UCAS code | VV31 |
---|---|
Duration | 3 years |
Entry year | 2025 |
Campus | Streatham Campus |
Discipline | Art History & Visual Culture |
Contact | Web: Enquire online |
Typical offer | A-Levels: ABB |
---|---|
A-Level: BBC |
UCAS code | VV32 |
---|---|
Duration | 4 years |
Entry year | 2025 |
Campus | Streatham Campus |
Discipline | Art History & Visual Culture |
Contact | Web: Enquire online |
Typical offer | A-Level: ABB |
---|---|
A-Level: BBC |
UCAS code | VV33 |
---|---|
Duration | 4 years |
Entry year | 2025 |
Campus | Streatham Campus |
Discipline | Art History & Visual Culture |
Contact | Web: Enquire online |
Typical offer | A-Level: ABB |
---|---|
A-Level: BBC |
UCAS code | VV34 |
---|---|
Duration | 4 years |
Entry year | 2025 |
Campus | Streatham Campus |
Discipline | Art History & Visual Culture |
Contact | Web: Enquire online |
Typical offer | A-Level: ABB |
---|---|
A-Level: BBC |
Overview
- Navigate history to learn about changes in society, culture, politics, religion and apply them to current theories and practices.
- Art, history and culture embedded on campus with the Exeter Northcott Theatre, Bill Douglas Cinema Musuem, Lemon Grove and Great Hall as music venues and student theatre Roborough Studios.
- Cover time periods from the Roman Empire to the 1960s and topics as diverse as the Vikings, early medieval empires, the Norman Conquest and magic and witchcraft in early modern Europe.
- Learn to collect evidence using libraries, archives, the internet, interviews, languages, palaeography and environmental fieldwork.
6th in the UK for research in History
Based on our Grade Point Average (GPA) in REF 2021
Top 100 in world subject rankings for History
QS World University Subject Rankings 2024
Top 15 in the UK for History of Art, Architecture and Design
12th in The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025
Internationally recognised fine art, heritage and film collections on site, including the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum
Studying at Exeter has been a brilliant experience, it felt like the right choice from the first open day I visited.
Exeter has provided me with access to work experience in the local arts centres and museums, and has given me the opportunity to travel and visit the art we study in class. In my experience lecturers go above and beyond to provide academic support for students, as do the Wellbeing and Accessibility Services. I have also been able to join a range of academic and social societies, in which I have made friends for life.
India
BA Art History & Visual Culture and Classics
Entry requirements (typical offer)
Qualification | Typical offer | Required subjects |
---|---|---|
A-Level | ABB | n/a |
IB | 32/655 | n/a |
BTEC | DDM | n/a |
GCSE | C or 4 | English Language |
Access to HE | 24 L3 Credits at Distinction Grade and 21 L3 credits at Merit Grade. | N/A |
T-Level | Distinction | N/A |
Contextual Offer | A-Level: BBC |
Specific subject requirements must still be achieved where stated above. Find out more about contextual offers. |
Other accepted qualifications | ||
English language requirements |
International students need to show they have the required level of English language to study this course. The required test scores for this course fall under Profile B2. Please visit our English language requirements page to view the required test scores and equivalencies from your country. |
NB General Studies is not included in any offer.
Grades advertised on each programme webpage are the typical level at which our offers are made and provide information on any specific subjects an applicant will need to have studied in order to be considered for a place on the programme. However, if we receive a large number of applications for the programme we may not be able to make an offer to all those who are predicted to achieve/have achieved grades which are in line with our typical offer. For more information on how applications are assessed and when decisions are released, please see: After you apply
Course content
30 credits of compulsory Art History & Visual Culture modules, 45 credits of compulsory History modules, 30 credits of optional Art History & Visual Culture modules, and 15 credits of optional History modules.
Compulsory modules
a - You must select HIH1421 Understanding Medieval and Early Modern History OR HIH1422 Understanding Modern History.
Code | Module | Credits |
---|---|---|
HIH1137 | Becoming a Historian: Core | 15 |
HIH1421 | Understanding Medieval and Early Modern History [See note a above] | 30 |
HIH1422 | Understanding Modern History [See note a above] | 30 |
AHV1011 | Questions and Methods in Art History and Visual Culture | 30 |
Optional modules
b - select one of the three Art History & Visual Culture option modules
c - select 15 credits from this list of optional History modules.
Code | Module | Credits |
---|---|---|
AHV1005 | Inside the Museum [See note b above] | 15 |
AHV1009 | Topics in Art History and Visual Culture II [See note b above] | 15 |
AHV1012 | Approaches to Art History and Visual Culture [See note b above] | 30 |
History Stage 1 Option modules 2024-5 [See note c above] | ||
HIH1402 | Britain, America, and the Global Order, 1846-1946 | 15 |
HIH1618 | Body, Border, Partition: Understanding Violence in South Asia | 15 |
HIH1140 | Confinement, Care, Cure: Psychiatric Institutions in the Twentieth Century | 15 |
HIH1412 | Early Modern Magic and Witchcraft | 15 |
HIH1614 | Environment and Industry, 1750-1950: Global Perspectives | 15 |
HIH1053 | Gender and Sexuality in the Middle Ages | 15 |
HIH1600 | Images of Stalinism | 15 |
HIH1585 | Ladies of the Night: Prostitution in the Victorian World | 15 |
HIH1607 | JFK | 15 |
HIH1002 | Losing an Empire, Finding a Role: Britain Since 1945 | 15 |
HIH1042 | Murder in Early Modern England | 15 |
HIH1411 | From Wigan Pier to Piccadilly: Britain between the Wars | 15 |
HIH1501 | The Viking Phenomenon | 15 |
HIH1506 | The First Day of the Somme | 15 |
HIH1532 | The History of Strategic Thinking | 15 |
HIH1596 | The Good War? The United States in World War II | 15 |
HIH1612 | Renaissance Florence 1350-1550 | 15 |
30 credits of compulsory Art History & Visual Culture modules, 30 credits of optional Art History & Visual Culture modules and 60 credits of optional History modules.
Compulsory modules
Code | Module | Credits |
---|---|---|
AHV2015 | Art History and Visual Culture Field Study for Blended Learning | 30 |
Optional modules
d - Select 30 credits from Stage 2 Option Modules of Art History & Visual Culture, we recommend selecting at least one module from AHV2002 and AHV2007.
Select 60 credits from a single History Route A, B, C or D . You must take HIH2237 Doing History in the Digital Age if you intend to select HIH3005 History Dissertation or HIH3006 Research Dissertation in the final stage).
History Route A
2 History option modules. Art History & Visual Culture Dissertation in final stage
History Route B
HIH2002 Uses of the Past + 1 other History option. Art History & Visual Culture Dissertation in final stage
History Route C
HIH2237 Doing History in the Digital Age + 1 other History option. History Dissertation in final stage
History Route D
HIH2237 Doing History in the Digital Age + HIH2002 Uses of the Past. History Dissertation in final stage
Code | Module | Credits |
---|---|---|
AHVC Stage 2 Option Modules 2024-5 [See note d above] | ||
AHV2012 | Revolutions: Art and Society in France, 1770-1848 | 30 |
AHV2016 | Contemporary Art and Curation | 15 |
AHV2018 | Comics Studies: Histories, Methodologies, Genres | 30 |
AHV2021 | American Photographs | 15 |
AHV2022 | Animals in Nineteenth-century Art and Visual Culture | 15 |
AHV2023 | Global Impressionisms | 15 |
AHV2208 | Ideal Cities? Urban Cultures of Renaissance Italy | 15 |
AHV2013 | Photography and Evidence | 15 |
AHV2019 | Common Threads: Art, Craft and Activism | 15 |
AHV2020 | Deconstructing the Dutch Golden Age: Nationalism, Exceptionalism and Decline | 15 |
AHV2024 | Renaissances North and South: Italy and the Netherlands | 15 |
MLM2003 | Chinoiserie and Europeenerie: Artistic and cultural exchanges between China and Europe | 15 |
EAS2089 | Creative Industries: Their Past, Our Future | 30 |
AHV2002 | Debates and Contestations in Art History [See note d above] | 15 |
AHV2007 | Contemporary Visual Practices [See note d above] | 15 |
History CH Stage 2 Route A modules 2024-5 History Pathway A | ||
HIH2036A | Albion's Fatal Tree: Capital Punishment in England, 1688-1965 | 30 |
HIH2037 | American Frontiers: The West in U.S. History and Mythology | 30 |
HIH2041 | The First Welfare State? England's Poor Law, 1520-1835 | 30 |
HIH2016A | Living Through the Global: Colonial Migrants and the British Empire from the Eighteenth Century to the Present | 30 |
HIH2137A | Inventing Modern Man: Constructions of Mind, Body, and the Individual, 1400-1800 | 30 |
HIH2138A | History of Development: Ideologies, Politics, and Projects | 30 |
HIH2145A | Spain from Absolutism to Democracy | 30 |
HIH2208A | Medieval Paris | 30 |
HIH2210A | The Russian Empire, 1689-1917 | 30 |
HIH2218A | Religion, Society and Culture in Tudor England | 30 |
HIH2238 | Slavery, Revolution, Independence: Saint-Domingue and Haiti, 1685-1838 | 30 |
HIH2241 | Rise and Demise of Communism in Global Perspective | 30 |
HIH2587 | The Other Renaissance: Religion, Knowledge, and Power in the Twelfth Century | 30 |
HIH2590 | An Age of Iron? Europe in the Tenth Century | 30 |
HIH2591 | Philip Augustus and the Making of France, 1180-1223 | 30 |
HIH2594 | Europe in the Era of the Great War, 1908-1923: Crisis, Conflict and Collapse | 30 |
History CH Stage 2 Route B modules 2024-5 History Pathway B | ||
HIH2002 | Uses of the Past | 30 |
HIH2591 | Philip Augustus and the Making of France, 1180-1223 | 30 |
HIH2587 | The Other Renaissance: Religion, Knowledge, and Power in the Twelfth Century | 30 |
HIH2036A | Albion's Fatal Tree: Capital Punishment in England, 1688-1965 | 30 |
HIH2238 | Slavery, Revolution, Independence: Saint-Domingue and Haiti, 1685-1838 | 30 |
HIH2016A | Living Through the Global: Colonial Migrants and the British Empire from the Eighteenth Century to the Present | 30 |
HIH2210A | The Russian Empire, 1689-1917 | 30 |
HIH2138A | History of Development: Ideologies, Politics, and Projects | 30 |
History CH Stage 2 Route C modules 2024-5 History Pathway C | ||
HIH2237 | Doing History in the Digital Age | 30 |
HIH2208A | Medieval Paris | 30 |
HIH2590 | An Age of Iron? Europe in the Tenth Century | 30 |
HIH2218A | Religion, Society and Culture in Tudor England | 30 |
HIH2041 | The First Welfare State? England's Poor Law, 1520-1835 | 30 |
HIH2037 | American Frontiers: The West in U.S. History and Mythology | 30 |
HIH2145A | Spain from Absolutism to Democracy | 30 |
HIH2594 | Europe in the Era of the Great War, 1908-1923: Crisis, Conflict and Collapse | 30 |
HIH2241 | Rise and Demise of Communism in Global Perspective | 30 |
History CH Stage 2 Route D modules History Pathway D | ||
HIH2002 | Uses of the Past | 30 |
HIH2237 | Doing History in the Digital Age | 30 |
Typically, any placement year will take place in Year 3. If you are not taking a placement year please see the Final Year modules for year 3.
With Study Abroad
120 credit compulsory placement module
For your year abroad you will agree a suite of modules in your host institution with the Faculty Study Abroad Coordinator. Details of individual modules that may be taken whilst abroad can be found by accessing the partner institution’s factfile at http://www.exeter.ac.uk/international/abroad/where/ and navigating to the “Course Requirements” section of that factfile where a link to the modules on offer in the partner institution is displayed.
Compulsory modules
Code | Module | Credits |
---|---|---|
HUM3999 | Year Abroad | 120 |
With Employment Experience
120 credit compulsory placement module
Compulsory modules
Code | Module | Credits |
---|---|---|
HUM3998 | Employment Experience UK | 120 |
With Employment Experience Abroad
120 credit compulsory placement module
Compulsory modules
Code | Module | Credits |
---|---|---|
HUM3997 | Employment Experience Abroad | 120 |
0-30 credits of compulsory Art History & Visual Culture modules, 0-30 credits of compulsory History modules, 30-60 credits of optional Art History & Visual Culture modules, and 30-60 credits of optional History modules.
Compulsory modules
Route A or B taken in Stage 2 - Select AHV3000 Art History & Visual Culture Dissertation.
Route C or D taken in stage 2 - Select either HIH3005 History Dissertation or HIH3006 History Research Dissertation.
Code | Module | Credits |
---|---|---|
AHV3000 | Art History and Visual Culture Dissertation | 30 |
HIH3005 | General Third-Year Dissertation | 30 |
HIH3006 | Research Project Dissertation | 30 |
Optional modules
Route A or B taken in Stage 2 - Select 30 credits of Art History & Visual Culture Options. Select a Special Subject pair consisting of both a Sources and Context module for 60 credits.
Route C or D taken in stage 2 - Select 30 credits from the Concepts modules, or 30 credits outside History. Select 60 credits of Art History & Visual Culture options.
If choosing option modules outside of your named subjects, you must make sure that your total for both History and Art History & Visual Culture is 90 credits each over the second and final year. This is to ensure you meet the requirements needed for the degree title.
Code | Module | Credits |
---|---|---|
AHVC Final Stage Option Modules 2024-5 Art History & Visual Culture Options | ||
AHV3002 | Understanding Space in Renaissance Italy | 15 |
AHV3007 | Global Modernisms | 15 |
AHV3008 | Performance Art | 15 |
AHV3009 | Paris to the World: Modelling the Modern City | 15 |
AHV3012 | Installation Art | 15 |
AHV3017 | 'Queen City of Europe': Art, Culture and Society in Renaissance Antwerp, c.1500-70 | 15 |
EAF3515 | Something to See: War and Visual Media | 30 |
EAS3245 | The 21st Century Museum | 30 |
EAS3421 | Picturing the Global City: Literature and Visual Culture in the 21st Century | 30 |
EAS3504 | Surrealism and its Legacies | 30 |
HUM3015 | The Place of Meaning: Gardens in Britain and China | 15 |
MLG3036 | Dictatorships on Display: History Exhibitions in Germany and Austria | 15 |
AHV3013 | Art, Industry and the Modern, 1840-1900 | 15 |
AHV3019 | Artists' Film and Video | 15 |
AHV3018 | The Body in Art and Disability Studies | 15 |
AHV3020 | Subjectivity and Storytelling: From Decorative Arts to Digital Futures | 15 |
THE3229 | Syriac Christianity: Monks, Monasteries and Mimre | 30 |
History UG Final Year Special Subjects 2024-5 Special Subjects | ||
HIH3415 | Everyday Stalinism: Life in the Soviet Union, 1928-53 | 60 |
HIH3416 | Critics of Empire | 60 |
HIH3417 | The Yes, Minister Files: Perspectives on British Government since 1914 | 60 |
HIH3422 | Street Protest and Social Movements in the Modern Era | 60 |
HIH3426 | Health and its Politics in the 20th Century | 60 |
HIH3430 | From the Grand Tour to Gladiator: Modern encounters with the ancient world | 60 |
HIH3433 | Beyond Cannibalism: Indigenous Peoples and the European Colonisation of Brazil, 1500-1822 | 60 |
HIH3434 | The Body in Early Modern England | 60 |
HIH3436 | Engendering Empire: Making the British Imperial World | 60 |
HIH3437 | Death to the Traitors: Rebellion and Resisting Tyranny in the Middle Ages | 60 |
HIH3438 | The Rise of Capitalism in Britain 1660-1830 | 60 |
HIH3439 | Women's Experience in Britain: Race, Class and Gender since 1945 | 60 |
HIH3441 | Britons Abroad: The Experience of Travel, c. 1650-1900 | 60 |
HIH3442 | From Its Cradle to Its Grave? The National Health Service in Britain, 1948-Present | 60 |
HIH3444 | Them and Us: Imagining the Social "Other" in Britain since the 1880s | 60 |
HIH3450 | Decolonisation and Colonial Conflict | 60 |
HIH3451 | Borders and Mobilities in Postcolonial South Asia | 60 |
HIH3452 | Whiteness: A Global History | 60 |
HIH3448 | Britain and the Age of Revolution, 1775-1832 | 60 |
History UG Final Stage Concepts Concepts | ||
HIH3330 | Truth | 30 |
HIH3332 | Labour | 30 |
HIH3333 | In Sickness and in Health | 30 |
HIH3334 | War | 30 |
HIH3336 | Revolution | 30 |
HIH3331 | Elites | 30 |
Course variants
UCAS code: VV32
Our four-year ‘with Study Abroad’ degree, offers you the possibility of spending your third year abroad, studying with one of our many partner universities.
Why Study Abroad?
Living and studying in a different country is an exciting experience that broadens your academic and cultural horizons, as well as giving you the opportunity to widen your circle of friends. Students who have studied abroad demonstrate initiative, independence, motivation and, depending on where they stay, may also have gained a working knowledge of another language – all key qualities that employers are looking for in today’s competitive employment environment.
Where can I Study Abroad?
We have partnership arrangements with many prestigious institutions across the globe. Exactly where you can apply to study will depend on the subjects you are studying at Exeter. For a full list please visit the Study Abroad website.
Does it count towards my degree?
Credit for academic work during your year abroad is arranged by agreement between the University of Exeter and the host institution. These marks are then translated back into your degree at Exeter. If you are Studying Abroad for a semester or full year, your time abroad will count toward your final degree. Please refer to your Study Abroad co-ordinator for further details.
How does it affect my tuition fee and funding?
For the year that you spend studying abroad you will pay a significantly reduced tuition fee to Exeter, but nothing to your host university – for more information visit our fees pages. If you were previously eligible, you will continue to receive a maintenance loan whilst on your Study Abroad year.
UCAS code: VV33
Our four-year ‘with Employment Experience’ degree, offers you the possibility of spending your third year carrying out a graduate-level work placement or placements within the UK as part of your degree.
Why choose to include Employment Experience?
Undertaking graduate-level work during your degree unlocks a world of experience that allows you to develop essential employability and interpersonal skills that relate to your degree and future career. A work placement will dramatically boost your confidence, enhance your CV and develop graduate level skills and competencies that employers are looking for.
Where will I do my work placement?
The sector you choose to work within is very much your choice as you will be responsible for finding and organising your placement. We will provide plenty of guidance and support during your first and second years which will prepare you to research and apply for placements. Ultimately, the university will give final approval to your placement to make sure you have a valuable experience.
How does it affect my tuition fees and funding?
For your ‘Year In Industry’ you will pay a significantly reduced tuition fee to Exeter – for more information visit our fees pages. If you were previously eligible, you will continue to receive a maintenance loan whilst on your year of work placement/s.
Find out more
Visit our website to learn more about employment experience opportunities.
UCAS code: VV34
Our four-year ‘with Employment Experience Abroad’ degree, offers you the possibility of spending your third year abroad, carrying out a graduate-level work placement or placements as part of your degree.
Why choose to include Employment Experience Abroad?
Spending up to a year living and working in a different country is an exciting experience that broadens your academic and cultural horizons, as well as giving you the opportunity to widen your circle of friends. By carrying out a graduate-level work placement or placements abroad you can demonstrate to employers your adaptability, cultural awareness, independence and resourcefulness and, depending on where you stay, may also have gained a working knowledge of another language.
Where will I do my work placement?
The sector and country you choose to work within is very much your choice as you will be responsible for finding and organising your placement. We will provide plenty of guidance and support during your first and second years which will prepare you to research and apply for placements. Ultimately, the university will give final approval to your placement to make sure you have a valuable experience.
How does it affect my tuition fee?
For your ‘Year In Industry’ you will pay a significantly reduced tuition fee to Exeter – for more information visit our fees pages. If you were previously eligible, you will continue to receive a maintenance loan whilst on your year of work placement/s.
Is the placement paid?
You will be paid in accordance with the rules of the country you work in and there may be visa restrictions or requirements which you need to consider when applying.
Find out more
Visit our website to learn more about employment experience opportunities.
Fees
Tuition fees for 2025 entry
UK students: £9,250 per year
International students: £24,700 per year
Scholarships
The University of Exeter has many different scholarships available to support your education, including £5 million in scholarships for international students, such as our Global Excellence Scholarships*. Financial support is also available for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, lower income households and other under-represented groups to help them access, succeed and progress through higher education.
* Terms and conditions apply. See online for details.
Learning and teaching
How will I learn?
You will be taught by internationally respected staff, who are leading researchers in their specialisms. We use a wide variety of techniques and approaches including seminars, lectures, study groups and web-based learning, as well as valuable field study. We integrate the latest approaches with traditional learning and teaching to give you a varied and challenging programme. As you study the compulsory modules, you will learn through individual practical and project work, teamwork and a research project, all of which are designed to help you develop key skills for success throughout your degree and into your future career.
For your History modules, you will learn through lectures, tutorials and seminars, with a growing emphasis at each successive level on student-led learning. Modules are designed to encourage you to think about long-term developments and processes of historical change, and to make comparisons between countries and cultures. This helps you progress from the more tightly defined topics studied at A level. Modules are also designed to encourage you to think and write analytically about these broad subjects. They emphasise historical questions that require you to identify patterns across time, or between countries, and to isolate common or competing trends, instead of concentrating on short-term or single explanations.
How will I be assessed?
Assessment methods vary between modules, but generally include coursework, project work, written exams and various forms of presentation. Please see the individual module descriptions for further details.
You must pass your first-year assessment, to progress to the second year, but the results do not count towards your degree classification. For three-year programmes, the assessments in the second and third years contribute to your final degree classification. For four-year programmes the assessments in the second, third and fourth years all contribute to your final degree classification.
Contact time
You’ll receive ten contact hours per week with staff, both in teaching time and with your personal tutor You’re also expected to invest a lot of time in independent study; this involves individual study and contact with your study-group (for example, in preparation for seminars). The exact amount of time spent working independently varies from module to module.
Research-inspired teaching
Teaching that is inspired by research ensures lectures are up-to-date and relevant: you will benefit from access to the latest thinking, equipment and resources. All staff teach third year options which are linked to a broad range of their own interests.
Academic support
All students have access to a personal tutor, who is available for advice and support throughout your studies. There are also several services on campus where you can get advice and information, including the Students’ Guild Advice Unit.
Optional modules outside of this course
Each year, if you have optional modules available, you can take up to 30 credits in a subject outside of your course. This can increase your employability and widen your intellectual horizons.
Proficiency in a second subject
If you complete 60 credits of modules in one of the subjects below, you may have the words 'with proficiency in [e.g. Social Data Science]' added to your degree title when you graduate.
- A Foreign Language
- Data Science
- Entrepreneurship
- Innovation
- Law (Penryn Campus only)
- Leadership
- Management
- Social Data Science
Your future
Employer-valued skills this course develops
Studying Art History & Visual Culture equips students with a broad range of highly desirable transferable skills in analysis, critique, research and theoretical and practical creativity. These will prepare you to enter a wide variety of professions.
You will also develop specialist knowledge of everything from traditional art forms such as architecture and sculpture, to today’s visual practices such as film, video, performance and digital art. You will benefit from productive engagement with collections, institutions and art groups in the area, in tandem with the wider arts community in the South West and beyond.
Further study
The Art History & Visual Culture programme prepares its graduates to undertake postgraduate study or training in areas such as education, arts management and journalism, amongst others. Recent graduates have gone on to study:
- MA Publishing
- MA Multimedia Broadcast Journalism
- MA Creative Advertising
- CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst)
- MA Fine and Decorative Arts
- MA Marketing & International Management
- Graduate Diploma in Law
- MA Stage and Event Management
Career support and pathways
We have a dedicated, award-winning Careers Service, ensuring you have access to careers advisors, mentors and the tools you need to succeed in finding employment in your chosen field on graduation. We offer the Exeter Award and the Exeter Leaders Award, which include employability-related workshops, skills events, volunteering and employment which will contribute to your career decision-making skills and success in the employment market.
Art History & Visual Culture graduates compete very successfully in the employment market, with many employers targeting the University when recruiting new graduates.
Examples of roles recent graduates are now working as include:
- Art Gallery Intern
- Brand Intern in fashion industry
- Civil Service Fast Stream
- Collections Information Officer
- Editorial Assistant
- Events Planner
- Marketing Intern
- PR Account Executive
- Researcher
- TV Promotions Assistant