BA (Hons) History of Art
Course options
Key Details
- Award
- Degree of Bachelor of Arts
- UCAS Course Code
- V350
- Typical Offer
- AAB
- Contextual Offer
- BBB
- Course Length
- 3 years
- Course Start Date
- September 2024
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Why you should choose us
Of final year History of Art students at University of East Anglia agreed they were satisfied with the course
Course Overview
This History of Art BA is distinctive in its study of art as a global phenomenon. Through close engagement with artworks and small group teaching, you’ll gain detailed knowledge and understanding of the many ways people have created, displayed, and interpreted art from prehistory to the present day. Central to your learning is the opportunity to study at first hand the extraordinary collection of the Sainsbury Centre a celebrated icon of modern museum architecture.
On this degree programme, you’ll encounter engaging and thought-provoking artworks from around the world. Alongside significant aspects of European art history, our modules will also present you with the opportunity to explore the work of artists from Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. From drawing to photography, painting to video, sculpture to performance, our inclusive and interdisciplinary approach to teaching will enable you to learn about how art has been made, collected, and exhibited across many different time periods.
In addition to modules that address specific topics and themes in art history, the interdisciplinary character of our teaching staff enables us to regularly offer options that facilitate alternative approaches to the study of art and material culture, such as archaeological and anthropological perspectives.
This course is delivered by UEA’s world-leading department of Art History and World Art Studies. Our main areas of research are the history of art and architecture in Europe and North America; the arts of Africa, Asia, Oceania, and South America; the archaeology and anthropology of art; and museum studies and cultural heritage. Staff specialisms include the art and archaeology of the climate crisis, postcolonial discourse, medieval visual cultures, artists’ photography and film, heritage studies, visual art and poetry, and contemporary art and exhibition making.
We are part of a close network of internationally renowned centres for the study and display of art: the Sainsbury Centre, the Sainsbury Research Unit for the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas, and the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures. Students benefit from these networks as well as our links with local and national museums and galleries in Norwich, London and further afield.
Placement Year and Study Abroad
You’ll have the opportunity to apply to spend the second semester of your second year studying abroad. Previous students have studied in Japan, Australia, Germany, France, Italy, and the United States. Your time abroad will be an invaluable academic and cultural experience, one that most students consider to be the highlight of their time at university.
Current opportunities are listed on the University’s Study Abroad page.
Study and Modules
Structure
You’ll begin your degree by studying art, artists, and the process of creating. You’ll engage directly with artworks first-hand in order to explore different techniques and visual effects and deepen your appreciation of their functions and meanings. You’ll be introduced to art history as a discipline before exploring some of its most significant aspects, beginning with the role of portraiture in shaping our identities. You’ll explore the collections of the Sainsbury Centre, and become familiar with how to critically engage with different kinds of art.
You’ll establish firm foundations for the study of artworks and artefacts from diverse artistic and cultural traditions. Through the close study of artworks in a dynamic gallery environment, you will be introduced to a variety of critical ideas and methods that will enable you to cultivate key intellectual and professional skills.
Compulsory Modules
Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning
You’ll be taught by leading scholars in the field of art history and will learn through a combination of lectures, seminars and field trips.
Throughout this degree your learning activities will involve a combination of lectures, small group seminars and tutorials combined with independent learning. A representative week will consist of 15-20% class time, 40% work on assessments and 40% on independent learning.
Your seminar groups will very rarely have more than 18 students. This allows for plenty of dialogue between tutors and students. Teaching methods vary but most sessions are organised around investigation of particular topics supported by close analysis of artworks and texts. As you progress through your course you will expand your knowledge, skills and understanding as you become familiar with different art practices and techniques and become accustomed to reading diverse historical sources and art historical and critical texts.
In lecture modules, you’ll engage with a range of art-historical problems and methods. Your lectures will be delivered by members of staff from art history, anthropology, and archaeology, plus specialist guest speakers.
In your first year, you’ll be guided to prepare material for classes, which you will often later use as a starting point for an assessment. You will also be given the opportunity to engage with a diverse range of relevant presentation styles such as catalogue entries and exhibition reviews.
Assessment
You won’t sit any formal examinations. Instead, in each year you’ll be assessed on written coursework, usually in the form of essays, presentations, critiques, posters, exhibition catalogues to name only a few. Our assessment methods have been developed to measure your skills, but also to aid your learning.
In your first year, assessment will be aimed at cultivating the skills of close analysis and critical thinking you will need throughout the degree.
Structure
You will have the choice to develop your own individual interests by selecting study preferences from a diverse catalogue of optional modules.
You’ll be encouraged to think about the varied and fascinating ‘lives of objects’ as they move through different contexts, and how art history interacts with anthropology and archaeology. In the spring semester, you’ll be invited to consider how your historical studies relate to contemporary debates about the status of art and the role of galleries and museums in the present. Alongside these lectures, you’ll choose from a range of optional modules through which you’ll develop more specialist knowledge of particular problems and periods.
Compulsory Modules
Optional A Modules
(Credits: 40)Optional B Modules
(Credits: 40)Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning
As the course progresses, you’ll have the opportunity to explore more specialized topics that reflect the current research of those teaching the modules. Each year, as your knowledge and study skills become more advanced, you’ll be introduced to material that will encourage your own independent research on topics that interest you.
Assessment
In your second year, you will have more autonomy over the way you respond to your assessment prompts, devising your own essay topics and further developing your perspective as an art historian.
Structure
In your final year of study, you’ll take three optional modules which involve close engagement with advanced topics in art history.
Our optional modules address topics such as identity, psychology, memory, materiality, decolonization, social inequality and injustice, ecology, climate change and sustainability from a broad range of historical and global perspectives.
You’ll also write a dissertation on a topic that has most sparked your interest, working closely with a supervisor to design your own research programme.
Compulsory Modules
Optional A Modules
(Credits: 60)Optional B Modules
(Credits: 30)Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning
In the Spring semester of your third year, independent learning increases again in line with work towards your dissertation.
As you develop specialist knowledge in your final year, you’ll also begin work on a dissertation. This will enable you to refine your understanding of a particular topic and develop the independent perspective crucial to practicing art history beyond university.
Assessment
In your third year, your final assessment is your dissertation, a piece of independent research that you will carry out in the third year.
Entry Requirements
- A Levels
- AAB. If you are taking an EPQ and three A-levels, we may offer you a one grade reduction on our advertised typical offer alongside an A in the EPQ.
- T Levels
- Obtain an overall Pass including an A in the core of the T Level and a Distinction in the Occupational Specialism. Any subject is acceptable.
- BTEC
- Extended Diploma: DDD excluding BTEC Public Services, Uniformed Services and Business Administration. See below for accepted subjects and combinations.
- Contextual Offer
A Level – BBB
BTEC L3 Extended Diploma – DDM
UEA are committed to ensuring that Higher Education is accessible to all, regardless of their background or experiences. One of the ways we do this is through our contextual admissions schemes.
- Scottish Highers
- AAAAA.
- Scottish Advanced Highers
- BBC. A combination of Advanced Highers and Highers may be acceptable.
- Irish Leaving Certificate
- 4 subjects at H2, 2 subjects at H3.
- Access to HE Diploma
- Pass the Access to HE Diploma with Distinction in 36 credits at Level 3 and Merit in 9 credits at Level 3.
- International Baccalaureate
- 33 points.
- GCSE
You are required to have Mathematics and English Language at a minimum of Grade C or Grade 4 or above at GCSE.
- English Foreign Language
Applications from students whose first language is not English are welcome. We require evidence of proficiency in English (including writing, speaking, listening and reading):
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IELTS: 6.0 overall (minimum 5.5 in all components)
We also accept a number of other English language tests. Review our English Language Equivalencies for a list of example qualifications that we may accept to meet this requirement.
Test dates should be within two years of the course start date.
If you do not yet meet the English language requirements for this course, INTO UEA offer a variety of English language programmes which are designed to help you develop the English skills necessary for successful undergraduate study:
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- Interviews
Most applicants will not be called for an interview and a decision will be made via UCAS Hub. However, for some applicants an interview will be requested. Where an interview is required, the Admissions Service will contact you directly to arrange a time.
- Deferred Entry
We welcome applications from students who have already taken or intend to take a gap year. We believe that a year between school and university can be of substantial benefit. You are advised to indicate your reason for wishing to defer entry on your UCAS application.
- Intakes
This course is open to UK and International applicants. The annual intake is in September each year.
Additional Information or Requirements
Extended Diploma: DDD.
Diploma: DD plus grade B at A-level.
Extended Certificate: D plus AB at A-level
If you do not meet the academic requirements for direct entry, you may be interested in one of our Foundation Year programmes such as BA History of Art with a Foundation Year.
UEA are committed to ensuring that Higher Education is accessible to all, regardless of their background or experiences. One of the ways we do this is through our contextual admissions schemes.
We welcome and value a wide range of alternative qualifications. If you have a qualification which is not listed here, or are taking a combination of qualifications, please contact us via Admissions Enquiries.
International Requirements
We accept many international qualifications for entry to this course. View our International Students pages for specific information about your country.
INTO University of East Anglia
If you do not meet the academic and/or English language requirements for direct entry our partner, INTO UEA offers progression on to this undergraduate degree upon successful completion of a preparation programme. Depending on your interests, and your qualifications you can take a variety of routes to this degree:
International Foundation in Business Economics Society and Culture
International Foundation in Humanities and Law
Admissions Policy
Our Admissions Policy applies to the admissions of all undergraduate applicants.
Fees and Funding
Tuition Fees
View our information for Tuition Fees.
Scholarships and Bursaries
We are committed to ensuring that costs do not act as a barrier to those aspiring to come to a world leading university and have developed a funding package to reward those with excellent qualifications and assist those from lower income backgrounds. View our range of Scholarships for eligibility, details of how to apply and closing dates.
Course Related Costs
You may need to pay some small additional costs for optional field trips, which are subsidised by the department. You will also need to pay some costs for the field trip to Venice in the second year if you choose that option.
Please see Additional Course Fees for details of other course-related costs.
How to Apply
Apply for this course through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Services (UCAS), using UCAS Hub.
UCAS Hub is a secure online application system that allows you to apply for full-time undergraduate courses at universities and colleges in the United Kingdom.
Your application does not have to be completed all at once. Register or sign in to UCAS to get started.
Once you submit your completed application, UCAS will process it and send it to your chosen universities and colleges.
The Institution code for the University of East Anglia is E14.
View our guide to applying through UCAS for useful tips, key dates and further information:
Employability
After the Course
You’ll graduate ready for a wide range of careers in the art world, the heritage industry, academia, art publishing, teaching, and business. You’ll be equipped with sought-after skills such as independent and critical thinking, time management, teamwork, organisation and research skills, public speaking and more. Your experience of studying in a world-famous art museum will give you an edge in the sector. You will also be well placed to study for a postgraduate degree either here at UEA or at another university. Our Careers Service is here to support you by advising with writing CVs and internships. In the department we work closely with the Careers Service to provide workshops and seminars with successful alumni.
Careers
A degree at UEA will prepare you for a wide variety of careers. We've been ranked 1st for Job Prospects by StudentCrowd in 2022.
Recent graduates have entered a number of fields, including:
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Museums and art galleries
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Commercial art galleries
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The heritage sector
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Publishing
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Journalism
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Teaching/lecturing
Discover more on our Careers webpages.