Skip to main content

Museum Cultures

MA

Book open days Get prospectus Contact us

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

Museums and galleries are contested zones. How history is presented and to whom, and what constitutes culture, have been discussed in the press, in academia and in museums themselves. This MA Museum Cultures introduces you to the long history of museums and to some of the pressing issues that face them today.

  • Why choose this course?
    • Museums have been of enormous importance in shaping empires and nations, towns and villages, and their collections are connected to wider histories of conflict and social change. To study museums is to study the development and fierce contestation of our collective cultural imagination and memory.
    • You will be taught by internationally acclaimed scholars and will have the opportunity to critically consider topics such as the place of museums in a postcolonial age, the impact and use of digital media, the role of community museums, class and the country house, and museum professionalism.
    • You will benefit from our close links, in teaching and research, with the numerous museums, galleries, archives and heritage organisations across London and beyond.
    • 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 to name a few. Past students have helped design and run school programmes, documented collections that were previously uncatalogued, conducted visitor research, and assisted curators in producing exhibitions.

  • What will I learn?

    You will master the wide range of methods and sources needed to understand how museums operate and how their role is shifting in the twenty-first century. This will give you advanced skills, much desired by employers, in analysis, argument and communication. 

    You will learn to understand and to question the role and impact of the museum, thus preparing you for a wide range of careers in the sector. You will be introduced to critical issues facing the museum today, and be able to follow your interests taking specialist option modules that will allow you to explore a subject in depth, such as decolonisation, the art of Renaissance Italy, modern photography, or curatorial practice in the twenty-first century. Subject-specific training in research skills is also provided. 

  • How will I learn?

    MA Museum Cultures is available to study in the evening either full- or part-time, so you can fit your studies around other commitments. Classes may include short lectures, seminar and small-group discussions or tasks such as the analysis of texts and visual material. Option modules may also include organised visits to museums, archives and heritage sites.

    We encourage vibrant debate, enlivened by the diverse perspectives and the experience of Birkbeck students, some of whom already work in the museum and gallery sector. In your final year, you will devise your own research project, 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 Museum Cultures with Curating

    MA Museum Cultures with Collections Management

  • 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 research expenses for your coursework on this MA.
  • Birkbeck has an international reputation for its innovative approaches to the history of art, visual culture and museum studies, and attracts a rich programme of visiting scholars and practitioners. We are home to the History and Theory of Photography Research Centre, the Architecture, Space and Society Centre and the Vasari Research Centre. You will also have access to the Centre for Film and Visual Media. We have state-of-the art cinema and exhibition spaces, all housed in a historic building that was a former home to key members of the Bloomsbury Group, including the author Virginia Woolf and the artist Vanessa Bell. Birkbeck Library has an extensive collection of books and journals in museum studies and history of art. You can also take advantage of the rich research collections nearby, including Senate House Library, the British Library and the National Art Library at the V&A.
  • We host a range of events including information evenings for prospective students; the annual Murray Lecture where speakers have included Gabriele Finaldi, Director of the National Gallery, and Neil MacGregor, former Director of the British Museum; and exhibitions and displays at Birkbeck's Peltz Gallery and events at the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities. 
  • You will have the opportunity to apply for a work placement in one of London's thriving museums, galleries or archives.

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).

For students applying for the MA with a degree in a subject other than history of art, the one-year, part-time Graduate Certificate in Art History can be used as a conversion course. Students who successfully complete the Graduate Certificate with Merit will normally be guaranteed a place on this course.

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.

Fit a master's around your schedule
Choose Birkbeck today

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: £5,670 per year
Full-time home students: £11,340 per year
Part-time international students: £11,490 per year
Full-time international students: £22,980 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 Lifelong Learning Guarantee

    If you've studied at Birkbeck before and successfully completed an award with us, take advantage of our Lifelong Learning Guarantee to gain a reduction on the tuition fee of this course.

  • Can I apply for an international scholarship?

    We provide a range of scholarships for eligible international students, including our Global Future Scholarship. View Birkbeck's available scholarships.

  • Additional costs

    An optional field trip is available, for which we do not charge a fee for attendance. Students are, however, responsible for paying all other costs, including travel, accommodation, food and drink and other subsistence costs, gallery fees, etc. The Murray Bequest offers a limited number of bursaries every year to students who would not otherwise be able to take the field trip. Details on how to apply are usually circulated to students in December or January.

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 Museum Cultures, you will have gained an array of important transferable skills, including:

  • a sophisticated use of written and spoken English
  • an advanced critical ability in understanding and applying complex theories
  • facility and precision in the use 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
  • researcher
  • advertising account executive.

Jobs gained by some of our BA and MA graduates include:

  • Head of Learning, Design Museum
  • Curator, Schools Programmes, Tate Modern
  • Curatorial Assistant, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
  • Curatorial Officer, National Army Museum
  • Head of Campaign Management, Science Museum
  • 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.

Read blogs by former students Danny Birchall, the Wellcome Collection's Digital Manager, and Carla Valentine, author and mortician.

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.

  • When should I apply?

    You are strongly advised to apply now, to ensure there are still places left, and to give you enough time to complete the admissions process, to arrange funding and to enrol.

    You don't need to complete your current programme of study before you apply - Birkbeck can offer you a place that is conditional on your results.

Related courses

Study routes for Museum Cultures (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