The department of visual studies unites several major aspects of art and visual culture: studio art, the history of art, and the theory of visual images.

Visual Studies offers degree programs in art(ART), art history (AHI) as well as courses in visual studies (VS).

The department of visual studies art history program is committed to exploring the visual arts (painting, sculpture, performance art, graphic arts, architecture, photography, and decorative arts) and what they reveal about culture. The art history faculty uses a diverse range of methodological approaches, to help students attain the necessary tools and knowledge to understand our visual world. Courses encompass the world's major geographic areas, and specific interests in social history, gender and race, post-colonialism, problems of taste and patronage, and myth and narrative. An art history major is ideal for students who wish to pursue a career in the arts, but it is equally valuable for those seeking to develop visual, analytical, and communication skills. Recent graduates have gone on to work in museums and art galleries, enroll in a variety of humanities graduate programs, and pursue careers in law, government, and business.