Through object-based, interdisciplinary research, this Masters programme focuses on the act of making and everything that entails. We study studio practices from a variety of disciplines, their materials and techniques, but also intentions and concept. We examine art technological sources to register the artist’s voice, and other testimonies on artistic practice, make reconstructions of historical recipes and modern techniques to understand practices, ageing and its consequences as well as other changes artworks go through. Researching this all-inclusive story of an artefact is known as technical art history. It is an exciting and rapidly growing field involving (technical) art historians, scientists, conservators while also reaching out to other disciplines such as economic and social history, history of science, anthropology and aesthetics.
Drawing upon the expertise of an interdisciplinary team, the programme will include taught and research components as well as practical workshops and work placements.
This MLitt develops your skills in object-based research, as well as examining the authenticity, attribution and dating of art works – and their change and survival. You do not need any background in science or conservation. We will provide you with the right tools to understand what science can deliver, what conservators can do, and what role you can play in this truly interdisciplinary field.
You will take five core courses and one optional course. This is followed by a period of self-study towards a dissertation 15,000 words in length (including footnotes but excluding bibliography) and will be on a topic chosen in consultation with the tutors and the programme convenor.
You may choose from the following options
Career opportunities include curatorial positions in museums and galleries, working with collections within cultural heritage organisations, or in the commercial environment of auction houses performing object-based research including technical investigation. The programme will also prepare you for a further postgraduate education in conservation or academic research.
The programme’s flexible structure offers a mix of taught and research components, and enables you to either take a broad range of courses resulting in a more general postgraduate qualification in Art History, or to specialise in a named pathway of Art History with a particular chronological or theoretical focus.
You will take:
You’ll also produce a 15,000 word dissertation.
Semester 1: September to December
Semester 2: January to March
Three optional courses
Summer:
Dissertation
Part-time students take the Art History: Research Methods in Practice course and three optional courses in their first year of study, and two optional courses and the Dissertation in their second year.
If you have already identified your particular area of interest, MLitt Art History offers three specialised pathways from which you may choose a variety of optional and core courses.
Find out more about core and optional courses.
Programme alteration or discontinuation
The University of Glasgow endeavours to run all programmes as advertised. In exceptional circumstances, however, the University may withdraw or alter a programme. For more information, please see: Legal statements: Disclaimer.
Our two-year Research Master's programme focuses on the art and architecture of the Low Countries (present-day Netherlands and Belgium), and spans the period from the late Middle Ages to the present day. You will study Netherlandish art and architecture, taking into account their international context. We invite you to critically reflect on the production of art and architecture, and the role of patronage; investigate the reasons why so many artist went abroad and how they became agents in the international diffusion of styles and themes; and explore how artworks testify to the Dutch encounter with the wider world from the Golden Age to the present day. Furthermore, the programme will acquaint you with the innovative approaches of global, technical, and digital art history. In the end, we hope you will imagine new possibilities for the field of art history of the Low Countries.
You will also have the opportunity to study other specific subjects that align with your own personal interests. Our close ties with major art museums and other cultural organisations both in the Netherlands and abroad mean that the academic and practical work are closely linked.
Dutch students will spend a semester in a major art museum abroad while students from other countries intern at a major Dutch or Flemish art museum. You may also wish to study at another university for one semester. To date, our students have undertaken placements at approximately twenty institutions in eight different countries. Whatever your choice, your internship or study abroad will be tailored to your own individual interests.
The Research Master's programme in Art History of the Low Countries will prepare you for further research by specialising in the art and architecture of the Low Countries. Many graduates have gone on to undertake PhD programmes in the Netherlands or abroad. To name just a few examples, alumni are currently doctoral candidates at KU Leuven, University of Ghent, Paris Sorbonne University, LMU Munich, Goethe University Frankfurt, Utrecht University, University of Amsterdam, and a number of universities in the United States, including Princeton University, Harvard University, and Columbia University.
Graduates can also apply for curatorial positions requiring specialist skills in art history at museums and research institutes. A number of our graduates are currently employed in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum Twenthe in Enschede, the Municipal Museum of The Hague, the Städel Museum in Frankfurt, the Printroom of the Royal Library in Brussels, the Groeningemuseum in Bruges, and in the Netherlands Institute for Art History (RKD) in The Hague. Read more about possible career prospects.
This Masters programme offers an interdisciplinary approach to studying the history of collecting and collections from an international perspective. In particular, it focuses on the trajectory of artefacts through time and space and their historical legacy. Subjects covered include methodological approaches and legal issues relating to provenance and restitution, illegal trafficking of cultural objects, connoisseurship, taste, the patterns of collecting and viewing both private and public and the politics of display. The programme will move the collective debate beyond the usual focus on the Western tradition.
The programme structure comprises of four core courses and a dissertation (these are compulsory). In addition you can choose two optional courses, either from the ones provided within the programme or from available courses across the College of Arts.
The dissertation (15,000 words in length, including footnotes but excluding bibliography) will be on a topic chosen in consultation with the tutors and programme convenors. You will also have an opportunity to take part in a field trip.
The learning and teaching approaches covered in the programme include: lectures (built around case studies), seminars and discussions (supported by relevant published sources), handling sessions and supervision.
This Masters programme is intended to provide you with a strong foundation from which to embark upon a career in the visual arts, the art market, museums and galleries, heritage and historic properties.
Graduates have gone on to hold positions in museums and galleries (both public and private) in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK and have, more broadly, entered the commercial, cultural and heritage sectors in a number of roles. The programme also provides an excellent platform for you to move into PhD studies and an academic career.
John Cabot University’s Master of Arts (MA) in Art History guides students toward professional mastery of the materials and methods of art history with emphasis on first-hand research in the museums, monuments, and archaeological sites of Rome. The degree can be completed in approximately fifteen months of full-time study. The program has a dual focus: the visual cultures of Rome and the Mediterranean across time, from antiquity to the present; and the acquisition of technical skills for primary research. It also stimulates critical perspectives on the impact of Roman art worldwide.
Taught by John Cabot University’s international faculty, the degree program can be completed in three semesters of full-time study (Fall-Spring-Fall) and an intervening summer. It unfolds in three phases: a structured Foundation Year (Fall-Spring); a Master’s Exam (Summer); and a Thesis Semester (Fall).
Seminars and courses take place at John Cabot University’s campuses in the centrally-located Trastevere district of Rome and in nearby Roman museums, churches, palaces, monuments, archaeological parks, archives, rare book libraries, restoration labs, study collections, artists’ workshops, public installations, and contemporary art galleries. These venues of visual culture and documentation constitute the laboratory of the degree. Some courses involve travel to other parts of Italy—for example, to Naples, Florence, or Assisi.
JCU Financial Aid Office Mission
To help dedicated and deserving students meet their educational goals through a focused and merit-based scholarship program. The University assists selected students of limited means and/or extraordinary academic achievement by making it possible for them to experience the high quality of education that JCU offers. Financial Aid at JCU comes in various forms and from various sources such as loans, scholarships, and other resources. Applicants to the MA in Art History will be considered for the following forms of financial assistance:
JCU alumni admitted to the MA receive a tuition discount of €1000. This alumni discount also applies for students who have studied abroad at JCU for a semester or summer. Alumni are also eligible for the financial assistance outlined above. The Alumni Discount is not applicable for those who receive full tuition fellowships.
For more information on scholarships and financial aid visit the website here: http://www.johncabot.edu/master-art-history/financial-aid.aspx
Applicants who are EU citizens or who have an Italian permit of stay (permesso di soggiorno) are eligible for admission as part-time students. Part-time students take between three and nine credit hours per term and are allowed four years to complete all degree requirements.
For more details on part time study: http://www.johncabot.edu/master-art-history/degree-program.aspx
For more information on the department of Art History you can download our brochure here: http://www.johncabot.edu/academics/art_history_2014.pdf
Are you fascinated by visual culture and exhibition practice?
Do you want to pursue a career in the gallery and arts sectors?
The MA in Art History and Curating is one of the few postgraduate programmes in the country that offers you the opportunity to work in a team with academic and museum professionals to curate an art exhibition in a public gallery. This will take place in the Barber Institute of Fine Arts on campus or at Grand Union in Birmingham city centre.
We are also delighted to announce a new partnership with Royal Collection Trust. Students co-curating the exhibition at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts will have the exceptional opportunity of working with objects from the Royal Collection.
Please note: Places on this programme are limited due to the placement and curatorial experience, so early applications are encouraged and deadlines apply. See 'How to apply' in course details for more information.
This unique programme enables you to develop the knowledge and skills to conduct original research into art objects, to understand at first hand the history, theory and contemporary practice of their curation, to co-curate a public art exhibition and complete a 15,000-word dissertation.
The core components of the programme include the double module ‘Curatorial Practices’ that provides you with a range of skills to curate an exhibition and the opportunity to put those skills into practice, and two single modules, 'Postgraduate Research Training and Methods,' which will help you to develop essential research skills, and 'Criticism and Methods in the History of Art and Visual Culture,' which provides a theoretical foundation for your studies.
The programme also offers you the flexibility to select a further two options from a range of complementary practical, theoretical and historical modules. These include: a placement with a local gallery or other arts organisation set up on your behalf; the history and theory of exhibitions; aesthetics and the philosophy of art. As a result, this unique programme will provide you with the knowledge, experience and employability skills invaluable to the museum, commercial and academic sectors whilst enabling you to establish professional networks in both.
Assessment
Your modules will be assessed by a range of written and oral assessments. You will also complete a 15,000-word dissertation, supported through one-to-one tutorials with your academic supervisor. Your dissertation topic is chosen by you, with close guidance from academic staff. Recent subjects have included topics relating to art history and/or gallery practices, such as: art forgery; art interpretation; art dealers; films and aesthetic theory; art historiography; artist and exhibition case studies; fashion plates and art journals.
The teaching on the MA programme mainly takes place in the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, which houses the Barber Institute Gallery, and is used by members of staff on a regular basis as part of your learning.
The Gallery features an excellent and representative collection of post-medieval European art, including paintings, engravings and drawings by artists such as Rembrandt, Turner, Van Dyck, Veronese and Vigée-LeBrun, as well as a major collection of 19th- and 20th-century works by artists such as Degas, Gauguin, Käthe Kollwitz, George Grosz, Manet, Miró, Picasso and Whistler.
The Barber Institute is home to an on-site research library which, in conjunction with the holdings of the University Main Library and the Special Collections of the Cadbury Research Library, makes Birmingham one of the best resourced Departments of History of Art in Britain.
Support with academic writing
As a postgraduate student in the College of Arts and Law, you have access to the Academic Writing Advisory Service (AWAS) which aims to help your transition from undergraduate to taught Masters level, or back into academia after time away. The service offers guidance on writing assignments and dissertations for your MA/MSc programme with individual support from an academic writing advisor via tutorials, email and the provision of online materials.
International students can access support for English Language development and skills through the Birmingham International Academy (BIA).
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