Birmingham’s fusion of language and culture places employability at its heart, preparing you to live and work as an engaged citizen of the world.The study of one or two Modern Languages (French, Italian, Russian and/or Spanish) alongside History of Art is highly complementary and an exciting opportunity to contextualise your knowledge in each discipline. Your linguistic fluency is strengthened with a simultaneous understanding and appreciation of your target culture's literature, history, politics and society. You can even start two languages from scratch without taking an advanced language, as long as one of these is French or Spanish. Travel opportunities in your degree course such as the Year Abroad and the History of Art European study trip will enrich your skillset as both a linguist and art historian. You will have access to original works, a dedicated fine art library and collection of resources in the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, our acclaimed public gallery at the Univeristy. Here you will find a great collection of European art and works by famous artists such as Botticelli, Van Gogh, Monet, Magritte, Degas, Gwen John, Vigée LeBrun and Rodin.

- with our CLIL (Content Language Integrated Learning) teaching method. CLIL is a blended approach to language learning, based on a fusion of language and culture: study language, grammar and vocabulary in direct relation to topics of real cultural significance in your chosen language.

– Learn and Live in a vibrant city that is culturally, ethnically and religiously diverse. Join a number of language and culture-based societies at the University of Birmingham to further enhance your skills.

– Teaching regularly takes place in our working gallery on campus, The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, which is home to a dedicated fine art library and world-class collection. Seminars and events are held here, which really help to deepen your understanding and expand your knowledge of the museum and heritage sector following our hands-on approach.

- visit galleries and museums in the UK and abroad as part of your degree. The department organises regularly gallery study trips in the West Midlands and London. The weeklong University funded trip to a major European city is another highlight of the programme.

- contribute to the official blog for the Department of Art History, Curating and Visual Studies, the Golovine. Check it out to gain insight into what it’s like studying at Birmingham, former student successes, research conducted and commentaries on art news.

- develop transferable skills and gain valuable real world experience with access to funded arts internships, exclusively for University of Birmingham students.