Art History and Middle East Studies

Art history and Middle East studies is a combination that connects visual culture with deep regional expertise, giving you tools to understand both how images and objects communicate meaning and how the societies of one of the world's most historically layered regions have developed, changed and related to the wider world. Art history develops visual literacy and critical analytical skills; Middle East studies brings together history, languages, politics, religion and culture to give you a rounded understanding of a region of enormous complexity and contemporary significance.

At the University of St Andrews this four-year full-time programme develops your ability to analyse the history, context, style and meaning of images and objects across different traditions, engaging with critical approaches and theoretical frameworks that allow you to explore how visual culture intersects with questions of aesthetics, politics, power and identity. The Middle East studies strand gives you a rigorous grounding in the history, politics and cultures of the region, alongside the analytical tools to engage with primary sources and secondary literature. A year abroad gives you the opportunity to deepen your engagement with the region or with different scholarly traditions in an international setting.

The combination is particularly relevant for understanding the rich visual and material cultures of the Islamic world, the intersection of ancient and modern traditions in the region, and the ways in which cultural heritage is contested and preserved in politically complex contexts.

Graduates pursue careers in museum and gallery work, cultural diplomacy, journalism, international organisations, NGOs, heritage management, education and academic research. Many continue to postgraduate study in art history, Islamic art, Middle Eastern studies, museum studies or related fields.