BA History of Art with Gallery and Museum Studies

This degree allows you to study the history of art alongside the ways in which art has been displayed in galleries and museums from the Renaissance through to the present day. While becoming familiarised with major issues and themes in the history of art, you will also be introduced to diverse forms of curatorial practice and display, as well as important issues such as exhibition design, audience development and the public role of museums. Alongside modules on the analysis of visual and material culture, you will be introduced to the history of museums and galleries, and to contemporary gallery theory and practice. This degree therefore offers both art-historical breadth, and a solid foundation for those seeking a career in the arts sector, providing both understanding of the history and theory behind museums and hands-on training in curatorial and other museum professions. Employability is central to the programme, with exposure to museum practice and contact with professionals from across the sector highly prominent.

The School is based in the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, an internationally-important gallery containing major art works, with its own professional curatorial staff and a busy exhibition programme, all adjacent to the area in which our students work. The degree in the History of Art with Gallery and Museum Studies takes advantage of this assemblage of expertise. It is taught by lecturers with a practical background in museum work as well as strong academic reputations. Much of the teaching takes place in our own galleries and in museums in the region and beyond. Placements are not a formal requirement of the course (though they are mandatory on our successful postgraduate programme), but we have a placement coordinator with links to local museums who is available to assist those students looking to add practical experience to their degree, as many do.

The Course

In each of the three years there are compulsory gallery and museum-specific modules which look at the history of museums, traditional curatorial practice, collecting activities, exhibition-making and contemporary gallery work. At the same time, students have the opportunity to develop their interests in art, in both western and non-western traditions as the degree takes full advantage of the core teaching in the History of Art and optional modules available to History of Art students may also be taken by those studying for this degree.

The course encourages a rich mix of research and interpretative skills, with a knowledge of the practicalities of galleries and museums as working environments in the public domain. Teaching is undertaken by staff with significant experience of curatorial work in the British Museum, university museums and contemporary galleries in the UK and internationally. Outside specialists also provide focussed lectures and seminars in support of particular modules.

The Course Structure

The degree combines teaching in small seminar groups with lecture modules, giving great flexibility and allowing you to put together a programme of study which reflects your own particular interests. A spine of core modules running through the first and second years is designed to develop your understanding of the history of art as well as key terms and debates in its analysis, whilst acquainting you with both the history of museums and galleries and contemporary forms of curatorial practice. Relevant modules are taught on-site at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, the Norwich Castle Museum, and museums and galleries in London.

During the first year, lecture modules examine artistic techniques, materials and identities, as well as key themes and methods of interpretation in the history of art. A dedicated seminar module will introduce you to museum and gallery studies. You will also choose two optional seminar modules from a range which addresses art and architecture in diverse cultures and periods.

The second-year lecture modules focus on issues of visual display which will help you to understand the practices of museums and galleries, before exploring different methodological approaches to art-historical analysis from the eighteenth century through to the most up-to-date theories. A dedicated seminar module will familiarise you with contemporary museums and galleries. Optional modules in the second year allow you to develop your pre-existing interests, or to engage with cultures and art forms which may be new to you.

Third-year teaching is entirely through small-group seminar modules which involve the advanced and in-depth study of particular cultures and art forms. One of these modules explores contemporary curatorial practice. As in the first and second years, other modules can be chosen according to your own interests. The 9,000-word dissertation, on a topic of your own choice relating to the history of art and museums, and supervised by at least one member of the faculty, represents an important part of the final year and introduces you to the skills of academic enquiry, research and writing needed for postgraduate study.

Course Organiser:Prof John Mack

• Undergraduate
  • Search Undergraduate Degrees
  • Apply
  • Fees & Funding
  • Request a prospectus
  • Visit Us
  • Mature Students
  • Parents and Family
  • Sixth Form Students
  • Year 7-11 Students
  • Teachers
• Postgraduate
• International Students
• International Preparatory Courses
• Study Abroad
• Information for New Students
• myUEA

Entry Requirements A Level: AAB-BBB including at least one humanities essay-based subject International Baccalaureate: 33-31 including at least one Higher Level humanities essay-based subject Scottish Highers: At least one Advanced Higher preferred in addition to Highers Scottish Advanced Highers: AAB-BBB including at least one humanities essay-based subject Irish Leaving Certificate: AAAABB-BBBBBB including at least one humanities essay-based subject Access Course: Please contact the university directly for further information HND: Please contact the university directly for further information European Baccalaureate: 80%-70% including at least one humanities essay-based subject Students for whom English is a Foreign language

We welcome applications from students from all academic backgrounds. We require evidence of proficiency in English (including writing, speaking, listening and reading). Recognised English Language qualifications include:

• IELTS: 6.5 overall (minimum 6.0 in Reading and Writing with no less than 5.5 in any component)
• TOEFL: Internet-based score of 88 overall (minimum 20 in Reading and Speaking components, 19 in Writing component and 17 in Listening components.
• PTE: 62 overall (minimum 55 in Reading and Writing components with no less than 51 in any component).

If you do not meet the University's entry requirements, our INTO Language Learning Centre offers a range of university preparation courses to help you develop the high level of academic and English skills necessary for successful undergraduate study.

Interviews

The majority of candidates will not be called for an interview. However, for some students an interview will be requested. These are normally quite informal and generally cover topics such as your current studies, reasons for choosing the course and your personal interests and extra-curricular activities.

Students will have the opportunity to meet with an academic individually on a Visit Day in order to gain a deeper insight into the course(s) you have applied for.

Gap Year

We welcome applications from students who have already taken or intend to take a gap year.

We also welcome applications for deferred entry, believing that a year between school and university can be of substantial benefit. You are advised to indicate your reason for wishing to defer entry and may wish to contact the appropriate Admissions Office directly to discuss this further.

Intakes

The School's annual intake is in September of each year.

Alternative Qualifications

If you have alternative qualifications that have not been mentioned above, then please contact university directly for further information.

GCSE Offer

Students are required to have GCSE Mathematics and GCSE English Language at Grade C or above.

Assessment

For the majority of candidates the most important factors in assessing the application will be past and future achievement in examinations, academic interest in the subject being applied for, personal interest and extra-curricular activities and the confidential reference.

We consider applicants as individuals and accept students from a very wide range of educational backgrounds and spend time considering your application in order to reach an informed decision relating to your application. Typical offers are indicated above. Please note, there may be additional subject entry requirements specific to individual degree courses.

Our teaching received a 96% satisfaction rate in both the 2012 National Student Survey and the 2013 Guardian University Guide league table.

Our students are able to study a wider range of artistic cultures, periods and forms than in any other art history department in the UK. The School is particularly renowned for its broad approach to art, encompassing ancient, medieval, Renaissance, baroque, modern and contemporary European art, American art, African art, Asian art and Pacific art. Staff, students and researchers in the School are interested in the history of art, as well as archaeology, anthropology, cultural heritage, and museum studies.We engage with all forms of visual and material creativity from oil painting, sculpture and drawing through to architecture, photography, video and installation art. We teach small groups of students in a friendly, supportive and open environment, supported by great facilities. This is why the Guardian University Guide consistently ranks us among the top departments in the UK for student satisfaction with teaching and feedback, for staff-student ratio and for the quality of student resources.

The School has a long-standing international reputation for excellence; ranked 1st in the UK for world-leading research in the latest Research Assessment Exercise, we are one of the most important and highly-rated History of Art departments in the UK. Our graduates go on to high profile posts in such prestigious institutions as the British Museum, V&A, Tate and Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, as well as leading History of Art departments, publishers and the commercial art world.

The School of Art History and World Art Studies is based in Norman Foster’s world-famous Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, an icon of modern design, which contains an astounding art collection with major internationally-renowned works by artists such as Francis Bacon, Edgar Degas, Jacob Epstein, Henry Moore and Pablo Picasso. Students work in close proximity to this collection, “perhaps the greatest resource of its type on any British campus” according to the Times Good University Guide.

• 95% of our History of Art graduates (and 88% of the School’s BA graduates overall) go on to work and/or postgraduate study within 6 months of graduating. We are therefore the highest-rated department in England (and joint first in the UK) for History of Art graduate prospects
• 100% of our History of Art graduates (and 97% of the School’s BA graduates overall) said they thought staff had made the subject interesting. This figure was matched by just one other History of Art department in England
• Almost 90% of the School’s BA graduates said that they had received the advice and support they needed to do well in their studies, a figure exceeded by just two other History of Art departments in the UK. This is probably because – as the survey reveals – our students get more lectures, seminars, tutorials and general contact time with academic staff than students at many other leading History of Art departments in the UK
• 96% of our History of Art graduates said they had been provided with the IT resources they needed for their studies, a figure matched by just one other History of Art department in the UK
• Finally, 94% of the School’s BA graduates overall said they were highly satisfied with the quality of their degree course, continuing our tradition of providing a first-class university education in History of Art as well as Archaeology, Anthropology, and Museum and Gallery Studies.

UniStats Information Fees and Funding University Fees and Financial Support: UK/EU Students

Further information on fees and funding for 2012 can be found here

University Fees and Financial Support: International Students

The University will be charging International students £11,700.00 for all full time School of World Art Studies and Museology undergraduate programmes which start in 2012.

Please click to access further information about fees and funding for International students