History of Art MA

Our MA History of Art trains you at an advanced level in looking at, thinking about and researching art and its histories. It exposes you to key art historical approaches and allows you to focus in depth on areas and periods of particular interest to you, in early and modern periods. It develops your visual acuity while stimulating critical debate and building your research skills.

Why choose this course?


• Birkbeck is one of the leading universities for the study of the history of art as a culturally and historically engaged discipline. Our teaching staff are internationally recognised experts conducting ground-breaking research.



• You will have the opportunity to take a ten-week supervised work placement in a museum, gallery or archive. Previous placements have been offered at Tate, the British Museum, the Science Museum, Whitechapel Gallery and the Horniman Museum.



• Your studies will be enriched by museum, gallery and site visits, visiting speakers and screenings.



What you will learn

History of art is a rich and dynamic discipline which combines rigorous investigation of the visual arts with creative exploration of their connections to culture, politics and society.

You will master a wide range of methods and sources, including archives, collections, historical and contemporary texts, and a broad spectrum of artistic media from cathedrals to digital installations.

You will also have the chance to choose from option modules on painting, sculpture, print culture, architecture, digital art, photography and performance.

How you will learn

You can study this course full- or part-time. Classes take place in the evening and may be in the form of short lectures, seminar and small-group discussions, or group tasks such as the analysis of texts and visual material.

Option modules may include organised visits to museums and galleries, collections and heritage sites. In your final year, you will devise your own research project for the dissertation.

Highlights


• Birkbeck was ranked as one of the top four universities in the UK for its Art and Design research in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.



• We offer a number of bursaries and funds to support MA coursework research expenses.



• You can attend a wide range of events, including the Postgraduate Research Seminar, which brings art historians to speak at Birkbeck, the biennial Murray Lecture, the Murray Seminar on Medieval and Renaissance Art, the exhibitions and displays at Birkbeck's Peltz Gallery, and events at the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities.



• You will have access to a range of resources, including the Courtauld Institute of Art, Royal Institute of British Architects and V&A, British Museum, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Tate Britain, Tate Modern, V&A, Barbican Gallery, Institute of Contemporary Arts, Hayward Gallery and Royal Academy.



• We encourage you to become involved in our lively research culture through the History and Theory of Photography Research Centre, the Architecture, Space and Society Centre, the Centre for Museum Cultures and the Vasari Research Centre, which has pioneered the field of digital art history.



Careers and employability

On successfully graduating from this MA, you will have gained an array of important transferable skills, including:


- a sophisticated use of written and spoken English


- highly developed visual skills


- an advanced critical ability in understanding and applying complex theories


- facility and precision in the use of a range of analytical tools


- strong skills and initiative in collecting and organising complex materials and writing up clear, well-presented assignments and fluent critical arguments.


Graduates can pursue a career path as a:


- higher education lecturer


- museum/gallery curator


- museum registrar or collections manager


- arts administrator


- auctioneer


- researcher


- advertising account executive.