The Department of Art and Art History is an innovative, laboratory program focused on the practice and history of art. Courses in a variety of subject media and historical periods inspire students to consider and create art within a social, cultural, religious, aesthetic, and technological context. The catalyst of both interrelated fields is the diverse history of art and its status in contemporary society. The departmental faculty encourages students to embrace the liberal arts tradition with respect to critical thinking, self-discovery, and personal expression, while the college's Catholic and Lasallian traditions help to deepen and broaden the student’s engagement with art.

The Department offers two majors:

Bachelor of Arts: Art Practice
Bachelor of Arts: History of Art

The coursework in the practice of art ranges in approach from traditional studio work to digital, new media, and other contemporary practices. The department’s instruction in art practice integrates technical fundamentals and conceptualization, creative experimentation and critical thinking, personal expression and social responsibility. Students learn to engage in discussion and group-critiques as part of their professional preparation and as an integral way of participating in and benefiting from a community of shared inquiry. The coursework in the history of art, presented alongside courses in archeology, anthropology, religious studies and modern languages, presents the rich tradition of art in the western world, while also inviting students to experience the artistic production of many other cultures.

A degree from the Department of Art and Art History has provided alumni with an appreciation of visual art as a way of knowing. Through personalized advising, the department prepares students to further their studies at the graduate level in curatorial studies, studio art, history of art, digital filmmaking, graphic design, and other related fields.

Both Art Practice and History of Art majors undertake an inclusive series of lower-division courses in the history and practice of art. These courses are intended to give a general overview of the variety and breadth of artistic media and practices.

Acknowledging the importance of direct contact with diverse artistic practices, students in both majors are encouraged to study abroad through the college’s many art-focused travel programs.