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Pratt’s an exceptional place to study art and design history and theory. From our landmarked campus you’ll have access to NYC’s premier international private collections, libraries, museums, studios, and galleries, as well as the opportunity to work with leading artists, designers, historians, and theorists.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Type
Undergraduate, BA
Credits
126
Duration
4 years
Courses
Plan of Study
Student passing through the book stacks in the historic Pratt Library on the Brooklyn campus

History of Art and Design at Pratt

Join us in New York City, the art capital of the United States, for an immersive education in the history of art and design. Explore the effects of gender, class, politics and religion intersect with art and cultures that created it. Gain a wide perspective in theory and design methods and artistic expression in art, architecture, film, and literature. The liberal arts curriculum, including foreign language study, prepares you to research and critically analyze art and literature. 

The Experience

IXD students Wuke Zhou, Yuki Shimano, and Olivia Turpin at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (photo by Shih Wen Huang)
IXD students Wuke Zhou, Yuki Shimano, and Olivia Turpin at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (photo by Shih Wen Huang)

Interdisciplinary and socially engaged, the History of Art and Design BA provides a broad foundation from which students build critical and analytical capacities to confront complex questions. Drawing on disciplines ranging from sociology, anthropology, linguistics, and economics, students go beyond aesthetic consideration to consider complex questions and evolving challenges. 

With class sizes of just 8-12, you’ll collaborate closely with your team, faculty, and community partners to learn the skills needed to create strategies and systems that meet real-world challenges.

Electives and Seminars

You’ll have the opportunity to take electives in film and design, architecture, non-Western, pre-Renaissance, Renaissance to Rococo, and 19th-, 20th-, or 21st-century art, design, theory and methodology, and chemistry of art. Major-specific seminars are available from your first through senior years, on topics that include the role of New York as a cultural capital, critical and theoretical models, and art and social justice.

Study Abroad

Mosaic restorer Giovanni Cucco explains his work at SS. Maria e Donato to graduate student Amy Ungricht (photograph by Kate McElhiney)
Mosaic restorer Giovanni Cucco explains his work at SS. Maria e Donato to graduate student Amy Ungricht (photograph by Kate McElhiney)

Immersing yourself in another culture is an incredible experience that can extend the boundaries of creativity. Study abroad programs are an integral part of the college experience, and Pratt has deep connections with university partners around the world. Study in Paris with the Pratt in Paris summer program. We also recently celebrated the 35th anniversary of Pratt in Venice, which is a 6-week program that occurs each June and July.

Learning Resources

We develop disciplinary fluency in our program of study and we celebrate the interdisciplinary nature of art and design critical to address the plurality and complexity of the environments in which we operate. Learn about resources.

Our Faculty

Pratt’s distinguished faculty of outstanding creative professionals and scholars share a common desire to develop each student’s potential and creativity to the fullest. Bringing different views, methods, and perspectives they provide a rigorous educational model in which students make and learn. See all History of Art and Design faculty and administrators.

Jennifer Babcock

Assistant Professor

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Karolina Koczynska

Visiting Assistant Professor

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Labib Hossain

Visiting Instructor

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Success Stories

Ready for More?

HERE’S HOW TO APPLYOUR CAMPUS & BEYOND
Join us at Pratt. Learn more about admissions requirements, plan your visit, talk to a counselor, and start your application. Take the next step.You’ll find yourself at home at Pratt. Learn more about our residence halls, student organizations, athletics, gallery exhibitions, events, the amazing City of New York and our Brooklyn neighborhood communities. Check us out.

From the Catalog