The Art, and Art History programs are closely related, with many students majoring in one field and minoring in one of the others. The wide array of program choices allows students to follow a path of specialized or generalized study. Most entering freshmen students spend their first two years in interdisciplanary studies in General Education (GE), Art History, and core courses in Art choosing a speciality path at the end of their second year.

All undergraduate degrees require a minimum of 17 GE courses to meet the university requirement of 51 units. It is generally recommended that Art and Art History students spread these requirements out over four years. Within the GE requirements are courses in basic skills including oral and written communication, critical thinking, science, math, humanities and the arts, social science, government, and human understanding and development. Some programs recommend specific general education classes. Some Art History classes meet either upper (courses numbered 100 or above) or lower division GE requirements. Upper division GE courses require passage of a junior level Writing Skills Test (WST) to establish eligibility. Additionally, all undergraduate degrees must include at least 40 units of upper division course work.