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History of Art

MA

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Key information

Key information for 2026-27

Start date:
October 2026
Study route:

  • One year full-time, on campus

  • Two years part-time, on campus

Status:
Fully approved
Location:
Birkbeck Campus, Central London
Awarding body:
University of London
Study options:
Full-time | Part-time | On campus

Course overview

Our MA History of Art trains you at an advanced level in looking at, thinking about and researching art and its histories. It exposes you to key art historical approaches and allows you to focus in depth on areas and periods of particular interest to you, in early and modern (including contemporary) periods. It develops your visual acuity while stimulating critical debate and building your research skills.

  • Why choose this course?
    • Birkbeck is one of the leading universities for the study of the history of art as a culturally and historically engaged discipline. Our teaching staff are internationally recognised experts conducting ground-breaking research in periods from medieval to contemporary.
    • You will have the opportunity to take a ten-week supervised work placement in a museum, gallery or archive. Previous placements have been offered at Tate, the British Museum, the Science Museum, Whitechapel Gallery and the Horniman Museum and have included helping design and run school programmes, documenting collections previously uncatalogued, conducting visitor research, and assisting curators in producing exhibitions.  
    • Your studies will be enriched by museum, gallery and site visits, visiting speakers and screenings, as we make the most of the renowned and incredibly rich art collections, monuments and study facilities in London.
    • You will join our vibrant postgraduate research culture studying with a diverse and dynamic student body of all ages and backgrounds.

  • What will I learn?

    History of art is a rich and dynamic discipline which combines rigorous investigation of the visual arts with creative exploration of their connections to culture, politics and society. You will study the visual arts and built environment as a central element of human endeavour in a stimulating, broad-ranging and in-depth way.

    You will master a wide range of methods and sources, including archives, collections, historical and contemporary texts, and a broad spectrum of artistic media from cathedrals to digital installations. This will give you advanced skills, much desired by many employers, in analysis, argument and communication.

    You will also have the chance to follow your interests choosing from a wide range of option modules to explore various media in depth, such as painting, sculpture, print culture, architecture, digital art, photography and performance.

  • How will I learn?

    You can study this course full- or part-time. It has an evening timetable with classes taking place in the evening. Classes may be in the form of short lectures, seminar and small-group discussions, or group tasks such as the analysis of texts and visual material. In these we encourage debate enlivened by the diverse perspectives and experience of Birkbeck students, some of whom already have strong professional links with the cultural and heritage sectors.

    Option modules may include organised visits to museums and galleries, collections and heritage sites. In your final year, you will devise your own research project for the dissertation, supervised by one of our specialists.

  • How often will I attend classes?

    Full-time: Two to three evenings a week, October to July.

    Part-time: One to two evenings a week, October to July.

  • Pathways

    This course has additional Pathways to offer you the chance to specialise depending on your interests and career goals.

    MA History of Art with Collections Management

    MA History of Art with Curating

  • Course disclaimer

    Birkbeck makes all reasonable efforts to deliver educational services, modules and programmes of study as described on our website. In the event that there are material changes to our offering (for example, due to matters beyond our control), we will update applicant and student facing information as quickly as possible and offer alternatives to applicants, offer-holders and current students.

    Most of our courses are taught in the evenings, however some of our courses offer a daytime timetable. Where there is an option to attend daytime teaching sessions, this is stated in the How will I learn? section.

More 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.
  • We offer a number of bursaries for postgraduate students. Funds are also available to support MA coursework research expenses. 
  • 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. Join us at one of our information evenings, held throughout the year.
  • 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 and the Vasari Research Centre, which has pioneered the field of digital art history.
  • You will have the opportunity to apply for a work placement in one of London's thriving museums, galleries or archives, and 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.

Modules and Teaching

School of Historical Studies

The school is intensively interdisciplinary and its research and teaching covers every period from prehistory to the early twenty-first century.

Visit the school

Entry requirements

A second-class honours degree (2:2) or above in a relevant subject or equivalent (for example, professional experience).

We welcome applicants without traditional entry qualifications as we base decisions on our own assessment of qualifications, knowledge and previous work experience. We may waive formal entry requirements based on judgement of academic potential.

On your application form, please list all your relevant qualifications and experience, including those you expect to achieve.

Apply now to secure your place. The earlier you apply, the sooner your application can be considered, and you can enrol. You do not need to have completed your current qualification to start your application.

  • What are the English language requirements?

    If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, our usual requirement is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 6.5, with not less than 6.0 in each of the sub-tests. We also accept other English language tests.

    If you don't meet the minimum English language requirements, please contact us or see our international study skills page for more details about how we can help.

    Visit the International section of our website to find out more about our English language entry requirements and relevant requirements by country.

  • What are the visa and funding requirements?

    If you are not from the UK and you do not already have residency here, you may need to apply for a visa.

    The visa you apply for varies according to the length of your course:

    • Courses of more than six months' duration: Student visa
    • Courses of less than six months' duration: Standard Visitor visa

    International students who require a Student visa should apply to study on our courses full-time as these qualify for Student visa sponsorship. If you are living in the UK on a Student visa, you will not be eligible to enrol to study part-time courses at Birkbeck (with the exception of some modules).

    As a Student visa student, you should also apply to study on campus only, as online and flexible options of study (if they are available for your course) may affect the conditions of your visa.

    For full information, read our visa information for international students page.

    Please also visit the international section of our website to find out more about relevant visa and funding requirements by country.

    Please note students receiving US Federal Aid are only able to apply for in-person, on-campus programmes which will have no elements of online study.

  • Credits and accredited prior learning (APL)

    If you have studied at university (or have an HND or Foundation Degree), you may have accumulated credits. It may be possible to transfer these from your previous study to Birkbeck or another institution.

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Fees

MA: One year full-time or two years part-time, on campus, starting in October 2026

Academic year 2026-27

Part-time home students: £6,000 per year
Full-time home students: £12,000 per year
Part-time international students: £10,425 per year
Full-time international students: £20,850 per year

Students are charged a tuition fee in each year of their course. Tuition fees for students continuing their course may be subject to annual inflationary increases. For more information, please see the Fees Policy.

Discover the financial support available to you to help with your studies at Birkbeck.

Birkbeck's campus is located in the historic and vibrant Bloomsbury area of central London - named one of the best places to live in London 2025 by The Times.

Careers and employability

On successfully graduating from this MA History of Art, you will have gained an array of important transferable skills, including:

  • a sophisticated use of written and spoken English
  • highly developed visual skills
  • an advanced critical ability in understanding and applying complex theories
  • facility and precision in the use of a range of analytical tools
  • strong skills and initiative in collecting and organising complex materials and writing up clear, well-presented assignments and fluent critical arguments.

Graduates can pursue career paths in the museums and heritage sector, arts management, conservation and policy, education, marketing and publishing, and research and academia. Possible professions include:

  • higher education lecturer
  • museum/gallery curator
  • museum registrar or collections manager
  • arts administrator
  • auctioneer
  • researcher
  • advertising account executive.

Some of our graduates from this course are now employed at organisations including:

  • Head of Learning, Victoria and Albert Museum
  • Director of Photoworks
  • Senior Documentation Officer in Collections Management, Victoria and Albert Museum
  • Director of Learning and Research, Design Museum
  • Director’s Researcher, Victoria and Albert Museum
  • Curator, Schools Programmes, Tate Modern
  • Curatorial Assistant, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
  • Curatorial Officer, National Army Museum
  • Subject Leader, AS and A2 Critical and Contextual Studies (History of Art), City and Islington College
  • Curator, Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace
  • Head of Campaign Management, Science Museum
  • Curator, Thai Art Exhibition
  • Curator, Handel House Museum
  • Head Curator, National Maritime Museum
  • Director, Foundling Museum
  • Curator, British Art 1850-1915, Tate Britain
  • Courses and Events Programmer, National Gallery
  • Exhibitions Co-ordinator, Royal Institute of British Architects
  • Education Officer, Jewish Museum
  • Collections Researcher, Contemporary Art Society.

We offer a comprehensive careers service - Careers and Enterprise - your career partner during your time at Birkbeck and beyond. At every stage of your career journey, we empower you to take ownership of your future, helping you to make the connection between your experience, education and future ambitions.

Student support

Birkbeck offers study, learning and wellbeing support to undergraduate and postgraduate students to help them succeed.

Our Learning Development Service provides a lively programme of free weekly workshops building essential academic skills - from writing and critical thinking to maths and referencing - offering flexible sessions, practical tips, and online resources to boost your skills and confidence.

Our Disability and Mental Health Service can support you if you have disabilities, specific learning differences, mental health conditions or neurodivergence, by providing practical support to help you achieve your academic potential.

Our Counselling Service aims to support you with any emotional and psychological difficulties that are affecting your experience and engagement with your studies at university. It is a free, non-judgemental and confidential service which consists of a consultation process followed by time limited counselling contact.

Find out more about the full range of student services we offer at Birkbeck.

How to apply

You apply directly to Birkbeck for this course, using the online application link.

You will need to prove your identity when you apply. Find out more about how to apply.

Study routes for History of Art (MA)

Please select a study route below to continue your application.

Please note that international students who require a Student visa to study in the UK can only apply for full-time, on campus routes.

Starting in October 2026

Full-time

Part-time