Art History and Visual Culture Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)

Art isn’t just found in museums - it’s everywhere, from fine art paintings to viral videos, shaping how we see and understand the world. This course explores the powerful role of images in influencing culture, politics, and society across time and place. In an age dominated by visual media, this degree offers you the chance to study art history from the Renaissance to the contemporary period, while also exploring connections with film, screen, and media studies. You can engage with the histories of exhibitions and museum collections, and critically examine how objects are curated and displayed to public audiences. Through a dynamic mix of academic study and real-world experience, you’ll develop transferable skills in collaboration, project management, and independent research. This course empowers you to think critically and independently about objects, images, and ideologies across historical periods and global contexts - equipping you for a wide range of careers in the arts, culture, media, and beyond. You will gain an in-depth understanding of art history and visual culture. This includes how various periods of art have influenced or been influenced by other aspects of culture and society, and how the art of one nation impacts on others. You will be aware of issues surrounding the history of the production, reception and display of art, the development of key historical art movements, as well as knowledge of the writing of art history and art criticism.

You will range across media, examining painting, sculpture, architecture graphics, photography, film and more. You will explore across time from the Renaissance to the present day. Each module will help you [answer the big questions](https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/studywithus/ugstudy/articles/explore-more-articles/art/AnsweringbigquestionsthroughArtHistoryandVisualCulture.html "Article about art history modules addressing power and the future") through reflection, appreciation and understanding the that art and visual culture represents for the future.

We make a point of getting out of the classroom:

* Funded field trip to a major European city where you'll develop your own project in response to what you see and experience.

* On-campus galleries at [Lakeside Arts](https://www.lakesidearts.org.uk/ "Lakeside Arts website") are integral to our teaching.

* Regular visits to study sites and objects at first hand. [Watch some of our students reflect on the recent Lakeside exhibition](https://www.facebook.com/LakesideArts/videos/1103935997083004/ "Video of student reflections on Lakeside exhibition") "Breaking the Mould: Sculpture by Women since 1945".

We have close links with Nottingham's dynamic arts scene including the award winning [Nottingham Contemporary](https://www.nottinghamcontemporary.org/ "Nottingham Contemporary website"), the [artist-led Primary](https://www.weareprimary.org/ "Primary studios website"), [New Art Exchange](https://nae.org.uk/ "New Art Exchange homepage"), [Backlit](https://backlit.org.uk/ "Backlit homepage") and [Surface](https://www.surfacegallery.org/ "Surface homepage") providing opportunities for placements and volunteering.

Why choose this course?

Learn with experts and attend regular talks and guest lectures including artists, conservation specialists and curators.

* Opportunity to apply for the [Hollywood Internships programme](https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/studywithus/ugstudy/articles/explore-more-articles/art/Placements_and_volunteering/Hollywood_Internships.html "Overview of Hollywood Internships programme").

* Learn a language alongside through the many options in the [Language Centre](https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/language-centre/modules-for-current-students/modules-for-current-students.aspx "Language Centre offer").

Proven results

* 5th in the UK for history of art, architecture and design (Daily Mail University Guide 2026).

* 1st for graduates entering highly-skilled jobs (HESA Graduate Outcomes 2025).