University of York

University of York

Master of Arts in History of Art

The Master of Arts in History of Art in History is offered by University of York.

Program Length: 1 YEAR.

Master of Arts in History of Art offered by the University of York

Explore a wide range of art history across different periods, regions, themes and topics


In contemporary society, with innovative technologies for visual research and communication, the ability to analyse images, art and architecture is more valuable than ever.

The flexible course has exceptional historical and geographical breadth and depth, encompassing architecture, art objects and their related visual practices from the antique to the contemporary.

You’ll have the choice of a wide range of modules giving you the opportunity to study art by time period, to focus on a specific medium, or to pursue a specific methodological perspective. 

The course caters for generalists with broad interests, and those who are coming to art history from another discipline. You can also specialise at a later stage in your degree, with your dissertation topic choice.

This is one of the largest History of Art departments in the UK. They have developed successful partnerships with museums, galleries and country houses that will enrich your studies and may offer you placement opportunities and privileged access to collections.

Course content
You play an active role in building your degree, furthering your established or emerging specialisms and designing research projects. You will also develop your methodological awareness, helping you to forge a more sophisticated understanding of how artworks create meaning and why some artworks have been deemed culturally more significant than others.

The course enables you to develop advanced skills in verbal and written communication, and effective project management. You will acquire a high level of expertise in visual analysis and art-historical research through object-focused study and an intensively researched MA dissertation.

You also have the option to develop your interdisciplinary interests by taking modules in related academic disciplines such as history, literature, archaeology, philosophy, sociology and others.

This expert academic staff support you every step of the way through personalised, small-group teaching, individual tutorials and field trips.

Taken full-time, the one-year taught MA consists of:

  • Autumn and Spring Terms: a core module focusing on Research Skills and Methods in History of Art. 
  • Autumn Term: two taught option modules of your choice. 
  • Spring Term: two further modules of your choice.
  • Summer Term and vacation: a dissertation of 15,000 words.
If you study the course part-time you'll take one option in each of the Autumn and Spring Terms, and work on your dissertation during the Summer Terms and vacations. 

Modules
You'll study one core module and four option modules. 

Core module 
Research Skills in History of Art (10 credits)

Option modules (20 credits each)
The list of options offered each year will vary according to staff availability. Modules offered may change before the start of the academic year. 

Term 1

Art and Imagery in York Minster 
British Post-War Architecture: Anglo-Scandos, Brutalists and “Trad Dads” 
Home, Habitat & Community in Modern Italian Art 
JMW Turner 
Medieval Islamic Architecture on the Frontiers: Synthesis, Innovation & Change 
Peter Paul Rubens: Painting for Peace in an Age of War
Scrolls & Serpents: The Arts of the Early Insular World 
The Domestic Interior, Italy c.1400 - 1550 
The History of Art History in Britain 

Term 2

Art, Mass Media and Communication, 1945-1991 
Bauhaus Worlds 
Ceramic Arts of the Islamic World: A Framework for Study 
England, Europe, Elsewhere: The Art and Architecture of Medieval England and its International Context
Fashion, Theories, Materials and Images (1540 - 1940) 
‘Painting on Light’: Stained Glass in the Medieval Tradition 
The Art of the Pre-Raphaelites 
Topics and Methods in Contemporary Art 

You can choose up to two option modules from those offered by other humanities departments at York and by our interdisciplinary centres.

Centre for Medieval Studies (CMS)
Centre for Renaissance and Early Modern Studies (CREMS)
Centre for Eighteenth-Century Studies (CECS)
Centre for Modern Studies (CModS)



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