Program Overview

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Our five-year BA Art History with Modern Languages (including foundation year), will be suitable for you if your academic qualifications do not yet meet our entrance requirements for the four-year version of this course and you want a programme that increases your subject knowledge as well as improves your academic skills in order to support your academic performance. This five-year course includes a foundation year (Year Zero), followed by a further four years of study including a study abroad year. During your Year Zero, you study three academic subjects relevant to your chosen course as well as a compulsory academic skills module, with additional English language for non-English speakers. You are an Essex student from day one, a member of our global community based at the most internationally diverse campus university in the UK. After successful completion of Year Zero in our Essex Pathways Department , you progress to complete your course with our School of Philosophy and Art History . Our course allows you study the history and theory of art combined with French (post-A Level), German, Italian, Spanish or Portuguese (post-A Level or ab initio), and includes the chance to spend a year abroad studying at one of our partner institutions, such as the Ecole du Louvre in Paris. You receive a distinctive curriculum which covers the whole history of art, enabling you to choose from a variety of specialist options, while simultaneously becoming proficient in one or more languages. You engage with art works that range from Old Master paintings, through the Pre-Raphaelites and Surrealists, to the most up-to-date contemporary art and visual culture. Modules explore a wide variety of media, including architecture, urbanism, photography and video, as well as painting, drawing, printmaking, performance art and sculpture. We have also embedded clear pathways to careers in curating and museumship throughout the course should you wish to take them, with modules in every year dedicated to the histories, theories and practices of museums, exhibitions and galleries. At the same time you can either begin the study of a language as complimentary to your course, or improve your current language skills. One of the major reasons for choosing Essex is the quality of the education you will receive. We are 3rd in the UK for research outputs in art history (Grade Point Average, REF2021). You will be taught by our expert staff in your very first year, a rarity in UK art history courses. Why we're great.

• We equip you with the necessary knowledge and skills to succeed at Essex and beyond.
• Our international students benefit from a single visa for all four years of study.
• Small class sizes allow you to work closely with your teachers and classmates.

Study abroad

Your education extends beyond our University campus. On this course you spend the fourth of your five years studying abroad experiencing, engaging with, and integrating into another culture. You can study at one of the prestigious universities with which we have exchange links. These include universities in:

• France (Lyon 3, Montpellier and Nice)
• Germany (Berlin FUB, Trier and Konstanz)
• Italy (Bologna, Trento and Urbino)
• Portugal (Coimbra)
• Brazil (Florianopolis and Salvador)
• Spain (Murcia, Madrid, Cadiz and Granada)
• Chile (Santiago)
• Colombia (Bogota)
• Mexico (Mérida and Monterrey)

You continue to study modules relevant to your course, learning your chosen languages within a country that speaks them. You may also undertake a period of study followed by a work placement abroad. Whichever option you choose, studying abroad allows you to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are mature, adaptable, and organised. If you spend a full year abroad you'll only pay 15% of your usual tuition fee to Essex for that year. You won't pay any tuition fees to your host university

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Our expert staff

We are a dynamic group of art historians who investigate the production and reception of images and built environment, across cultures and media, from the late medieval period to the present day. Our staff’s research interests include activist art, modernist art and totalitarianism, the relationship between art and science, the artistic status of body modification, art and the environment, critical heritage, and the visual culture of social problems. We also have significant experience in curation and public engagement. Recent projects include:

Paola Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco’s UKRI Future Leaders-funded research project, REPLACE

Matt Lodder’s Painted People: Humanity in 21 Tattoos (HarperCollins, 2022)

Diana Bullen Presciutti’s Saints, Miracles, and Social Problems in Italian Renaissance Art (Cambridge, 2023)

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Specialist facilities

By studying within our Essex Pathways Department for your foundation year, you will have access to all of the facilities that the University of Essex has to offer, as well as those provided by our department to support you:

• We provide computer labs for internet research; classrooms with access to PowerPoint facilities for student presentations; AV facilities for teaching and access to web-based learning materials
• Our new Student Services Hub will support you and provide information for all your needs as a student
• Our social space is stocked with hot magazines and newspapers, and provides an informal setting to meet with your lecturers, tutors and friends

Take advantage of our other extensive learning resources to assist you in your studies:

• Our Essex Collection of Art from Latin America (ESCALA) is the most comprehensive Latin American art research resource in the UK and has a state-of-the-art teaching and research space. Many of our students gain work and research experience through our collection
• Our onsite gallery Art Exchange runs an ongoing programme of contemporary art exhibitions, talks by curators and artists, and exhibitions organised by our curatorial students
• Enjoy regular visits to London galleries, including Tate Modern, Tate Britain, the National
• Access to two multimedia language teaching labs which are equipped with state-of-the-art Melissi Digital Classroom software, and fitted with computers integrating audio-visual projectors and large screens
• Meet other linguists and practice your language skills at our Language Cafés

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Your future

Companies and organisations in the UK and abroad are struggling to find university graduates who are fluent in at least one other language, apart from English. Language skills are in scarce supply and can be used in almost any job. Graduates from our BA Art History with Modern Languages are prepared for roles as curators, teachers, translators and journalists. Having strong language skills have enabled our graduates to work in diverse fields including banking, entertainment, media, education and tourism for UK and international companies. Our recent graduates have gone onto work for a wide range of organisations including:

• Foreign and Commonwealth Office
• National Portrait Gallery
• Victoria and Albert Museum

We also work with the university's Student Development Team to help you find out about further work experience, internships, placements, and voluntary opportunities.