History of Art MPhil/PhD

UCL History of Art is top-rated for research; our staff are active researchers in a range of specialist fields and there is a thriving graduate community. Graduate students participate in our weekly graduate seminar, and research students also write, edit and produce the journal Object. We also offer opportunities, posted on our Latest News and Events feed, for research students to work as Teaching Assistants in the department .

Careers

Recent graduates have been awarded prestigious postdoctoral fellowship and secured academic positions at top universities and research institutes in the UK, Europe, North America and Asia. Many have also pursued successful curatorial careers at major museums and collections in Britain, including Tate Modern, the Hayward Gallery, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Barbican Art Gallery and many more including museums and galleries abroad. Others work as art journalists or in publishing.

Employability

The PhD in the History of Art requires independent, self-motivated research and will teach students to formulate and convey their ideas both to specialised as well as to broader audiences. It will enable students to develop original thinking on all aspects of visual culture, drawing on historical and contemporary cultural debates. Students gain experience of working in different kinds of archives and with different approaches to visual material. PhD students are trained to work as teaching assistants in the department, and the combination of research and teaching skills prepares them for the diverse demands of an academic career.

A UK Master's degree in a relevant discipline (pass of 68% or better), or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. Students are normally required to have achieved an upper second-class UK Bachelor’s or its overseas equivalent at first degree level.