History at UEA
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Find out moreMA Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies
Key Details
- Attendance
- Full Time
- Award
- Degree of Master of Arts
- Course Length
- 1 year
- Course Start Date
- September 2026
Other Course Options
Other Start Dates
Other Start Dates
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Why you should choose us
Course Overview
Are you passionate about museums and curious about why they matter? Museums and heritage organisations help shape how we understand history and culture. They tell stories, raise important questions about the world today, and give us ways to connect the past with the present. At UEA, our MA in Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies places you right in the middle of these conversations – inside the world-famous Sainsbury Centre, a leading museum of art and culture.
As part of a close-knit community, you’ll study in the only Art History Department in the UK based within an international art museum. You’ll explore key topics like decolonisation, identity, and inclusion by working with the Sainsbury Centre’s amazing collection of world art. You’ll learn from leading experts and explore global and local perspectives on art, culture, and communication.
A distinctive feature of the course is short-term work placements. Over 15 days, you’ll experience at first-hand how museums address collections and visitors. You’ll examine how museums and heritage organisations communicate to different audiences. This is your chance to build real-world skills and explore potential careers.
You’ll also study a variety of topics, from art history and archaeology to history and anthropology. Norwich itself is full of heritage sites like the Norwich Castle Museum and Cathedral, offering even more learning opportunities. You'll benefit from our formal partnerships with respected organisations such as the Sainsbury Centre, Norfolk Museums, and Ipswich Museum, while there are also associations with National Trust, Norfolk Archaeology Trust, South Asia Collection, Britten Pears Arts and the Norwich Historic Churches Trust. Many of our alumni now work with these partners.
We believe in learning through collaboration and inclusion. You’ll be part of a supportive, creative environment where your ideas matter. If you want to make a difference in the museum and heritage world, this course is a great place to start. We’d love to welcome you to our community.
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Study and Modules
Structure
Your learning experience will incorporate the two key aspects of the degree: cultural heritage and museum studies. The course includes several compulsory taught modules and concludes with an optional module at the end of the year. The initial modules encourage you to develop an understanding of broad issues, their histories, development, and impact. These modules are delivered through interactive seminars and involve a combination of group work and independent study.
If you are new to the field of museum studies, these modules will help you think in ways that reflect current interests and priorities within the sector. You’ll develop excellent organisational and communication skills that you can apply in later phases of the programme and beyond. You’ll gain knowledge about the many complex issues that affect processes of cultural interpretation and representation. You’ll also learn about the evolving relationship between marginalised and majoritarian forms of culture, as well as the complexities of issues such as repatriation.
You’ll have the opportunity to study topics such as World Heritage and contemporary curating. These modules will prepare you for your dissertation, should you choose this as your end-of-year option. Alongside your core modules, you’ll participate in a series of training sessions in preparation for your placement. Overall, you should expect to dedicate the equivalent of approximately four working days per week to the programme. This commitment allows you to integrate your intellectual interests with practical work, developing expertise across both heritage and museum studies.
As you progress, you’ll begin your end-of-year module, which leads either to the dissertation route or the Critical Practice pathway. The optional Critical Practice module offers a valuable opportunity to develop practical skills such as podcasting, exhibition design, translation, or social enterprise. Like the dissertation, your work in Critical Practice will be supported by a diverse team of academics.
Compulsory Modules
Optional A Modules
(Credits: 60)Important Information
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
Your learning experiences will revolve around regular coursework tasks, which will feed into your summative assessments. The tasks will be focused on different facets of the module, from detailed investigations of ideas and approaches to more general and reflective responses to certain displays. Throughout the course there’ll be excellent opportunities for you to benefit from high calibre teaching and the community of learners based in the department.
Many of the teaching staff have direct experience of curating exhibitions and developing purposeful connections with a host of relevant heritage organisations. They're well-placed to share knowledge and insights with you and are very keen to enable you to reach your full potential as an advanced learner.
Many of our modules are team taught, and some involve a great variety of external speakers. We bring complementary and diverse perspectives and experiences into your remit so that you can gain as broad and holistic understanding of these sectors as possible. As we're part of the Sainsbury Centre, we have unrivalled access to a wide variety of artistic cultures and together with our students we actively generate experiential attitudes to interpretation. Throughout your degree you’ll be excited by the diverse challenges presented by each of the modules, for example on the question of scale: how far do interpretations of culture and identity travel, and what factors accelerate or else impede the range and scope of these trajectories?
Whilst your learning will be closely geared towards the outlines generated by your tutors, you have a lot of bandwidth to generate your own topics and to develop your own research. Whether at the level of specific examples, which can be addressed in class, or at the level of specific questions, which can be taken up via your own essay writing, you're encouraged to take an active lead in your studies. The range of materials and case-studies relevant to the topics that you cover, especially in the latter phases of the degree, is extensive. Your development as an advanced learner will become apparent as you navigate your way through different research possibilities.
Assessment
You’ll be assessed exclusively on coursework. Formative work is used to help prepare you for submission of summative coursework. Most of your coursework will be essay-based, requiring fully referenced academic prose. For some assessments you might need to deliver an in-class presentation, a project, or a piece of reflective writing.
Employability
After the Course
By the end of the course, you’ll have acquired a balanced combination of practical experience, theoretical and historical knowledge, and critical awareness. This will make you attractive to arts and heritage organisations, cultural heritage sites, historic properties management, as well as to those involved in museum curation, collections care, learning, and development.
Careers
Examples of careers that you could enter include:
- Curator/assistant curator
- Collections and research manager
- Conservation manager/assistant
- Education and outreach manager/assistant
- Media manager/assistant
- Property/site manager
Discover more on our Careers webpages.
Entry Requirements
- This course is open to
This course is open to UK, EU and International applicants. This course's annual intake is in September of each year.
- Typical UK Entry Requirements
Degree classification
Bachelors degree - 2.2
Degree Subject
Humanities or Social Sciences
- Admissions Policy
Our Admissions Policy applies to the admissions of all postgraduate applicants.
- This course is open to
This course is open to UK, EU and International applicants. This course's annual intake is in September of each year.
- Typical International Entry Requirements
Degree classification
UK Bachelors degree - 2.2 or equivalent
Degree Subject
Humanities or Social Sciences
- 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 each component)
Test dates should be within 2 years of the course start date.
We also accept a number of other English language tests. Review our English Language Equivalencies for a list of qualifications that we may accept to meet this requirement.
If you do not yet meet the English language requirements for this course, UEA International Study Centre offer a variety of English language programmes which are designed to help you develop the required English skills.
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- Admissions Policy
Our Admissions Policy applies to the admissions of all postgraduate applicants.
Fees and Funding
Tuition fees for the Academic Year 2026/27 are:
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UK Students: £11,200
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International Students: £23,850
If you choose to study part-time, the fee per annum will be half the annual fee for that year, or a pro-rata fee for the module credit you are taking (only available for Home students).
We estimate living expenses at £1,136 per month.
Further Information on tuition fees can be found here.
Scholarships and Bursaries
The University of East Anglia offers a range of Scholarships; please click the link for eligibility, details of how to apply and closing dates.
Course Related Costs
Please see Additional Course Fees for details of course-related costs.
How to Apply
How to apply
Applications for Postgraduate Taught programmes at the University of East Anglia should be made directly to the University.
To apply please use our online application form.
Further information
If you would like to discuss your individual circumstances prior to applying, please do contact us:
Postgraduate Admissions Office
Tel: +44 (0)1603 591515
Email: admissions@uea.ac.uk
International candidates are also encouraged to access the International Students section of our website.