Art History and English

Art History and English at Aberdeen combines all the advantages of the UK’s second most highly-rated research hub for English literature, language and creative writing, with the study of the art of all literary periods at Scotland’s top-rated university. You will examine buildings, sculptures, drawings, paintings, prints, decorative and industrial arts – and gain the skills to draw up a range of exciting career options.

Aberdeen is a leading centre for the study of literature, language and creative writing, rated second in the UK for its research output. You will study poetry and prose through the dynamic relationship between author, reader and literary text, covering every period from Chaucer to contemporary English, Scottish, Irish, European and American writing and the cultural and critical impact of powerful and controversial modern works. You will be inspired by enthusiastic teachers and researchers, themselves acclaimed authors and poets and be encouraged to develop your own creative writing skills.

You will complement this with extensive specialised knowledge of the history of painting, sculpture, architecture and the decorative arts in Europe and North America from the Middle Ages to the present day. You will study in buildings centuries old, yet with the most modern teaching and technology, inspired by teachers and researchers whose specialist areas range from Pictish art, Medieval architecture, Italian Baroque painting, early modern prints and Scottish and British painting from the 17th to 20th centuries.

Your specialist skills make you ideally placed to enter the art gallery and museum sectors, arts education, publishing and journalism, or fine art conservation. The transferable skills that you will gain, including teamwork, time management, personal initiative, and highly developed enquiry, analytical and presentational skills are ideally suited to a range of careers.

Ranked the leading university in Scotland for the impact of Art History research, and second in the UK in the latest UK Research Excellence Framework.