Introduction
Art History and History at Aberdeen is the perfect combination to immerse yourself in all aspects of human activity in the past, together with the study of art, architecture, and curation, covering a wide range of media and techniques and situating European art in its global connectedness and its full complexities. You will gain valuable specialist and transferable skills to open up a range of exciting career options.
Study Information
At a Glance
- Learning Mode
- On Campus Learning
- Degree Qualification
- MA
- Duration
- 48 months
- Study Mode
- Full Time
- Start Month
- September
- UCAS Code
- VV13
- Pathway Programme Available
You will be enthused and inspired by teachers who are leaders in their fields, with expertise as diverse as medieval Scandinavia, early modern Poland and modern East Asia and enthralled by our wonderful collections of historic treasures collected by distinguished alumni over the centuries.
You will complement this with research-led teaching in Art History, emphasising critical thinking and theoretical engagement and reflection, delivered by academics whose specialisms include environmental and political art, exhibition history and curation, theory and historiography, from the medieval period to the present day.
Your specialist skills make you ideally placed to enter the art gallery and museum sectors, arts education, publishing and journalism, or fine art conservation. Your language skills will open international opportunities, and your transferable skills, including teamwork, time management, and highly developed enquiry, analytical and presentational skills, will appeal to employers in all fields.
What You'll Study
- Year 1
-
Year 1: Compulsory Courses
- Getting Started at the 51cg (PD1002)
-
This course, which is prescribed for level 1 undergraduate students and articulating students who are in their first year at the University, is studied entirely online, takes approximately 2-3 hours to complete and can be taken in one sitting, or spread across the first 4 weeks of term.
Topics include University orientation overview, equality & diversity, MySkills, health, safety and cyber security, and academic integrity.
Successful completion of this course will be recorded on your Transcript as ‘Achieved’.
- Making History (HI1027)
-
15 Credit Points
This course will introduce students to the subject of university level history. Team taught lectures will introduce students to approaches, sources, and the dilemmas facing academic historians.
Year 1: Optional Courses
Plus 30 credit points from Level 1 History or Art History courses.
Plus further courses of choice to make up 120 credit points.
- Year 2
-
Year 2: Compulsory Courses
- What is Art? (AH2001)
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30 Credit Points
‘Art’ is a controversial category. In museums, you might see urinals and cardboard boxes exhibited – but what earns them this accolade? Is it about skill? Creativity? Beauty? Who decides what counts as ‘good’ art? And why are museums full of stuff made by white men? This course discusses these and related questions. It will introduce you to a wide range of historical definitions of art, and discuss key works, from antiquity to Instagram - many of which challenged the boundaries of ‘art’.
- Art Matters: Materials and Techniques (AH2503)
-
30 Credit Points
This course focuses on how artworks are made. Students will be introduced to a wide range of materials, techniques and processes over the centuries relating to paintings, prints, drawings, sculpture, photography and more. Each method and material will be examined using case-study examples, with discussion opening out to issues of the agency of materials and media and their cultural logics. In doing so, students will learn how artistic intentions are shaped and determined by material qualities.
Year 2: Optional Courses
Plus 60 credit points from available Level 2 History courses
- Year 3
-
Year 3: Compulsory Courses
- Thinking History (HI356J)
-
30 Credit Points
This course looks at how history is written. It considers the problems involved in studying and explaining the past, and the many dilemmas faced by historians in reconstructing it. By examining the ways in which history has been written from the Ancient Greeks to Postmodernism, it considers the limits of historical study, asks whether history can ever be a science, and reveals the assumptions behind the various approaches to history that inform its writing. It is designed to provide honours history students with an essential understanding of what they are doing when they study history.
Year 3: Optional Courses
ONE of the following:
- Surrealism and its Legacies in Contemporary Art (AH3012)
- Architecture and Power (AH3014)
And ONE of the following
- Curation: Theory and Practice (AH3501)
- Women Writing Art History, c. 1850-1970 (AH3515)
- Painting in Tudor and Early Stuart England (AH3517)
PLUS 30 credit points from Level 3 History courses OR History of Medicine (ME33HM)
- History of Medicine (ME33HM)
-
30 Credit Points
The course will involve each student working individually on a historical project of his or her own choice, under the supervision of the course co-ordinator.
Students will be required to produce a research proposal and progress reports, to prepare an essay and make a presentation of their findings to the class. The aim of the option is to give students the opportunity to research and present, individually, in spoken and written forms, a history of medicine topic of their own choice, using both primary and secondary sources.
- Year 4
-
Year 4: Compulsory Courses
Select one Special Subject course (listed below), worth 30 credits and starting HI 40XX
Year 4: Optional Courses
Plus 30 credit points of Level 4 Art History courses if dissertation taken in History.
Select ONE of the following dissertation options:
- Dissertation in History (HI4516)
- History of Art Dissertation (AH4518) AND History in Practice (HI4518)
Also, select ONE of the following:
- AH4012 - Surrealism and Its Legacies in Contemporary Art
- AH4014 - Architecture and Power
- AH4011 - Art and the City
Select a Special Subject course, plus 30 credit points of Level 4 Art History courses if the dissertation is taken in History.
- Undergraduate Dissertation in History (HI4516)
-
30 Credit Points
The undergraduate dissertation is the final-year major research undertaking, based on primary and secondary material and providing a critical analysis of a specific subject chosen by the student. It is obligatory for Single Honours students, whereas Joint Honours students choose to write their dissertation in either of the two subjects. After initial sessions about the nature of the dissertation and research approaches, students develop a topic with the help of a member of staff, who will also supervise their project throughout.
We will endeavour to make all course options available. However, these may be subject to change - see our Student Terms and Conditions page. In exceptional circumstances there may be additional fees associated with specialist courses, for example field trips.
How You'll Study
Learning Methods
- Field Trips
- Group Projects
- Individual Projects
- Lectures
- Tutorials
Assessment Methods
Students are assessed by a combination of assessment methods, including:
- Essays
- Source analyses
- Visual-based assessments
- Reflective reports
- Presentations
The exact mix of these methods differs between subject areas, year of study and individual courses. In addition, all Honours students submit a dissertation.
Why Study Art History and History?
Why Art History
- Our magnificent art collection, including the generous gifts of alumni through the centuries, and modern artworks by leading Scottish artists, makes our spaces special, adding thought-provoking inspiration to our campus.
- The inspiration of the beautiful King’s College Chapel, begun in 1495 by University founder Bishop Elphinstone, is a treasure-house of history, showcasing some of the finest work of medieval craftsmen in Europe.
- Spectacular, award-winning Sir Duncan Rice Library with an excellent modern collection of art history books covering all periods, particularly strong in 18th and 19th century material, including art theory and criticism, archaeology and travel.
- The Department of Art History believes in first-hand engagement with artworks and architecture. Field trips to galleries, museums and heritage collections take place at every level of study. Fourth-year students have the opportunity to study and then visit a major European city, with recent destinations including Florence and Berlin.
- Opportunities to undertake paid internships and volunteering with local arts and culture organisations, including Aberdeen Art Gallery, Grampian Hospital Arts Trust and Peacock Visual Arts.
- A vibrant urban arts scene featuring cultural events across the year, including Nuart, the internationally renowned street art festival, and Spectra, Scotland’s Festival of Light.
- A packed campus programme of student and public events, departmental research seminars, and exhibitions.
Interested in this programme?
Entry Requirements
Qualifications
The information below is provided as a guide only and does not guarantee entry to the 51cg.
General Entry Requirements
- 2026 Entry
-
SQA Highers
Standard: BBBB
Applicants that present with BBBB will usually receive an unconditional offer.
Where we have more applicants than places we may need to ask for more than the minimum so continued engagement in school is recommended.
Widening Access: BBC
Applicants who meet one or more of our widening access metrics and present with BBC, are guaranteed an unconditional offer.
Foundation Apprenticeship: One FA is equivalent to a Higher at A. It cannot replace any required subjects.
Note: We do not double count a Higher and Advanced Higher in the same subject, but we do consider that a B grade at Advanced Higher is equivalent to an A grade at Higher.
National 5 English (or equivalent) is required at Grade C or above.
A LEVELS
Standard: BBC
Widening Access: CCC
GCSE English (or equivalent) is required at Grade C/4 or above.
BTEC LEVEL 3 EXTENDED DIPLOMA
DMM in related subjects.
Note: BTEC Level 3 Extended Certificate (Subsidiary Diploma) achieved at Distinction level, is normally acceptable in lieu of one A Level at grade B.)
GCSE English (or equivalent) is required at Grade C/4 or above. GCSE Mathematics at Grade C/4 is also required for Accountancy, Economics and Finance programmes.
IRISH LEAVING CERTIFICATE
Five subjects at Higher at H3.
INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE
32 points including 5, 5, 5 at HL.
SL in English is also required.
- 2027 Entry
-
SQA Highers
Standard: BBBB
Applicants that present with BBBB will usually receive an unconditional offer.
Where we have more applicants than places we may need to ask for more than the minimum so continued engagement in school is recommended.
Widening Access: BBC
Applicants who meet one or more of our widening access metrics and present with BBC, are guaranteed an unconditional offer.
Foundation Apprenticeship: One FA is equivalent to a Higher at A. It cannot replace any required subjects.
Note: We do not double count a Higher and Advanced Higher in the same subject, but we do consider that a B grade at Advanced Higher is equivalent to an A grade at Higher.
National 5 English (or equivalent) is required at Grade C or above.
A LEVELS
Standard: BBC
Widening Access: CCC
GCSE English (or equivalent) is required at Grade C/4 or above.
BTEC LEVEL 3 EXTENDED DIPLOMA
DMM in related subjects.
Note: BTEC Level 3 Extended Certificate (Subsidiary Diploma) achieved at Distinction level, is normally acceptable in lieu of one A Level at grade B.)
GCSE English (or equivalent) is required at Grade C/4 or above. GCSE Mathematics at Grade C/4 is also required for Accountancy, Economics and Finance programmes.
IRISH LEAVING CERTIFICATE
Five subjects at Higher at H3.
INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE
32 points including 5, 5, 5 at HL.
SL in English is also required.
The information displayed in this section shows a shortened summary of our entry requirements. For more information, or for full entry requirements for Arts and Social Sciences degrees, see our .
Fees and Funding
You will be classified as one of the fee categories below.
- EU / International students
-
- Tuition Fees for 2026/27 Academic Year
- £20,800
- Tuition Fees for 2026/27 Academic Year (Self-funded Students *)
- £14,800
-
The above fee includes the £6,000 Aberdeen Global Scholarship provided to self-funded international students. Full terms and conditions apply.
- Home Students
-
- Tuition Fees for 2026/27 Academic Year
- £1,820
- England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Republic of Ireland
-
- Tuition Fees for 2026/27 Academic Year
- £9,790
-
The UK Government has confirmed that the RUK fee cap will continue to increase each year to reflect inflation. Tuition fees will increase in line with the Government fee cap each year, and this should be taken into account when budgeting.
Scholarships and Funding
UK Scholarship
Students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland, who pay tuition fees may be eligible for specific scholarships allowing them to receive additional funding. These are designed to provide assistance to help students support themselves during their time at Aberdeen.
Aberdeen Global Scholarship
The 51cg is delighted to offer eligible self-funded international on-campus undergraduate students a £6,000 scholarship for every year of their programme. More about this funding opportunity.
Funding Database
View all funding options in our Funding Database.
Careers
Our graduates gain essential skills, including critical thinking, oral and written communication, task management and organised and disciplined working practices, which are crucial in a wide range of professional careers.
By working in partnership with local collections and cultural institutions, Art History students at Aberdeen develop desirable vocational awareness, preparing them for future careers. Our Art History alumni have gone on to work in museums and galleries, the art trade and auction houses, fine art and building conservation, publishing, journalism, libraries and universities.
There are many opportunities at the 51cg to develop your knowledge, gain experience and build a competitive set of both degree-specific and transferable skills to enhance your employability. This is essential for your future career success. The Careers and Employability Service can help you to plan your career and support your choices throughout your time with us, from first to final year, and beyond.
Our Experts
Information 51cg Staff Changes
You will be taught by a range of experts including professors, lecturers, teaching fellows and postgraduate tutors. However, these may be subject to change - see our Student Terms and Conditions page.
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Get in Touch
Contact Details
- Address
-
Student Recruitment & Admissions
51cg
University Office
Regent Walk
Aberdeen
AB24 3FX