(Full time / Part time) 2020 start
Social History of Art MA
Overview
The study of the history of art at Leeds has an international reputation for its innovative, rigorous, diverse and critically engaged approaches. Previously called MA History of Art, the name was changed in 2018 to highlight the established strengths of this course with its emphasis on social and political approaches to art history.
The MA in the Social History of Art builds on a unique legacy of dynamic and challenging scholarship, and continues to test the parameters of the discipline and shape wider debates in the field.
Around a shared commitment to understanding art as central to the production and reproduction of the social worlds we inhabit, our key research strengths lie in feminist, gender and Jewish studies, on questions of materialism and materiality, the postcolonial and the ‘non-Western’, as well as in provocations of those fields of art history considered more ‘established’, from Medieval and Renaissance up to the contemporary.
Drawing on the School’s community of researchers, and with our links to internationally important research institutions such as the Henry Moore Institute, as well as with an abundant and growing array of arts institutions in Leeds and nearby, this course will equip you to develop your own critically informed research.
Specialist facilities
Housed within a single central campus location, the School offers a modern and well-equipped learning environment providing 24-hour studio access and versatile exhibition spaces.
At the heart of the School is Project Space – a multi-purpose space designed for the development of curatorial practice and visiting exhibitions.
The Brotherton Library holds a wide variety of manuscript, archive and early printed material in its Special Collections - valuable assets for your independent research.
In addition to the wide range of museums and galleries in the city and beyond, the University campus features:
Course content
Across two semesters, you will take compulsory modules and work in depth on specialist topics from optional modules. Through both the rigorous development of complex descriptive and analytical skills central to the discipline of art history, and engagement with wider theoretical and historical frameworks, you will be given the opportunity to develop your own interests and a distinct critical voice.
The skills you will develop, combined with the specialist knowledge built through your optional modules, will ultimately be focused in your dissertation ― an independent and self-devised research project, which you will undertake with the guidance of your supervisor.
If you choose to study part-time, you’ll study over a longer period and take fewer modules in each year.
Course structure
The list shown below represents typical modules/components studied and may change from time to time. Read more in our Terms and conditions.
Modules
Year 1
Compulsory modules
- MA History of Art Core Course 30 credits
- Advanced Research Skills 1 5 credits
- Advanced Research Skills 2 5 credits
- Art History Dissertation 50 credits
Optional modules (selection of typical options shown below)
- Derrida and Deconstruction 30 credits
- Reading Sexual Difference 30 credits
- Jewish Museums and the Display of Cultural Difference 30 credits
- The Margins of Medieval Art 30 credits
- Unfinished Business: Trauma, Cultural Memory and the Holocaust 30 credits
- Movies, Migrants and Diasporas 30 credits
- Aesthetics and Politics 30 credits
- Intersecting Practices: Questioning the Intersection of Contemporary Art and Heritage 30 credits
- Adventures in the Archive 30 credits
- Postcolonial Feminisms 30 credits
- Encountering Things: Art and Entanglement in Anglo-Saxon England 30 credits
- The Origins of Postcolonial England 30 credits
- Procuring Representation: Contemporary Art, East Asia, Gender 30 credits
- Anthropology, Art and Representation 30 credits
- Humanity, Animality and Globality 30 credits
- Unmaking Things: Materials and Ideas in the European Renaissance 30 credits
- Individual Directed Study 30 credits
- Creativity Inquiry, Communication and Learning 30 credits
Learning and teaching
You will benefit from a variety of teaching and learning methods including lectures, seminars, online learning and group critiques and tutorials.
Independent study is crucial to the degree ― it allows you to prepare for classes and assessments, build on your skills and form your own ideas and research questions. The University Library offers free classes and resources on topics such as academic integrity and plagiarism, public speaking, searching for information and structuring essays.
Assessment
Our taught modules are generally assessed through essays, which you will submit at the end of the semester in which you take each module.
Applying, fees and funding
Entry requirements
A bachelor degree with a 2:1 (hons)
English language requirements
IELTS 6.5 overall, with no less than 6.0 in any component.. For other English qualifications, read English language equivalent qualifications.
Improve your English
International students who do not meet the English language requirements for this programme may be able to study our postgraduate pre-sessional English course, to help improve your English language level.
This pre-sessional course is designed with a progression route to your degree programme and you’ll learn academic English in the context of your subject area. To find out more, read Language for Arts and Humanities (6 weeks) and Language for Social Science and Arts: Arts and Humanities (10 weeks).
If you need to study for longer than 10 weeks, read more about our postgraduate pre-sessional English course.
How to apply
This link takes you to information on applying for taught programmes and to the University's online application system.
If you're unsure about the application process, contact the admissions team for help.
Documents and information you need
Your degree certificate and transcripts, or a partial transcript if you’re still studying
Two academic references
Evidence of your English language qualifications if English is not your first subject.
A personal statement. Please answer the following questions within your statement:
Please explain your reasons for applying to this particular course.
What specific fields within the history of art most interest you, and why? Have you studied any of these topics already? If so, you might provide some details of what you studied and to what depth.
Which approaches to the study of art history (i.e. methods, theories) most interest you, and why?
In your academic experience to date, what has prepared you to embark on postgraduate-level study of art history? If you are coming to art history from another discipline, feel free to explain this experience in terms of cognate issues.
What particular challenges and opportunities do you think postgraduate study will offer compared to undergraduate study?
Next steps
Applicants may be invited for an interview as part of the application process.
Read about visas, immigration and other information in International students. We recommend that international students apply as early as possible to ensure that they have time to apply for their visa.
Admissions policy
Faculty of Arts, Humanities And Cultures Postgraduate Admissions Policy 2020
Fees
- UK/EU: £9,000 (total)
- International: £19,500 (total)
For fees information for international taught postgraduate students, read Masters fees.
Read more about paying fees and charges.
Visit our Brexit page for the latest information on the effect of the UK's planned exit from the EU on current students and applicants to the University.
Part-time fees are normally calculated based on the number of credits you study in a year compared to the equivalent full-time course. For example, if you study half the course credits in a year, you will pay half the full-time course fees for that year.
Additional cost information
There may be additional costs related to your course or programme of study, or related to being a student at the University of Leeds. Read more about additional costs
Scholarships and financial support
If you have the talent and drive, we want you to be able to study with us, whatever your financial circumstances. There may be help for students in the form of loans, scholarships and non-repayable grants from the University and from the government.
The School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies has three Head of School Excellence Scholarship (International) awards for students joining in September 2020.
Career opportunities
You will develop your visual, critical and cultural awareness and expand your subject knowledge in history of art. In addition, you will graduate equipped with sophisticated research, analytical, critical and communication skills that will put you in a good position to succeed in a variety of careers.
Our graduates have pursued careers as curators and education staff in museums and galleries and worked for national heritage organisations, as well as in journalism, publishing, arts marketing, public relations, university administration and teaching.
Others have transferred the skills they gained into fields like the insurance industry, independent style editing and freelance writing on fashion, arts and culture.
Many of our graduates have also continued with their research at PhD level and secured external funding to support them – including AHRC scholarships. Some of our former research students are now developing academic careers in the UK, Europe, Asia, USA and Canada.
Careers support
We encourage you to prepare for your career from day one. That’s one of the reasons Leeds graduates are so sought after by employers.
The Careers Centre and staff in your faculty provide a range of help and advice to help you plan your career and make well-informed decisions along the way, even after you graduate. Find out more at the Careers website.