Our BA Art History (including Foundation Year) could be suitable for you if your academic qualifications do not yet meet our entry requirements for a three-year version of our arts and humanities courses and you want a programme that improves your skills to support your academic performance.

Open to UK and EU applicants, this four-year course includes a Foundation Year (known as Year Zero) which is delivered by our Essex Pathways Department followed by three years of study with your department.

During Year Zero you will study on our Arts and Humanities Pathway which will cover topics such as Analysing Film, Text and Image and Theory of Knowledge. At the end of Year Zero all students who pass the Arts and Humanities Pathway will have a choice of which course to progress with. As well as BA Art History students on the Arts and Humanities Pathway could also study BA Philosphy or BA History, amongst other courses.

At Essex, you will acquire a broad foundation in the history of visual culture: both by learning about canonical forms of art and architecture and by discovering what has been overlooked or marginalised, such as medical photography, tattoos or objects from political protests. You will also develop the skills you need to make exciting new connections between the forms of visual culture you study, developments in other disciplines, and broader social and political forces.

You will develop the skills you need to transform your excitement about art, architecture and visual culture into the ability to uncover new insights about the material you study. You will also develop a solid grounding in the history of art and other forms of visual culture, including the ideas and forces that shaped their production, distribution and reception.

For students with a particular interest in pursuing careers in curating and museumship, we also provide modules every year that explore the histories, theories and practices of museums, exhibitions and galleries, as well as more nuts-and-bolts issues, such as installing and marketing artwork.

You will be taught by our expert staff in your very first year, a rarity in UK art history courses. We also house a collection of over 750 pieces of art from Latin America, ESCALA.