Prospective Postgraduates

students

The School of Art History supports a large, diverse and active community of postgraduate students in Art History, Museum and Gallery Studies and History of Photography. The School has an international reputation for high-quality research and outstanding teaching that creates a stimulating and friendly intellectual environment in which to pursue further study. Each year between 30 and 40 students are admitted to the different research and taught programmes. The School extends a warm welcome to students from all of the UK and overseas, giving it an open and international perspective. The picturesque seaside town of St Andrews, with its landmark castle and Gothic cathedral ruins, and its surrounding dramatic coastline, provides a unique, visually dramatic setting in which to live and study. Whilst intimate in scale St Andrews has excellent transport links, which mean that the cities, libraries, museums and galleries of Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Dundee are within easy reach.    

The recent Research Assessment Exercise (RAE 2008) rated 75% of the research of the School’s staff as world-leading or internationally excellent. This rating reflects the sustained commitment of the School to research-oriented postgraduate teaching. In turn, postgraduate students make a vital contribution to the research culture of the School, organising colloquia and conferences, publishing an annual journal entitled Journal of Art History and Museum Studies, running independent reading groups, curating exhibitions and contributing to the Research Seminar series in the School.  

Postgraduate Programmes

The School offers five levels of postgraduate study in Art History, History of Photography and Museum and Gallery Studies. The Certificate is offered in Museum and Gallery Studies only and requires that attendees complete two taught courses. The Graduate Diploma entails two semesters of coursework study; the MLitt entails a year of coursework and a summer dissertation; the MPhil comprises two years of full-time study, usually two semesters of coursework and a 40,000 word thesis; and the PhD requires three years of research and an 80,000 word thesis. Part-time study options are available for most of these programmes.

Funding