Program Overview

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Our MA Curating offers a practical and theoretical training in devising and curating exhibitions, as you work towards the preparation of an exhibition at our on-site Art Exchange gallery. Our course combines practice, theory and histories of curating in equal measure. You will develop an essential base skills for a successful exhibition – from object handling to managing exhibition budgets – through visiting lectures by active museum professionals; practical workshops using our on-site collection and galleries; and competitive placements at leading institutions. Previous students have worked at the V&A, Royal Academy of Arts, Hayward Gallery and Firstsite Gallery. You will build your own confident grasp of the history and theory of exhibition-making, studying with academics who besides being active curators are producing new key texts on the curatorial history and theory. You study topics including:

• How an exhibition can be used as a means of social or political critique
• The historical role that museums have played in society
• Participation and social engagement between spectators, artists and curators
• A choice of history of art options

We're 3rd in the UK for research outputs in art history (Grade Point Average, Research Excellence Framework 2021). Discover Curatorial Studies at the University of Essex video Why we're great.

• Prepare for your career by completing a professional placement
• We give you the opportunity to curate an exhibition at our on-campus Art Exchange Gallery
• We're 3rd in the UK for research outputs in art history (Grade Point Average, Research Excellence Framework 2021)

Placement year

MA Curating with Professional Placement offers a unique opportunity for you to gain relevant work experience within an external business or organisation, giving you a competitive edge in the job market and providing you with key contacts within the industry. The placement is undertaken between the taught part of the course and the individual project. Its aim is to allow you to acquire industry experience and, especially, develop an appreciation of how the skills acquired in the taught part of the course can be applied to real world work. You’ll be responsible for securing your own work placement, but if you change your mind and decide not to do your placement, or if you are not able to secure a placement, you can start your dissertation earlier and complete your Masters in the first year.

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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

At Essex, you have the best of both worlds: on the one hand, you are part of a tight-knit, campus community with close ties to several small but excellent museums in the nearby town of Colchester; on the other hand, you can travel from campus to London in an hour, which puts the world’s best museums and galleries at your fingertips. Our facilities enable you to gain curatorial experience and engage in object-based learning, a cornerstone of our approach when teaching the history of art and its modes of display:

• 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 and workshops by curators and artists, as well as exhibitions organised by our postgraduate curatorial students
• Colchester’s iconic Firstsite gallery features an exciting programme of contemporary art exhibitions, film screenings and talks, and exhibitions organised by our curatorial students
• Our Centre for Curatorial Studies is home to staff who specialise in the history of exhibition design and curate high-profile exhibitions

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Your future

The visual arts and culture industries have become an increasingly significant part of the national and international economy, and our art history graduates leave Essex with the skills to take advantage of this growing opportunity. Graduates from our 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. Our recent graduates have gone on to work for a wide range of high-profile companies including:

• National Portrait Gallery
• Victoria and Albert Museum
• Sotheby’s New York
• Momart Ltd
• John Lewis

We also offer research supervision for PhD and MPhil for those who want to continue with research. We cover the major areas of European art and architecture from 1300 to the present, as well as the art and architecture of Latin America and the United States. We also work with the university’s Careers Services to help you find out about further work experience, internships, placements, and voluntary opportunities.