Careers
Study Art History. Do Anything.
What can I do with an Art History major?
Our recent graduates have gotten great jobs in technology, consulting, and government, while many also pursue graduate school in the humanities or sciences. A significant percentage also pursue full-time service work for a year or more, seeking to make a difference in the world by helping others.
Skills you'll learn
- Visual Analysis
- Critical thinking and reading
- Strong writing
- Use of evidence to support an argument
- Interdisciplinary field of study
- Ethical judgment and decision making
- Knowing how to plan and carry out long-term projects
- Ability to analyze and solve problems with people from different backgrounds
Sean Cotter ‘15
Master’s degree student, University of London Courtauld Institute of Art
“Art History at Notre Dame is a great, diverse curriculum. It’s such a fascinating field of study, especially if you want to look at history not from just the textbook but from what people were talking about, what people were producing, and what people thought was worthy of painting and sculpting," saws Sean Cotter, an art history major. “Art History has provided me with so much background for analysis of visual imagery, analysis of a problem that’s depicted in sculpture or a painting or architecture. It really teaches you how to solve a problem, and how other people have solved a problem. That’s really what a lot of art is — it’s solving a problem for a very specific context.”
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Sean Cotter ‘15
Master’s degree student, University of London Courtauld Institute of Art
“Art History at Notre Dame is a great, diverse curriculum. It’s such a fascinating field of study, especially if you want to look at history not from just the textbook but from what people were talking about, what people were producing, and what people thought was worthy of painting and sculpting," saws Sean Cotter, an art history major. “Art History has provided me with so much background for analysis of visual imagery, analysis of a problem that’s depicted in sculpture or a painting or architecture. It really teaches you how to solve a problem, and how other people have solved a problem. That’s really what a lot of art is — it’s solving a problem for a very specific context.”
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Mary Cecilia Mitsch '10
Associate Director, Marianne Boesky Gallery
Mary Cecilia Mitsch is an Associate Director at Marianne Boesky Gallery in New York City where she works with artists, exhibition management, and sales. Mary Cecilia will specifically be co-directing a new gallery space that Marianne Boesky Gallery has opened on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Marianne Boesky Gallery represents some of the world's pre-eminent artists including Frank Stella, Rachel Feinstein, Sue de Beer, and Anthony Pearson among many others. Mary Cecilia studied Graphic Design and Art History at Notre Dame. She graduated in 2010 and pursued her MA in Art History at Savannah College of Art & Design before moving to New York to pursue gallery management.
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Adrian Duran '98
Associate Professor, University of Nebraska
Adrian R Duran graduated from Notre Dame in 1998 with a BA in Art History. After ND, he went on to get an MA and PhD from the University of Delaware. Duran now works at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where he is currently an Associate Professor. He served as Department Chair from 2016-19. Duran has published widely on mid-20th century Italian painting and sculpture, including his 2014/18 book Painting, Politics and the New Front of Cold War Italy (Ashgate/Routledge), as well as edited the 2020 Journal of Latino/Latin American Studies issue “Art of the Latinx Diaspora”. Duran will also be the 2020-21 Dorothy K. Hohenberg Chair of Excellence in Art History at the University of Memphis.
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Katie Hazard '97
Program Manager, Burning Man Arts
Katie Hazard, ’97, is currently the Program Manager for Burning Man Arts in Black Rock City, NV. Burning Man Arts, through art grants, mentorship, and art management programs, supports the creation of impactful, interactive artwork around the world. As Program Manager for Burning Man Arts, she manages and serves on the committee which awards grant funding to artists, she directs art management processes and staff emphasizing community engagement, partners with organizations to install Burning Man art globally, and she curates the annual placement of 400 art installations.
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Sophia Bevacqua ’17
Fellow, Vatican Museums
Bevacqua, an art history major, now works in the Vatican Museums Patron’s Office, with seven laboratories dedicated to preserving and restoring the site’s vast collections. Bevacqua is something of an intermediary in restoration projects. She works with the laboratories to determine which works of art will be restored, which methods will be used to do the work, and how much each project will cost. She then works to match upcoming restoration projects with benefaction from the museums’ pool of approximately 2,400 donors. She’s also working on an exhibition curated by Vatican Museums director Barbara Jatta of pieces that will tour major museums in the U.S.
97% of Art History majors found full-time employment, enrolled in graduate school, entered service programs, or joined the military within six months of graduation.
Note: Outcomes data comes from First Destination reports, a survey of recent graduates conducted by the Notre Dame Center for Career Development and Office of Strategic Planning and Institutional Research. Status is known for more than 90% of each graduating class.
Independent projects include activities such as writing a novel, making a film or fine arts project, traveling the world, caring for a family member, etc.