Welcome to Cambridge! The Department of History of Art and Architecture has been an international centre of academic excellence for over fifty years. We are a lively and supportive postgraduate community. Our postgraduate alumni have gone on to great things in a wide range of fields, from leading major international museums to distinguished careers in academia, the commercial artworld and the museum and heritage sectors. Beyond the worlds of art, media and culture, our alumni have succeeded in fields including business and finance, law and consultancy, philanthropy and government.
MPhil in the Global History of Art and Architecture
The Department of History of Art is delighted to offer a new MPhil in the Global History of Art and Architecture. In keeping with the Department’s continued commitment to cutting-edge research and teaching, this new programme is supported by new hires in Early Modern Chinese Art, the History of Medieval and Early Modern Islamic Art and African and Caribbean Modern and Contemporary Art. Students will be taught by world-leading specialists in a diverse range of fields and enjoy unique opportunities to work closely with the staff and holdings of the Cambridge Museums and Collections.
The programme serves as both preparation for future research and as a standalone postgraduate qualification. It aims to educate the next generation of scholars in global visual and material culture. Through collections-based, object-centred research and teaching, closely engaged with the diverse holdings of partner institutions such as the Fitzwilliam Museum, Kettle’s Yard, the University Library and the Hamilton Kerr Institute, we seek to train the future research students, future museums, arts and heritage sector professionals and future leaders of the commercial art world. We are a dynamic and vibrant international centre of postgraduate study, attracting talented and ambitious research students from across the globe to come and study at Cambridge.
The PhD in History of Art is an advanced research degree which requires the successful completion of an individual research thesis and an oral examination (viva voce). Students acquire and refine the research skills necessary to complete a substantial work of research that makes an original contribution to knowledge, working under the guidance of a supervisor who is a specialist in their chosen subject area.
All postgraduate students participate in the Department’s various research seminar series and can join the rich variety of disciplinary and interdisciplinary seminars available in the wider University. All students become a member of one of the Cambridge colleges and can take a full part in all aspects of college life, from sports and societies to art, music and drama.
We offer our students an excellent programme of training, transferable skills and advice from the Careers Service. Students will be equipped with the skills, knowledge and experience required for careers in the history of art and in other fields at the very highest level.