Master's Degree & Diploma in Art in Scotland

New! Studentships/Scholarships within the College

Art in Scotland is designed around the rich primary sources available to students at Aberdeen, combined with the expertise of members of staff who are active researchers in the field. The great collections and monuments of Scotland form the key items of each specialized course, so students will graduate with first-hand knowledge of their subject. The first half-session provides training in the methodology of art historical research, focusing on current theories and debates in art history. The second half-session delves into the primary sources: Scottish, English, Italian, North AND East European. A major feature of this degree is its interdisciplinary focus, with a significant number of options being taught in co-operation with History, Film Studies, Visual Culture, Language and Literature. During the year, students visit Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and Paris.

Application deadline:

For international students, all postgraduate taught programmes, beginning in September 2012, have a deadline of the 1 st of July 2012.  Any application received after this date, will not be considered for September 2012, but instead will be considered for the next available intake in September 2013.  For more information on the intakes for each programme please visit www.abdn.ac.uk/prospectus/pgrad/  Please note this deadline is to ensure students have sufficient time to complete the application process and apply for their visa, and arrive in Aberdeen in time of the start of their programme.

There is no programme deadline for those students classed as UK/EU for tuition fee purposes.

Programme Structure for Taught M.Litt

The course lasts 12 month full-time or 24 months part-time. MLitt students are required to write a dissertation of 15,000 words in English over the summer. Students taking the Diploma finish after 9 months and do not write a dissertation.

Courses

Core courses

Research skills for art historians guides students in a lively hands-on way through many different approaches to embarking on advanced art historical study. Fieldwork, undertaken during both half-sessions, brings students to Paris and London (for about a week each) and includes day trips to Edinburgh and Glasgow. These trips are subsidised but students are expected to contribute.

Elective courses

In the first half-session, students who are coming to art history for the first time are recommended to take Critical Perspectives in Art History, an essential theoretical background. Other options include skills in Visual Culture, languages and palaeography.

In the second half-session, some skills such as languages continue, but the majority of courses deal with a wide range of visual topics based on Scottish resources. Students taking their dissertation commence with personal guidance on their dissertation topic, before writing up on their own during the summer. The Dissertation is 15,000 words long.

Post Graduate options taught by History of Art

Courses in 2011-2012

Art in Scotland

HA5021, HA5521 Fieldwork 1 and 2

HA5022 Critical Perspectives in Art History

HA5023 Research Skills for Art Historians

HA5525 Connoisseurship

HA5528 Art and Self-Definition: Russia, Eastern Europe and Beyond

HA5526 Imaging Scottish History: Art, Museums and Visual Culture

HA5587 Romanesque Manuscripts

HA5902 History of Art Dissertation: Source and Source Criticism

HA5903 History of Art Dissertation

AT5508 Curating an Exhibition

Art and Business

HA5030 Art and Business

HA5031 Fieldwork for Art and Business

HA5029 Introduction to Art History for Business

HA5525 Connoisseurship

HA/BU5904 Art and Business Dissertation

	HA5022 - Critical Perspectives in Art History Course Co-ordinator - Professor J Geddes Art theory, essential for students new to History of Art
	HA5587 -Romanesque Manuscripts Course Co-ordinator - Professor J Geddes Illuminated manuscripts including the Aberdeen Bestiary and St Albans Psalter.
	HA5525 - Connoisseurship: art in Scotland Course Co-ordinator - Mr J Gash
	HA5526 Imaging Scotland: art, museums and visual culture Course Co-ordinator - Dr J Morrison
	Italian Art and Scotland [This course is not running in 2010-2011]
	Northern European Art and Scotland [This course is not running in 2010-2011]
	HA5528 - Art and Self-Definition: Russia, Eastern Europe, and Beyond Course Co-ordinator - Dr A Bryzgel [This course is not running in 2010-2011]
	HA5021 & HA5521 Fieldwork : Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Paris HA5031 Fieldwork for Art and Business

Note: not all these courses run every year

Students enrolled for the Diploma finish with these taught courses.

Links

Art History modules also form part of related MLitt degrees in the following interdisciplinary subjects: Medieval Studies; Early Modern Studies; Visual Culture. Applicants may request the syllabus for these degrees.

Qualifications and Assessment

Qualifications for entry:

The standard entrance requirement is normally a good second class Honours degree, or at a level deemed equivalent by the Head of School. Foreign-language students need to have a minimum of IELTS at 6.5 with a minimum writing score of 6, or TOEFL at 580 (computer-based TOEFL 237) with TWE 4.5. The Head of School will also consider applicants with non-standard qualifications.

Duration: 12 months full-time or 24 months part-time (MLitt); 9 months full-time or 18 months part-time (PgDip)

The following levels and exit points are available:-

• MLitt - acquisition of at least 180 credit points through completion of taught courses (120 credit points) followed by the dissertation of 15,000 words (60 credit points)

• PgDip - acquisition of 120 credit points through completion of taught courses.

Assessment is based on written work (essays/exams) and moderated according to University standards. Presentation skills are developed.

Who will take this Degree?

The MLitt will appeal to students who wish to study art and architecture from the medieval to modern period, gaining experience in the trade-craft of research.

Students can take this programme as a diploma, a stand-alone one-year or two year part-time Master's degree (but immigration regulations prevent an overseas student from studying part-time), or as a first step towards a MPhil or PhD (subject to admission to a further degree programme either at Aberdeen or elsewhere). Some funding bodies require a taught post-graduate year before proceeding to a research degree. Hence, it is likely to appeal to those who wish to create a solid foundation on which to build a PhD research proposal, those who wish to teach history of art, and those who wish to study art at a postgraduate level to further their interest in culture and life-long learning.

• Taught programmes
• Research degrees
• Information for Applicants