History of Art and Literature with a Year Abroad

History of art and literature with a year abroad combines two of the richest disciplines through which human beings have tried to make sense of their experience, the visual image and the written word, and adds an international dimension that transforms the degree from a purely academic exercise into a genuinely cosmopolitan education. The history of art and literature are deeply entangled: writers have always responded to pictures and sculptures, and artists have drawn on literary and mythological traditions. Studying both allows you to ask questions about representation, meaning, and culture that neither discipline can fully answer on its own.

At the University of East Anglia, this four-year full-time programme includes a year abroad, giving you the opportunity to study at a partner institution in another country and to experience different national traditions of art and literary scholarship. UEA is an exceptional location for both disciplines: its creative writing tradition has shaped contemporary British fiction, and its relationship with the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts gives students direct and regular access to one of the most significant collections of modernist and non-Western art in Britain. You will develop skills in close reading and close looking in parallel, studying literary and artistic texts across a broad historical and geographical range, and engaging with the critical and theoretical traditions that scholars have developed to interpret them.

A typical entry tariff of 136 points reflects the programme's accessibility.

Graduates work in galleries, museums, publishing, arts journalism, education, heritage organisations, and the wider cultural sector. The year abroad is a significant professional differentiator and enriches both the academic work and the graduate profile. Further study at master's level in art history, literature, or museum and gallery studies is a natural continuation.

The combination of strong writing ability, visual cultural literacy, and international experience is valued by employers across many creative and intellectual fields.