MPhil in the Global History of Art and Architecture
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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 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.
Teaching and Skills Training
Students complete a core module that provides a rigorous grounding in the theories and methods essential for the study of global art and architecture. Students will debate, critique and reflect throughout the year on what it means to study the history of art, which key theoretical frameworks help them understand the discipline and the particular intellectual tools required for studying ‘the global’.
Alongside training in relevant theories and methodologies, students will complete two specialist option papers across different areas of the global history of art and architecture. All option papers are situated within the four ‘streams’ of the MPhil programme: Asia and the Islamic World; Africa and the Transatlantic World; Britain and the Wider World; Europe and the Mediterranean. Throughout the year, students will receive transferable skills training, including in a relevant language of their choice (which may be studied ab initio or at a more advanced level depending on proficiency). To complete the course, students will write a 15,000-word dissertation in their chosen area of interest. While they will be guided by the research supervision of a scholar with appropriate expertise, the student’s own academic interests come to the fore here. Completing an independent research project of this type is often one of the most rewarding experiences of postgraduate study.
Our Community
We are a welcoming, diverse and supportive community. 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.
Cambridge is an outstanding, stimulating and inspiring place to study the history of art: with its unparalleled cluster of museums and renowned works of architecture, the city and its colleges together form a unique setting in which to strive for academic excellence.
Applications
The MPhil can be completed on a full-time or part-time basis. Students admitted to the programme do not need to have a first degree in the History of Art and will receive a thorough introduction to the subject through their completion of the MPhil programme. We welcome a broad range of applicants, recognising that students may have come to the history of art via many different academic paths and through a variety of life experiences.
Further information on the course and how to apply can be found at: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/directory/ahahmphaa
If you have any queries, please contact the Postgraduate Office at: postgraduate.admin@aha.cam.ac.uk