Art History MA (Honours) 2025 entry

Entry requirements

The University offers different entry requirements, depending on your background. Find out more about Standard, Minimum and Gateway entry requirements using academic entry explained and see which entry requirements you need to look at using the entry requirements indicator.

For degrees combining more than one subject, the subject with the higher entry requirements determines the grades you need. You will also need to meet any further subject-specific entry requirements as outlined on their pages.

• SQA Highers

  Standard entry grades:

  AAAB

  Minimum entry grades:

  AABB

  Gateway entry grades:

  Applicants who have narrowly missed the minimum entry grades, but meet the University's contextual criteria, may be interested in one of the University’s Gateway programmes.

• GCE A-Levels

  Standard entry grades:

  AAA

  Minimum entry grades:

  ABB

• IB points

  Standard entry grades:

  36 (HL 6,6,5)

  Minimum entry grades:

  36 (HL 6,5,5)

General entry requirements

All applicants must have attained the following qualifications, or equivalent, in addition to the specific entry requirements for individual programmes.

• SQA qualifications

  SQA National 5 (B) in English and one SQA National 5 (B) from the following:

  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Computing science
  • Geography
  • Applications of Mathematics
  • Mathematics
  • Physics
  • Psychology.

• GCSE qualifications

  GCSE (5) in English language or English literature, and one GCSE (5) from the following:

  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Computing Science
  • Geography
  • Mathematics
  • Physics
  • Psychology.

Other qualifications

We accept a wide range of qualifications for entry on to our programmes. Please see our entry requirements for more information.

More information on how to apply via other entry routes or accreditation of prior learning and experience can be found on the University’s entry requirements web page.

Do I need to have studied this subject before?

No previous knowledge of art history is required.

Alternative study options

Students interested in this course may also be interested in the following:

Gateway programmes

Applicants who have narrowly missed the minimum entry grades but meet the University's contextual criteria may be interested in the Gateway to Arts programme.

Study abroad

Art history students can apply to participate in the University-wide St Andrews Abroad programme. You may also have the opportunity to apply to participate in the School Abroad exchange programme. For information about study abroad options, please see the study abroad site. 

International applicants

If English is not your first language, you will need to provide an English language test score to evidence your English language ability. Find out more about approved English language tests and scores for this course.

Course details

The MA (Honours) in Art History is a four-year course run by the School of Art History. In your first two years, you will have the opportunity to study a broad chronological span of art from the medieval period to the present day.

Art History is a well-rounded discipline that brings together aspects of social and political history, language and literature, philosophy, aesthetics and psychology. Breadth of knowledge and perspective are encouraged and, for this reason, you will be required to study an additional two subjects alongside art history in the first year of your studies. In the second year you will usually continue with at least one of these subjects, sometimes two. Find out more about how academic years are organised. 

The skills you gain in visual and source analysis, as well as understanding of critical frameworks, will prepare you to explore more advanced topics in your third and fourth years. During this time, you will choose specialist modules from a wide range of options corresponding to the research interests of individual members of staff. Final year students will also write a dissertation on a topic chosen in consultation with staff.

Graduates in Art History from St Andrews can expect to have highly developed skills of independent critical thinking and judgement, as well as an in-depth knowledge of a wide range of visual culture and its historical and critical contexts. 

The University of St Andrews operates on a flexible modular degree system by which degrees are obtained through the accumulation of credits. More information on the structure of the modules system can be found on the flexible degree structure web page.

Modules

In the first two years of your degree (known as sub-honours) you will take the required modules in art history alongside modules in usually two other subjects.

During your third and fourth years (known as Honours), you will take specialised modules in art history (and in one other subject if doing a joint Honours degree).

Typically, you will take three modules per semester during your first two years, and two modules per semester during your Honours years.

Fees

Scotland
£1,820

England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland, Channel Islands, Isle of Man

Following the decision of the UK Government to raise undergraduate tuition fees and maintenance loans in line with inflation from April 2025, we are reviewing the consequences of that decision for fees payable by students from the rest of the UK who have chosen to study in Scotland. We will update the information on this page as soon as possible.

EU and overseas
£31,670

More information on tuition fees can be found on the undergraduate fees and funding page.

Accommodation fees

Find out about accommodation fees for University accommodation.

Funding and scholarships

The University of St Andrews offers a number of scholarships and support packages to undergraduate students each year.

Joint Honours degrees

You can also take Art History as part of a joint Honours degree in which you will take core modules of your chosen subjects.

Joint degrees taken with Arabic, Chinese Studies, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish are also available 'With Integrated Year Abroad'. 

"With" degrees

You can take Art History as part of a "with" Honours degree in which the majority of the course deals with the first name subject. St Andrews offers the following "with" degrees in Art History:

• Master of Arts (Honours) Art History with Bible and Culture - UCAS code AB01

Careers

A degree in art history provides an excellent foundation for a career in museums and galleries, arts administration, the art trade or teaching. As art history is studied in social, geographical, cultural and psychological contexts, you will develop an understanding of how different societies evolve and how art impacts our lives.

Popular career areas for art history students include:

• business and finance 
• catering and hospitality  
• cultural institutions 
• curatorship  
• law 
• marketing  
• media  
• public relations
• publishing.

In recent years, art history graduates at St Andrews have secured employment in a wide range of positions at various companies, including:

• the BBC 
• the British Library 
• Christie’s 
• Country Life magazine
• Legal and General 
• National Museums Scotland 
• Phaidon Press 
• Royal Archives 
• Sotheby’s 
• Tiffany and Co.
• Vertigo Films 
• The Week magazine

In your degree, you will also gain a number of transferable skills which are highly valued by employers across all sectors. These include the ability to:

• understand aspects of culture and history in different time periods and geographical locations. 
• produce logical and structured narratives and arguments supported by evidence. 
• effectively communicate ideas by deploying visual material in conjunction with written or oral presentation. 
• work constructively and productively in groups. 

The Careers Centre offers one-to-one advice to all students as well as a programme of events to assist students to build their employability skills.

Contact us

Phone

+44 (0)1334 46 2399

Email

art.history@st-andrews.ac.uk

Address

School of Art History
79 North Street
St Andrews
KY16 9AL

School of Art History website