Graduate Diploma in the History of Art

The Graduate Diploma in the History of Art at Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London is a concentrated form of the undergraduate degree that applies students’ previous skills to the study of art history. Teaching covers art and architecture from late antiquity to the present, across global periods and cultures, and it includes study in seminars, lectures, gallery visits, and tutorials.

The programme is delivered as a full-time nine-month option over two semesters or a part-time option over four semesters. Each semester includes a ‘Foundations’ module, two core modules—Physical Histories and Exhibiting Art—and a selection of modules from Histories and Approaches. Students also write a 5,000-word dissertation supported by a supervisor, and teaching uses lectures and seminars in small groups.

Modules

• Foundations 1 and 2
• Physical Histories
• Exhibiting Art
• Histories Module
• Approaches Module
• The Dissertation
• Approaches to Islamic Ornament, 650-1350
• Artists, Radicals, Mystics: European Art, 1760-1830
• Latin American Modernisms
• Embodiments: The Body as Subject and Object in Medieval Art
• Italian Renaissance Art in Global Perspective
• Ways of Seeing and Being Seen: The Politics of Vision in Modern and Contemporary art

UK qualifications: Students will normally have achieved a good 2.1 in their Bachelor’s degree.

Overseas qualification: Equivalent to a good 2.1 in a UK first degree (e.g. US applicants should have a cumulative GPA of 3.3 or above). Country-specific qualifications can be found here.

We welcome applicants with other forms of academic and relevant professional experience. Please note that applicants may be invited to interview on a case-by-case basis.