What can I do with this?
We are now offering associate degrees for transfer to the CSU. This provides a clear pathway to a CSU major and baccalaureate degree. This AS-T degree guarantees admission with junior standing somewhere in the CSU system and gives priority admission consideration to your local CSU campus or to a program that is deemed similar to your community college major. This priority does not guarantee admission to specific majors or campuses. More information on the Degree with a Guarantee Program.
The Art History Degree for Transfer
- Guarantees acceptance to the CSU system
- Prepares students for transfer at the junior level to California State University programs and colleges offering Bachelor's degrees in
- Art History
- Studio Arts
- Fine Arts
- Art Education
- Art Therapy
Current and prospective community college students are encouraged to meet with a counselor to review their options for transfer and to develop an educational plan that best meets their goals and needs.
What will I learn?
- To analyze and interpret the formal, technical, and expressive aspects of a work of art, whether as a historian, viewer, or creator.
- To discuss works of art representative of diverse cultures and regions within a historical and social context.
- To apply art historical terminology and methodology in analyzing and interpreting works of art.
- To demonstrate familiarity with a variety of art production processes.
What courses do I take?
Note: Some courses within the major may have a required prerequisite. If you feel you have equivalent knowledge and skills to those included in the prerequisite course through professional experience, licensure, or certification, you have the opportunity to submit a Prerequisite Challenge to be reviewed by the faculty chair. For the Prerequisite Challenge to be considered, you must submit documentation/verification to substantiate the basis for the challenge. Please consult a counselor for more information regarding Prerequisite Challenge.
Complete all of the following courses
Advisory: ENGL C070
54 hours lecture. This course provides an overview of western art and architecture from prehistory through the Middle Ages. Approved for IGETC Area 3A, CSU GE Area C1, Local GE Area 3.
Advisory: ENGL C070
54 hours lecture. This course provides an overview of art and architecture from the Renaissance to the Contemporary period. (ART C105 is not a prerequisite for ART C106.) Approved for IGETC Area 3A, CSU GE Area C1, Local GE Area 3.
Prerequisite: ENGL C070.
Limitation on Enrollment: Acceptance for the Honors Program or eligibility for this honors course as determined in consultation with the instructor.
72 hours lecture. This course provides an overview of art and architecture from the Renaissance to the Contemporary period. The honors section provides more content and requires greater intensity and depth of study than the non-honors class. (ART C105 is not a prerequisite for ART C106H.) Approved for IGETC Area 3A, CSU GE Area C1, Local GE Area 3.
27 hours lecture/81 hours laboratory. $10 materials fee. This is a studio course that introduces the principles, elements, and practices of drawing, employing a range of subject matter and drawing media. A strong focus is placed on perceptually based drawing, observational skills, technical abilities, and creative responses to materials and subject matter. $10 materials fee. Approved for CSU GE Area C1, Local GE Area 3.
List A – Choose one of the following courses:
Advisory: ENGL C070
54 hours lecture. This course provides a select overview of art and architecture from India, Southeast Asia, China, Korea, and Japan from pre-history to modern times. Approved for IGETC Area 3A, CSU GE Area C1, Local GE Area 3.
Advisory: ENGL C070
54 hours lecture. This course provides an overview of art and architecture from the Western modern period of the 19th and 20th centuries. Approved for IGETC Area 3A, CSU GE Area C1, Local GE Area 3.
List B – Select one of the following courses:
27 hours lecture/81 hours laboratory. $10 materials fee. This course provides an introduction to the concepts, applications, and historical references related to two-dimensional art and composition, including the study of the basic principles and elements of line, shape, texture, value, color, and spatial illusion. A combined lecture and studio approach provides students with the opportunity to develop a visual vocabulary for creative expression. Approved for CSU GE Area C1, Local GE Area 3.
27 hours lecture/81 hours laboratory. $20 materials fee. This course is an introduction to the concepts, applications, and historical references related to three-dimensional design and spatial composition, including the study of the elements and organizing principles of design as they apply to three-dimensional space and form. A combined lecture and studio approach provides the student with the opportunity to develop a visual vocabulary for creative expression. The course uses appropriate materials for representational and non-representational three-dimensional studio projects. Approved for Local GE Area 3.
Advisory: ENGL C070
27 hours lecture/81 hours laboratory. $10 materials fee. This course introduces students to ceramics materials, concepts, and processes including basic design principles, creative development, hand-building, throwing, glaze techniques, firing and ceramic terminology. The course covers aesthetics and creative development of clay objects examining historical, contemporary, and personal modes of expression across cultures. Approved for CSU GE Area C1, Local GE Area 3.
27 hours lecture/81 hours laboratory. $20 materials fee. This course introduces sculptural principles, concepts, processes and techniques. Modern materials and their relationship to design, form, and three-dimensional space are examined. A combined lecture and studio approach provides students with the opportunity to develop perceptual skills that enable them to create sculptures for personal artistic expression. Approved for CSU GE Area C1, Local GE Area 3.
List C – Choose one of the following courses:
27 hours lecture/81 hours laboratory. $10 materials fee. This course provides a general introduction to art that offers a look at works of art through the study of theory, terminology, themes, design principles, media, techniques, with an introduction to the visual arts across time and diverse cultures. In addition, the student is given studio art experiences dealing with various studio media in order to reinforce the concepts presented. Approved for IGETC Area 3A, CSU GE Area C1, Local GE Area 3 & 6.
Advisory: ENGL C070
27 hours lecture/81 hours laboratory. $10 materials fee. This course is a beginning level studio arts course introducing the materials, methods, and techniques of painting as a means of creating two dimensional art images. The course focuses on exploration of painting materials, perceptual skills and color theory, paint mixing and technique, as well as creative responses to materials and subject matter. Approved for CSU GE Area C1, Local GE Area 3.
Complete one of the following general education patterns:
Students desiring transfer to the California State University system may conform to either (1) the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) or (2) CSU General Education Certification.
Please consult the Transfer Center or Counseling for more information regarding which classes will transfer to a four-year institution.
IGETC is a series of courses that community college students can use to satisfy lower division general education requirements at any CSU or UC campus.
Please consult the Transfer Center or Counseling for more information regarding which classes will transfer to a four-year institution.
Program Pathways
Official Catalog Copy
All classes needed for this degree are available at the following campuses: CC Online Ridgecrest / IWV
Additionally, some of the general education courses needed to complete this major are available at all our locations.
See Counseling for specific help with enrolling and completing this major.
How can I afford it?
This degree requires 60.0 units and will likely take 4 semesters.
Approximate Total Costs
CA Residents
60.0 units
at $46 per unit
Equals $2,760 in tuition and fees
Plus approximately $3,600* for books and supplies
Total cost $6,360 for 4 semesters
Non-residents
60.0 units
at $329 per unit
Equals $19,740 in tuition and fees
Plus approximately $3,600* for books and supplies
Total cost $23,340 for 4 semesters
*This is an estimate. Actual costs will vary.
Need help? Financial Aid can help with fee waivers and scholarships and other aid. Make sure to fill out your FAFSA every January.
