Faculty of Arts and Humanities
Exploring the human experience, past, present and future.
Our faculty brings together staff and students in intellectual excellence and creative practice, pushing boundaries across arts, humanities and sciences.
We advance knowledge and sector-aligned skills in areas such as heritage, architecture, literature, material cultures, visual and performing arts, language, digital media, and the application of AI.
Our campus and city offer an inspiring place to work and study. As an interdisciplinary community, we foster collaboration, innovation, and support for both teaching and research. Our work extends academic ambition and reinforces York’s commitment to being a University for Public Good, locally and globally.
Related links
We are a vibrant and friendly community dedicated to providing an outstanding learning environment for our students. This is characterised by innovative and internationally-recognised research. Our approach is informed by creative practice and collaboration with a wide range of partners in the heritage and culture sectors, creative industries and beyond.
Professor Duncan Petrie, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities
Departments and schools
Our departments offer courses at all study levels: undergraduate, postgraduate taught and postgraduate research. We also offer specialist CPD courses.
Research centres
We are an interdisciplinary research community. Some of our centres also offer postgraduate taught and postgraduate research courses.
Find a course
Meet our Faculty of Arts and Humanities team
We're a robust team made up of heads of academic departments and faculty-aligned staff, including, but not limited to:
- Professor Duncan Petrie, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities
- Professor Rachel Cowgill, Associate Dean for Research and Director of the Humanities Research Centre
- Professor Sam Hellmuth, Associate Dean for Teaching, Learning and Students
- Heather Niven, Associate Dean for Partnerships, Engagement and International
- Ros Roberts, Director of Faculty Operations
Our research
From our pioneering expertise in critical heritage research and conservation, to our innovative work in performance and digital creativities, we are internationally recognised for our research excellence and impactful work across the arts and humanities.
Home to the renowned Humanities Research Centre, we bring together a vibrant community of academics and research students as part of a thriving community. Collaboration and place-based partnership working at its heart.
Explore some of our key research projects and collaborations.
Mapping Africa's endangered archaeological sites and monuments
Working to document endangered archaeological heritage sites across Africa dated from the Palaeolithic/Early Stone Age to the 20th century.
Pantheons: sculpture at St Paul’s Cathedral, c.1796-1916
An exploration of the unparalleled collection of monuments in one of England’s most iconic buildings.
Heritage for global challenges
Bringing critical attention to how heritage is made, managed and understood.
CoSTAR Live Lab
Redefining the future of live performance.
Celebrating 250 years of Jane Austen and JMW Turner
Working with Harewood House on a major exhibition dedicated to the novelist and the painter.
Finding YorVoice
Examining atypical voices and the perceptions people make about them.
Faculty highlights
Here's a glimpse at what it's like to be part of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at York.
Partnerships
We collaborate with a diverse set of business and academic partners across sectors to share knowledge and experience, and work to tackle challenges to achieve positive change. These range from local and regional heritage and arts organisations, to global companies, including Sony Interactive Entertainment and Vodafone.
We also have strong links with universities across the world. Current teaching partnerships include the University of Rochester (New York), Georgetown University (Washington) and Renmin University (China).