History of Art (PhD, MPhil) at University of Bristol

The Department of History of Art is a thriving and collegial centre for the study of art, visual culture and theory. Staff specialisms range from medieval altarpieces to collage and cartoons, from pre-Renaissance sculpture to contemporary art of the diaspora. We are interested in thinking across historical periods and through a variety of critical approaches.

Faculty: Faculty of Science and Engineering  |  Duration: MPhil: one year full-time, two years part-time. PhD: up to four years full-time, up to eight years part-time  |  Study mode: full-time, part-time  |  Intake: January 2027, September 2027, January 2028.  |  Location: Bristol, England, United Kingdom

What you will study

MPhil: a standalone, one-year (full-time) research degree. Students will undertake their own research project, concluding in the submission of a 25,000-word dissertation. Students may have the option to audit units from our taught master's programmes if they are relevant to their research.

Career pathways

A large number of graduates from this programme develop careers in higher education or work on high-level research projects in the fields of history of art and visual culture. Some graduates take up careers in gallery and museum management and curation, art consultancy, publishing or in the commercial fine art market.

Official programme page