History and History of Art

History and history of art is a combination that explores the forces shaping societies and cultures from two complementary angles. History examines events, structures, and ideas through documentary evidence, asking why things happened and what their consequences were. History of art examines the visual and material products of those same societies, asking what their art, architecture, and objects reveal about values, beliefs, social hierarchies, and the way people made sense of their worlds.

Together they offer a rich and multidimensional account of the past.

At the University of York, you will combine two rich historical subjects, developing skills in archival research, visual analysis, and critical writing. History of art allows you to explore not only what was produced but how it has been collected, displayed, and interpreted over time, which is itself a historical question. Your history studies will satisfy your curiosity about the past, develop your understanding of specific periods and problems, and enable you to make discoveries that are genuinely new.

The programme runs over three years full-time and includes a sandwich placement year, a year abroad, and a work placement, giving you substantial professional and international experience within the degree.

Graduates of history and history of art programmes pursue careers in museums and galleries, auction houses, heritage management, publishing, journalism, education, the civil service, and the cultural sector. The combination of historical depth and visual analytical skill is particularly valued in curatorial, archival, and arts administration roles. Many graduates also go on to postgraduate study in art history, museum studies, or history, where the interdisciplinary breadth of their undergraduate training opens a range of research pathways.