Pennsylvania 7 0
LAC #31 Trinity College Connecticut 4 1
LAC #31 Denison University Ohio 3 1
LAC #31 Bryn Mawr College Pennsylvania 18 2
LAC #34 Colorado College Colorado 3 0
LAC #34 Spelman College Georgia 7 0
LAC #34 Mount Holyoke College Massachusetts 19 6
LAC #38 Scripps College California 10 1
LAC #38 Trinity University Texas 1 0
LAC #41 Skidmore College New York 8 0
LAC #41 Kenyon College Ohio 10 1
LAC #44 Pitzer College California 2 0
LAC #47 Connecticut College Connecticut 2 0
LAC #49 DePauw University Indiana 2 0
LAC #49 St. Olaf College Minnesota 5 1
LAC #49 Rhodes College Tennessee 6 0
LAC #49 The University of the South Tennessee 10 0
LAC #54 Centre College Kentucky 2 0
LAC #54 Gettysburg College Pennsylvania 5 0
LAC #57 Furman University South Carolina 2 0
LAC #59 Oberlin College Ohio 10 0
LAC #60 Hobart and William Smith Colleges New York 5 0
LAC #62 Agnes Scott College Georgia 1 0
LAC #62 Lake Forest College Illinois 1 0
LAC #62 Gustavus Adolphus College Minnesota 2 0
LAC #62 Muhlenberg College Pennsylvania 2 0
LAC #68 Wofford College South Carolina 5 0
LAC #68 Lawrence University Wisconsin 6 0
LAC #72 Bard College New York 42 10
LAC #74 Rollins College Florida 3 0
LAC #74 Kalamazoo College Michigan 4 0
LAC #78 Hope College Michigan 1 0
LAC #78 Whitman College Washington 3 1
LAC #81 Wheaton College (MA) Massachusetts 2 0
LAC #83 Morehouse College Georgia 2 0
LAC #85 Knox College Illinois 3 0
LAC #85 Drew University New Jersey 3 0
LAC #85 Susquehanna University Pennsylvania 2 0
LAC #91 Augustana College Illinois 2 0
LAC #91 College of Wooster Ohio 6 1
LAC #91 Southwestern University Texas 1 0
LAC #97 Lewis & Clark College Oregon 17 1
LAC #100 SUNY College at Geneseo New York 1 0
LAC #100 University of Puget Sound Washington 4 0
LAC #106 Transylvania University Kentucky 1 0
LAC #106 Pacific Lutheran University Washington 1 0
LAC #109 Hanover College Indiana 2 0
LAC #116 Ohio Wesleyan University Ohio 2 0
LAC #119 Albion College Michigan 1 0
LAC #119 California State University-Channel Islands California 5 0
LAC #128 Cornell College Iowa 2 0
LAC #128 University of Minnesota-Morris Minnesota 1 0
LAC #128 SUNY at Purchase College New York 13 0
LAC #128 University of Mary Washington Virginia 9 0
LAC #132 Bennington College Vermont 2 0
LAC #146 Oglethorpe University Georgia 3 1
LAC #150 Sweet Briar College Virginia 4 0
LAC #154 University of North Carolina Asheville North Carolina 3 0
LAC #157 Randolph College Virginia 3 0
— Sotheby's Institute of Art-NY New York 70 0
— CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community College New York 66 4
— Lindenwood University Missouri 59 1
— School of the Art Institute of Chicago Illinois 23 8
— CUNY Graduate School and University Center New York 17 2
— CUNY Queensborough Community College New York 17 2
— Pratt Institute-Main New York 17 3
— Western Washington University Washington 16 0
— Savannah College of Art and Design Georgia 15 1
— School of Visual Arts New York 13 4
— Blinn College District Texas 13 0
— College of Charleston South Carolina 11 0
— State University of New York at New Paltz New York 8 0
— California College of the Arts California 7 3
— California State Polytechnic University-Pomona California 7 0
— Columbia College Chicago Illinois 7 0
— Saint Peter's University New Jersey 7 1
— Marymount Manhattan College New York 7 1
— Marist University New York 6 0
— Austin Community College District Texas 6 1
— Utah Valley University Utah 6 0
— University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez Puerto Rico 6 0
— Academy of Art University California 5 0
— Sonoma State University California 5 0
— Flagler College Florida 5 0
— St. Ambrose University Iowa 5 0
— Maryland Institute College of Art Maryland 5 1
— Towson University Maryland 5 0
— Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 5 0
— Coastal Carolina University South Carolina 5 0

Purple: international students are 25% or more of the school's graduates.

Related jobs and pay

OccupationUS employmentMean hourly wageMean annual wage
Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary 93,560 — $94,700
Museum Technicians and Conservators 12,310 $27.60 $57,410
Curators 12,150 $34.40 $71,560
Archivists 7,970 $33.96 $70,640

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025.

Graduate counts: IPEDS Completions, US Department of Education, 2002–2025. Rankings: 2027 U.S. News.