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History of Art BA (UCAS V350)

General entry requirements

A levels

A level typical offer

ABB.

A level contextual offer

We welcome applications from candidates who meet the contextual eligibility criteria and whose predicted grades are close to, or slightly below, the contextual offer level. The typical contextual offer is BBB. See if you're eligible.

General GCSE requirements

Unless specified differently above, you will also need a minimum of GCSE grade 4 or C (or an equivalent qualification) in English Language and either Mathematics or a Science subject. Find out more about our entry requirements and the qualifications we accept. We advise that you also check the English Language requirements for your course which may specify a higher GCSE English requirement. Please find the information about this below.


IB

IB typical offer

34.

IB contextual offer

We welcome applications from candidates who meet the contextual eligibility criteria and whose predicted grades are close to, or slightly below, the contextual offer level. The typical contextual offer is 32. See if you're eligible.

General GCSE requirements

Unless specified differently above, you will also need a minimum of GCSE grade 4 or C (or an equivalent qualification) in English Language and either Mathematics or a Science subject. Find out more about our entry requirements and the qualifications we accept. We advise that you also check the English Language requirements for your course which may specify a higher GCSE English requirement. Please find the information about this below.


BTEC

We welcome applications from students taking BTEC qualifications, either alone or in combination with A levels. Our typical BTEC offers are as follows:

  • BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate plus 2 A levels: D plus AB
  • BTEC Level 3 National Diploma plus 1 A level: DD plus A
  • BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma: D*DD

International qualifications


Language requirements

All applicants have to meet our English Language requirements. If you cannot demonstrate that you meet these, you may be invited to take part in our Pre-sessional English course at Warwick.


Frequently asked questions

Warwick may make differential offers to students in a number of circumstances. These include students participating in a Widening Participation programme or who meet the contextual data criteria.

Differential offers will usually be one or two grades below Warwick’s standard offer.

All students who successfully complete the Warwick IFP and apply to Warwick through UCAS will receive a guaranteed conditional offer for a related undergraduate programme (selected courses only).

Find out more about standard offers and conditions for the IFP.

We welcome applications for deferred entry.

We do not typically interview applicants. Offers are made based on your UCAS form which includes predicted and actual grades, your personal statement and school reference.

Course overview

By studying art in the context of history, we gain new insight into the perceptions and intentions of the maker, as well as the times in which it was produced. We place a strong emphasis on organising field trips to a variety of museums and galleries, giving you the opportunity to appreciate and understand by experiencing artistic work directly. This is why you will spend a term in your second year, you will normally spend the autumn term in Venice.

Our carefully designed degree allows you to select the modules that suit your own interests. You will study a rich and varied range of art history, from the present day to the Middle Ages, supported by a range of site visits. You will also be taught in small class sizes to ensure close supervision by dedicated, research-active academic staff.


Study abroad

In your second year, you will spend the autumn term in Venice, where you will study the city's art and culture at first hand with our team of Renaissance and Contemporary specialists. You will be based at a study centre close to the Grand Canal, which provides a focus for our teaching and research activities in the city.

As part of all of our courses you have the opportunity to study abroad for a year with one of our partner institutions, or with the University of Monash in Australia.

The Study Abroad Team offers support for these activities, and the Department's dedicated Study Abroad Co-ordinator can provide more specific information and assistance.

Core modules

You can choose your own route throughout the degree, supported by core modules that establish the essential framework of the course. There is an increasing amount of choice from the first year onwards, and you choose the subject of your dissertation, under expert guidance. Your first year includes introductory core modules, which provide an overview of Western Art and the ways in which it is studied today. You can also choose optional modules on topics such as contemporary art, portraiture, sacred art, sculpture, print media, or architecture and photography.

You will normally spend the first term of your second year in Venice, before returning to Warwick to focus on specialised subjects including an optional practical art module. In your third year you will study research-based special subject modules, a core module on the issues in art history and complete a dissertation on a topic of your choice.


Year One

Introduction to Art History: Classicism and the Arts of Christianity

You will have the opportunity to carry out a historical survey of Western art, concentrating on Late Antique, Medieval and Renaissance art. You will learn skills and techniques that will allow you to describe accurately what you see, in terms of how an object is made, as well as its form and iconography. These core skills will form your foundation for later modules.

Introduction to Art History: The Natural World and the Arts of Modernity

You will study a thematic approach to the history of Western art, stimulating comparisons across time and space and exploring a wide spectrum of images and ideas, including those related to architecture and the applied arts. You will acquire introductory analytical and communication skills required for a good understanding of the field, including areas which will be useful for the study of later modules.

Study Skills for Art-Historians (non-credit bearing)

This is included in the two Survey modules and equips you with skills in understanding Christian iconography and the depiction of mythology, as well as in academic writing.

History of Art and Interpretation

In this module, you will enhance your awareness of the relationship between art and its historical and physical contexts, and of approaches to the work of art which can help you understand them. You will consider works of art in context at Waddesdon Manor and at other collections. You will learn the techniques and practices of interpretation which will be useful for later modules.

Year Two

Exhibiting the Contemporary (taught in Venice)

You will consider the importance of exhibitions for the interpretation of contemporary art and architecture. Based in Venice, you will study current exhibitions both within and outside the frame of the Biennale, in conjunction with texts on contemporary exhibition-making, curating, and museum and exhibition history.

Venice: Rise and Myth (taught in Venice)

You will examine the art and architecture of Venice in the light of its unique physical, political and cultural location. You will study key examples of architecture, painting and sculpture in the light of their commissioning, manufacture, consumption and subsequent critical fortune.

Year Three

Practices of Art History

You will examine a range of theoretical approaches from the discipline’s beginning in the early 19th century to contemporary debates. By exploring questions of theory and method, you will develop the skills of critical reading and the evaluation of evidence. You will be encouraged to reflect on your own theoretical allegiances, and to consider how these will shape your dissertation.

Dissertation


Optional modules

Year One

  • Architecture
  • Prints
  • Sacred Art
  • Sculpture
  • Fakes and Forgeries
  • Painting Techniques
  • Landscape

Year Two

  • Art since the 60s
  • Italian City States in the Age of Dante and Petrarch
  • A Fine Tomorrow: British Art and Culture in the 1950s
  • Practical Art
  • Art of the Baroque
  • The Renaissance: North and South
  • Art and Disruption, 1900 to Present Day
  • The Spaces of 17th-century Dutch Painting
  • The Aesthetic Movement

Year Three

  • Deconstructing Medieval and Early Modern Buildings
  • Colour and its Meaning
  • The Thirties: Art and Society in inter-war Britain
  • Reality after Film
  • Visual Art and Poetry
  • Latin-American Modernism: 20th-century Objects, 21st-century Exhibitions
  • East Meets West: Visual Arts in Colonial and Post-Colonial India
  • Leonardo: Art and Science

Assessment

We use a variety of assessment methods throughout your degree programme, including assessed essays, reports, work books, examinations, a research-based dissertation and (for the Practical Art and the exhibition-based modules) a portfolio of work responding to a specific practical task.

Your second and final year contribute 50% each towards your final mark.

Teaching

Modules are taught either through weekly lectures combined with seminars, or through small-group seminars alone. The fundamental importance of the direct experience of works of art is emphasised at every stage of your degree.

Seminars in galleries and museums, or site visits to key monuments and buildings, are integrated into modules. You can also study a studio-based Practical Art module in your second year.


Class sizes

Class sizes are normally 10-12 people.


Typical contact hours

In Year One you will have on average 10 hours of contact time (including lectures, seminars, field trips and tutorials) and around 27 hours of independent study per week. We provide written feedback on essays with the option of tutorials to discuss them further, and one-to-one tutorials during the preparation of your dissertation.

Tuition fees

Tuition fees cover the majority of the costs of your study, including teaching and assessment. Fees are charged at the start of each academic year. If you pay your fees directly to the University, you can choose to pay in instalments.

Undergraduate fees

If you are a home student enrolling in 2024, your annual tuition fees will be £9,250. In the future, these fees might change for new and continuing students.


How are fees set?

The British Government sets tuition fee rates.

Learn more about fees from UCASLink opens in a new window.

Undergraduate fees

If you are an overseas or EU student enrolling in 2024, your annual tuition fees will be as follows:

  • Band 1 – £24,800 per year (classroom-based courses, including Humanities and most Social Science courses)
  • Band 2 – £31,620 per year (laboratory-based courses, plus Maths, Statistics, Theatre and Performance Studies, Economics, and courses provided by Warwick Business School, with exceptions)

Fees for 2025 entry have not been set. We will publish updated information here as soon as it becomes available, so please check back for updates about 2025 fee rates before you apply.


Fee status guidance

We carry out an initial fee status assessment based on the information you provide in your application. Students will be classified as Home or Overseas fee status. Your fee status determines tuition fees, and what financial support and scholarships may be available. If you receive an offer, your fee status will be clearly stated alongside the tuition fee information.

Do you need your fee classification to be reviewed?

If you believe that your fee status has been classified incorrectly, you can complete a fee status assessment questionnaire. Please follow the instructions in your offer information and provide the documents needed to reassess your status.

Find out more about how universities assess fee status.Link opens in a new window


Additional course costs

As well as tuition fees and living expenses, some courses may require you to cover the cost of field trips or costs associated with travel abroad.

For departmental specific costs, please see the Modules tab on this web page for the list of core and optional core modules with hyperlinks to our Module CatalogueLink opens in a new window (please visit the Department’s website if the Module Catalogue hyperlinks are not provided).

Associated costs can be found on the Study tab for each module listed in the Module Catalogue (please note most of the module content applies to 2024/25 year of study). Information about module specific costs should be considered in conjunction with the more general costs below:

  • Core text books
  • Printer credits
  • Dissertation binding
  • Robe hire for your degree ceremony

Further information

Find out more about tuition fees from our Student Finance team.


Scholarships and bursaries

Learn about scholarships and bursaries available to undergraduate students.

We offer a number of undergraduate scholarships and bursaries to full-time undergraduate students. These include sporting and musical bursaries, and scholarships offered by commercial organisations.

Find out more about funding opportunities for full-time students.Link opens in a new window

If you are an international student, a limited number of scholarships may be available.

Find out more information on our international scholarship pages.Link opens in a new window


You may be eligible for financial help from your own government, from the British Council or from other funding agencies. You can usually request information on scholarships from the Ministry of Education in your home country, or from the local British Council office.


Warwick Undergraduate Global Excellence Scholarship

We believe there should be no barrier to talent. That's why we are committed to offering a scholarship that makes it easier for gifted, ambitious international learners to pursue their academic interests at one of the UK's most prestigious universities.

Find out more about the Warwick Undergraduate Global Excellence Scholarship.Link opens in a new window

We provide extra financial support for qualifying students from lower income families. The Warwick Undergraduate Bursary is an annual award of up to £3,000 per annum. It is intended to help with course-related costs and you do not have to pay it back.

Find out more about your eligibility for the Warwick Undergraduate Bursary.Link opens in a new window

As part of the 'City of Sanctuary' movement, we are committed to building a culture of hospitality and welcome, especially for those seeking sanctuary from war and persecution. We provide a range of scholarships to enable people seeking sanctuary or asylum to progress to access university education.

Find out more about the Warwick Undergraduate Sanctuary Scholarships for asylum seekers.Link opens in a new window

Further information

Find out more about Warwick undergraduate bursaries and scholarships.

Eligibility for student loans

Your eligibility for student finance will depend on certain criteria, such as your nationality and residency status, your course, and previous study at higher education level.

Check if you're eligible for student finance.

Tuition Fee Loan

You can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan to cover your tuition fees. It is non-means tested, which means the amount you can receive is not based on your household income. The Loan is paid directly to the University so, if you choose to take the full Tuition Fee Loan, you won’t have to set up any payments.

Maintenance Loan for living costs

You can apply for a Maintenance Loan towards your living costs such as accommodation, food and bills. This loan is means-tested, so the amount you receive is partially based on your household income and whether you choose to live at home or in student accommodation.

Find out more about government student loans for home students residing in England.Link opens in a new window

If you’re starting a course on or after 1 August 2021, you usually must have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement SchemeLink opens in a new window to get student finance.

Tuition Fee Loan

If you are an EU student and eligible for student finance you may be able to get a Tuition Fee Loan to cover your fees. It is non-means tested, which means the amount you may receive is not based on your household income. The Loan is paid directly to the University so, if you choose to take the full Tuition Fee Loan, you won't have to set up any payments.

Help with living costs

For the 2024 academic year, you may be eligible for help with your living costs if both of the following apply:

  • You have lived in the UK for more than 3 years before the first day of the first academic year of your course

And

If you are coming to the UK from 1st January 2021, you may need to apply for a visaLink opens in a new window to study here.

Please note: Irish citizens do not need to apply for a visa or to the EU Settlement Scheme.

Find out more about government student loans for EU studentsLink opens in a new window

Repaying your loans

You will repay your loan or loans gradually once you are working and earning above a certain amount (for students starting their course after 1 August 2023 the repayment threshold is £25,000). Repayments will be taken directly from your salary if you are an employee. If your income falls below the earnings threshold, your repayments will stop until your income goes back up above this figure.

Find out more about repaying your student loan.Link opens in a new window

Your career

Graduates from these courses have gone on to work in a wide range of sectors, including careers in:

  • Art galleries
  • Museums
  • Publishing
  • Libraries
  • Educational establishments
  • Heritage and conservation organisations
  • Research

They have pursued careers such as:

  • Curators
  • Exhibition project co-ordinators
  • Journalists
  • Newspaper and periodical editors
  • Business and financial project management professionals
  • Conference and exhibition managers and organisers
  • Human resources and industrial relations officers
  • Management consultants and business analysts
  • Office managers
  • Public relations professionals
  • Artists
  • Authors, writers and translators

Supporting your career

Our department has a dedicated professionally qualified Senior Careers Consultant to support you. They offer impartial advice and guidance, together with workshops and events throughout the year. Previous examples of workshops and events include:

  • Careers History of Art Alumni workshop
  • Discovering Careers in the Creative Industries
  • Warwick careers fairs throughout the year
  • History of Art – Securing Internships
  • Career planning and making applications

Find out more about careers support at Warwick.

History of Art at Warwick

Take the perspective that brings you closer

Art history is about getting closer to art, immersing yourself in art, seeing art from the perspective of the artist. But it is also about bringing your own perspective – your knowledge and experience – to bear. Art is where you and the artist meet.

When you graduate, you’ll be well equipped to enter a wide range of careers which require an ability to think analytically, to present ideas with clarity, and to communicate with others easily and convincingly.

Get to know us better by exploring our departmental website


Explore our new Faculty of Arts building

The department recently moved into the brand new £57.5 million Faculty of Arts building.

This means, as an Arts student at Warwick, you’ll find your home amongst brand new teaching, learning and social spaces, including specialist facilities, all designed to support collaborative working and to enable your creativity and innovation to flourish.

The sustainably built, eight-storey building is located next to the newly refurbished Warwick Arts Centre in the heart of the University’s creative and cultural arts quarter.

Explore our new Faculty of Arts building further.

Image credit: Hufton + Crow


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You will benefit from a variety of flexible, well-equipped study spaces and teaching facilities across the University.

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Studying at Warwick

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Travelling from campus

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Our Chaplaincy is home to Chaplains from the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths. We provide regular services for all Christian denominations and a Shabbat meal every Friday for our Jewish students. There is also an Islamic prayer hall, halal kitchen and ablution facilities.

Student support

Chaplaincy

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