Art History

On this art history course you will gain the chance to work closely with internationally recognised experts who are defining the field conducting groundbreaking research in periods from medieval to contemporary.

A core part of this course is learning about what it takes to become an art historian. You will learn to engage with the visual, material and contextual attributes of art objects across a range of different forms of art and periods. Through visual analysis and critical reading of selected academic texts, you will learn the foundational skills to allow you to develop your own art historical research project by the end of the year.

You will then have the chance to follow your interests with option modules in which you will study alongside final-year BA students. Led by a tutor who specialises in a particular period, you will consider, in depth, the approaches and issues raised when considering the art of that time, place and culture.

Your study on this course will also be enriched by museum and site visits, visiting speakers and screenings.

We offer this art history course as a Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate. Both are intensive conversion courses designed for students with a first degree in another subject who wish to pursue a Master's degree in the history of art or architecture. They offer you the chance to develop your skills of visual analysis, critical thinking, academic writing and research experience to prepare you to embark on further postgraduate study, for example our MA History of Art, MA History of Photography, MA History of Art with Curating or MA Museum Cultures.

On both routes you will take the core module Art History: Skills and Approaches. You will then take one option module if you study the Certificate or three if you study the Diploma. Please contact us if you are unsure about what level of study would best suit you.

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.

You can attend a wide range of events, including the Postgraduate Research Seminar, which brings art historians from all over the UK and beyond 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 an incredible range of resources, including the Birkbeck Library and our in-house resources centre, the British Library, specialist libraries at the University of London, Courtauld Institute of Art, Royal Institute of British Architects and V&A, as well as the visual resources of the British Museum, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Tate Britain, Tate Modern, V&A, Barbican Gallery, Institute of Contemporary Arts, Hayward Gallery and Royal Academy, and many commercial galleries and salesrooms.

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.

You will have the option to join our study trips, offered each spring. Cities visited in the last few years include Florence, Paris, Venice, Vienna, Rome, Berlin and Moscow.

Careers and employability

Graduates can pursue career paths in the creative arts, media and education. Possible professions include:

museum/gallery curator

arts administrator

advertising account executive

community arts worker

multimedia specialist

higher education lecturer.