Program Overview
The Modern and Contemporary Art: History at The University of Edinburgh is a MSc programme in Humanities over 12 months, delivered On-campus. This programme equips graduates with advanced knowledge and practical skills for professional and academic careers in the field.
Students gain a rigorous grounding in both the theoretical foundations and applied dimensions of humanities. The programme combines coursework, research components, and practical projects that develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and specialist expertise relevant to industry and research needs.
Graduates of the Modern and Contemporary Art: History programme are well-prepared for careers in academia, industry, government, and the private sector across United Kingdom and internationally. The programme provides an internationally recognised qualification within the Bologna higher education framework.
Key Program Features
- Duration: 12 months
- Language of instruction: English
- Study mode: On-campus
- English requirement: IELTS 7
- Tuition: GBP 20,100 (Tuition (Year)) — International students; GBP 9,500 (Tuition (Year)) — EU/EEA students
- Location: Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Career Opportunities
Graduates of the Modern and Contemporary Art: History programme are prepared for diverse careers in humanities:
- Researcher / Academic
- Cultural Programme Manager
- Editor / Writer
- Translator / Interpreter
- Museum Curator
- Communications Specialist
Program Curriculum
The programme of study comprises two core courses, option courses, and the dissertation where you demonstrate you can develop and pursue your own research ideas.
Compulsory courses
The two core courses of the programme are taught by a team of experts.
Research: Theories and Methods (Semester 1)
This course introduces a variety of approaches to doing research in the field at postgraduate level, and is essential not just to students who will seek positions in the art field but also to those who would like to carry on to a PhD.
Cultures and Politics of Display (Semester 2)
This course offers more specialised knowledge on how we encounter art and/or mediate and contextualise it as professionals - especially through curatorial work.
In the final part of this course, you will meet the Fellow in Contemporary Art Theory and Curating who will give you insider knowledge about their practice (the Fellow is often an established curator).
Option courses
Option courses can vary each year, but address developments from the art of the Industrial Revolution to the global art worlds and its challenges today, all exploring the changing role of art and art institutions in society.
Potential topics include:
- modern art movements (Impressionism, Surrealism, German Expressionism)
- artists' use of photography and film, and how such artworks can be displayed
- art policy and inequality
- digital art and its frameworks
- performance, participatory and socially engaged art
- feminist, postcolonial and decolonial critiques
- questions on class and labour
- political memory, aesthetics and the lens
- creativity, the city, and museums
- the theories and politics shaping the contemporary art field
- curating and exhibition-making for modernity
- art in specific regions, countries and continents
- work placements as an option course in Semester 2 (but preparation begins in Semester 1).
Our option courses are specially designed by staff as leading researchers in their fields (many with curatorial experience) with the aim of deepening your knowledge in a specific subject and exciting your intellectual curiosity.
They engage theory-led debates while also introducing and contextualising a range of artworks and related cultural artefacts and their contexts of mediation.
Find courses for this programme
Find out what courses you can study on this programme and how each of them are taught and assessed.
The courses on offer may change from year to year, but the course information will give you an idea of what to expect on this programme.
Full-time
Part-time
We link to the latest information available. This may be for a previous academic year and should be considered indicative.
Admission Requirements
Academic Requirements
You need the following GPA score:
Applicants for graduate programs must have the equivalent of a bachelor\xe2\x80\x99s degree with a minimum GPA equivalent to Upper Second Class on the UK Honour scale. Admitted applicants typically have an undergraduate GPA of or better on the UK Honour scale. No exam grade should be lower than 4.5 (European grade scale) or D (American grade scale).
Your GPA (Grade Point Average) is calculated using the grades that you received in each course, and is determined by the points assigned to each grade (e.g. for the US grading scale from A-F).
A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in a relevant subject.
English Proficiency: IELTS 7 or equivalent.
Tuition & Financial Information
Tuition Fee
GBP 20,100 (Tuition (Year)) — International students; GBP 9,500 (Tuition (Year)) — EU/EEA students
Tuition fees: GBP 20,100 (Tuition (Year)) — International students; GBP 9,500 (Tuition (Year)) — EU/EEA students
IELTS requirement: 7
Financial Aid & Scholarships
Contact The University of Edinburgh directly for scholarship, grant, and financial aid information for this programme. Many European universities offer merit-based and need-based funding for international and domestic students.
About The University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
University of Edinburgh (Universitas Academica Edinburgensis) is a historic and globally respected public research university in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, founded in 1583, making it one of the...
University Profile- Application Deadline 14 September 2026
- Start Date 2017-09-18
- Language English
- Duration 12 months