BA (Hons) History of Art and Literature
Course options
Key Details
- Award
- Degree of Bachelor of Arts
- UCAS Course Code
- VQ32
- Typical Offer
- AAB (specific subject requirements apply)
- Contextual Offer
- BBB (specific subject requirements apply)
- Course Length
- 3 years
- Course Start Date
- September 2024
Why you should choose us
Course Overview
Study words and images in unison and gain a deeper understanding of the intertwined histories of art and literature. You’ll encounter the most significant periods and movements of European, British and American art and literature. At the same time, you’ll broaden your horizons by exploring the arts of other cultures, including those of the Pacific, Africa and the Americas.
On our History of Art and English Literature degree, you’ll benefit from the expertise of both the School of History and Art History and the School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing. You’ll explore the intimate relationships forged between artistic movements both literary and visual, from the strong links between literature and the visual culture of the medieval period to the literary impressionism of the modernist period, to experimentation with word and image in postmodernity.
You’ll be equipped with key skills in imaginative understanding, critical thinking, and confident communication. You’ll expand and deepen your understanding of texts and artworks from a uniquely wide array of contexts while developing your intellectual and professional skills via your interaction with outstanding academics in both literature and history of art.
You’ll establish firm foundations in both disciplines through your engagement with different documents and sources. At the same time, you’ll encounter works of art at first-hand in the collections of the internationally renowned Sainsbury Centre, which includes works of modern European art and also outstanding works from Africa, Asia and the Americas.
In your second and third years, you’ll select from a range of optional modules in order to pursue your own interests in more depth. This will enable you, for example, to explore the medieval period through texts such as Julian of Norwich’s Revelations of Divine Love and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales alongside examples of the period’s visual art and cartography. Or you might choose to examine the 20th century through the history of modernist texts and modernist art, by studying movements such as Expressionism and Surrealism.
As you progress through the course, you’ll be encouraged to engage with different methods and approaches and to develop informed views of your own. You’ll consolidate your independence as a scholar through the completion of a research dissertation in your final year.
You’ll have the opportunity to study the world-famous collection of art held in the Sainsbury Centre, itself a celebrated icon of modern museum architecture. This means you’ll have access to important artworks from Asia, Africa, the Pacific, the Americas, and Europe. You’ll be able to study relevant objects at first-hand, while learning about the processes of collecting objects for museums.
This course is delivered by UEA’s world-leading School of History and Art History in cooperation with the School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing, which is famous for innovation in teaching and for cutting-edge research– that’s why in the most recent Times Higher Education Analysis (REF2021), UEA was ranked 19th in the UK for the quality of its research in English Language and Literature.
Art History and World Art Studies is part of a close network of internationally renowned centres for the study and display of art: the Sainsbury Centre, the Sainsbury Research Unit for the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas, and the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures. Our main areas of research are the history of art and architecture in Europe and North America; the arts of Africa, Asia, Oceania and South America; the archaeology and anthropology of art; and museum studies and cultural heritage.
Norwich is England's first UNESCO City of Literature, and it boasts a vibrant literary community. Great literature has been produced here, from the 14th century when Julian of Norwich became the first woman to write a book in English, right up to 20th and 21st century work by UEA graduates like Nobel Laureate Sir Kazuo Ishiguro, Booker Prize winner Ian McEwan and Costa Award winning author Emma Healey.
UEA’s School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing is famed for the quality, rigour and adventurousness of its teaching.
Placement Year and Study Abroad
You’ll have the opportunity to apply to spend the second semester of your second year studying abroad. Previous students have studied in Japan, Australia, Germany, France, Italy, and the United States. Your time abroad will be an invaluable academic and cultural experience, one that most students consider to be the highlight of their time at university. Current opportunities are listed on the University’s Study Abroad pages.
Study and Modules
Structure
You’ll begin with studies of art, artists, and the processes of creating. Here you’ll engage directly with artworks first-hand in order to explore different techniques and visual effects, deepening your appreciation of their different functions and meanings. At the same time, you’ll be introduced to the role literature has played in shaping history.
In the second semester, you’ll engage with some of the most significant topics in art history, beginning with an exploration of the role of portraiture in shaping our identities. You’ll also be introduced to the global history of English and English literature itself, from its origins in multilingual medieval society to the extraordinary literatures which are still being forged today from the legacies of colonialism and its resistance.
Compulsory Modules
Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning
You’ll be taught by leading scholars in the fields of art history and literature and will learn through a combination of lectures, seminars and field trips.
Throughout this degree your learning activities will involve a combination of lectures, small group seminars and tutorials combined with independent learning. A representative week will consist of 15-20% class time, 40% work on assessments and 40% on independent learning.
Your seminar groups will very rarely have more than 18 students. This allows for plenty of dialogue between you and your tutors. Teaching methods vary but most sessions are organised around investigation of particular topics supported by close analysis of artworks and texts. Your lectures will be delivered by members of staff from literature and art history, plus specialist guest speakers.
In your first year, you’ll be guided to prepare material for classes, which you’ll often later use as a starting point for an assessment. You’ll also be given the opportunity to engage with a diverse range of relevant presentation styles such as catalogue entries and exhibition reviews. On the literature side of your degree, you’ll read extraordinary books, with a framework of guided tasks provided by your lecturers to help you get the most out of them.
Assessment
You won’t sit any formal examinations. Instead, in each year you’ll be assessed on written coursework, usually in the form of essays, presentations, critiques, posters, exhibition catalogues to name only a few. Our assessment methods have been developed to measure your skills, but also to aid your learning.
In your first year, assessment will be aimed at cultivating the skills of close analysis and critical thinking you’ll need throughout the degree.
To prepare for coursework, you'll receive feedback on pieces of 'formative' work from your tutors, e.g. in one-to-one tutorials. Detailed written feedback on assessed work will be provided on your assessed work, after it has been carefully marked and moderated. As your first year does not count toward your overall degree result, it's the perfect opportunity to experiment, take risks, and find your feet.
Structure
At this stage of your course, you’ll be able to choose from a very wide range of topics in art history and literature, and you’ll begin to tailor your studies to your own developing interests. These modules will allow you to develop more specialist knowledge of particular problems and periods. In the autumn semester, you’ll be invited to consider how historical writing relates to contemporary debates about art and to explore the role and status of art, criticism and creativity. In the spring semester, you’ll be able to focus on case studies that enable you to develop your own interests to a deeper level. In your study of literature, you’ll choose from a range of modules which together cover the sweep of English literature – and others which invite you to explore literatures from across the globe. You can try your hand at creative writing, or get a taste of the ways you might use your literary training after your degree with modules dedicated to exploring the career of the professional writer in creative industries (e.g. in publishing).
Compulsory Modules
Optional A Modules
(Credits: 60)Optional B Modules
(Credits: 20)Optional C Modules
(Credits: 20)Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning
As you progress through your course you’ll expand your knowledge, skills and understanding as you become familiar with different art practices and techniques, different literary texts and traditions, and diverse methodologies that can be used to interpret all kinds of human making.
As the course progresses, you’ll also have the opportunity to explore more specialized topics that reflect the current research of those teaching the modules. Each year, as your knowledge and study skills become more advanced, you’ll be introduced to material that will encourage your own independent research on topics that interest you. As well as continuing to draw on the extraordinarily rich resources of the Sainsbury Centre, you might find yourself using our state-of-the-art Media Suite in a module on publishing or sharing your work in one of our world-famous creative writing workshops.
Assessment
In your second year, you’ll have more autonomy over the way you respond to your assessment prompts, devising your own essay topics and further developing your perspective as an art historian and literary critic. On the literature side, while essay writing remains the cornerstone of your degree work, you might also submit podcasts, videos, exhibition plans, or a book design.
Structure
In your final year, you’ll choose three modules which involve close engagement with advanced topics in literature and art history. You might, for example, choose to study public art in relation to literature and the politics of memory, or combine an exploration of art and states of mind with writing about religion. Literature modules currently on offer cover subjects such as children’s literature and crime fiction, Shakespeare and his contemporaries, feminist writing, and race, writing, and identity in post-war Britain. You’ll also write an extended essay in which you’ll explore a topic of your own choice through a combined literary and art-historical perspective.
Compulsory Modules
Optional A Modules
(Credits: 30)Optional B Modules
(Credits: 30)Optional C Modules
(Credits: 30)Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning
As you develop specialist knowledge in your final year, you’ll also begin work on a dissertation. This is the culmination of your degree journey, often bringing together your studies in art history and literature in one interdisciplinary project. In addition, you’ll continue to pursue specialist topics in literature and art history in lively seminars, while working with increasing confidence and independence.
Assessment
In your third year, you’ll have the chance to delve deeply into specialist topics taught by our world-class researchers and your own learning will be more independent as a result. Your final assessment is your dissertation, a piece of independent research that you’ll carry out in the third year while working closely with an academic supervisor.
Entry Requirements
- A Levels
- AAB including English Literature or one of the following subjects: English Language and Literature, English Language, History, Ancient History, History of Art, Archaeology, Anthropology, Classical Civilisation, Classical Studies, Politics, Government and Politics, Sociology, Drama, Theatre Studies, Film Studies, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Media Studies, Psychology or Law. If you are taking an EPQ and three A-levels, we may offer you a one grade reduction on our advertised typical offer alongside an A in the EPQ.
- T Levels
- Not accepted.
- BTEC
- Extended Diploma: DDD plus B at A-level English Literature or one of the following subjects: English Language and Literature, English Language, History, Ancient History, History of Art, Archaeology, Anthropology, Classical Civilisation, Classical Studies, Politics, Government and Politics, Sociology, Drama, Theatre Studies, Film Studies, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Media Studies, Psychology or Law. Excludes BTEC Public Services, Uniformed Services and Business Administration. See below for accepted subjects and combinations.
- Contextual Offer
BBB including English Literature or one of the following subjects: English Language and Literature, English Language, History, Ancient History, History of Art, Archaeology, Anthropology, Classical Civilisation, Classical Studies, Politics, Government and Politics, Sociology, Drama, Theatre Studies, Film Studies, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Media Studies, Psychology or Law.
Extended Diploma: DMM plus B at A-level English Literature or one of the following subjects: English Language and Literature, English Language, History, Ancient History, History of Art, Archaeology, Anthropology, Classical Civilisation, Classical Studies, Politics, Government and Politics, Sociology, Drama, Theatre Studies, Film Studies, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Media Studies, Psychology or Law. Excludes BTEC Public Services, Uniformed Services and Business Administration.
- Scottish Highers
- AAAAA including English Literature or one of the following subjects: English Language and Literature, English Language, History, Ancient History, History of Art, Archaeology, Anthropology, Classical Civilisation, Classical Studies, Politics, Government and Politics, Sociology, Drama, Theatre Studies, Film Studies, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Media Studies, Psychology or Law.
- Scottish Advanced Highers
- BBC including English Literature or one of the following subjects: English Language and Literature, English Language, History, Ancient History, History of Art, Archaeology, Anthropology, Classical Civilisation, Classical Studies, Politics, Government and Politics, Sociology, Drama, Theatre Studies, Film Studies, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Media Studies, Psychology or Law. A combination of Advanced Highers and Highers may be acceptable.
- Irish Leaving Certificate
- 4 subjects at H2, 2 subjects at H3 including English Literature or one of the following subjects: English Language and Literature, English Language, History, Ancient History, History of Art, Archaeology, Anthropology, Classical Civilisation, Classical Studies, Politics, Government and Politics, Sociology, Drama, Theatre Studies, Film Studies, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Media Studies, Psychology or Law.
- Access to HE Diploma
- Pass the Access to HE Diploma with Distinction in 36 credits at Level 3 and Merit in 9 credits at Level 3.
- International Baccalaureate
- 33 including 5 in HL English.
- GCSE
- You are required to have Mathematics and English Language at a minimum of Grade C or Grade 4 or above at GCSE.
- English Foreign Language
Applications from students whose first language is not English are welcome. We require evidence of proficiency in English (including writing, speaking, listening and reading):
- IELTS: 6.0 overall (minimum 5.5 in all components)
We also accept a number of other English language tests. Review our English Language Equivalencies for a list of example qualifications that we may accept to meet this requirement.
Test dates should be within two years of the course start date.
If you do not yet meet the English language requirements for this course, INTO UEA offer a variety of English language programmes which are designed to help you develop the English skills necessary for successful undergraduate study:
- Interviews
- Most applicants will not be called for an interview and a decision will be made via UCAS Hub. However, for some applicants an interview will be requested. Where an interview is required, the Admissions Service will contact you directly to arrange a time.
- Deferred Entry
- We welcome applications from students who have already taken or intend to take a gap year. We believe that a year between school and university can be of substantial benefit. You are advised to indicate your reason for wishing to defer entry on your UCAS application.
- Intakes
- This course is open to UK and International applicants. The annual intake is in September each year.
Additional Information or Requirements
Extended Diploma: DDD plus B at A-level English Literature or one of the following subjects: English Language and Literature, English Language, History, Ancient History, History of Art, Archaeology, Anthropology, Classical Civilisation, Classical Studies, Politics, Government and Politics, Sociology, Drama, Theatre Studies, Film Studies, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Media Studies, Psychology or Law.
Diploma: DD plus B at A-level at A-level English Literature or one of the following subjects: English Language and Literature, English Language, History, Ancient History, History of Art, Archaeology, Anthropology, Classical Civilisation, Classical Studies, Politics, Government and Politics, Sociology, Drama, Theatre Studies, Film Studies, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Media Studies, Psychology or Law.
Extended Certificate: D plus AB at A-level English Literature or one of the following subjects: English Language and Literature, English Language, History, Ancient History, History of Art, Archaeology, Anthropology, Classical Civilisation, Classical Studies, Politics, Government and Politics, Sociology, Drama, Theatre Studies, Film Studies, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Media Studies, Psychology or Law.
If you do not meet the academic requirements for direct entry, you may be interested in one of our Foundation Year programmes such as BA History of Art with a Foundation Year.
UEA are committed to ensuring that Higher Education is accessible to all, regardless of their background or experiences. One of the ways we do this is through our contextual admissions schemes.
We welcome and value a wide range of alternative qualifications. If you have a qualification which is not listed here, or are taking a combination of qualifications, please contact us via Admissions Enquiries.
International Requirements
We accept many international qualifications for entry to this course. View our International Students pages for specific information about your country.
Admissions Policy
Our Admissions Policy applies to the admissions of all undergraduate applicants.
Fees and Funding
Tuition Fees
View our information for Tuition Fees.
Scholarships and Bursaries
We are committed to ensuring that costs do not act as a barrier to those aspiring to come to a world leading university and have developed a funding package to reward those with excellent qualifications and assist those from lower income backgrounds. View our range of Scholarships for eligibility, details of how to apply and closing dates.
Course Related Costs
You may need to pay some additional costs for optional field trips, which are subsidised by the department. You’ll also need to pay some costs for the field trip to Venice in the second year if you choose that option.
Please see Additional Course Fees for details of other course-related costs.
How to Apply
Apply for this course through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Services (UCAS), using UCAS Hub.
UCAS Hub is a secure online application system that allows you to apply for full-time undergraduate courses at universities and colleges in the United Kingdom.
Your application does not have to be completed all at once. Register or sign in to UCAS to get started.
Once you submit your completed application, UCAS will process it and send it to your chosen universities and colleges.
The Institution code for the University of East Anglia is E14.
View our guide to applying through UCAS for useful tips, key dates and further information:
Employability
After the Course
As a History of Art and Literature graduate, you’ll be ready for a wide range of careers in the art world, art publishing, the heritage industry, academia, teaching, and business. You’ll be equipped with sought-after skills such as independent and critical thinking, time management, teamwork, organisation and research skills, public speaking and more. Your experience of studying in a world-famous art museum will give you an edge in the sector. You’ll also be well placed to study for a postgraduate degree either here at UEA or at another university. Our Careers Service is here to support you with advice on writing CVs and internships. In the department, we work closely with the Careers Service to provide workshops and put on seminars with successful alumni.
UEA also harbours UEA Publishing Project which, as well as publishing internationally excellent books, co-ordinates a range of internships, curriculum support, and other publishing related activities, including its own in-house student publishing project, Egg Box, to add to a multitude of other exciting activities to turn your love of literature into a foundation for your future career.
Careers
Recent graduates have entered a number of fields, including:
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Museums and art galleries
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Commercial art galleries
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The heritage sector
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Publishing
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Journalism
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Teaching/lecturing
Discover more on our Careers webpages.