MA History of Design and Material Culture at University of Brighton

Join our pioneering masters course, renowned globally and with a course team leading the field through groundbreaking research. Dive into the study of objects, images and spaces from the eighteenth to the twenty-first century, exploring topics from protest T-shirts to wedding dresses and car ads to street photography. Engage in contemporary debates on gender, identity, sustainable design and decolonisation.

Faculty: School of Humanities and Social Science  |  Department: History of Art and Design  |  Duration: full-time: 1 year; part-time: 2 years  |  Study mode: full-time / part-time  |  Location: Brighton, England, United Kingdom

What you will study

Your MA will be structured around two core modules: Exploring Objects and Mediating Objects (20 credits each). Over two semesters, these modules will enable you to understand and use current theoretical frameworks in the interpretation of material worlds and their myriad representations. Collectively, seminar working, close reading and wide-ranging discussions are the key learning and teaching strategy of these two modules, with the aim of supporting and developing your skills of expression and articulation. Modules include Exploring Objects, Mediating Objects, Dissertation, Independent Study: Extended Essay.

Career pathways

The course has an excellent track record in helping students to pursue careers in related areas as well as further study. Many of our postgraduates have found work as lecturers, curators, journalists, designers and design consultants, while many others have pursued doctoral research, some also securing prestigious funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

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