History of art seeks to understand how and why paintings, sculptures, buildings and works of design in a variety of media come to look the way they do. You will benefit from the extensive resources of the University Library and Archives, as well as The Hunterian: our museum and art gallery which features the world-famous Hunter, Whistler and Mackintosh collections. You will also have access to Kelvin Hall, the University and city's innovative collections-access centre. In your third-year vacation you will receive a grant to assist you to visit museums, galleries and buildings relevant to your studies. The first year provides an introduction to history of art in two courses: Art history and its materials and techniques and Art history in action. These have been selected to provide an accessible and wide-ranging programme of study, even if you are new to art history. These courses allow you to study works by some of the best-known artists, designers and architects of all time, including non-western material, and also introduce you to key issues in history of art: the uses of different techniques and materials, and relationships between art theory, the role of art patrons and the concept of style. The two courses together will prepare you for further levels of study, but either can be taken as an introduction to the discipline by students not intending to take it beyond Level 1.You will study two further thematic groups, building on those studied in year 1. Greater emphasis is placed on theoretical and contextual issues, useful foundations for progression to the more detailed study undertaken at Honours level. You will also be introduced to contrasted art-historical approaches and methods and to a range of backgrounds to the production and consumption of art.