Art History

Art History at Aberystwyth University provides the rare opportunity to study the history of art within a magnificent listed building where art is also made, curated and exhibited. Your training will be enriched, challenged and expanded by your growing understanding of historical and cultural contexts, exposure to the work of staff and student art practitioners, and access to our internationally renowned museum collections of fine and decorative art. The BA in Art History provides you with the opportunity to develop historical knowledge, critical thinking and practical skills in writing and researching under the guidance of publishing art historians and practicing artists and curators.

The School is based within the town with unspoiled views of the coast, Cambrian mountains and Aberystwyth town itself. As a University, we are very luck to be only a stone throw a way from the National Library of Wales, which is a copyright library that houses every book that has been published in the UK. It also runs numerous exhibitions throughout the year.

The School of Art has a museum status, and you can explore our rich collection that include over 20,000 paintings, drawings, prints, photographs all of which dates back to the 15th century. Students on this course will benefit from our close association with the University's Arts Centre, which is one of the largest in the UK and a major venue for exhibitions by contemporary artists and designers.

Students in our department can exploit our exciting opportunities such as studying abroad under the Erasmus + programme (studying in any of our European partnered Universities in countries such as Turkey, Norway and Germany). We also offer students the opportunity to take part on several field trips and the destinations in the past have included: Madrid, Paris, Rome Moscow, Lisbon to name a few.

Employability
In the 2018 report published by the Higher Education Statistics Authority (HESA), 97% of our graduates were in work or further study 6 months. This figure is 3% more than Creative Arts and Design graduates nationally. (HESA 2018).

Upon successful completion of this course, you will emerge with real world capabilities and possess the core employability skills enabling you to pursue careers as:
+ Art Historians;

+ Arts journalists and research;

+ Art directors; Easel painting and works on paper conservators;

+ Education.

A number of our graduates have found employment with: The Tate; Victoria and Albert Museum; Royal Academy of Arts; The Saachi Gallery; the BBC; the Royal Collection Trust; Design and Arts Council.