History of Art

History of art is the systematic study of visual culture across time, geography and tradition. It addresses questions about what art is and what it does, how images and objects communicate meaning, how artistic production is shaped by social and political context, how canons are formed and contested, and how works survive, are interpreted and change significance across centuries. It is a discipline that demands close visual attention, rigorous historical research and the ability to construct arguments from the combination of formal analysis, primary sources and secondary scholarship.

At UCL, with its exceptional access to London's world-class museums, galleries and collections, this three-year programme takes you across a wide range of periods, media, and cultural traditions. You will study painting, sculpture, architecture, drawing and printmaking alongside photography, film and digital visual culture, examining works from the ancient world through to the contemporary. UCL's location in Bloomsbury, surrounded by the British Museum, the National Gallery, the Courtauld Institute and many other institutions, means that engagement with original works of art is embedded in your study.

The programme develops visual literacy, research skills and the capacity for critical and contextual argument. The typical entry tariff is 152 UCAS points.

Graduates work in museums and galleries, auction houses, art dealing, publishing, arts journalism, cultural policy, heritage organisations, arts administration, education and academic research. The analytical and communicative skills the subject develops also transfer into commercial and public sector roles in which the ability to engage critically with visual and cultural material is valued. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in art history, museum studies, curatorship, conservation or related disciplines.