Full major description (PDF).
Major declaration form (PDF).

Objectives of the Visual Studies Major
• That students acquire a critical awareness of seeing, and of the problems and possibilities for investigating, thinking and writing about seeing in the 21st century.
• To explore the status of images as representations or models of visual experience and as bearers of information, and to develop skills in interpreting artefacts visually.
• To provide an overview of the disciplines that investigate human vision, including their basic methods and major theories (e.g. communications, cognitive science, neuroscience, philosophy, psychology, art history, fine arts, film studies).
• To explore areas of convergence among these disciplines - how they complement and inform each other in current practice, or how they might potentially do so.
• To develop skills in the making of art ranging from the two- and three-dimensional to the digital.

Requirements for the Major
15 courses in 4 stages. All courses must be taken for a grade. The major is structured with three possible concentrations:

Sector A: Philosophy and Science of Seeing
Sector B: Art and the Culture of Seeing
Sector C: Art Practice and Technology

Stage 1
Three Core Courses in Visual Studies (VLST 101, VLST 102, VLST 103) taught by faculty from contributing departments. All three are required.

Stage 2
Six Core Courses: two in each of the three sectors, to ensure both sufficient breadth and specialized depth, selected from an approved list.

Stage 3
Four courses in the chosen sector of concentration and one additional course outside the concentration, five courses total. Students may begin taking courses in their concentration before completing all Stage 2 Core Courses.

Stage 4
VLST 395, Senior Seminar. A research paper/project prepared under the supervision of two faculty advisors from the contributing departments, one from within the chosen concentration sector and one from another sector. The project should integrate perspectives gained from different disciplines in the course of the major. A year-long activity, VLST 395 is a half-credit per semester, with the cumulative 1 cu earned upon successfully completing the spring semester.

Transfer credit
Transfer credit will not be given for VLST 101, 102, or 103. All other transfer credit is granted by the corresponding departments (for ARTH course credit, History of Art; for PSYC, Psychology, etc.). To be counted toward the VLST major, the course numbers for which credit is granted by the respective department must be among those listed herein as counting for the major. Students should consult with individual departments concerning their rules for granting transfer credit (ARTH, FNAR, PHIL, PSYC). ARTH 298 does not count toward the VLST major.

Study abroad
As many as three courses for the major may be taken abroad in Penn programs. They should be chosen in consultation with the program director and sector advisors. The procedure for counting credit toward the VLST major is the same as for any transfer credit. However, no FNAR courses will be approved for study abroad credit to count toward the VLST major. As above, ARTH 298 does not count toward the VLST major. Under no circumstances will credit be given for VLST 101, 102, or 103 taken elsewhere.

Honors
To graduate with "Honors in Visual Studies," a student must achieve a GPA of 3.70 in all courses counted toward the major, and receive an A on the Senior Project.

Double Majoring
According to the College: "Students pursuing two majors must take at least eighteen different courses in fulfillment of major requirements." The spirit of the rule is that a double major should represent a significant broadening experience. Students who choose to double major with Visual Studies should choose their VLST concentration with this academic value in mind. Thus, a student double majoring with Philosophy or Psychology should concentrate in VLST Sector B or C, a double major with History of Art should concentrate in Sector A or C, with Fine Arts, Sector A or B. That would ensure that a double major from these departments or programs would add significant breadth through a VLST major.

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