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Students in a History of Art lecture

Undergraduate

History of Art - MA (Hons)

MA (Hons)

Features

4 years
Full-time
Study abroad
Placements

Outline

This degree programme is for you if you are interested in art and visual culture and the histories and ideas that they embody. You do not need to have studied Art History before but you will be curious to learn about new ideas, places and times that will challenge the way you see the world. 

University of Edinburgh History of Art students gain an informed and nuanced understanding of artistic practice and visual and material culture at different historical periods. Our graduates have extensive knowledge and understanding of art history and its methods of study, and the necessary skills to demonstrate this. You will be taught by experts in specialist subjects and many of our academic staff curate, or exhibit in, major international art exhibitions. You will also have access to Edinburgh's renowned art galleries and museums. 

Edinburgh is a culturally rich and active international city. We enjoy world-class museum and gallery collections and a busy contemporary arts scene on our doorstep. As a History of Art student you will have the chance to make the most of the art and culture that is on offer, and if you choose a work placement in your third year, you may experience life behind the scenes in one of the city’s collections. Within the University, History of Art is part of Edinburgh College of Art so you will study alongside practicing artists, designers, architects and musicians.

Joint degrees 

You can study History of Art as a joint degree in the following areas:

You can also study History of Art combined with a practical art element with our five-year MA (Hons) Fine Art degree. 

Careers

History of Art is an interdisciplinary subject that opens many doors. Our students choose careers in museums or galleries, journalism, auctioneering, teaching, research or the media. Or you can use your new skills and experience to get any number of graduate jobs. 

Why you should choose this programme

1

History of Art at the University of Edinburgh is one of the largest in the UK, offering a wide range of specialist subjects taught by experts in the field.

2

Situated in a culturally rich city, with opportunities to work with the city’s rich collections.

3

An active and engaged student community, including the History of Art Society, the Contemporary Art Society and the Edinburgh Gallery Society.

4

Regular weekly research seminars during term time, when visiting experts come to speak to the staff and students about the latest developments in art history.

5

The Watson Gordon Professor of Fine Art, the oldest Professorial Chair in the UK, goes back to the foundation of Art History as a discipline.

Opportunities

While competitive, in year 3, you will have the option to complete a work placement. 

This involves a supervised position in one of Edinburgh’s museums, galleries, special collections or heritage management institutions.

Widening Participation

ECA works with the University of Edinburgh Widening Participation (WP) team.

Find out more about Widening Participation for undergraduates at the University of Edinburgh

How to apply and entry requirements

If you'd like to study on an undergraduate programme at Edinburgh College of Art, you must apply through UCAS. You can find out how to do this on the University of Edinburgh website, where you'll also be able to: 

  • See the structure of the programme and what you will study each year
  • See detailed entrance requirements for each programme on the Degree Finder
  • Get information on what to expect after you apply
  • Find out about fees
  • Find out where to go for further advice and guidance.
Find out more on Degree Finder

Get in touch

College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences Undergraduate Admissions Office

futurestudents@ed.ac.uk
+44 (0)131 650 3565

Facilities and resources

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Edinburgh University Students' Association

Students looking at journals in a library

Libraries

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Talbot Rice Gallery

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Meet our staff

Michelle Foot profile picture

Dr Michelle Foot

Lecturer in History of Art

Programme Director, Undergraduate History of Art

Michelle.Foot@ed.ac.uk

Research interests

  • Scottish Art
  • Nineteenth-Century Art
  • Occultism and Esotericism
  • Cultural Revivals
  • Art & Spirituality
Patricia Allmer profile picture

Professor Patricia Allmer

Professor of Modern and Contemporary Art History

PGR Director, History of Art

Patricia.Allmer@ed.ac.uk
+44 (0) 131 651 7112
Academic Dr Glaire Anderson standing next to a banner with the image of a character from the Assassin's Creed game

Dr Glaire Anderson

Senior Lecturer in Islamic Art & Founding Director, Digital Lab for Islamic Visual Culture & Collections

Programme Director, History of Art, Theory & Display (HATD)

glaire.anderson@ed.ac.uk
+44 (0)131 651 7112

Research interests

  • Video games and digital cultural heritage
Viccy Coltman profile picture

Professor Viccy Coltman

Professor of Eighteenth-Century History of Art, History of Art

viccy.coltman@ed.ac.uk
+44 (0) 131 650 8426

Research interests

  • Eighteenth-century British art
  • Material culture
  • History of dress and textiles
  • Portraiture
  • Knick knack history
Angela Dimitrakaki profile picture

Dr Angela Dimitrakaki

Professor of Contemporary Art History and Theory

Programme Director, MSc Modern and Contemporary Art

angela.dimitrakaki@ed.ac.uk
+44 (0)131 650 4123
Frances Fowle profile picture.

Professor Frances Fowle

Personal Chair of Nineteenth-Century Art, History of Art

Senior Curator (French Art), National Galleries of Scotland

Frances.Fowle@ed.ac.uk
+44 (0) 131 650 2308

Research interests

  • Nineteenth-Century Art
  • Women Collectors
  • Art Market Studies
  • Artists' Colonies
  • Impressionism and Symbolism
Claudia Hopkins

Prof Claudia Hopkins

Personal Chair of Art History

Editor of Art in Translation

c.hopkins@ed.ac.uk

Research interests

  • 19th- and 20th-century art, architecture, visual culture
  • Spanish art and culture in transnational/transcontinental contexts
  • Orientalism, Postcolonialism, Translation Theory, Decoloniality
  • Latin American visual arts
  • US Art and Culture, Cold War studies
Catriona Murray profile picture

Dr Catriona Murray

Senior Lecturer in Early Modern Visual and Material Cultures

ECA Co-Director of Research Innovation

c.a.murray@ed.ac.uk

Research interests

  • Early Modern Visual and Material Culture
  • Public Sculpture
  • History and Memory
  • Dynasty, Family and Kin Networks
  • Ceremony, Ritual and Performance
Andrew Patrizio profile picture

Prof Andrew Patrizio

Professor of Scottish Visual Culture

a.patrizio@ed.ac.uk
+44 (0) 131 651 1782
Heather Pulliam profile picture

Prof Heather Pulliam

Professor of Medieval Art

h.pulliam@ed.ac.uk
+44 (0)131 651 4116

Research interests

  • Celtic and Medieval Art
  • Sculpture, landscape and weather
  • Art and the Body
  • Semiotics, Colour and Peripheries
  • Revivals and Heritage
Carol Richardson profile picture

Prof Carol Richardson

Professor of Early Modern Art History, History of Art

C.M.Richardson@ed.ac.uk
+44 (0) 131 650 4119
Richard Thomson profile picture

Prof Richard Thomson

Professor in History of Art, History of Art

r.thomson@ed.ac.uk
+44 (0)131 650 4125
Tamara Trodd profile photo

Dr Tamara Trodd

Senior Lecturer in Modern and Contemporary Art

Head of Subject Area - History of Art

Tamara.Trodd@ed.ac.uk
+44 (0) 131 651 3120
Christian Weikop profile picture

Professor Christian Weikop

Personal Chair of Modern and Contemporary German Art

C.Weikop@ed.ac.uk
+44 (0) 131 650 2340
A person standing in front of a light beam.

Prof Richard Williams

Professor of Contemporary Visual Cultures, History of Art

r.j.williams@ed.ac.uk
+44 (0)131 651 4321
Chia-Ling Yang profile picture

Prof Chia-ling Yang

Personal Chair of Chinese Art

Programme Director of PhD and MScR in History of Art

C.Yang@ed.ac.uk
+44 (0)131 651 1370

Research interests

  • Modern and Contemporary Chinese Art
  • Chinese Painting and Calligraphy
  • Modern Art in East Asia
  • Cross-cultural and Transoceanic Art
  • Art and Culture of Taiwan
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