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Home>Study at York>Postgraduate taught>Courses 2024/25>History of Art (MA)>History of Art (MA) Option Modules

Degree structure

Full-time

Taken full-time, the one-year taught MA consists of:

  • Autumn and Spring Terms: a core module focusing on Research Skills and Methods in History of Art. 
  • Autumn Term: two taught option modules of your choice. 
  • Spring Term: two further modules of your choice.
  • Summer Term and vacation: a dissertation of 15,000 words.

Part-time

If you study the course part-time you'll take one option in each of the Autumn and Spring Terms, and work on your dissertation during the Summer Terms and vacations. 

Specialist pathways

If you have chosen to study Architectural History and Theory, British Art, Medieval Art and Medievalisms, or Modern and Contemporary Art these are referred to as pathways. At least two of your option modules and your dissertation must be completed in your chosen pathway. You will also need to complete the Research Skills core module for your programme.

Beyond this, the programme structure provides the flexibility for you to either specialise entirely in your pathway, or to select up to two of your option modules from art history modules outside the field, or from modules offered by other humanities departments and interdisciplinary centres. Training will be offered in both general and pathway-specific research skills.

Option modules

Please note that the following is a provisional list of the modules the department is hoping to offer in 2019-20 and may, therefore, be subject to change.

Autumn 2019

Spring 2020