BA History of Art
About this course
Bachelor of Arts in History of Art History of Art BA, a history of art degree centred on the study of visual culture and creative practices. Core topics include Research Methods. Students complete a dissertation in the final year and undertake study trips and gallery-based learning in various locations. The second year focuses on advanced methodologies and specialised periods through modules such as Research Techniques in History of Art, Art History in the Field: Overseas Study Trip, and Inside the Gallery: Curating an Exhibition. Optional study covers topics ranging from modernism and political art to nineteenth-century French society and global cultural studies. The third year centres on independent research via the Long History of Art Dissertation alongside advanced optional modules including Michelangelo, Rodin Reconsidered, and Contemporary Art and Home.
Written by AI from the university's course page and module list. It can get details wrong, so check the official course page before you rely on it.
Entry requirements
A Level: ABB. IB: 6,5,5 including 32 points overall.. BTEC: BTEC Extended Diploma: DDD. Equivalent accepted, see below for full information.
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Real offers for this course
Applicants have posted 1 UCAS decision for BA History of Art (V350) at the University of Birmingham for 2027 entry so far. The published offer is ABB at A level.
What students say
Based on about 18 final-year students who answered (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Teaching on my course: 94%
- Learning opportunities: 93%
- Assessment and feedback: 93%
- Academic support: 98%
- Organisation and management: 93%
- Learning resources: 98%
- Student voice: 87%
Do students stay on the course?
Based on about 20 students who started (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Continued on course: 80%
- Left higher education: 20%
What graduates do next
Based on about 72 graduates who answered, across similar courses at this university
- Working: 73%
- Working and studying: 9%
- Further study: 6%
- Unemployed: 3%
Most common jobs
- Teaching Professionals: 17%
- Business and public service associate professionals: 14%
- Elementary occupations: 11%
- Sales occupations: 8%
- Managers, directors and senior officials: 7%
- Find their work meaningful: 77%
- Feel on track for their future plans: 61%
- Use what they learnt on the course: 44%
Where graduates work (5 years on)
Based on about 530 graduates, across similar courses at this university
- North West: 6%
- Yorkshire and the Humber: 5%
- East Midlands: 4%
- West Midlands: 27%
- East of England: 9%
- London: 25%
- South East: 15%
- South West: 7%
- Wales: 1%
Who gets in
Based on about 15 students who started (a small group: a rough guide only)
- A levels: 90%
- Other HE qualification: 10%
Accreditation & quality ratings
TEF 2023 (whole university): Silver overall, Bronze for student experience, Gold for student outcomes.
Modules
- Art History in the Field: Overseas Study Trip
- Research Techniques in History of Art
- Abstraction and Beyond
- American Art in the 1960s
- Art, Architecture and Design in Fin-de-Siècle Vienna
- Art, Race and the British Empire, 1837-1901: Contexts, Approaches, Legacies
- Craft: Practices, Concepts, Activism
- Impressionism and After: Art and Society in Late Nineteenth-Century France
- Inside the Gallery: Curating an Exhibition
- Making Culture: New Ways of Reading Things
- Modern Erotica: Sex, Censorship, and Art
- Nature framed: the art and politics of landscape 1700 to 1900
- Political Art
- Post-War: Art in Britain After the Second World War
- Power, Society, Politics: Religious Art in Northern Europe, c. 1400-1600
- Real and Ideal: Art and Society in Mid Nineteenth Century France
- History of Art Semester Abroad
- Long History of Art Dissertation
- An Unnatural History: Animals in Modern Western Art
- Berlin 1890-1933: Symphony of a (Great?) City
- Contemporary Art and Home
- Contemporary Art and Masculinity
- Fashioning Flesh and Technology: Modernism and the Body in Germany 1918-1933
- Global Art and Cultural Studies
- Image as Witness
- Inside Out: Interior and Interiority in French Art, Design and Culture 1840-1940
- Michelangelo
- Paris Moderne 1850-1930: Image, Concept, Femininity
- Queer Art From Britain Since 1957
- Rodin Reconsidered
- Sculptural Experiments in Britain, 1837-1901
- Sound and Vision: Word, Music, Image 1860-Now
- The Pre-Raphaelites: Contexts, Approaches and Reputations
- The Public Museum: Architecture, Time, Memory (semester 1)
- The Public Museum: Architecture, Time, Memory (semester 2)
- Turning the Pages: Manuscript and Print, Past and Present
- Women and Artistic Culture in the Late Medieval and Early Modern Period
- ‘Islamic’ Aesthetics in Art
Questions about this course
How much do graduates of BA History of Art at University of Birmingham earn?
The median salary is £28,500 after 15 months, £25,000 after 3 years, £32,500 after 5 years. After five years the middle half of graduates earn between £25,500 and £41,000. The £32,500 median after five years is £3,000 more than the UK median for History of art, architecture and design.
What do graduates of BA History of Art at University of Birmingham do next?
88% were in work or further study 15 months after finishing (Graduate Outcomes 2023-24).
Are students happy with the teaching on BA History of Art at University of Birmingham?
94% of final-year students were positive about the teaching in the National Student Survey 2025-26.
What grades do I need for BA History of Art at University of Birmingham?
The typical offer is ABB at A level, or 32 points in the IB. The average entrant had 133 UCAS points.
Does BA History of Art at University of Birmingham include a placement year or year abroad?
The course has an optional year abroad.
How many students continue on BA History of Art at University of Birmingham?
80% of students continued into their second year, and 20% left higher education.