Subject overview

Specialist facilities

Facilities include a well-equipped slide library containing over 100,000 colour transparencies, an extensive database of digital images, access to computing and word-processing training, and a library well stocked with secondary literature in the discipline and with online access to the British Library and other repositories. 

You are encouraged, where appropriate, to take advantage of local sites of art-historical interest: extensive collections in the Royal Pavilion and the museums of Brighton & Hove; local country houses such as Petworth and Firle; and the Bloomsbury Collection and the Charleston Trust. 

Academic activities

A regular research seminar, to which outside speakers are invited, provides a major forum for debate. You are also encouraged to attend seminars in other disciplines such as history, English, philosophy and anthropology. 

The Department of Art History plays a part in the Centre for Visual Fields, the Centre for Early Modern Studies and the Centre for Byzantine Cultural History. These form foci for a range of lectures, conferences and funded research projects. 

Programme outline

This MA enables you to develop academic skills relating to research methods in art history with a specific focus on photography, and to develop curatorial skills required by museum curators. 

You gain hands-on experience in a museum setting, working with curators in local and national collections. You will also study with faculty and curators in international, national and regional institutions, such as the V&A, the Tate, the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, Ditchling Museum, The Towner and the Charleston Trust. 

Assessment 

Assessed work includes term papers, several practical assignments, a learning journal (written during the placement as a reflection on that experience) and a 15,000-word dissertation. 

Entry requirements

UK entrance requirements

A first- or upper second-class undergraduate honours degree in art history or another relevant humanities or social science discipline.

Overseas entrance requirements

Overseas qualifications

If your country is not listed below, please contact the University at E pg.enquiries@sussex.ac.uk

Country	Overseas qualification
Australia	Bachelor (Honours) degree with second-class upper division
Brazil	Bacharel, Licenciado or professional title with a final mark of at least 8
Canada	Bachelor degree with CGPA 3.3/4.0 (grade B+)
China	Bachelor degree from a leading university with overall mark of 75%-85% depending on your university
Cyprus	Bachelor degree or Ptychion with a final mark of at least 7.5
France	Licence with mention bien or Maîtrise with final mark of at least 13
Germany	Bachelor degree or Magister Artium with a final mark of 2.4 or better
Ghana	Bachelor degree from a public university with second-class upper division
Greece	Ptychion from an AEI with a final mark of at least 7.5
Hong Kong	Bachelor (Honours) degree with second-class upper division
India	Bachelor degree from a leading institution with overall mark of at least 60% or equivalent
Iran	Bachelor degree (Licence or Karshenasi) with a final mark of at least 15
Italy	Diploma di Laurea with an overall mark of at least 105
Japan	Bachelor degree from a leading university with a minumum average of B+ or equivalent
Malaysia	Bachelor degree with class 2 division 1
Mexico	Licenciado with a final mark of at least 8
Nigeria	Bachelor degree with second-class upper division or CGPA of at least 3.0/4.0
Pakistan	Four-year bachelor degree, normally with a GPA of at least 3.3
Russia	Magistr or Specialist Diploma with a minimum average mark of at least 4
South Africa	Bachelor (Honours) degree or Bachelor degree in Technology with an overall mark of at least 70%
Saudi Arabia	Bachelor degree with an overall mark of at least 70% or CGPA 3.5/5.0 or equivalent
South Korea	Bachelor degree from a leading university with CGPA of at least 3.5/4.0 or equivalent
Spain	Licenciado with a final mark of at least 2/4
Taiwan	Bachelor degree with overall mark of 70%-85% depending on your university
Thailand	Bachelor degree with CGPA of at least 3.0/4.0 or equivalent
Turkey	Lisans Diplomasi with CGPA of at least 3.0/4.0 depending on your university
United Arab Emirates	Bachelor degree with CGPA of at least 3.5/4.0 or equivalent
USA	Bachelor degree with CGPA 3.3-3.5/4.0 depending on your university
Vietnam	Masters degree with CGPA 3.5/4.0 or equivalent

If you have any questions about your qualifications after consulting our overseas qualifications, contact the University at E pg.enquiries@sussex.ac.uk

Related programmes

• Contemporary History MA
• Intellectual History MA
• Modern European History MA

Fees and funding

Fees

Home UK/EU students: £7,300¹
Channel Island and Isle of Man students: £7,300²
Overseas students: £16,200³

¹ The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.
² The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.
³ The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.

Funding

The funding sources listed below are for the subject area you are viewing and may not apply to all degrees listed within it. Please check the description of the individual funding source to make sure it is relevant to your chosen degree.

Faculty interests

Our research interests cover a broad chronological spread – from Byzantium to the present – and a wide range of subjects – from 20th-century photography to women art critics, Tudor architecture, and art and travel. 

Research interests are briefly described below. For more detailed information, visit the Department of Art History. 

Dr Benedict Burbridge History and theory of photography, photography and contemporary art. Co-editor of Photoworks magazine. Co-curator of the Brighton Photo Biennial (2012). 

Dr Meaghan Clarke 19th- and early 20th-century painting, photography and print culture in Europe and North America. Recently carried out a collection review at the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery. 

Dr Charlotte de Mille 19th- and 20th-century painting, music and philosophy. Former Programming Committee member for Late Night Openings at the Courtauld Gallery. 

Dr Flora Dennis Visual culture of 15th- and 16th-century Italy; domestic interiors. Co-curator of the V&A exhibition At Home in Renaissance Italy (2006-2007). 

Professor Maurice Howard Tudor art and architecture; French architecture 1500-1600; the history of ornament. President of the Society of Antiquaries and Senior Subject Specialist for the V&A’s British Galleries. 

Professor Liz James Classical and Byzantine art, light and colour, gender. Consultant on the Royal Academy exhibition Byzantium 330-1453 (2008-2009). 

Professor David Mellor 20th-century painting, film and photography; cultural and visual representation. Curator of The Bruce Lacey Experience (2012); contributor to Tate exhibitions on Henry Moore (2010). 

Dr Michelle O’Malley Renaissance painting, commissioning, production and consumption. Former Head of Education for exhibitions at the Royal Academy. 

Dr Geoffrey Quilley 18th-century art, travel and empire. Curator of the National Maritime Museum exhibition Art for the Nation: The Oil Paintings Collection of the National Maritime Museum (2006). 

Dr Carolyn Sargentson 18th-century French art and furniture. Former Head of Research at the V&A, currently cataloguing the V&A’s collections of French furniture. 

Careers and profiles

You will gain knowledge about objects and collections, specifically in the context of photography, and develop a critical awareness of museum practices. This MA will also enhance your communications skills, enabling you to present your work to a professional standard in a range of formats, as well as help you develop your project- and resource-management skills. These skills provide the practical and theoretical foundation for careers in museums, galleries, heritage at curatorial level, or in equivalent fields in the academic or heritage sectors. 

School and contacts