Students working toward the Bachelor of Arts in Art with a concentration in art history must complete 22 hours of Art Foundations courses, 30 hours of upper-level art history courses selected with the written consent of an advisor (at least 24 of which must be taken in residence, including Senior Thesis in Art History), a minor course of study from outside the major area discipline, sophomore level in a foreign language, and the university core curriculum requirements for a B.A. in the College of Visual & Performing Arts. The number of credit hours required for a concentration in art history is 120 (including a minimum of 39 credit hours of art history). ARTH 3303 and most upper-level art history courses are writing intensive. The School of Art is committed to providing a stimulating and challenging environment that will develop creative and scholarly potential in students, support faculty members in the pursuit of excellence in teaching and research, serve public and professional constituencies, and promote intercultural understandings through art. Degree programs engage students in art through an examination of contemporary, historical, and cross-cultural issues, ideas, and actions in relation to multiple, diverse, and global visual cultures. The School of Art emphasizes exhibition opportunities, contemporary technologies, critical discourse, and interdisciplinary opportunities. The school offers students the opportunity to minor in art history, studio art fine art photography or transmedia. Non-majors who desire experience in the visual arts as part of their liberal education will find a varied selection of course offerings.