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MA History of Art

(with optional pathway in British Art)

Start date
September
Duration
1 year full-time; 2 years part-time
Course Type
Postgraduate, Taught
Fees

Annual tuition fees for 2024 entry:
UK: £10,530 full-time
International: £23,310 full-time
More detail.

Are you fascinated by visual culture and history relating to a specific artist, period or movement? Do you want to learn about the methods of art history and how to apply them to particular historical problems?

This programme provides you with the opportunity to choose from a range of subject areas and historical periods in History of Art. It is ideal for those who wish to develop a solid foundation in History of Art, either as preparation for further research or for related careers. You will have the opportunity to develop both academic and professional contacts to support your personal and professional development.

Our students are normally taught within the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, an internationally renowned art gallery located at the University of Birmingham campus. Students are part of small seminar groups and benefit from furthering their study. Classes are taught not only at the Barber Institute, our ‘house gallery’, but also at the galleries on campus and in town. 

It is important to remember that our academic excellence is not confined to a single building or gallery. Our university boasts award-winning art installations across the campus and the wider city of Birmingham, providing you with countless opportunities for artistic inspiration and academic growth. Our expert academics, renowned in their fields, will guide you through your learning in exciting and innovative ways, ensuring that your studies continue to be engaging and transformative.

The programme offers a range of topics all of which relate to our staff research interests and expertise. Optional modules rotate annually, and typically cover topics such as: art, globalisation and migration; queer studies, sexuality and visual culture; art, gender and feminism; nineteenth and twentieth-century art practices in Britain, France and Germany; Renaissance art and architecture; medieval manuscripts; and aesthetics and intermediality. We also have a strong expertise in exhibition cultures and curatorial studies. There is an optional module on Enterprising Cultures, which explores the ways in which arts organisations can generate revenue and provides you with the opportunity to pitch your own business ideas in the arts sector. Unusual nowadays, we also offer modules on art in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.    

British Art Pathway

Students taking advantage of our British Art Pathway have the opportunity to investigate and query the narratives of British art. This focus offers exciting possibilities to study a field that is seemingly already well established in terms of institutions and journals which concentrate on British art, and movements (such as the Pre-Raphaelites, Vorticism or the yBAs, the Young British Artists), but still constantly evolving (Black and Queer British art; and with Brexit and its potential impact on art and the art market). It also offers the opportunity to investigate how, when and why nation-state identities have been related to art. As part of this pathway, you will take the module ‘What is British Art?’, which you can read about on our module focus page.

The pathway also covers a number of issues arising from a global context of art. With a quarter of the world population belonging to the British Empire at its height, British Art allows you to explore postcolonial theories, mobility and processes of decolonisation.

Delivered in Birmingham, in the heart of England, the pathway will allow students to explore the impact of global influences locally, through an emphasis on the West Midlands and Birmingham as an arts centre and international supplier for art materials, particularly in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Students of this pathway will benefit from the Department’s established network  with a wide range of collections in the West Midlands, including the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery with their world-famous Pre-Raphaelite collection, and Wolverhampton Art Gallery, with their BLK Art Group collection. Equally, students will benefit from the Department’s close relationship with national institutions concentrating on British Art. Colleagues from The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art , a part of Yale University based in London, have delivered guest seminars as part of the course in 2021-22 and 2022-23, and a series of Research Seminars will introduce students to cutting-edge research from across the country. 

Scholarships for 2024 entry

The University of Birmingham is proud to offer a range of scholarships for our postgraduate programmes. With a scholarship pot worth over £2 million, we are committed to alleviating financial barriers to support you in taking your next steps.

Each scholarship has its own specific deadlines and eligibility criteria. Please familiarise yourself with the information on individual scholarship webpages prior to submitting an application.

Explore our scholarships

 

At Birmingham, Postgraduate Taught and Postgraduate Research students also have the opportunity to learn graduate academic languages free of charge, to support your studies.

Barber Institute refurbishment

The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is currently undergoing a two-phase £10 million improvement program which includes a temporary closure of the Lady Barber Gallery and select areas until June 2024 and, in Phase Two, a temporary closure of the Barber Institute's building from February 2025 until late autumn 2025, as we make essential repairs and upgrades to enhance your future experience.

Find out more

 

I really liked the module options that were available which allowed a lot of freedom and equipped me with essential theories that can be applied to the reading of contemporary art. Birmingham is a big city with a thriving arts scene which, while studying, you really feel like you have the ability to fully immerse yourself within it.

Charlotte

Why study this course?

  • Location – Teaching takes place on the University’s unique campus, where students have access to a wide range of art, sculpture and heritage collections. The campus prides itself with sculptures by Barbara Hepworth and Eduardo Paolozzi. The University has also a non-western art collection, particularly strong in African masks and artefacts. We are located at the heart of a thriving city, considered the second city of the UK in terms of population, with excellent public transport and a vibrant portfolio of established and emerging art galleries and art organisations including Ikon, a well-known, internationally acclaimed contemporary art venue and the BMAG, a gallery specialising in the Pre-Raphaelites and a forerunner in being a community-oriented site that collects and exhibits objects from all ethnic groups. Needless to say that we have established contacts with a large number of these art galleries and organisations, explaining also the high employability rate of our students. Unique of our location is that we are situated in the middle of England, which allows easy access to the north and south, but also east and west.
  • Join an active and vibrant student community – you will benefit from a lively, supportive and intellectually stimulating postgraduate community, providing an ideal environment in which to study. You will have the opportunity to become active members of both departmental and university-wide research communities and help plan, organise and participate in public lectures, research seminars and the History of Art annual symposia.
  • Taught by experts renowned in their fields – our staff are active scholars with national and international reputations, regularly winning grants and publishing books and peer-reviewed articles on their specialist fields. They organise and contribute to conferences including the AAH and the CIA (both associations for art historians) and exhibitions at international venues, such as the Royal Academy, London, the Huntington Library in California, the Martin Gropius Bau in Berlin and the Cleveland Museum of Art. The British Art Pathway in particular brings together the departmental expertise in British art from a variety of viewpoints. 
  • Facilities and resources – The Barber Institute of Fine Arts houses the Barber Institute Gallery, a valuable teaching collection. It is an excellent and representative collection of post-medieval European art, including paintings, engravings and drawings by artists such as Rembrandt, Turner, Van Dyck, Veronese and Vigée-LeBrun. It also has a major collection of works by modern artists such as Degas, Gauguin, Käthe Kollwitz, George Grosz, Manet, Miró, Picasso and Whistler. The libraries offer a rich collection of published books (with open access and partly borrowable), online resources (accessible off and on campus) and some extraordinary unpublished archival material that provides seemingly endless scope for dissertations and further research. The two major study places are located closely together with a state-of-the-art main library (offering study spaces, bookable group study rooms, laptop loans and an onsite IT support service), and the charming two-room Barber Fine Art Library on the ground floor of the Barber Institute. 
  • Extracurricular activities - The Department is home to the online Journal of Art Historiography, and postgraduate students can apply to become editorial assistants. You also have the opportunity to volunteer at the Barber Institute. Read our official blog, The Golovinefor an insight into life within the Department. 

The postgraduate experience

The College of Arts and Law offers excellent support to its postgraduates, from libraries and research spaces, to careers support and funding opportunities. Learn more about your postgraduate experience.

Modules

Students on the main pathway will study three core modules, three Special Subjects and one optional module before completing your dissertation.

British Art pathway students will study three core modules, two British Art modules and two specialist subjects/optional modules before completing your dissertation.

Core modules

All students will study two core modules:

Criticism and Methods in the History of Art and Visual Culture

This module looks at the historiography, methods and theoretical underpinning of contemporary practices of artistic and visual analysis. Based on close reading of key scholarly texts, you will engage with traditional art historical methods as well as more recent approaches to the study of art and visual culture. You will be asked to consider the relevance of these methods to a range of examples, including the potential topics of their own developing ideas for your final thesis.
Assessment: 4,000-word written portfolio

Postgraduate Research Training and Methods A & B

This module introduces students at Masters level to a range of research skills needed to write a dissertation on their specific programme, as well as core, generic employability skills. It contains a number of staff-taught sessions on how to write a literature review, use the Internet for research and how to craft a research proposal. The first part of the module (A) will be taught in Semester 1, followed by the second part (B) in Semester 2.
Assessment: Written assignment and presentation

British Art Pathway Modules

Students wishing to follow the British Art Pathway will study both of these modules.

What is British Art?

What exactly is British art, and how does it relate to national identity? This module provides a broad overview of developments in British art from c.1760 to the present. It questions and unpacks this art historical category, by examining the key debates and writings that have shaped our understanding and definition of British art. It engages with the ways in which the boundaries of British art have been increasingly redrawn in recent years, as art historians integrate Britain’s imperial past and postcolonial present into the study of British art.

The module will consider the ways in which British art has been made, exhibited, experienced, conceptualised and contested. It will examine the breadth of British art, notably painting and sculpture, but also photography, the decorative arts, and more recent conceptual approaches. Students will engage directly with artworks through visits to relevant collections.

The module’s broad chronological sweep encompasses a diverse set of ideas related to British art. Topics might include: What is British Art?; art and empire; British ‘isms’ and movements; ‘English’ or ‘British’? Four nations art history; collecting and exhibiting British art; writing British art; the Royal Academy and the creation of the ‘British school’; researching British Art; judging British art; and queering British art.

This module includes mandatory and optional visits to museums and galleries. The cost of these will be covered by the Department. (Read more about this module)
Assessment: 4,000-word assignment

Made in Birmingham: Art and Urban Space

Birmingham provides a centre of gravity for exploring and applying key issues and debates in British art through particular case studies. Birmingham played a pivotal role in the industrial revolution and the British Empire, and the module will consider those industrial and imperial histories, and their continuing legacy in Britain’s second city.

Birmingham, and the Midlands more broadly, hold internationally significant collections of British art, notably the Pre-Raphaelite collection at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery; 20th century collections at Wolverhampton Museum and Art Gallery and The Herbert Museum and Art Gallery, Coventry; photographic collections at Birmingham Library and the University of Birmingham.

Using these collections, the module will consider the ways in which the arts were made, exhibited, experienced, conceptualised and contested in Birmingham. Topics might include: art and industry; artist’s societies (RBSA); Pre-Raphaelites; Arts and Crafts; Pop Art; Black British art; photography; centre/periphery; local/global; art and empire; art and religion; architecture; and art and urban regeneration.
Assessment: one research portfolio focused on an object produced in the Midlands, comprising a 2,000 word essay, annotated bibliography, and a selection of annotated visual and contextual sources.

Optional modules

Students taking the general route through the programme will then choose three Special Subjects and one optional module. Those taking the British Art pathway will take two optional modules/specialist subjects.

Optional modules typically include:

Enterprising Cultures

This module aims to develop your commercial awareness, and provide a framework for undertaking enterprising activity in cultural organisations. The module takes the form of a series of seminars and workshops on how to create a plan for new revenue-generating activity within an arts organisation, or even a business start-up. The module will feature a series of guest speakers who currently engage in commercial activity in cultural organisations. You will work in groups to develop an idea based on a real-world challenge set by a cultural organisation. You will then pitch your idea in a Dragon’s Den for formative feedback, before preparing a business plan. Find out more about this module.

Assessment: 4,000-word business plan

Exhibition Cultures

In many ways, exhibitions have been fundamental to art history, perhaps because artists have been influenced by exhibitions or have been ‘periodised’ by exhibitions (for example, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism). Arguably, art history has also been made through exhibitions. Therefore this module explores art history from the perspective of exhibitions. Such a perspective not only offers an intriguing approach that can be applied to any artist or art period, but an exhibition history constitutes part of any exhibition proposal. Therefore, this module supports both curatorial and art-historical studies. It provides an introduction to a variety of theoretical approaches to the role of exhibitions regarding society, culture and institutional critique (Bourdieu, Foucault, Bhabha) and to aspects that are pertinent to exhibitions, including the relevance of place and space for an exhibition, display, the role of curator, artist and audiences, marketing and sponsoring.
Assessment: 4,000-word essay

Paris Moderne

The centrality of Paris to the development of modern art is well established and Paris itself has taken on something of a mythical status in histories of modernity. This module explores from an interdisciplinary perspective the emergence and development of Paris between 1850 and 1930 as the focus of modernist cultural activity. Looking at the changing fabric, image and concept of the city, this module investigates ways in which Paris was experienced, conceptualised, made and represented by artists, photographers, urban planners, architects, designers and writers from Émile Zola and Édouard Manet to Eugène Atget, Sonia Delaunay and Walter Benjamin. Topics include: the social, artistic and literary impact and legacy of Haussmannisation; fashioning the Parisienne; poster art and commercialised leisure; exhibiting Paris; Surrealists in the city.

Berlin 1890-1939: Symphony of a (great) city

This module explores the cultural topography of Berlin and considers the city – both designed and represented space - as key capital of early twentieth-century modernist debate. Examining a range of works of art, architecture and film, as well as textual sources, this module explores the ways in which some of the defining practices and theories of the ‘Modernist Metropolis’ can be used to understand changing attitudes towards Berlin during Germany’s transition from Empire to Republic to dictatorship 1890-1939. The module will analyse several art historical moments associated with German Modernism, including Neue Sachlichkeit, German Expressionism, German neo-Impressionism. It will explore the work of artists, film makers, designers, photographers and architects such as; Bruno Taut; Grete Schütte-Lihotzky; Ludwig Meidner; Ernst Ludwig Kirchner; Hans Baluschek; Walter Ruttmann; Fritz Lang and August Sander, amongst others.

Women and Artistic Culture in the Late Medieval and Early Modern Period

This module draws on the recent growth of scholarship concerned with women’s roles in the making and consumption of art in the late medieval and early modern period. It will first consider how contemporary gender and feminist studies can help us to explore and be critically aware of what studying ‘female’ patrons and artists might mean for modern art historians. It looks at dominant medieval discourses about the female sex that were found in popular literature, scripture, and medical theories, and how these were manifest in works of art and literature of the time. It also considers the different social, political and religious roles that were available to women in this period in order to set up a framework in which women’s involvement with art and artists can be explored in a historically specific way. The module then focuses on a series of case studies of female figures, including queens, regents, mistresses, widows, court painters, and confirmed religious, who used art as a means to wield or influence political power, make statements, seek personal aims, or earn a living.

Sound and Vision: Word, Music, Image, 1860 - now

Painting, music and poetry regularly intertwine in the visual arts, from the poem-paintings of the Pre-Raphaelite Dante Gabrielle Rossetti; to the collaborations between Robert Rauschenberg and composer John Cage; to Keith Haring’s involvement with hip-hop culture in 1980s New York; and more recently, the audio/verbal/image works of contemporary artists like Mona Hatoum and Maud Sulter.

The interrelationship of these different art forms bring to mind the classical notion of ut pictura poesis: ‘as is painting, so is poetry’. This concept is often taken to mean that word and image should be seen as sister arts. But if we accept this proposal, does this mean that these forms of expression share affinities, coexist harmoniously, and are essentially interchangeable? Or, rather, does it pit them in competition, vying for dominion over each other? Taking key examples ranging from 19th century painting to contemporary media art, this module investigates the ways in which the inclusion or association of word and music affect meaning and experience in the visual arts, and whether we should see these various modes of communication as competing or complimentary.

Dissertation

In addition to your taught modules, you will conduct a piece of independent research on a topic of your choice within History of Art with the support of a supervisor, culminating in a 15,000-word dissertation.


Please note that the optional module information listed on the website for this programme is intended to be indicative, and the availability of optional modules may vary from year to year. Where a module is no longer available we will let you know as soon as we can and help you to make other choices.

Fees

We charge an annual tuition fee. Fees for 2024 entry are as follows:

  • UK: £10,530 full-time; £5,265 part-time
  • International: £23,310 full-time

The above fees quoted are for one year only; for those studying over two or more years, tuition fees will also be payable in subsequent years of your programme.

Fee status

Eligibility for UK or international fees can be verified with Admissions. Learn more about fees for international students

Paying your fees

Tuition fees can either be paid in full or by instalments. Learn more about postgraduate tuition fees and funding.


Are you an international applicant?

All international applicants to this course will be required to pay a non-refundable deposit of £2,000 on receipt of an offer, to secure their place.

Find out more about the deposit >>.

Scholarships and studentships

Scholarships to cover fees and/or maintenance costs may be available. To discover whether you are eligible for any award across the University, and to start your funding application, please visit the University's Postgraduate Funding Database.

International students can often gain funding through overseas research scholarships, Commonwealth scholarships or their home government.

How To Apply

Please review our Entry Requirements before making your application.

 

If you wish to take the British Art pathway through the programme, please apply for the MA History of Art and specify the British Art pathway at the top of your personal statement.

How to Apply for a Postgraduate Degree - Taught programmes

Application deadlines

The deadline for International students (requiring a VISA) to apply is 7 May 2024. The deadline for UK students is 30 August 2024.

Making your application

How to apply

To apply for a postgraduate taught programme, you will need to submit your application and supporting documents online. We have put together some helpful information on the taught programme application process and supporting documents on our how to apply page. Please read this information carefully before completing your application.

Apply now

Our Standard Requirements

You will need an Honours degree in History of Art or a cognate Humanities subject, of an upper second-class standard or higher (or its academic equivalent). Candidates holding degrees in other disciplines (e.g. broader Arts subjects) will only be considered if they can demonstrate interest and experience in History of Art, e.g. through studying relevant modules and/or undertaking related work experience.

Personal statement: You should use your personal statement to explain why you wish to study this programme, and your suitability for the programme, with reference to any past and present experience you have in this subject.

References: We ask that you provide at least one academic reference unless you have been out of education for a number of years, in which case professional references will be considered. Your references should be submitted promptly, and they should address your track record in detail, citing specific examples of past work and reasons why you are suited to the demands of an MA course.

International/EU students

Academic requirements: We accept a range of qualifications from different countries - use our handy guide below to see what qualifications we accept from your country.

English language requirements: standard language requirements apply for this course - IELTS 6.5 with no less than 6.0 in any band. If you are made an offer of a place to study and you do not meet the language requirement, you have the option to enrol on our English for Academic Purposes Presessional Course - if you successfully complete the course, you will be able to fulfil the language requirement without retaking a language qualification.

IELTS 6.5 with no less than 6.0 in any band is equivalent to:

  • TOEFL: 88 overall with no less than 21 in Reading, 20 Listening, 22 Speaking and 21 in Writing
  • Pearson Test of English (PTE): Academic 67 with no less than 64 in all four skills
  • Cambridge English (exams taken from 2015): Advanced - minimum overall score of 176, with no less than 169 in any component

Learn more about international entry requirements

International Requirements


The teaching on this programme mainly takes place in the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, which houses the Barber Institute Gallery, and is used by members of staff on a regular basis as part of your learning.

The Gallery has an excellent and representative collection of post-medieval European art, including paintings, engravings and drawings by artists such as Rembrandt, Turner, Van Dyck, Veronese and Vigée-LeBrun, as well as a major collection of 19th- and 20th-century works by artists such as Degas, Gauguin, Käthe Kollwitz, George Grosz, Manet, Miró, Picasso and Whistler.

The Barber Institute is home to an on-site research library which, in conjunction with the holdings of the University Main Library and the Special Collections of the Cadbury Research Library, makes Birmingham one of the best resourced Departments of History of Art in Britain.

Teaching year

We have three teaching terms per year, the autumn, spring and summer terms. Term dates can be found on our website.

As a full-time student, you will typically take three modules in each of the first two terms, followed by your dissertation. If you are a part-time student, you will typically take three modules across each year, followed by your dissertation.

Each module represents a total of 200 hours of study time, including preparatory reading, homework and assignment preparation.

Support with academic writing

As a postgraduate student in the College of Arts and Law, you have access to the Academic Writing Advisory Service (AWAS) which aims to help your transition from undergraduate to taught Masters level, or back into academia after time away. The service offers guidance on writing assignments and dissertations for your MA/MSc programme with individual support from an academic writing advisor via tutorials, email and the provision of online materials.

International students can access support for English Language development and skills through the Birmingham International Academy (BIA).

Your degree will provide excellent preparation for your future career, but this can also be enhanced by a range of employability support services offered by the University and the College of Arts and Law.

The University's Careers Network provides expert guidance and activities especially for postgraduates, which will help you achieve your career goals. The College of Arts and Law also has a dedicated  careers and employability team who offer tailored advice and a programme of College-specific careers events.

You will be encouraged to make the most of your postgraduate experience and will have the opportunity to:

  • Receive one-to-one careers advice, including guidance on your job applications, writing your CV and improving your interview technique, whether you are looking for a career inside or outside of academia
  • Meet employers face-to-face at on-campus recruitment fairs and employer presentations
  • Attend an annual programme of careers fairs, skills workshops and conferences, including bespoke events for postgraduates in the College of Arts and Law
  • Take part in a range of activities to demonstrate your knowledge and skills to potential employers and enhance your CV

What’s more, you will be able to access our full range of careers support for up to 2 years after graduation.

Postgraduate employability: History of Art

Birmingham's History of Art graduates develop a broad range of transferable skills, including: familiarity with research methods; the ability to manage large quantities of information from diverse sources; the ability to organise information in a logical and coherent manner; the expertise to write clearly and concisely and to tight deadlines; critical and analytical ability; the capacity for argument, debate and speculation; and the ability to base conclusions on detailed research.

Our History of Art postgraduates also have the advantage of gaining hands-on experience at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts: the university's on-campus art gallery which is home to the Department of Art History, Curating and Visual Studies.

Employers that History of Art graduates have gone on to work for include: Barber Institute of Fine Arts; Birmingham Museums Trust; National Trust; National Portrait Gallery; Royal Birmingham Society of Artists; University of Edinburgh; University of Lincoln; Warwick Business School; Ben Uri Gallery and Museum; Henry Moore Foundation; University of Cambridge; University of Exeter; University of Birmingham; and the Ironbridge Gorge Museums Trust.