Career Opportunities

Art History students can prepare for employment as teachers, museum curators, commercial art gallery proprietors or staff, art conservators, art librarians, photographers, journalists, advertising professionals, television and film producers, and many other art-related occupations. Graduate study is necessary to advance in most of these fields.

As curators in museums, Art Historians are responsible for entire areas of a museum collection, including selection and maintenance of works of art, cataloging, exhibiting, and publishing.

Many Art History students enter graduate school immediately after graduation, while others enroll after some work experience has led to specialization in a particular area.

Art Historians are often the directors of educational programs in museums. Professors at institution of higher learning are usually expected to earn a doctoral degree. This requires five to seven years of graduate study to acquire both a comprehensive knowledge of Art History and a highly developed specialization.