Master of Arts - Art History and Theory

The University of Essex MA Art History and Theory is ideal for students interested in working in academia, the art world or any other field in which visual, written and analytical skills are essential.

At Essex, students have the freedom to study what most interests them. Some of the topics students may choose to explore include Early Modern art and architecture; the history of photography; modern and contemporary art; curatorial practice and exhibition design; as well as more vernacular forms of visual culture, such as body art and activist placards.

Regardless of the topics students pursue, Essex is committed to research-based teaching, with a particular emphasis on bringing the approaches of art history into contact with other disciplines and discourses. In so doing, they seek to facilitate a critical engagement with artworks and forms of visual culture, both within and beyond the traditional canons of art history.

To supplement what students learn in the classroom, frequent staff-led visits to London museums and galleries will expose students to some of the world’s best museums and galleries, and they will be strongly encouraged to apply for a placement in order to gain experience in the museum and gallery world. On campus, ESCALA, one of Europe’s most significant collections of contemporary art from Latin America, will provide an invaluable resource for studying art and curatorial practice first-hand.

Essex is 6th among art history departments in the UK for research excellence.

The visual arts and culture industries have become an increasingly significant part of the national and international economy, and art history graduates leave Essex with the skills to take advantage of this growing opportunity.

Graduates from Essex's programmes are ideally prepared for roles in the media, in advertising, in museums and galleries, in education (in schools, universities, and cultural institutions), as conservators, as auctioneers, dealers and antiques specialists, in charities, in publishing, as specialist arts lawyers, as PR agents, in fashion, or to run their own galleries.