Art Museum and Gallery Studies PGDip

Course description

Supported by a large team of art museum and gallery specialists our Art Museum and Gallery Studies programme takes museum studies in a new direction. It focuses entirely on art institutions from beginning to end. In doing so, it recognises that art museums and galleries are a distinctive kind of institution and that they are best understood in relation to other kinds of art institution (biennials, art fairs, kunsthalles and so on), rather than in relation to other kinds of heritage attraction. In this programme we pay equal attention to collection-focused art museums and to contemporary art institutions. Our aim is to prepare you for work in a wide range of careers in the art sector and to understand that art sector as it is now.

This programme is shaped as a journey from student to art professional. You will begin by locating and deconstructing the art performances of both the great art museums and contemporary art institutions of various kinds. You will then explore how you can become an expert in the field and the role of the art curator. You will study how to manage and care for art objects and collections, and how to shape art experiences for the public so as to foster social change and life enrichment.

The programme concludes with an exhibition project that will involve you in working with artists and curating artworks, a week-long international field school examining the art ecology of a major European city, a research project of your own design, and an eight-week work placement at a museum or gallery

What's the difference?

If you wish to obtain an MA you will undertake supervised a research project into a topic of your choice. If you wish to obtain a Postgraduate Diploma you do not complete this research project.

Field trip

Included in the course fee are regular field trips to art museums and galleries around the country. Leicester is excellently placed to visit institutions in London and in the Midlands, the South West and North of England. The fee also includes a subsidised international field school in a major European city.

Careers and employability

Museum Studies at Leicester is committed to producing creative professionals. We will equip you with the core skills and knowledge necessary for a career in museums and art galleries. You will be encouraged to engage critically and creatively with the concepts and issues that underpin museum and gallery work. The course will broaden your philosophical approach to learning and equip you with the practical methods and skills you will need for a successful career in museums, galleries and related art institutions.

The MA in Art Museum and Gallery Studies provides you with the flexibility to follow your own area of specialism. Career development has shaped the course curriculum and collaborative working with a wide range of museums, galleries and other cultural organisations is critical to its development and delivery.

The course will give you the entry qualification for a career in museum and galleries. If you are already working in the sector it will provide you with the opportunity to develop new knowledge and skills to advance your career. Graduates of this course work in museums, galleries and related institutions around the world. Many have gone on to complete PhDs and are now university researchers and teachers. We also run our own jobs listing. It is one of the most popular in the sector.

Students need to have: Either a first class or second class degree, which can be in any subject area; Or be able to demonstrate equivalent skills and aptitudes through the possession of a professional or vocational qualification and/or the accrual of relevant work experiences. Relevant experience can come from a wide spectrum of work or voluntary environments but clear evidence of this experience must be provided. You should be able to demonstrate a commitment to, or strong interest in, museums, galleries, or other kinds of heritage or cultural organisation. If you do not have a degree, you will be asked complete an assessment, such as an essay, to demonstrate your readiness for postgraduate study. Clear guidance will be provided on assessment criteria. You may also be required to attend an interview.