Program Overview

---

BA Art History & Visual Culture and Drama - 2026 entry

Course menu

• Overview
• Entry requirements
• Course content
• Course variants
• Fees and scholarships
• Learning and teaching
• Your future

Overview

An excellent grounding in the main themes and methods of Art History & Visual culture while developing your critical, imaginative and practical engagement with the social, historical and cultural contexts of theatre

Develop essential tools to interpret works of arts (including architecture and design) as well as images, objects and practices

Study traditional fine art and contemporary visual forms including painting, sculpture, illustration, architecture, film, video, performance and digital art

Studio-based work will equip you with communication and organisation skills and will enhance your creative development and analytical skills

Throughout the programme you will get equal opportunities and challenges to act, direct, write or create dramatic events

View 2025 Entry

Entry requirements

Qualification | Typical offer | Required subjects ---|---|--- A-Level | ABB | n/a IB | 32/655 | n/a BTEC | DDM | n/a GCSE | C or 4 | English Language Access to HE | 24 L3 Credits at Distinction Grade and 21 L3 credits at Merit Grade. | N/A T-Level | Distinction | N/A

Contextual Offer

• Please note: The contextual offer shown is an example based on offers made to students starting in 2025, and is for guidance only. We will confirm the contextual offer for 2026 entry later this year.*

A-Level: BBC IB: 28/554 BTEC: DMM

Course content

Year 1

• 30 credits of compulsory Art History & Visual Culture modules, 60 credits of compulsory Drama modules, and 30 credits of optional Art History & Visual Culture modules.

Compulsory modules

Code| Module | Credits ---|---|--- AHV1011 | Questions and Methods in Art History and Visual Culture | 30 DRA1016 | Performance Analysis | 30 DRA1018 | The Creative Actor | 30

Optional modules

• Subject to choosing 120 credits for the stage overall, you must:
• select either AHV1012 (30 credits) or AHV1005 AND AHV1009 (15 credits each), selecting 30 credits in total.

Code| Module | Credits ---|---|--- AHVC Stage 1 Combined Hons Option Modules 2025-6 [See note a above] AHV1005 | Inside the Museum | 15 AHV1006 | Visual Media | 15 AHV1008 | Topics in Art History and Visual Culture I | 15 AHV1009 | Topics in Art History and Visual Culture II | 15 AHV1012 | Approaches to Art History and Visual Culture | 30 MLF1121 | French Visual History | 15 MLM1014 | Chinese Art and the Art of Living | 15

Year 2

• 30 credits of compulsory Art History & Visual Culture modules, 30 credits of optional Art History & Visual Culture modules and 60 credits of optional Drama modules.

Compulsory modules

Code| Module | Credits ---|---|--- AHV2015 | Art History and Visual Culture Field Study for Blended Learning | 30

Optional modules

• Subject to choosing 120 credits for the stage overall, you must:
• select 30 credits from this list of optional Art History & Visual Culture modules - we recommend selecting at least one module from AHV2002 and AHV2007.

Code| Module | Credits ---|---|--- AHVC Stage 2 Option Modules 2025-6 [See note b above] EAS2089 | Creative Industries: Their Past, Our Future | 30 MLM2003 | Chinoiserie and Europeenerie: Artistic and cultural exchanges between China and Europe | 15 AHV2012 | Revolutions: Art and Society in France, | 30 AHV2018 | Comics Studies: Histories, Methodologies, Genres | 30 AHV2019 | Common Threads: Art, Craft and Activism | 15 AHV2016 | Contemporary Art and Curation | 15 AHV2020 | Deconstructing the Dutch Golden Age: Nationalism, Exceptionalism and Decline | 15 AHV2023 | Global Impressionisms | 15 AHV2013 | Photography and Evidence | 15 AHV2024 | Renaissances North and South: Italy and the Netherlands | 15 AHV2009 | The New York Avant-Garde | 30 AHV2002 | Debates and Contestations in Art History [See note b above]| 15 AHV2007 | Contemporary Visual Practices [See note b above]| 15

Year 3 (Placement year, if taken)

Final year

• 0-30 credits of compulsory Art History & Visual Culture modules, 0-30 credits of compulsory Drama modules, 30-60 credits of optional Art History & Visual Culture modules, and 30-60 credits of optional Drama modules.

Compulsory modules

• Subject to choosing 120 credits for the stage overall, you must:
• select either AHV3000 or DRA3094 (you cannot choose more than one module from this group).

Code| Module | Credits ---|---|--- AHV3000 | Art History and Visual Culture Dissertation [see note d above]| 30 DRA3094 | Theatre Dissertation [see note d above]| 30

Optional modules

• if selecting DRA3094, select 30-60 credits from this list of optional Art History & Visual Culture modules.
• if selecting AHV3000, select 30-60 credits from this list of optional Drama modules.

Code| Module | Credits ---|---|--- AHVC Final Stage Option Modules 2025-6 EAF3515 | Something to See: War and Visual Media | 30 EAS3421 | Picturing the Global City: Literature and Visual Culture in the 21st Century | 30 SML3052 | The Place of Meaning: Gardens in Europe and Asia | 15 MLG3036 | Dictatorships on Display: History Exhibitions in Germany and Austria | 15 AHV3017 | 'Queen City of Europe': Art, Culture and Society in Renaissance Antwerp, c. | 15 AHV3013 | Art, Industry and the Modern, | 15 AHV3016 | Conceptual Art | 15 AHV3007 | Global Modernisms | 15 AHV3012 | Installation Art | 15 AHV3008 | Performance Art | 15 AHV3020 | Subjectivity and Storytelling: From Decorative Arts to Digital Futures | 15 AHV3018 | The Body in Art and Disability Studies | 15 AHV3003 | The Face | 15 AHV3002 | Understanding Space in Renaissance Italy | 15

Course variants

BA Art History& Visual Culture and Drama with Study Abroad

UCAS code: WW24

Our four-year ‘with Study Abroad’ degree, offers you the possibility of spending your third year abroad, studying with one of our many partner universities.

BA Art History& Visual Culture and Drama with Employment Experience

UCAS code: WW22

Our four-year ‘with Employment Experience’ degree, offers you the possibility of spending your third year carrying out a graduate-level work placement or placements within the UK as part of your degree.

BA Art History& Visual Culture and Drama with Employment Experience Abroad

UCAS code: WW23

Our four-year ‘with Employment Experience Abroad’ degree, offers you the possibility of spending your third year abroad, carrying out a graduate-level work placement or placements as part of your degree.

Fees

Please note: The fees for students starting in 2026 have yet to be set. The fees provided below are the fees for students starting in 2025 and are for guidance only.

UK students: £9,535 per year International students: £24,700 per year

Scholarships

The University of Exeter has many different scholarships available to support your education, including £5 million in scholarships for international students applying to study with us in the 2025/26 academic year, such as our Exeter Excellence Scholarships.

Learning and teaching

How will I learn?

You will be taught by internationally respected staff who are leading researchers in their specialisms. We use a wide variety of techniques and approaches including seminars, lectures, study groups and web-based learning, as well as valuable field study. As you study the compulsory modules, you will learn through individual practical and project work, teamwork and a research project, all of which are designed to help you develop key skills for success throughout your degree and into your future career.

Assessment for Art History and Visual Culture

You will be assessed in a variety of ways but primarily through exams and coursework. Coursework includes essays, a dissertation and presentation work. The ratio of formal exams to coursework is on average 40:60 (depending on your choice of modules). Your first year doesn’t count towards your final degree classification, but you do have to pass it in order to progress. In order to be eligible for ‘with Study Abroad’ programmes, you will need to attain an average of 60 per cent or more in your first year. The assessments in the second year, year abroad (if applicable) and final year will contribute to your final degree classification.

Assessment for Drama

Assessment of each module varies and may include continuous assessment, essay, performance and portfolio or viva interview. In the first year, most work is assessed continuously through studio practice, seminars and essays. There are currently no written exams for Drama Single Honours Drama students, however Combined Honours students should refer to the relevant subject’s entry for their other subjects. You are required to pass your first year in order to progress, but these results do not count towards your final degree classification. In order to be eligible for ‘with Study Abroad’ programmes, you will need to attain an average of 60% or more in your first year. The assessments in the second year, year abroad (if applicable) and final year will contribute to your final degree classification.

Facilities

Drama is based on two sites on the Streatham Campus. All the practical spaces we use are reserved solely for Drama students, giving us a high degree of flexibility. Our facilities include two digital media suites and upgraded technical facilities. We have six studios fully equipped for stage lighting and sound, 10 other studios and seminar rooms, two sound studios, a video and multimedia studio, state-of-the-art computer facilities for lighting and sound design, costume and props stores and workshops for set construction, costume and prop-making.

Museums, galleries, and field trips

We believe it’s really important for you to gain first-hand exposure to works of art and other visual artefacts. You will profit from engaging with the museums and galleries in the region, in addition to field trips to collections in London and elsewhere. You will also can develop expertise in curation through the University’s Bill Douglas Cinema Museum.

Art History and Visual Culture field trip abroad

In the second year of the programme we offer a core module, Art History & Visual Culture Field Study, which involves an intensive study trip abroad to immerse our students in the art, architecture and visual culture of a specific location in Europe. In recent years our study abroad trip has taken place in Florence Italy*.

Your future

Employer-valued skills this course develops

Art History and Visual Culture at the University of Exeter is a bold interdisciplinary programme, which will enable you to stand out in the job market. This programme will give you specialist knowledge of everything from traditional art forms such as architecture and sculpture, to today’s visual practices such as film, video, performance and digital art. You will develop a broad range of highly desirable skills in analysis, critique, research and theoretical and practical creativity.

Career paths

Art History & Visual Culture graduates compete very successfully in the employment market, with many employers targeting the University when recruiting new graduates.

Examples of roles recent graduates are now working as include:

• Art Gallery Intern
• Brand Intern in fashion industry
• Civil Service Fast Stream
• Collections Information Officer
• Editorial Assistant
• Events Planner
• Marketing Intern
• PR Account Executive
• Researcher
• TV Promotions Assistant

Career Zone

The services offered by the careers and employability team are complementary to the services offered by our central Career Zone, where you can participate in practical sessions to develop your skills; access paid internships and volunteering opportunities; explore postgraduate study options; meet prospective employers; get one-to-one advice and learn how to secure the right job for you.