
Art in the past and the present.
Art history can also be called the study of human expression: visual, tactile, spatial and more. In our courses, you'll learn not just the "what", but the "how" and the "why" too.
Art History courses
In our courses, you'll uncover the stories behind timeless works of art, from cave paintings, to abstract art, to Medieval architecture, to the works of Canadian icons like Emily Carr and the Group of Seven.
Museum and heritage studies
We also offer museum and heritage courses with a professional focus. Take a course for personal interest, or pursue a post-graduate certificate or diploma in Museum Studies.
- Alfred Hitchcock's Pure Cinema and Film Noir
- An Introduction to Art and Architecture in the Islamic World
- Art Now: An Introduction to Contemporary Visual Art
- Canadian Women Artists: The Beaver Hall Group
- Classics of Film Noir
- Classics of Film Noir II
- Classics of Film Noir III
- Doing Philosophy is Learning to Die
- Emily Carr in France
- Emily Carr on Haida Gwaii
- Emily Carr's James Bay
- Empire and Desire: The Ottoman Palace in Western Imagination
- Film Noir Classics: The Deviant Genre
- Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986)
- Hard-boiled Fiction in Film Noir
- Her Story: Women Making Art
- Medieval to Renaissance: The Evolution of Botanical Illustration
- Northwest Coast Masterworks: Tony Hunt, Beau Dick and Tony Hunt Jr
- The Group of Seven in Western Canada
- The Sculpting of Myth and Imagination
- Victorian Retellings of Viking Mythology: A Mythological Makeover
- Western Art History: The Greatest Hits

Collections Management
The Professional Specialization Certificate in Collections Management program provides museum professionals with a highly respected credential along with applicable knowledge and skills, in an innovative and flexible format that will suit both professional development needs and a busy work schedule.
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Cultural Resource Management
The Diploma in Cultural Resource Management program offers practical, theoretical and management-based professional training, along with a recognized and respected diploma credential, in a flexible format taught by established industry experts.
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There are several well-known health benefits to engaging in creative endeavors, but sometimes actually getting into a right headspace is easier said than done. So what are some things you can do to get those creative juices flowing?
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From the earliest markings upon cave walls, to the rhythmic beating of drums, cultural dance or even the creation of written language, people have been driven to express themselves through art since the earliest days of our species.
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After nearly a decade working for Continuing Studies at UVic, it goes without saying that Preston Randall is an integral part of the team. He knows the division’s systems, people and workflows like the back of his hand.
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What is it that prompts someone to take a Continuing Studies course? Well it’s different for everyone of course, but for retired physician Dr. Heidi Martins it was to expand her perspective on the world.
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For an avid traveler, the thought of finding a job that allows you to help others fall in love with travel, sounds pretty sweet, doesn’t it? Well this is exactly what Janet gets to do every day at the office. Now, while the idea of traveling is one most people fantasize about, don’t forget there’s a heck of a lot of hard work involved.
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Mary Jo Hughes is the director of UVic’s Legacy Art Galleries, which consists of some 19,000 art objects. She has yet to personally handle all of them.
Read StoryDr. Carolyn Butler Palmer is the Cultural Resource Management Academic Program Advisor and works closely with the program and the Department of Art History and Visual Studies at the University of Victoria.
Read StoryHaving worked for Natural History research and museological institutions for several years, the CRMP course was very effective in "forcing" myself into taking time from work and read some of the books in the to-read list that usually I wouldn't have time to.
Read StoryAs a “mature” student during the Cultural Management course, I continued to work as a senior associate, architect, urban designer and heritage planner with a large multi-discipline firm. During the four years of study I worked on a re-purposing of a portion of the 1929, CPR, John Street Roundhouse for an underground hydro transformer station. I have been involved with adaptive reuse and conservation of this National Historic Site since 1995.
Read StoryI start my day in the artifact holding area finding the next artifact that needs cataloguing and then doing some research to find out more about it. While I do most of my research online, I never underestimate the power of our internal research library. Amongst many other treasures, our library has a fantastic collection of mail order catalogues from Eaton's Headquarters - endlessly useful when determining dates with a largely 20th century collection.
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"Nan" Walmsley celebrates her 90th birthday this year but shows no sign of slowing down in her quest to learn new things. Since fall 1998, she has taken around 165 courses through Continuing Studies.
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