The discipline of History of Art is by definition interdisciplinary, and students are encouraged to develop both visual and cultural literacy by extensive study of works of art and the historical contexts in which they were created. More subtle and ambiguous than written language, images offer us a narrative parallel to texts that are both complementary and contradictory. Developing the ability to see, interpret, and evaluate visual images of all types is an increasingly important skill set in our increasingly visual world. From cave painting to computer-generated virtual realities, history of art engages the visual legacy of the past while preparing its students to function in the realm of the non-textual.

The Department of History of Art offers a major and a minor (including one in the history of architecture) in the discipline, and encourages students to take courses in cognate disciplines such as studio art, classics, history, psychology, English, and foreign language literatures. Courses are offered at all levels and in most major subfields of the discipline. Students who major in history of art are required to take at least two advanced seminars that are closely related to the faculty's areas of research and publication. These courses offer an important opportunity to interact closely with professors while pursuing a focused research topic.

The Old Gym, built in 1880 and on the National Register of Historic Places since 1974, houses department and faculty offices, classrooms, the visual resources collection, and the Fine Arts Gallery.

The visual resources collection of images includes almost 200,000 slides and a rapidly expanding collection of digital images. The collection is available for advanced undergraduate research. The Fine Arts Gallery features six exhibitions per year and maintains a permanent collection of more than 5,500 works that are exhibited for students and the general public on a rotating basis.