Overview
Hood's Department of Art and Archaeology offers students the chance to study art history,
archaeology, studio art, and film studies with an exceptionally strong and varied faculty.
Students may choose to concentrate in art history, archaeology, studio art or art education. The
major prepares students for a position in museums and galleries, in commercial or historical
archaeology, as an independent artist or art teacher. It is also excellent preparation for admission
into a top-level graduate school. Throughout our classes, we place particular emphasis on
individual attention, and try to spend considerable time in the remarkable array of museums in
our local area.
Hood also mounts regular exhibits in its own Hodson and Whitaker galleries throughout the year. The
installations are directed by a professional curator, but offer valuable experience for students
who are deeply involved with every aspect of the exhibition program, from hanging objects to
meeting and selecting artists for exhibition. There are also regular exhibitions of works by both
undergraduates and graduate students.
Hood students also have the chance to meet and learn from leading art historians, archaeologists
and artists on campus. There are frequent lectures, presentations and workshops by significant
scholars and artists. Over the past several years, we have participated in the Center for the
Humanities colloquium series, sponsored in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This includes the 2010-2011 series "The Humanities at Work: How Media Shape Society."
Art History
Art history courses at Hood introduce students to art and visual culture from prehistoric cave
painting to postmodern performance and installation art. Thanks to Hood's location near
Washington, DC and Baltimore, and the faculty's close ties with major museums in the area, art
history students have an unusually rich range of opportunities. Poring over medieval manuscripts
with a curator at the Walters Art Museum, examining Renaissance masterpieces with
conservators at the National Gallery of Art, discussing contemporary sculpture with staff in the
boardroom of the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum or even watching as an exhibition takes
place in the Smithsonian's Freer/Sackler Galleries have all been part of a Hood education.
Archaeology
Hood is unusual among small colleges in offering a concentration in archaeology. Archaeology
students examine the art, artifacts, and cultures of the ancient world, as well as the field methods
of archaeologists today. One requirement of the archaeology concentration is a hands-on
experience, either "in the field" on an archaeological project, or in a museum or archaeology lab
as a student intern. Hood students have participated in archaeological excavations in Europe,
Asia, Central America, and the United States. They have the opportunity to excavated with
Hood's own archaeology professors, or with other accredited and approved projects; Hood
supports a number of these opportunities with research funding.
Studio Art
The studio art concentration includes courses in design, drawing, painting, ceramics, sculpture, photography and printmaking. Students choose to specialize in one of these areas. Hood also offers short workshops and demonstrations in ceramics featuring national and international guest artists. Studio faculty are active professionals, exhibiting their own work widely. Our close ties to the major museums and galleries in the area give students a rich and varied exposure to historical and contemporary art.
Art Education
Students who wish to teach art at the K-12 level should plan on the art education concentration. Students in this concentration receive a strong training in traditional studio media, including both design, drawing, painting, photography, ceramics and printmaking, as well as essential supporting courses in both digital media and art history. Students who successfully complete this concentration will receive certification to teach in Maryland upon graduation, as well as reciprocity for teaching in certain other states.
Beyond the Classroom
Art history and archaeology are ideal concentrations for students interested in travelling and
discovering the wider world, and are easily combined with a major in a foreign language.
Besides the museums in our area, we have gone to Los Angeles, Toronto, Boston, New York and
Philadelphia to visit museums and attend professional conferences. Our students in art history,
archaeology, and studio art have received grants to make visits and indeed to study in Europe,
Italy, France, England, Germany and Korea. Students in art education play a leading role in
local schools, as their teaching internships include time in both elementary and secondary
schools.
Admission to the Art & Archaeology Major
The program does not require a portfolio review for admission. However, students who have a portfolio of their work are encouraged to present the portfolio to faculty members. It is possible that a review of the portfolio will enable the student to receive credit for an introductory studio art course. Hood awards credit for AP Art History exams with a score of 4 or 5.
Internships
Hood art and archaeology majors have completed internships at the following locations:
- Smithsonian Institution
- Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
- Historical Society of Frederick County
- Christopher R. Goodwin & Associates
- National Gallery of Art
- The Walters Art Museum
- Guggensheim Museum, New York City
- National Park Service
- Philadelphia Museum of Art
Alumnae and Alumni Success Stories
Graduates of Hood's art and archaeology program have enrolled in nationally and internationally known programs to pursue advanced studies. Among the institutions that have accepted Hood graduates are:
- Bryn Mawr College
- Cornell University
- Emory University
- New York University
- Southern Methodist University
- State University of New York
- The American University
- The George Washington University
- Tufts University
- Tulane University
- University of Chicago
- University College, Dublin (Ireland)
- University of London, Courtauld Institute
- University of Maryland
- University of Pennsylvania
- University of Strasbourg (France)
- University of Texas, Austin
Hood graduates are also working in a variety of positions, such as:
- Art consultant, architectural firm
- Assistant professor of art history, Pacific Lutheran University
- Coordinator, Children and Family Programs, Walters Art Museum
- Culture resource and research assistant, A.D. Marble and Co.
- Graphic designer, MICROS systems
- Instructor, Arcadia Center for Hellenic, Mediterranean and Studies (Athens, Greece)
- Reference librarian, National Museum of Art (Smithsonian)