University of East Anglia (UEA), MA, History of Art

The MA in Art History offers study in an exceptionally wide range of artistic cultures, periods and forms. The flexible structure of the course allows students to choose from seminar modules on the arts of Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and from antiquity to the present day. Teaching takes place in small groups, with regular opportunities for individual supervision.

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.

We encourage innovative lines of inquiry both within the discipline of art history and also by moving across and beyond disciplinary boundaries. 79 per cent of research in Art History and World Art Studies was rated 4* (world leading) or 3* (internationally excellent) according to the Research Excellence Framework (REF2014), a major Government analysis. Additionally, the impact of the research was rated the second highest in the UK for Art History in the Times Higher Education REF2014 rankings. Depth and breadth of expertise expose students to different strands of critical thinking about the place of art in the world.

The MA in the History of Art exposes students to critical theories and methods developed in different disciplines for the visual, historical and contextual analysis of art. The degree actively encourages students to evaluate critical approaches through class discussion, presentations and written research assignments.

Students are equipped with the art-historical skills expected of curators, professional art writers, auction house experts, and entrants to PhD programmes in the History of Art and other humanities disciplines.