Art Gallery and Museum Studies

History and the Museum traces the emergence of art galleries, museums and country houses in western Europe and opens up critical questions about how the past is presented in art galleries and museums. You can build on this work and specialise in your own areas of interest, through choosing from an array of optional modules in the School that explore contemporary curatorial strategies, technologies and media, cultural memory and material culture.

In Interpretations, you will work on a collaborative curatorial intervention with one of the archives and collections on campus. This experience prepares yu for the option of undertaking a negotiated work placement or optional modules exploring audiences, participation or engagement in semester 2.

In Critical Issues, you are supported to locate interpretive, conservation, curatorial or marketing practices in the context of current academic and professional debates. Through a number of tailored strands – covering contemporary art, heritage, and curating science and technology – you will develop your own mini-research project which prepares you for your MA dissertation.

Through our Advanced Research Skills modules, you are equipped to undertake assessments and ultimately develop your own research project. The modules build to a symposium in semester 2 where you can present initial research findings towards a dissertation on a research topic of interest.

The optional module Placements in Context: Policy, Organisations and Practice supports you to undertake a placement with one of our many art gallery and museum partners. Previous students have completed placements at Harewood House, the Henry Moore Institute, The Hepworth Wakefield and the Royal Armouries, as well as many other organisations in Leeds and beyond.

If you choose to study part-time study, you will study over two calendar years and take fewer modules each year. It is expected that part-time students will be timetabled for around between three to five contact hours per week. The part-time option may be of special interest to those who are working in related fields as part of their career development.

Course structure

These are typical modules/components studied and may change from time to time. Read more in our Terms and conditions.

Modules Year 1

Compulsory modules

• Advanced Research Skills 1 5 credits
• Advanced Research Skills 2 5 credits
• Interpretations 15 credits
• Critical Issues 15 credits
• History and the Museum: Representation, Narrative and Memory 30 credits
• Dissertation for the MA in Art Gallery and Museum Studies 50 credits

Optional modules

• Derrida and Deconstruction 30 credits
• Placements in Context: Policy, Organizations and Practice 30 credits

For more information on typical modules, read Art Gallery and Museum Studies MA Full Time in the course catalogue

For more information on typical modules, read Art Gallery and Museum Studies MA Part Time in the course catalogue

Learning and teaching

You will be taught by leading researchers and experienced practitioners in their fields, and you will benefit from a range of teaching and learning methods. They include lectures and seminars, gallery and museum visits, as well as hands-on experience of specific collections in library sessions.

You will also learn from practical experience when you undertake your work placement, and a variety of external speakers will give you an insight into contemporary practice in the sector. Independent study is an important element of the degree, allowing you to develop your research and critical skills.

As part of the course, students are encouraged to build a portfolio of project work to support future job applications.

Assessment

Depending on the modules you choose, you may experience a range of different assessment methods. These can include essays, individual and group presentations, digital interpretation projects, portfolio building and project work.