MSt in History of Art and Visual Culture
About the course
This nine-month programme offers a unique combination of methodological depth and access to excellent primary sources for students who wish to develop and extend their understanding of how visual styles at different times and in different places can be understood in relation to the aesthetic, intellectual and social facets of various cultures.
This course draws on the established strengths of the discipline of art history in formal, iconographic and contextual analysis in the Faculty of History's History of Art Department and links them to a rigorous approach to questions of theory and method.
The course will expose you to the ways in which the subjects of visual history are being redefined on a broad base to include a much wider range of artefacts and visual media, including images and objects produced in contexts ranging from the scientific to the popular.
Teaching comprises:
- a compulsory methodology paper, Issues in Art History, which is taught in a seminar series during Michaelmas and Hilary terms. There is also an associated lecture series, workshops on professional practice and object-handling sessions in Oxford collections.
- one option paper, normally taught in small classes during Michaelmas and Hilary terms.
You will also write a dissertation of up to 15,000 words, which will be submitted in Trinity term (see the Assessment section below for further details).
It is expected that about 25% of your time will be spent on self-directed research and study.
Option papers
For the Optional Courses available in the next academic year, please visit the course webpage on the department's website, which will be updated in October 2024 (see the Further information and enquiries section for further details). As an example, the options papers for students enrolled in the 2024-25 academic year were:
- American Art in a Global Context
- The Politics of Modernism: Art in France 1880-1912
- Mapping East and West: Art, Culture, Identity
Attendance
The course is full-time and requires attendance in Oxford. Full-time students are subject to the University's Residence requirements.
Resources to support your study
As a graduate student, you will have access to the University's wide range of world-class resources including libraries, museums, galleries, digital resources and IT services.
The Bodleian Libraries is the largest library system in the UK. It includes the main Bodleian Library and libraries across Oxford, including major research libraries and faculty, department and institute libraries. Together, the Libraries hold more than 13 million printed items, provide access to e-journals, and contain outstanding special collections including rare books and manuscripts, classical papyri, maps, music, art and printed ephemera.
The University's IT Services is available to all students to support with core university IT systems and tools, as well as many other services and facilities. IT Services also offers a range of IT learning courses for students, to support with learning and research.
Intellectual life and community
The History of Art Department brings together a tightly knit community of scholars working on a wide range of periods and subjects, including associated academics working on visual culture more widely.
Students are also integrated into the wider Faculty of History, which includes scholars working from circa 300 AD to the present, and embraces an exceptionally broad geographical range. It comprises an active research community of up to 800 academics and graduate students. The faculty’s research is organised around historical periods, research centres, or in collaborative and individual research projects, and graduates are key participants in the wide range of seminars, workshops and conferences run by the Faculty of History.
The department's Centre for Visual Studies and The Oxford Centre for Research in the Humanities (TORCH) offers a stimulating range of interdisciplinary activities. You are also encouraged join the Oxford History Graduate Network (OHGN), which fosters friendships, conversations and collaboration.
The Oxford environment provides a unique opportunity to develop intellectual curiosity whilst remaining focused on one’s own work without becoming blinkered - an integral part of a successful graduate career.
Libraries and archives
The Bodleian Art, Archaeology and Ancient World Library is a major research centre for the study of art history and the ancient world and the Bodleian Libraries’ Special Collections Department attracts scholars from all over the world.
Graduates are also able to draw on the specialist resources offered by the Bodleian History Faculty Library which provides dedicated support and training courses for all graduates. They also have access to the many college libraries and to college archives which can house significant collections of personal papers as well as institutional records dating back to the middle ages. There are also major research libraries as well as libraries attached to faculties, departments and other institutions.
Museums, collections and galleries
Few universities in the world boast the quality and range of Oxford’s collections, which provide an invaluable basis for the study of all forms of art. The Ashmolean Museum, Pitt Rivers Museum, Christ Church Picture Gallery, Museum of the History of Science, Modern Art Oxford and other museum collections – together with the wealth of architectural monuments in the city – are an integral part of studying history of art at Oxford. The department’s own Visual Resources Centre is available for student use. Students have the opportunity to work closely with curators on individual objects from many cultures. From drawings by Raphael to totem poles, the range of possibilities is vast.
This range of resources for art historians differentiates the Oxford programme from others.
Supervision
The allocation of graduate supervision for this course is the responsibility of the Department of History of Art and it is not always possible to accommodate the preferences of incoming graduate students to work with a particular member of staff. Under some circumstances a supervisor outside the Department of History of Art may be nominated.
Supervisors will meet with their students weekly in Michaelmas and Hilary terms to teach the option paper, and will also offer at least five hours dedicated supervision for the dissertation.
An Oxford academic’s pre-application indication of willingness to supervise an enquiring applicant is not a guarantee that the applicant will be offered a place, or that the supervisor in question has capacity in that particular year.
Assessment
You will write a dissertation under the guidance of an expert supervisor, on a topic of your choice and approved by the supervisor and the chair of examiners for the programme. The dissertation is submitted in Trinity term.
In addition to the dissertation, assessment will take the form of exams and assessed essays. For the compulsory methodology paper you will write three short essays in an examination.
The option paper is assessed through one short methodological or historiographic essay and one research project. Students receive one-on-one supervision when preparing their essays.
If you wish to apply for a doctoral programme, at Oxford or elsewhere, you will be encouraged to develop your doctoral proposal during the first few months of the course so that you will be well placed to make doctoral applications during or soon after completing the course.
Graduate destinations
About a quarter of master’s students proceed directly to doctoral work at Oxford or at other institutions, with additional students applying to doctoral programmes within a year or two of completing the degree. Other career destinations include museums and galleries, the heritage sector, media/publishing (including online), fine arts and teaching, as well as fields such as banking, law and the civil service.
Changes to this course and your supervision
The University will seek to deliver this course in accordance with the description set out in this course page. However, there may be situations in which it is desirable or necessary for the University to make changes in course provision, either before or after registration. The safety of students, staff and visitors is paramount and major changes to delivery or services may have to be made if a pandemic, epidemic or local health emergency occurs. In addition, in certain circumstances, for example due to visa difficulties or because the health needs of students cannot be met, it may be necessary to make adjustments to course requirements for international study.
Where possible your academic supervisor will not change for the duration of your course. However, it may be necessary to assign a new academic supervisor during the course of study or before registration for reasons which might include illness, sabbatical leave, parental leave or change in employment.
For further information please see our page on changes to courses and the provisions of the student contract regarding changes to courses.
Entry requirements for entry in 2025-26
Proven and potential academic excellence
The requirements described below are specific to this course and apply only in the year of entry that is shown. You can use our interactive tool to help you evaluate whether your application is likely to be competitive.
Please be aware that any studentships that are linked to this course may have different or additional requirements and you should read any studentship information carefully before applying.
Degree-level qualifications
As a minimum, applicants should hold or be predicted to achieve the following UK qualifications or their equivalent:
- a first-class or strong upper-second class undergraduate degree with honours in a relevant discipline in the humanities or social sciences.
For applicants with a bachelor's degree from the USA, the minimum overall GPA that is normally required to meet the undergraduate-level requirement is 3.6 out of 4.0. However, successful candidates normally have a GPA of 3.75 or higher.
Most successful applicants have a degree in a humanities subject such as:
- history of art
- history
- English
- modern languages
- Classics
- theology
- philosophy
- archaeology
- anthropology.
Graduates in fine art who have excellent research and writing skills will also be considered.
Applicants with social science and sometimes even science degrees have also been admitted provided they can make a persuasive application that attests to their interest in the visual arts, broadly defined, and demonstrates excellent preparation for the course’s research and writing demands.
A degree in history of art is not a requirement and approximately half of each cohort will have completed an undergraduate degree in another subject.
If your degree is not from the UK or another country specified above, visit our International Qualifications page for guidance on the qualifications and grades that would usually be considered to meet the University’s minimum entry requirements.
GRE General Test scores
No Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or GMAT scores are sought.
Other qualifications, evidence of excellence and relevant experience
- In the case of mature students/intended career changes professional experience in cognate areas may compensate for shortcomings in the formal academic record.
- Publications are not required.
English language proficiency
This course requires proficiency in English at the University's higher level. If your first language is not English, you may need to provide evidence that you meet this requirement. The minimum scores required to meet the University's higher level are detailed in the table below.
| Test | Minimum overall score | Minimum score per component |
|---|---|---|
| IELTS Academic (Institution code: 0713) | 7.5 | 7.0 |
TOEFL iBT, including the 'Home Edition' (Institution code: 0490) | 110 | Listening: 22 Reading: 24 Speaking: 25 Writing: 24 |
| C1 Advanced* | 191 | 185 |
| C2 Proficiency† | 191 | 185 |
*Previously known as the Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English or Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE)
†Previously known as the Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English or Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE)
Your test must have been taken no more than two years before the start date of your course. Our Application Guide provides further information about the English language test requirement.
Declaring extenuating circumstances
If your ability to meet the entry requirements has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic (eg you were awarded an unclassified/ungraded degree) or any other exceptional personal circumstance (eg other illness or bereavement), please refer to the guidance on extenuating circumstances in the Application Guide for information about how to declare this so that your application can be considered appropriately.
References
You will need to register three referees who can give an informed view of your academic ability and suitability for the course. The How to apply section of this page provides details of the types of reference that are required in support of your application for this course and how these will be assessed.
Supporting documents
You will be required to supply supporting documents with your application. The How to apply section of this page provides details of the supporting documents that are required as part of your application for this course and how these will be assessed.
Performance at interview
Interviews are not normally held as part of the admissions process.
Assessors may get in touch with an applicant by email in case of any queries, but this is rare.
Offer conditions for successful applications
If you receive an offer of a place at Oxford, your offer will outline any conditions that you need to satisfy and any actions you need to take, together with any associated deadlines. These may include academic conditions, such as achieving a specific final grade in your current degree course. These conditions will usually depend on your individual academic circumstances and may vary between applicants. Our 'After you apply' pages provide more information about offers and conditions.
In addition to any academic conditions which are set, you will also be required to meet the following requirements:
Financial Declaration
If you are offered a place, you will be required to complete a Financial Declaration in order to meet your financial condition of admission.
Disclosure of criminal convictions
In accordance with the University’s obligations towards students and staff, we will ask you to declare any relevant, unspent criminal convictions before you can take up a place at Oxford.
Other factors governing whether places can be offered
The following factors will also govern whether candidates can be offered places:
- the ability of the University to provide the appropriate supervision for your studies, as outlined under the 'Supervision' heading in the About section of this page;
- the ability of the University to provide appropriate support for your studies (eg through the provision of facilities, resources, teaching and/or research opportunities); and
- minimum and maximum limits to the numbers of students who may be admitted to the University's taught and research programmes.
Departments offering this course
This course is offered jointly by the following departments:
History of Art Department
Oxford is an outstandingly exciting setting for the study of the history of art. Although art history has traditionally concentrated on the ‘fine’ arts of painting, sculpture and architecture, it shares many of its fundamental questions and methods with related disciplines such as archaeology, anthropology, literary studies, and political, social and cultural history. The department is uniquely positioned to reflect this cross-disciplinary potential.
Working within the Faculty of History, teaching and research is supported by world-class museums, galleries and collections, including the Ashmolean Museum, the Bodleian Libraries, Christ Church Picture Gallery, the Pitt Rivers Museum, the Museum of the History of Science, and Modern Art Oxford, as well as The Ruskin School of Art.
The core academic staff of the department work on subjects from medieval European architecture to modern Chinese art, and over fifty associated academic staff include teachers and researchers across the full global and historical range of art and visual culture. This offers students the opportunity to take courses and receive supervision on a very wide range of topics and develop individual interests in art history.
Faculty of History
History in Oxford stretches from c 300 to the present, and embraces in addition to its British and European heritage an exceptionally broad range of World history. It comprises an active research community of up to 800 senior academics and graduate students, all contributing to a range of research seminars, lectures, academic societies, and personal contacts.
Research in the faculty is organised around historical periods and research centres, or in collaborative and individual research projects, and you will always be welcome at seminars, workshops and conferences across all periods and themes.
You will be encouraged to make use of these opportunities as widely as possible without endangering your own degree work. Striking the right balance between intellectual curiosity and temptation and intellectual discipline, and remaining focused without becoming blinkered, should be an integral part of a successful graduate career. The Oxford environment provides all the ingredients for this.
Funding
For entry in the 2025-26 academic year, the collegiate University expects to offer over 1,000 full or partial graduate scholarships across a wide range of graduate courses.
If you apply by the January deadline shown on this page and receive a course offer, your application will then be considered for Oxford scholarships. For the majority of Oxford scholarships, your application will automatically be assessed against the eligibility criteria, without needing to make a separate application. There are further Oxford scholarships available which have additional eligibility criteria and where you are required to submit a separate application. Most scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic merit and/or potential.
To ensure that you are considered for Oxford scholarships that require a separate application, for which you may be eligible, use our fees, funding and scholarship search tool to identify these opportunities and find out how to apply. Alongside Oxford scholarships, you should also consider other opportunities for which you may be eligible including a range of external funding, loan schemes for postgraduate study and any other scholarships which may also still be available after the January deadline as listed on our fees, funding and scholarship search tool.
Details of college-specific funding opportunities can also be found on individual college websites:
Please refer to the College preference section of this page to identify which of the colleges listed above accept students for this course.
For the majority of college scholarships, it doesn’t matter which college, if any, you state a preference for in your application. If another college is able to offer you a scholarship, your application can be moved to that college if you accept the scholarship. Some college scholarships may require you to state a preference for that college when you apply, so check the eligibility requirements carefully.
Further information about funding opportunities for this course can be found on the department's website.
Costs
Annual fees for entry in 2025-26
Information about course fees
Course fees are payable each year, for the duration of your fee liability (your fee liability is the length of time for which you are required to pay course fees). For courses lasting longer than one year, please be aware that fees will usually increase annually. For details, please see our guidance on changes to fees and charges.
Course fees cover your teaching as well as other academic services and facilities provided to support your studies. Unless specified in the additional information section below, course fees do not cover your accommodation, residential costs or other living costs. They also don’t cover any additional costs and charges that are outlined in the additional information below.
Where can I find further information about fees?
The Fees and Funding section of this website provides further information about course fees, including information about fee status and eligibility and your length of fee liability.
Additional information
Living costs
In addition to your course fees and any additional course-specific costs, you will need to ensure that you have adequate funds to support your living costs for the duration of your course.
Living costs for full-time study
For the 2025-26 academic year, the range of likely living costs for a single, full-time student is between £1,425 and £2,035 for each month spent in Oxford. We provide the cost per month so you can multiply up by the number of months you expect to live in Oxford. Depending on your circumstances, you may also need to budget for the costs of a student visa and immigration health surcharge and/or living costs for family members or other dependants that you plan to bring with you to Oxford (assuming that dependant visa eligibility criteria are met).
Further information about living costs
The current economic climate and high national rate of inflation make it very hard to estimate potential changes to the cost of living over the next few years. For study in Oxford beyond the 2025-26 academic year, it is suggested that you budget for potential increases in living expenses of around 4% each year – although this rate may vary depending on the national economic situation. For further information, please consult our more detailed information about living costs, which includes a breakdown of likely living costs in Oxford for items such as food, accommodation and study costs.
College preference
Students enrolled on this course will belong to both a department/faculty and a college. Please note that ‘college’ and ‘colleges’ refers to all 43 of the University’s colleges, including those designated as societies and permanent private halls (PPHs).
If you apply for a place on this course you will have the option to express a preference for one of the colleges listed below, or you can ask us to find a college for you. Before deciding, we suggest that you read our brief introduction to the college system at Oxford and our advice about expressing a college preference.
If you are a current Oxford student and you would like to remain at your current Oxford college, you should check whether it is listed below. If it is, you should indicate this preference when you apply. If not, you should contact your college office to ask whether they would be willing to make an exception. Further information about staying at your current college can be found in our Application Guide.
The following colleges accept students on the MSt in History of Art and Visual Culture:
Before you apply
Our guide to getting started provides general advice on how to prepare for and start your application. You can use our interactive tool to help you evaluate whether your application is likely to be competitive.
If it is important for you to have your application considered under a particular deadline – eg under the January deadline in order to be considered for Oxford scholarships – we recommend that you aim to complete and submit your application at least two weeks in advance. Check the deadlines on this page and the information about deadlines and when to apply in our Application Guide.
Application fee waivers
An application fee of £75 is payable for each application to this course. Application fee waivers are available for the following applicants who meet the eligibility criteria:
- applicants from low-income countries;
- refugees and displaced persons;
- UK applicants from low-income backgrounds; and
- applicants who applied for our Graduate Access Programmes in the past two years and met the eligibility criteria.
You are encouraged to check whether you're eligible for an application fee waiver before you apply.
Do I need to contact anyone before I apply?
You do not need to contact anyone in the faculty before you apply and you are not responsible for finding your own supervisor. However, you are strongly encouraged to familiarise yourself with the research expertise within the department when preparing your research proposal, to make sure that there is a supervisor available in the same area as your proposed project. Offers will only be made if appropriate supervision is available. The faculty determines supervision arrangements, taking due account of the workload and commitments of its academics. If you are made an offer, a supervisor will be assigned to you, and identified in the offer letter.
If you are not sure who to contact, or if you think your topic is out of the ordinary and/or requires a specialist supervisor, please contact the department via the contact details provided on this page (see the Further information and enquiries section for further details).
Completing your application
You should refer to the information below when completing the application form, paying attention to the specific requirements for the supporting documents.
For this course, the application form will include questions that collect information that would usually be included in a CV/résumé. You should not upload a separate document. If a separate CV/résumé is uploaded, it will be removed from your application.
If any document does not meet the specification, including the stipulated word count, your application may be considered incomplete and not assessed by the academic department. Expand each section to show further details.
Proposed field and title of research project
Under the 'Field and title of research project' please enter your proposed field or area of research if this is known. If the department has advertised a specific research project that you would like to be considered for, please enter the project title here instead.
You should not use this field to type out a full research proposal. You will be able to upload your research supporting materials separately if they are required (as described below).
Proposed supervisor
It is not necessary for you to identify a potential supervisor in your application.
However, please check that a supervisor with expertise in your proposed area of research is available before applying. Details can be found on the department's website. You are free to consult a specialist in your field for advice on your project, if you think that would be helpful.
Referees
Three overall, academic preferred
Whilst you must register three referees, the department may start the assessment of your application if two of the three references are submitted by the course deadline and your application is otherwise complete. Please note that you may still be required to ensure your third referee supplies a reference for consideration.
References should generally be academic, though if you are returning to study after extended periods of non-academic employment then you are welcome to nominate professional referees where it would be impractical to call on your previous university tutors.
Your references will support intellectual ability, academic achievement, motivation, ability to work in both a group environment and sustained individual and self-motivated investigation.
Official transcript(s)
Your transcripts should give detailed information of the individual grades received in your university-level qualifications to date. You should only upload official documents issued by your institution and any transcript not in English should be accompanied by a certified translation.
More information about the transcript requirement is available in the Application Guide.
Statement of purpose/personal statement:
A minimum of 500 to a maximum of 1,000 words
Your statement should convince the faculty that you have the right intellectual qualities, academic knowledge and skills to undertake the course. It should focus on how you see the course as building upon your previous study, and what you hope to do with the qualifications you gain from the University, rather than on personal achievements and aspirations.
You should discuss what kinds of problems and issues you hope to engage with; what the current state of your knowledge and understanding of these is, and how you hope to advance that.
Please list your Optional Paper choices in order of preference at the beginning of your personal statement. Available papers can be found on the course page of the department’s website (see Further information and enquiries section) from October 2024.
In your statement of purpose, you should also sketch out a preliminary research proposal and title for your intended dissertation. This should supply a research question identifying the central issue or problem with which you intend to grapple, some account of the current state of scholarship in this area and an indication of the kinds of sources you hope to use. You only need to submit one document overall, combining this research proposal into your statement of purpose.
Your statement must be written in English. A bibliography may also be provided, if relevant; if so, it is not included in the word count, though any footnotes should be included.
If possible, please ensure that the word count is clearly displayed on the document.
It is anticipated that your ideas will change and develop once you have begun the programme and have been exposed to new approaches, sources and methods. However, students applying to this course are expected to have a clear sense of the kind of research they wish to undertake.
Your proposal should focus on the relevance of the programme you are applying for to your education, and on the academic merits of your intended course dissertation rather than personal achievements, interests and aspirations. Proposing a preliminary title for your dissertation project will be advantageous.
This will be assessed for:
- your reasons for applying
- evidence of motivation for and understanding of the proposed area of study
- the coherence of the proposal, the ability to present a reasoned case in English
- commitment to the subject, beyond the requirements of the degree programme
- reasoning ability
- ability to absorb new ideas, often presented abstractly, at a rapid pace.
Written work:
An academic writing sample of no more than 4,000 words in total length
Written work should be from your most recent completed qualification, but does not need to relate closely to your proposed area of study. Extracts from a longer piece of work are welcome, but please include a preface which puts the work in context.
The work will be assessed for your:
- understanding of problems in the area
- ability to construct and defend an argument
- powers of analysis
- powers of expression.
It must be submitted in English (if this work has been translated, you must indicate if the translations are your own, or what assistance you had in producing the English text).
If possible, please ensure that the word count is clearly displayed on the document. Any footnotes should be included in the word count. A bibliography may also be provided and is not included in the word count.
Start or continue your application
You can start or return to an application using the relevant link below. As you complete the form, please refer to the requirements above and consult our Application Guide for advice.
After you've submitted your application
Your application (including the supporting documents outlined above) will be assessed against the entry requirements detailed on this course page. Whether or not you have secured funding will not be taken into consideration when your application is assessed. You can find out more about our shortlisting and selection process in our detailed guide to what happens next.
Find out how to manage your application after submission, using our Applicant Self-Service tool.