Art History and International Relations
Art History and International Relations is a combination that brings together the critical and interpretive tools of art history with the analytical frameworks of international relations, producing graduates who can engage with both the visual and the political dimensions of the world with sophistication and depth. Art history teaches you to read images and objects, to analyse their historical context, style, meaning and cultural significance, and to understand how visual culture has both reflected and shaped the exercise of power, the construction of identity and the development of societies across time. International relations, meanwhile, provides the frameworks for understanding how states, international organisations and global forces interact, and how questions of power, cooperation, conflict and justice play out at the global level.
At the University of St Andrews, this four-year full-time programme includes a year abroad, enriching your understanding of both art and international affairs through study in a different national and cultural context. You will develop visual literacy and engage with a range of critical approaches and theoretical frameworks in art history, exploring how visual culture functions in relation to politics, power and identity. Alongside this, you will build rigorous analytical skills in international relations, developing your ability to understand and interpret events, institutions and forces that shape the contemporary world.
Graduates from Art History and International Relations programmes are well-placed for careers in the arts, cultural diplomacy, international organisations, policy research, museums and galleries, journalism, broadcasting, publishing and academia. The combination of visual and analytical competence is particularly valued in cultural policy, heritage diplomacy and international cultural exchange. Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in art history, international relations, museum studies, cultural policy or area studies.