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Art History

Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma

Application options include:

Full-time Part-time
On campus

Course Overview

On this art history course you will gain the chance to work closely with internationally recognised experts who are defining the field conducting groundbreaking research in periods from medieval to contemporary.

A core part of this course is learning about what it takes to become an art historian. You will learn to engage with the visual, material and contextual attributes of art objects across a range of different forms of art and periods. Through visual analysis and critical reading of selected academic texts, you will learn the foundational skills to allow you to develop your own art historical research project by the end of the year.

You will then have the chance to follow your interests with option modules in which you will study alongside final-year BA students. Led by a tutor who specialises in a particular period, you will consider, in depth, the approaches and issues raised when considering the art of that time, place and culture.

Your study on this course will also be enriched by museum and site visits, visiting speakers and screenings. 

We offer this art history course as a Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate. Both are intensive conversion courses designed for students with a first degree in another subject who wish to pursue a Master's degree in the history of art or architecture. They offer you the chance to develop your skills of visual analysis, critical thinking, academic writing and research experience to prepare you to embark on further postgraduate study, for example our MA History of Art, MA History of Photography, MA History of Art with Curating or MA Museum Cultures.

On both routes you will take the core module Art History: Skills and Approaches. You will then take one option module if you study the Certificate or three if you study the Diploma. Please contact us if you are unsure about what level of study would best suit you.

Discover the career opportunities available by taking Art History (Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma).

Key information and modules

Find another course:

Highlights

  • Birkbeck was ranked as one of the top four universities in the UK for its Art and Design research in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.
  • You can attend a wide range of events, including the Postgraduate Research Seminar, which brings art historians from all over the UK and beyond to speak at Birkbeck; the biennial Murray Lecture; the Murray Seminar on Medieval and Renaissance Art; the exhibitions and displays at Birkbeck's Peltz Gallery; and events at the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities. 
  • You will have access to an incredible range of resources, including the Birkbeck Library and our in-house resources centre, the British Library, specialist libraries at the University of London, Courtauld Institute of Art, Royal Institute of British Architects and V&A, as well as the visual resources of the British Museum, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Tate Britain, Tate Modern, V&A, Barbican Gallery, Institute of Contemporary Arts, Hayward Gallery and Royal Academy, and many commercial galleries and salesrooms.
  • We encourage you to become involved in our lively research culture through the History and Theory of Photography Research Centre, the Architecture, Space and Society Centre, the Centre for Museum Cultures and the Vasari Research Centre, which has pioneered the field of digital art history.
  • You will have the option to join our study trips, offered each spring. Cities visited in the last few years include Florence, Paris, Venice, Vienna, Rome, Berlin and Moscow.
Come and meet us Request a prospectus Contact us

Birkbeck makes all reasonable efforts to deliver educational services, modules and programmes of study as described on our website. In the event that there are material changes to our offering (for example, due to matters beyond our control), we will update applicant and student facing information as quickly as possible and offer alternatives to applicants, offer-holders and current students.

Most of our courses are taught in the evenings, however some of our courses offer a daytime timetable. Where there is an option to attend daytime teaching sessions, this is stated in the Key Information section under Attendance.

  • Entry Requirements Entry Requirements

    Entry Requirements

    A second-class honours degree (2:2 or above) from a UK university, or an equivalent international qualification.

    If you do not already hold a first degree, but believe that you are a suitable candidate for either the Certificate or Diploma through other experience and educational achievements, please contact the admissions tutor.

    Applications are reviewed on their individual merits and your professional qualifications and/or relevant work experience will be taken into consideration positively. We actively support and encourage applications from mature learners.

    On your application form, please list all your relevant qualifications and experience, including those you expect to achieve.

    Apply now to secure your place. The earlier you apply, the sooner your application can be considered and you can enrol. You do not need to have completed your current qualification to start your application.

    English language requirements

    If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, the requirement for this course is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 6.5, with not less than 6.0 in each of the sub-tests.

    If you don't meet the minimum IELTS requirement, we offer pre-sessional English courses and foundation programmes to help you improve your English language skills and get your place at Birkbeck.

    Visit the International section of our website to find out more about our English language entry requirements and relevant requirements by country.

    Visa and funding requirements

    If you are not from the UK and you do not already have residency here, you may need to apply for a visa.

    The visa you apply for varies according to the length of your course:

    • Courses of more than six months' duration: Student visa
    • Courses of less than six months' duration: Standard Visitor visa

    International students who require a Student visa should apply for our full-time courses as these qualify for Student visa sponsorship. If you are living in the UK on a Student visa, you will not be eligible to enrol as a student on Birkbeck's part-time courses (with the exception of some modules).

    For full information, read our visa information for international students page.

    Please also visit the international section of our website to find out more about relevant visa and funding requirements by country.

    Please note students receiving US Federal Aid are only able to apply for in-person, on-campus programmes which will have no elements of online study.

    Credits and accredited prior learning (APL)

    If you have studied at university, you may have accumulated credits through the modules you studied. It may be possible to transfer these credits from your previous study to Birkbeck or another institution.

  • Fees Fees

    Fees

    Art History Graduate Certificate: 1 year part-time, on campus, starting in academic year 2025-26

    Academic year 2025–26, starting October 2025

    Part-time home students: £3,690 per year
    Part-time international students: £6,780 per year

    Art History Graduate Diploma: 1 year full-time or 2 years part-time, on campus, starting in academic year 2025-26

    Academic year 2025–26, starting October 2025

    Part-time home students: £3,690 per year
    Full-time home students: £7,380 per year
    Part-time international students: £6,780 per year
    Full-time international students: £13,560 per year

    Art History Graduate Diploma: 3 years part-time, on campus, starting in academic year 2025-26

    Academic year 2025–26, starting October 2025

    Part-time home students: £3,690 per year
    Part-time international students: £6,780 per year

    Students are charged a tuition fee in each year of their course. Tuition fees for students continuing on their course in following years may be subject to annual inflationary increases. For more information, please see the College Fees Policy.

    If you’ve studied at Birkbeck before and successfully completed an award with us, take advantage of our Lifelong Learning Guarantee to gain a discount on the tuition fee of this course.

    Discover the financial support available to you to help with your studies at Birkbeck.

    International scholarships

    We provide a range of scholarships for eligible international students, including our Global Future Scholarship. Discover if you are eligible for a scholarship.

  • Teaching and Assessment Teaching and Assessment

    Teaching

    At Birkbeck, most of our courses are taught in the evening and all of our teaching is designed to support students who are juggling evening study with work and other commitments. We actively encourage innovative and engaging ways of teaching, to ensure our students have the best learning experience.

    Teaching may include formal lectures, seminars, and practical classes and tutorials. Formal lectures are used in most degree programmes to give an overview of a particular field of study. They aim to provide the stimulus and the starting point for deeper exploration of the subject during your own personal reading. Seminars give you the chance to explore a specific aspect of your subject in depth and to discuss and exchange ideas with fellow students. They typically require preparatory study.

    In addition, you will have access to pastoral support via a named Personal Tutor.

    Methods of teaching on this course

    Teaching is based around a mixture of lecture-hall learning and classroom seminar-style teaching in small groups (maximum 21). Classroom teaching is varied and may include interactive lectures, class discussion, set readings, group work and class visits to galleries or museums.

    See individual modules for the details of staff teaching on this course. 

    Key teaching staff on this course

    Staff who may teach include:

    Teaching hours

    Our evening hours are normally between 6pm and 9pm (6-7.30pm and 7.30-9pm). Some programmes also offer teaching during the day and this will be clearly signposted to you where it is available.

    On our taught courses, you will have scheduled teaching and study sessions each year. Scheduled teaching sessions may include lectures, seminars, workshops or laboratory work. Depending on the modules you take, you may also have additional scheduled academic activities, such as tutorials, dissertation supervision, practical classes, visits and field trips. On our taught courses, the actual amount of time you spend in the classroom and in contact with your lecturers will depend on your course, the option modules you select and when you undertake your final-year project (if applicable).

    Alongside your contact hours, you will also undertake assessment activities and independent learning outside of class. The amount of time you need to allocate to study both for taught sessions (this might include online sessions and/or in-person sessions) and personal study will depend on how much you are studying during the year and whether you are studying full time or part time.

    Birkbeck’s courses are made up of modules and allocated ‘credit’. One credit is equivalent to ten hours of learning time. Modules are usually in 15, 30 or 60 credit units. A 15-credit module will mean around 150 hours of learning, including taught sessions and independent study or group work. This is spread out over the whole period of that module and includes the time you spend on any assessments, including in examinations, preparing and writing assessments or engaged in practical work as well as any study support sessions to help you in your learning.

    On our distance-learning and blended-learning courses, discussion, collaboration and interaction with your lecturers and fellow students is encouraged and enabled through various learning technologies.

    Timetables

    Timetables are usually available from September onwards and you can access your personalised timetable via your My Birkbeck Profile online (if you have been invited to enrol).

    Indicative class size

    Class sizes vary, depending on your course, the module you are undertaking, and the method of teaching. For example, lectures are presented to larger groups, whereas seminars usually consist of small, interactive groups led by a tutor.

    Independent learning

    On our taught courses, much of your time outside of class will be spent on self-directed, independent learning, including preparing for classes and following up afterwards. This will usually include, but is not limited to, reading books and journal articles, undertaking research, working on coursework and assignments, and preparing for presentations and assessments.

    Independent learning is absolutely vital to your success as a student. Everyone is different, and the study time required varies topic by topic, but, as a guide, expect to schedule up to five hours of self-study for each hour of teaching.

    Study skills and additional support

    Birkbeck offers study and learning support to undergraduate and postgraduate students to help them succeed. Our Learning Development Service can help you in the following areas:

    • academic skills (including planning your workload, research, writing, exam preparation and writing a dissertation)
    • written English (including structure, punctuation and grammar)
    • numerical skills (basic mathematics and statistics).

    Our Disability and Dyslexia Service can support you if you have additional learning needs resulting from a disability or from dyslexia.

    Our Counselling Service can support you if you are struggling with emotional or psychological difficulties during your studies.

    Our Mental Health Advisory Service can support you if you are experiencing short- or long-term mental health difficulties during your studies.

    Assessment

    Assessment is an integral part of your university studies and usually consists of a combination of coursework and examinations, although this will vary from course to course - on some of our courses, assessment is entirely by coursework. The methods of assessment on this course are specified below under 'Methods of assessment on this course'. You will need to allow time to complete coursework and prepare for exams.

    Where a course has unseen written examinations, these may be held termly, but, on the majority of our courses, exams are usually taken in the Summer term, during May to June. Exams may be held at other times of the year as well. In most cases, exams are held during the day on a weekday - if you have daytime commitments, you will need to make arrangements for daytime attendance - but some exams are held in the evening. Exam timetables are published online.

    Find out more about assessment at Birkbeck, including guidance on assessment, feedback and our assessment offences policy.

    Methods of assessment on this course

    Coursework consisting of essays, including a 5000-word extended essay, research exercises and a research portfolio.

    Across the course you will build from a short visual-analysis-based essay through to longer pieces of writing and ultimately your own, self-devised research essay on a topic of your choice. You will be guided on this learning journey by a personal tutor and detailed, supportive feedback on each piece of work you submit.

    See individual modules for specific assessment details for each module. 

  • Careers and employability Careers and employability

    Careers and employability

    Graduates can pursue career paths in the creative arts, media and education. Possible professions include:

    • museum/gallery curator
    • arts administrator
    • advertising account executive
    • community arts worker
    • multimedia specialist
    • higher education lecturer.

    We offer a comprehensive careers service - Careers and Enterprise - your career partner during your time at Birkbeck and beyond. At every stage of your career journey, we empower you to take ownership of your future, helping you to make the connection between your experience, education and future ambitions.

  • How to apply How to apply

    How to apply

    You apply directly to Birkbeck for this course, using the online application link.

    You will need to prove your identity when you apply - read more about suitable forms of identification.

    When to apply

    You are strongly advised to apply now, to ensure there are still places on your chosen course and to give you enough time to complete the admissions process, to arrange funding and to enrol.

    You don't need to complete your current programme of study before you apply - Birkbeck can offer you a place that is conditional on your results.

    You will also receive information about subject-specific induction sessions over the summer.

    Help and advice with your application

    Get all the information you need about the application, admission and enrolment process at Birkbeck.

    Our online personal statement tool will guide you through every step of writing the personal statement part of your application.

    Apply for your course

    Apply for your course using the apply now button in the key information section.

Visit the School of Historical Studies

Related courses

Course structure

Course structure listing

Course structure and modules for Art History Graduate Diploma: 1 year full-time or 2 years part-time, on campus, starting October 2025

You must complete modules worth a total of 120 credits, consisting of:

  • one core module (30 credits)
  • either one Level 4 and two Level 6 option modules, or three Level 6 option modules (90 credits).
Core module
Indicative option modules - Level 4
Indicative option modules - Level 6

Please note that modules may change from year to year and not all option modules may be available every year.

Course structure and modules for Art History Graduate Diploma: 3 years part-time, on campus, starting October 2025

You must complete modules worth a total of 120 credits, consisting of:

  • one core module (30 credits)
  • either one Level 4 and two Level 6 option modules, or three Level 6 option modules (90 credits).
Core module
Indicative option modules - Level 4
Indicative option modules - Level 6

Please note that modules may change from year to year and not all option modules may be available every year.