Art History MA (Honours)

Program Overview

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Art History MA (Honours) 2025 entry

The MA (Hons) in Art History will teach you critically to assess art and visual culture, together with the ideas behind them. You will learn to analyse the history, context, style and meaning of images and objects, developing visual literacy and engaging with different critical approaches and theoretical frameworks. These will allow you to explore the complex role that visual culture plays in questions of aesthetics, politics, power and identity, and understand how art and its display have both reflected and shaped human history and experience.

UCAS code

V350

Start date

September 2025

End date

September 2029

Duration

Four years full time

School

School of Art History

Entry requirements

The University offers different entry requirements, depending on your background. Find out more about Standard, Minimum and Gateway entry requirements using academic entry explained and see which entry requirements you need to look at using the entry requirements indicator.

SQA Highers

• Standard entry grades: AAAB
• Minimum entry grades: AABB
• Gateway entry grades: Applicants who have narrowly missed the minimum entry grades, but meet the University's contextual criteria, may be interested in one of the University’s Gateway programmes.

GCE A-Levels

• Standard entry grades: AAA
• Minimum entry grades: ABB

IB points

• Standard entry grades: 36 (HL 6,6,5)
• Minimum entry grades: 36 (HL 6,5,5)

General entry requirements

All applicants must have attained the following qualifications, or equivalent, in addition to the specific entry requirements for individual programmes.

SQA qualifications

• SQA National 5 (B) in English and one SQA National 5 (B) from the following:
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Computing science
  • Geography
  • Applications of Mathematics
  • Mathematics
  • Physics
  • Psychology.

GCSE qualifications

• GCSE (5) in English language or English literature, and one GCSE (5) from the following:
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Computing Science
  • Geography
  • Mathematics
  • Physics
  • Psychology.

Other qualifications

We accept a wide range of qualifications for entry on to our programmes. Please see our entry requirements for more information.

Do I need to have studied this subject before?

No previous knowledge of art history is required.

Alternative study options

Students interested in this course may also be interested in the following:

Gateway programmes

Applicants who have narrowly missed the minimum entry grades but meet the University's contextual criteria may be interested in the Gateway to Arts programme.

Study abroad

Art history students can apply to participate in the University-wide St Andrews Abroad programme. You may also have the opportunity to apply to participate in the School Abroad exchange programme.

International applicants

If English is not your first language, you will need to provide an English language test score to evidence your English language ability. Find out more about approved English language tests and scores for this course.

Course details

The MA (Honours) in Art History is a four-year course run by the School of Art History. In your first two years, you will have the opportunity to study a broad chronological span of art from the medieval period to the present day.

Art History is a well-rounded discipline that brings together aspects of social and political history, language and literature, philosophy, aesthetics and psychology. Breadth of knowledge and perspective are encouraged and, for this reason, you will be required to study an additional two subjects alongside art history in the first year of your studies. In the second year you will usually continue with at least one of these subjects, sometimes two.

The skills you gain in visual and source analysis, as well as understanding of critical frameworks, will prepare you to explore more advanced topics in your third and fourth years. During this time, you will choose specialist modules from a wide range of options corresponding to the research interests of individual members of staff. Final year students will also write a dissertation on a topic chosen in consultation with staff.

Graduates in Art History from St Andrews can expect to have highly developed skills of independent critical thinking and judgement, as well as an in-depth knowledge of a wide range of visual culture and its historical and critical contexts.

The University of St Andrews operates on a flexible modular degree system by which degrees are obtained through the accumulation of credits. More information on the structure of the modules system can be found on the flexible degree structure web page.

Modules

In the first two years of your degree (known as sub-honours) you will take the required modules in art history alongside modules in usually two other subjects.

During your third and fourth years (known as Honours), you will take specialised modules in art history (and in one other subject if doing a joint Honours degree).

Typically, you will take three modules per semester during your first two years, and two modules per semester during your Honours years.

First year

• Art in Europe and Beyond to 1600: a survey of medieval and Renaissance painting, sculpture and architecture in Southern and Northern Europe, as well as key points of contact with the non-Western world.
• Art in Europe and Beyond: a survey of European art and architecture in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, as well as global networks of trade, exploration, and colonialism.

Second year

• Modernity, Empire, and Revolution: Art from: explores the intersection of visual culture with modernity, empire and revolution in the long nineteenth century, predominantly but not exclusively in Europe.
• Art, Culture and Politics, from 1900 to Now: examines the relationship between art and political struggle in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, exploring how practitioners around the globe have contributed to socio-cultural change and forged new ways of seeing.

Honours

If you decide to take art history in your third and fourth years, you will choose from a wide variety of advanced options. Subject to availability, these may include:

• African Modernisms
• Ajab: The Aesthetics of Wonder in Islamic Art
• Approaches to Art History
• Art and the Ocean: Materiality, Representation, Ecology
• Art in the Portuguese World, circa
• Art of the Ming and Qing Dynasties from a Global Perspective
• Art History and Environmental Crisis
• Art, Science and Technology
• Art, Theatre and Performance in France
• Aspects of Japanese Visual Culture
• Body / Politics: Performance Art since 1960
• Central European Art, Architecture and Design, c.1900
• Classicism in Western Art: The Legacy of Greece and Rome
• Collecting Chinese Art: Histories and Practices
• Contemporary Art and Resilience in the Arab World
• Dada and Surrealism
• Decolonial, Feminist, Queer: Histories of Art in Britain Since 1945
• English Art and Modernism
• Experiencing Sculpture in the Early Modern World
• European Gothic Architecture
• Histories of Photography
• Images and Knowledge in Early Modern Europe
• Latin American Modernisms
• Leonardo da Vinci, 500 years later
• Michelangelo: Sculptor, Painter, Architect
• Modern and Contemporary Fiber Art
• Objects of Devotion: The Art and Material Culture of Medieval Christianity
• Palm Leaf, Poem, and Portrait: the art of painting in India
• Raphael and His Reception
• Rubens and Rembrandt: Parallel Worlds
• Scotland and the Arts of Africa
• Sensory Histories of South Asian Art
• The Art of the Apocalypse from the Middle Ages to the Present
• The Art of War: Battle, Rivalry, Paragone
• The French Avant-Garde: From Realism to Impressionism
• The Portrait in Western Art
• The Scandinavian Art of Building and Design: Identity and Myth
• Timurid Art and Architecture (ca.)

In fourth year, students also undertake either a 6,000- or 12,000-word dissertation on a topic of their choice. This independent project enables you to develop key research skills which are attractive to prospective employers and required for postgraduate study.

Teaching

• Teaching format
• Assessment
• Support

Art history sub-honours modules are primarily delivered through formal lectures (130 to 200 students) and small group tutorials (8 to 10 students). Lectures are given by a range of staff members, with tutorials providing an opportunity for students to develop and discuss their thinking in a small and friendly environment.

At Honours level, we move away from large group lecturing. Students work closely with their lecturers in smaller classes (15-25 students) and seminar groups (8-12 students).

Regular visits are organised to galleries and museums around Scotland.

When not attending lectures and seminars you will be expected to undertake substantial independent study outside of the classroom. Typically, this will involve:

• working on individual and group projects
• undertaking research in the library
• preparing coursework assignments and presentations
• preparing for examinations.

Almost all the modules in Art History are assessed through a balanced combination of coursework and take-home exams. At Honours level, some modules are assessed entirely through coursework.

Take-home exams are held at the end of each semester during a dedicated exam diet, with revision time provided beforehand.

The School aims to provide feedback on assessments and coursework within two weeks to help you improve on future assessments.

Undergraduates at the University of St Andrews must achieve at least 7.0 on the St Andrews 20-point grade scale to pass a module. To gain access to Honours-level modules, students must achieve the relevant requisites as specified in the policy on entry to Honours and in the relevant programme requirements. To find out the classification equivalent of points, please see the common reporting scale.

You will be taught by an experienced teaching team with international research profiles in art history. Postgraduate research students who have undertaken teacher training may also lead seminars, under the supervision of the module coordinator.

Fees

• Scotland: £1,820
• England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland, Channel Islands, Isle of Man: £9,535
• EU and overseas: £31,670

More information on tuition fees can be found on the undergraduate fees and funding page.

Accommodation fees

Find out about accommodation fees for University accommodation.

Funding and scholarships

The University of St Andrews offers a number of scholarships and support packages to undergraduate students each year.

Joint Honours degrees

You can also take Art History as part of a joint Honours degree in which you will take core modules of your chosen subjects.

• Arabic and Art History (With Integrated Year Abroad)
• Art History and Chinese Studies (With Integrated Year Abroad)
• Art History and French (With Integrated Year Abroad)
• Art History and German (With Integrated Year Abroad)
• Art History and Italian (With Integrated Year Abroad)
• Art History and Russian (With Integrated Year Abroad)
• Art History and Spanish (With Integrated Year Abroad)
• Bachelor of Science (Honours) Art History and Computer Science
• Master of Arts (Honours) Ancient History and Art History
• Master of Arts (Honours) Arabic and Art History

Joint degrees taken with Arabic, Chinese Studies, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish are also available 'With Integrated Year Abroad'.

"With" degrees

You can take Art History as part of a "with" Honours degree in which the majority of the course deals with the first name subject. St Andrews offers the following "with" degrees in Art History:

• Master of Arts (Honours) Art History with Bible and Culture - UCAS code AB01

Careers

A degree in art history provides an excellent foundation for a career in museums and galleries, arts administration, the art trade or teaching. As art history is studied in social, geographical, cultural and psychological contexts, you will develop an understanding of how different societies evolve and how art impacts our lives.

Popular career areas for art history students include:

• business and finance
• catering and hospitality
• cultural institutions
• curatorship
• law
• marketing
• media
• public relations
• publishing.

In recent years, art history graduates at St Andrews have secured employment in a wide range of positions at various companies, including:

• the BBC
• the British Library
• Christie’s
• Country Life magazine
• Legal and General
• National Museums Scotland
• Phaidon Press
• Royal Archives
• Sotheby’s
• Tiffany and Co.
• Vertigo Films
• The Week magazine

In your degree, you will also gain a number of transferable skills which are highly valued by employers across all sectors. These include the ability to:

• understand aspects of culture and history in different time periods and geographical locations.
• produce logical and structured narratives and arguments supported by evidence.
• effectively communicate ideas by deploying visual material in conjunction with written or oral presentation.
• work constructively and productively in groups.