Support ECA ECA Handbook
Undergraduate Postgraduate Student Life
An abstract piece of artwork consisting of black and red shapes on a light background William Johnstone

Green Fields with Hayricks (1957)

Postgraduate

History of Art, Theory and Display - MSc

MSc

Features

1 year (Full time); 2 years (Part time)
Full-time; Part-time

Outline

This programme offers you the opportunity to explore the history and theory of art and its display in exhibitions and museums across a wide range of historical and geographical boundaries.

Based in one of the largest art history departments in the UK, it is perfect for providing you with a comprehensive overview of the discipline, as well as giving you access to an exceptionally wide range of art-historical expertise across time and place.

You will examine art in its historical contexts, the theoretical frameworks of interpretation and their relationship as physical objects to practices and concepts of display. You will have the opportunity to put your learning into practice through an optional work placement in one of Edinburgh’s many museums, galleries or archives.

The programme content will allow you to develop an excellent knowledge of the discipline of art history, advanced research abilities and the possibility of gaining valuable vocational experience.

To find out more about this course, visit our Degree Finder: History of Art, Theory and Display.

Hear from our staff and students

Careers

Graduates have found the History of Art, Theory and Display programme the ideal stepping-stone to pursue more in-depth study (such as a PhD), or to gain invaluable experience towards finding a position in the museum world and cultural sector.

Why you should choose this programme

1

You will have the opportunity to study History of Art across a wide range of chronological periods and geographical places, including the arts of Africa, Latin America, China, India and Japan, as well as Western Europe and America.

2

You will have the opportunity to apply for a Work Placement, to gain experience and skills in a local museum, gallery or archive.

3

You will live and study in the beautiful city of Edinburgh, with its internationally-acclaimed architecture, rich history, lively art festivals, many green spaces and vibrant social life.

4

You will have access to the state-of-the-art libraries and IT facilities provided by the University of Edinburgh.

5

You will be part of the lively and varied student community of Edinburgh College of Art, with around 3,000 other students studying History of Art, Art, Design, Architecture and Music.

Opportunities

All students have the opportunity to apply for a work placement in a local museum, gallery or achieve. These placements are competively awarded, and not all applicants can be guaranteed a place. Typically we award around 40 placements per year.

How to apply and entry requirements

If you'd like to study on a postgraduate programme at Edinburgh College of Art, you must apply through EUCLID, our online application system. You can find out how to do this on the University of Edinburgh website, where you'll also be able to:

  • see detailed entrance requirements for each programme on the Degree Finder
  • get information on what to expect after you apply
  • find out about study modes, start dates and fees
  • find out if, and how, you need to submit a portfolio, showreel or research proposal
  • find out where to go for further advice and guidance.
Apply now

Get in touch

Edinburgh College of Art Postgraduate Admissions

futurestudents@ed.ac.uk
+44 (0)131 650 4086

Field trips

Many courses include a trip to a local museum, gallery or archive to discuss objects and displays on a theme relevant to the course.

Campus facilities

Courses are taught in our purpose-built History of Art classrooms on the Lauriston Place campus, with occasional classes taught in local museums, galleries and archives.

Lauriston campus redevelopment

ECA are excited to be undertaking a capital redevelopment of ECA’s Lauriston campus over the next 3 years, from April 2024 to April 2027.

The project aims to maximise the use of existing space, improve accessibility, and create a vibrant campus that fosters collaboration and innovation.

The project involves refurbishing and repurposing various spaces across the Lauriston campus, including technical facilities, student and teaching spaces, and the relocation of the Reid School of Music from Alison House to the Lauriston campus. New social spaces, seminar rooms, and studios are being created to accommodate our growing community.

You can find more about the project at the below link:

Building work starts at ECA’s Lauriston campus | Edinburgh College of Art

Scholarships and bursaries

Andrew Grant Bequest
Andrew Grant Postgraduate Scholarships
Value £13,000 for one year
Deadline 17 April 2025
ECA
Edinburgh College of Art EU Scholarship Scheme (PGT)
Value £17,500
Deadline N/A
See all Scholarships and bursaries

Facilities and resources

Internal of Talbot Rice Gallery during an exhibition, with a sculptural work featuring lights and metallic shapes

Talbot Rice Gallery

View all our Facilities

Meet our staff

Heather Pulliam profile picture

Prof Heather Pulliam

Professor of Medieval Art

ECA Director of Students (role share)

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
Placeholder image

George Agbo

Lecturer in the Arts of Africa

gagbo@ed.ac.uk
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 Glaire Anderson smiling at the camera

Dr Glaire Anderson

Senior Lecturer in Islamic Art

Founding Director, Digital Lab for Islamic Visual Culture & Collections

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

Research interests

  • Islamic visual culture in Scottish collections
  • Video games and digital cultural heritage
A person with short light brown hair, wearing glasses and a white shirt, sitting against a background of multi-coloured quilted blankets.

Dr Jess Bailey

Lecturer in Premodern Art

Jess.Bailey@ed.ac.uk
default profile

Celeste-Marie Bernier

Personal Chair in United States and Atlantic Studies

Celeste-Marie.Bernier@ed.ac.uk
A person with dark brown hair, standing outside by a rock and looking to the side.

Dr Yashaswini Chandra

Lecturer in South Asian Art History

ychandra@ed.ac.uk
+44 (0) 131 651 1782

Research interests

  • Arts and cultures of South Asia
  • Mughal India
  • Colonial India
  • Animal history
  • Women's studies
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
A person with long blonde hair, wearing a green coat

Dr Bryony Coombs

Teaching Fellow in Renaissance Art History

bryony.coombs@ed.ac.uk

Research interests

  • Manuscript Studies
  • Cross-Cultural Connections
  • Digital humanities
  • Early Netherlandish Painting
  • French Visual Culture
  • Visual Culture in Late-Medieval Scotland
  • Text/image relationships
Angela Dimitrakaki profile picture

Prof Angela Dimitrakaki

Professor of Contemporary Art History and Theory

On Research Leave until end of 2026, Leverhulme Research Fellowship for 'Family as Metaphor in Art and Photography'

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

Dr Michelle Foot

Senior 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
Dr Jamie Forde

Dr Jamie E. Forde

Lecturer in Pre-Modern Art

Programme Director, Global Premodern Art

jamie.forde@ed.ac.uk
A person with short dark hair, wearing a grey and blue scarf

Dr Hannah Halliwell

Lecturer in Nineteenth-Century French Art History

Hannah.Halliwell@ed.ac.uk

Research interests

  • Nineteenth-Century Art
  • French Art
  • Medical Visual Culture
  • Drugs and Addiction
  • The Body/Nude
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
A black and white photo of a person with short hair swept to the side, and a roll neck jumper on.

Dr Elysia Lechelt

Lecturer in Art History, Culture and Society

Elechelt@ed.ac.uk
A black and white image of a person looking sideways, wearing glasses and a plain jumper.

Dr Kirsten Lloyd

Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Art History and Curating

Kirsten.Lloyd@ed.ac.uk
+44 (0)131 650 4118

Research interests

  • Contemporary Art History
  • Curatorial Studies
A black and white image of a person with long, curly hair, wearing a black and white jacket and polka dot dress.

Dr Caroline McCaffrey-Howarth

Senior Lecturer in History of Art

Programme Director, MSc Global Premodern Art

cmccaffr@ed.ac.uk
Placeholder image

Dr Megan C. McNamee

Lecturer in Pre-Modern Art, 500–1500

megan.mcnamee@ed.ac.uk
+44 (0) 131 651 5302
A person with shoulder length strawberry blonde hair, wearing glasses, a suit jacket and white shirt. The person is in the middle of saying something and gesticulating with their hands.

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
Halle O'Neal profile picture

Dr Halle O'Neal

Reader in Japanese Art

Co-Director of Edinburgh Buddhist Studies

halle.oneal@ed.ac.uk
+44 (0) 131 650 2340

Research interests

  • Japanese Buddhist art
  • Epistolary culture
  • Reuse and recycling
  • Word and image studies 
  • Relics and reliquaries
  • Performativity and haptics of manuscripts
  • Death commemorations in visual and material culture
  • Palimpsests
  • Digital Humanities
Dr Maryam Ohadi-Hamadani

Dr Maryam Ohadi-Hamadani

Lecturer, Modern and Contemporary Art of the Global Diasporas

Programme Director, MScR Collections and Curating Practices

mohadih@ed.ac.uk
Andrew Patrizio profile picture

Prof Andrew Patrizio

Professor of Scottish Visual Culture

a.patrizio@ed.ac.uk
+44 (0) 131 651 1782
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
Ian Rothwell profile photo

Dr Ian Rothwell

Lecturer in Contemporary Art History and Digital Culture

ian.rothwell@ed.ac.uk
Dr. Ileana L. Selejan

Dr. Ileana L. Selejan

Lecturer in Art History, Culture and Society

iselejan@ed.ac.uk

Research interests

  • Photography
  • New media / Art and technology
  • Visual Anthropology
  • Latin America / Eastern Europe / Global South
  • Postcolonial and Decolonial approaches
Profile photo of Dr Kate Sloan

Dr Kate Sloan

Lecturer in Modern and Contemporary Art History

Kate.Sloan@ed.ac.uk
A person with long, dark hair, looks to the camera. There is a book case just behind them in the corner of the room.

Dr Tamara Trodd

Senior Lecturer in Modern and Contemporary 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
Lucy Weir profile picture

Dr Lucy Weir

Reader in History of Art

Head of Subject Area - History of Art

lucy.weir@ed.ac.uk

Research interests

  • Modern and contemporary art
  • Performance
  • Dance
  • Medical visual culture
  • Soviet visual culture
A person standing in front of a light beam.

Prof Richard Williams

Professor of Contemporary Visual Cultures, History of Art

ECA Director of Internationalisation

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
View people directory