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Major · Visual & Performing Arts

A bachelor’s grounded in art scholarship and museum work

Art History, Criticism and Conservation (CIP 50.0703) is a bachelor’s-leaning humanities major covering the history and theory of art alongside conservation, connoisseurship, and museum-practice methods. About 2,147 students complete it across 414 institutions, with bachelor’s grads earning $41,854 — modest pay, with most named careers requiring a master’s.

Schools offering
414
Annual completions
2,147
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$41k

About this major

Art History, Criticism and Conservation (CIP 50.0703) is a bachelor’s-leaning humanities major in the visual-arts family that studies the historical development of art as a social and intellectual phenomenon, the analysis of specific works, and art conservation. The CIP definition organizes coursework around theory of art, art history research methods, connoisseurship, the preservation and conservation of works of art, and the study of specific periods, cultures, styles, and themes. Most accredited programs require survey courses spanning ancient through contemporary art, several primary-language requirements (German, French, Italian for European specialization; Mandarin or Japanese for Asian; Arabic for Islamic art), a senior thesis, and museum or gallery internships.

The major fits students drawn to scholarship, visual analysis, and the institutional history of art. It rewards close reading of images, archival patience, language fluency, and a willingness to commit to graduate school as part of the realistic career path. The day-to-day of bachelor’s-level work in the field looks like museum-technician roles, gallery-assistant work, auction-house cataloging, and arts-administration internships — typically with modest pay and competitive entry.

One grounded observation about scale and earnings: 2,147 students complete this CIP across 414 institutions, with bachelor’s grads earning $41,854 and associate’s grads earning $33,977 — both below most undergraduate majors. The packet names four BLS occupations and three of the four require a master’s or doctorate: Curators ($61,770, 7% growth, master’s), Archivists ($61,570, 3.8%, master’s), and Postsecondary art teachers ($80,190, master’s minimum). Museum technicians and conservators ($47,460, 5.4%, bachelor’s) is the only bachelor’s-accessible named role. The wage data reflects most graduates being early-career or in graduate study — not a stable terminal earning level. Top producers — UCLA (50), NYU (45), UC Santa Cruz (38) — lead a research-university pipeline, with CUNY BMCC (76) anchoring an NYC community-college transfer track.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Art, drama, and music teachers, postsecondary $80k +1.7% Master's degree
Museum technicians and conservators $47k +5.4% Bachelor's degree
Curators $62k +7.0% Master's degree
Archivists $62k +3.8% Master's degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$41k

Associate's vs Bachelor's — early-career earnings

Associate's

$34k

Bachelor's

$42k

Who this major is for

Good signs this major fits: you’re drawn to visual analysis, archival work, and the institutional history of art, you’re willing to invest in language fluency (German, French, Italian for European art; Mandarin or Japanese for Asian; Arabic for Islamic), and you can commit to graduate school as part of the realistic career path — most named occupations (curator, archivist, conservator, postsecondary teacher) require a master’s or doctorate. The bachelor’s pays $41,854 and museum technician roles at $47,460 grow 5.4%. UCLA, NYU, and the UC system have particularly strong graduate-school placement records.

Reasons to pause: the bachelor’s caps low without graduate work, and three of the four named tracked occupations require a master’s or doctorate. The labor market is heavily competitive — curator and archivist roles are small occupations, unpaid internships are common, and jobs cluster in NYC, DC, Chicago, and LA. Most graduates spend their first 3-5 years stacking internships, language work, and reduced-pay assistant roles before securing a full-time salaried position. If you want a high earnings ceiling without graduate school, this isn’t the major; if scholarship and museum work matter to you, plan for a long arc with a master’s as a near-term cost.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Art History, Criticism and Conservation

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community College New York, NY 76 0 76
University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 0 50 50
New York University New York, NY 0 45 45
University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA 0 38 38
The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX 0 34 34
University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA 0 34 34
University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA 0 32 32
North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC 0 28 28
CUNY Queensborough Community College Bayside, NY 28 0 28
Blinn College District Brenham, TX 27 0 27
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Art/Art Studies, General

13,626 completions/yr

Fine/Studio Arts, General

10,217 completions/yr

Intermedia/Multimedia

679 completions/yr

Painting

457 completions/yr

Fine Arts and Art Studies, Other

418 completions/yr

Drawing

216 completions/yr

Sculpture

167 completions/yr

Public/Applied History

134 completions/yr

Considering this direction?

We've taken a hard look at the debt, earnings trajectory, and degree-level tradeoffs for the Art History, Criticism and Conservation field. Read our verdict before you commit.

Is Art History, Criticism and Conservation worth it? Read verdict
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What does art history actually cover at the undergraduate level?
Coursework spans surveys (ancient, medieval, Renaissance, modern, non-Western, contemporary) alongside research methods, theory and criticism, museum studies, and at many programs an introduction to art conservation. The CIP definition adds connoisseurship and the study of specific periods, cultures, styles, and themes. Most programs require a senior thesis, several primary-language requirements (German, French, Italian for European art; Mandarin or Japanese for Asian), and museum or gallery internships.
What jobs do graduates land — and at what pay?
The packet names four BLS occupations and three of the four require a master’s or doctorate. Museum technicians and conservators ($47,460, 5.4% growth, bachelor’s) is the entry-level path. Curators ($61,770, 7% growth) and Archivists ($61,570, 3.8%) require master’s degrees. Postsecondary art and drama teachers ($80,190) require master’s minimum, and tenure-track positions require doctorates. Auction-house cataloging, gallery-assistant work, and arts-administration roles fill in the rest at entry level.
Do I need a master’s or PhD?
For most named careers, yes. Curator, archivist, conservator (specialized graduate certificate or MA), postsecondary art teacher, and gallery-director roles list master’s as the typical credential. Tenure-track art history professorships require a PhD. The bachelor’s opens the door to museum-technician work, gallery-assistant roles, and auction-house cataloging — but the wage ceiling at the bachelor’s level is real. Treat the bachelor’s as a launching pad for graduate study, not a finish line.
How competitive is the art-museum job market?
Heavily competitive. Curator and archivist positions are limited (small total occupations), often hire from a regional pool of master’s-credentialed applicants, and frequently require multiple unpaid or low-paid internships before a salaried position. Geographic flexibility matters — major museum hubs (NYC, DC, Chicago, LA) absorb most candidates and the market thins quickly outside those cities. Plan on supplementing income through teaching or gallery work in the early career.
Is the bachelor’s worth it given the modest earnings?
If you’re committed to graduate school, the bachelor’s is a necessary foundation — most art history MAs and PhDs require an undergraduate art history bachelor’s or close equivalent. The $41,854 bachelor’s wage in the data is modest because most early-career graduates haven’t yet completed graduate work. The honest framing: this is not a terminal credential for high earnings, but a foundation for scholarship, museum work, conservation, or arts-administration careers that build over a long arc.
Where are the strongest programs concentrated?
UCLA (50 completions), NYU (45), UC Santa Cruz (38), UT Austin (34), UC Berkeley (34), UC Santa Barbara (32), and NC State (28) anchor the bachelor’s side — large research universities with strong museum partnerships. The associate’s side is dominated by CUNY BMCC (76) and CUNY Queensborough (28), reflecting an NYC community-college transfer pipeline into four-year humanities programs. NYU and the UC system have particularly strong graduate-school placement.