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History of Art

Entry requirements


A level

A,B,B-A,A,A

UCAS Tariff

128-144

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

History of art

The History of Art degree at The Courtauld introduces students to a wide range of visual art from the ancient period up to the present day. The curriculum – revised in 2022/3 – offers teaching across an unrivalled breadth of periods and cultures. You will have the opportunity to study art and architecture from late antiquity to the present, and from across the Globe: from Byzantium to the Early Modern Islamic World, from Medieval and Renaissance Europe to International Modernism, and from Contemporary China to the African Diaspora. Our objects of study include buildings, paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, performance and installation art, fashion history, design and more.

Over three years of study, our BA degree builds up a broad, deep and multifaceted understanding of Art History, encouraging both range and specialism and fostering subject-specific and transferable skills and knowledge. It encourages you to study works of art at first hand, including The Courtauld’s own extraordinary collections, and to understand them in the light of the latest critical approaches and ideas. You will read resources from our world-class library, including books, exhibition catalogues, articles and primary sources and will learn to articulate your own ideas in relation to them both orally and in writing. All our teachers are researchers at the cutting edge of their areas of specialism and they bring their knowledge, discoveries and ideas to discuss with you in seminars, lectures, gallery visits and tutorials. You’ll also have the opportunity to study a language, and apply for dedicated funds to travel and see works of art you are studying.

Courtauld students come from all kinds of backgrounds, and most are studying the History of Art for the first time. History of Art is a broad, exciting humanities degree that prepares students for many, diverse career routes, and our students have gone on to a range of careers both within the cultural and heritage industries, the art world and beyond.

Modules

Each year you will take a combination of required and optional modules totalling 120 credits, with the whole degree equalling 360 credits. The first year will establish solid foundations in the subject through modules that introduce you to a range of periods, places, and methods, and with classes taught in London’s art collections. You will also study a foreign language. In the second year, you will take two core modules that explore works of art as physical objects (Physical Histories) and examine the role that museums play in society (Critical Museology). Alongside these, a range of optional modules is offered, exploring different art histories and critical methods. In your final year, you will be able to express preferences for Special Options and other electives, and to pursue your own research project, culminating in a dissertation. We will accommodate your choice wherever possible, keeping in mind the value we place on research-led teaching in small seminar groups of ten to twelve students.

Assessment methods

The BA course is taught through a combination of lectures, seminar and discussion classes, site visits and one-to-one tutorial meetings.

Seminar classes are held in classes of up to 12 students to facilitate an intimate environment in which to study and engage with subjects in depth with your teacher and your classmates.

Lectures are delivered and taught to the full student cohort, and are supported by discussion classes in which you are divided into smaller groups of up to 15 students. The discussion classes enable you to discuss and develop your understanding of topics covered in lectures in a setting where you are invited to actively participate in debates and discussion.

In addition, you have timetabled meetings with your personal tutor at least once per term and you can always request further meetings with your personal tutor should you wish.

Throughout your degree, you will be taught by a mixture of professors, senior lecturers, lecturers and doctoral researchers, who bring a rich diversity of knowledge and experience to the classroom. Our faculty come from many different backgrounds across the world and are among the leading experts in their field. They have published important works about their areas of expertise, and will introduce you to the excitement and dynamism of their cutting-edge research.

The degree is assessed by a range of methods, including coursework, independent study, take-home and sat exams and a final-year dissertation. You must pass the first year in order to progress to the second year (pass mark: 40%). The second year counts towards 40% of your final degree average and the third year counts towards the remaining 60%.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

England
£9,250
per year
EU
£9,250
per year
International
£24,000
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

Extra funding

We have undergraduate bursaries and scholarships - find out more: https://courtauld.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/undergraduate-fees-funding-and-scholarships/

The Uni


Course location:

Courtauld Institute of Art

Department:

History of Art

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

53%
History of art

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

History of art, architecture and design

Teaching and learning

93%
Staff make the subject interesting
86%
Staff are good at explaining things
91%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
74%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

62%
Library resources
81%
IT resources
69%
Course specific equipment and facilities
30%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

76%
UK students
24%
International students
20%
Male students
80%
Female students
89%
2:1 or above
2%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
A
A*

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

History of art, architecture and design

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£18,000
med
Average annual salary
97%
high
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

13%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
11%
Librarians and related professionals
11%
Other elementary services occupations

This is a category for graduates taking a wide range of courses that don’t fall neatly into a subject group, so be aware that the stats you see here may not be a very accurate guide to the outcomes for the specific course you’re interested in. Management, finance, marketing, education and jobs in the arts are some of the typical jobs for these graduates, but it's sensible to go on open days and talk to tutors about what you might expect from the course, and what previous graduates did.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

History of art, architecture and design

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£19k

£19k

£23k

£23k

£27k

£27k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Explore these similar courses...

Higher entry requirements
University of York | York
History of Art with a year abroad
BA (Hons) 4 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 136-147
Lower entry requirements
University of Nottingham | Nottingham
History of Art and English
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 104-141
Nearby University
University of Reading | Reading
Art and History of Art
BA (Hons) 4 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 120-141

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

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