(BA) Bachelor of Arts
Art History, Visual Culture and Media Studies
Current
University of Essex
University of Essex
Philosophical, Historical and Interdisciplinary Studies (School of)
Colchester Campus
Honours Degree
Full-time
BA W350
10/05/2023
Details
Professional accreditation
None
Admission criteria
A-levels: ABB
BTEC: DDD
IB: 32 points or three Higher Level certificates with 655.
We are also happy to consider a combination of separate IB Diploma Programme Courses (formerly certificates) at both Higher and Standard Level. Exact offer levels will vary depending on the range of subjects being taken at higher and standard level, and the course applied for.
We can also consider combinations with BTECs or other qualifications in the Career-related programme – the acceptability of BTECs and other qualifications depends on the subject studied, advice on acceptability can be provided. Please contact the Undergraduate Admissions Office for more information.
Access to HE Diploma: 15 level 3 credits at Distinction and 30 level 3 credits at Merit
T-levels: Distinction
What if I don’t achieve the grades I hoped?
If your final grades are not as high as you had hoped, the good news is you may still be able to secure a place with us on a course which includes a foundation year. Visit our undergraduate application information page for more details.
What if I have a non-traditional academic background?
Don’t worry. To gain a deeper knowledge of your course suitability, we will look at your educational and employment history, together with your personal statement and reference.
You may be considered for entry into Year 1 of your chosen course. Alternatively, some UK and EU applicants may be considered for Essex Pathways, an additional year of study (known as a foundation year/year 0) helping students gain the necessary skills and knowledge in order to succeed on their chosen course. You can find a list of Essex Pathways courses and entry requirements here
If you are a mature student, further information is here
IELTS (International English Language Testing System) code
English language requirements for applicants whose first language is not English: IELTS 6.0 overall. Different requirements apply for second year entry, and specified component grades are also required for applicants who require a visa to study in the UK.
Other English language qualifications may be acceptable so please contact us for further details. If we accept the English component of an international qualification then it will be included in the information given about the academic levels listed above. Please note that date restrictions may apply to some English language qualifications
If you are an international student requiring a visa to study in the UK please see our immigration webpages for the latest Home Office guidance on English language qualifications.
If you do not meet our IELTS requirements then you may be able to complete a pre-sessional English pathway that enables you to start your course without retaking IELTS.
Additional Notes
If you’re an international student, but do not meet the English language or academic requirements for direct admission to this degree, you could prepare and gain entry through a pathway course. Find out more about opportunities available to you at the University of Essex International College here.
Course qualifiers
A course qualifier is a bracketed addition to your course title to denote a specialisation or pathway that you have achieved via the completion of specific modules during your course. The
specific module requirements for each qualifier title are noted below. Eligibility for any selected qualifier will be determined by the department and confirmed by the final year Board of
Examiners. If the required modules are not successfully completed, your course title will remain as described above without any bracketed addition. Selection of a course qualifier is
optional and student can register preferences or opt-out via Online Module Enrolment (eNROL).
None
Rules of assessment
Rules of assessment are the rules, principles and frameworks which the University uses to calculate your course progression and final results.
Additional notes
None
External examiners
Dr Dominic Paterson
Senior Lecturer in History of Art / Curator of Contemporary Art
University of Glasgow
External Examiners provide an independent overview of our courses, offering their expertise and help towards our continual improvement of course content, teaching, learning, and assessment.
External Examiners are normally academics from other higher education institutions, but may be from the industry, business or the profession as appropriate for the course.
They comment on how well courses align with national standards, and on how well the teaching, learning and assessment methods allow students to develop and demonstrate the relevant knowledge and skills needed to achieve their awards.
External Examiners who are responsible for awards are key members of Boards of Examiners. These boards make decisions about student progression within their course and about whether students can receive their final award.
Programme aims
- To offer a varied, flexible and distinctive curriculum across the field of art history, visual culture and media studies .
- To provide the opportunity to develop an in-depth understanding of the art, architecture, visual culture, film, television and/or web-based media of one or more periods and places, as well as its/their attendant theoretical texts.
- To introduce students to a variety of interpretative methods and forms of questioning appropriate to visual artefacts and media including: historical inquiry, theory of representation, aesthetic approaches to its meanings, values and functions, and critical approaches to the conditions of its production, consumption, interpretation or reinterpretation.
- To encourage both critical engagement with, and enjoyment of, the visual arts and of media, particularly through first-hand observation.
- To provide the knowledge and skills (critical inquiry and argument, imaginative understanding, written, spoken and visual interpretation, communication and presentation) that will not only stand students in good stead for more specialised academic careers, but will also enhance their opportunities for employment in a wide range of other careers.
Learning outcomes and learning, teaching and assessment methods
On successful completion of the programme a graduate should demonstrate knowledge and skills as follows:
A: Knowledge and understanding
A1: A range of visual artefacts from the Early Renaissance to the present day and/or twentieth- and twenty-first-century visual media, including theoretical issues that have been foundational in the Western European and Latin American traditions
A2: The relationships of works of visual art and/or visual media to broader social, cultural, and economic contexts
A3: (In greater depth) art, architecture, visual culture, film, television and/or web-based and other digital media of one or more periods and places, as well as its/their attendant theoretical texts
A4: Some substantive areas of current research in the field of study including an awareness of the development of these areas of research
A5: Some of the concepts, values and debates that inform study and practice in the different fields.
A6: The basic methods of critical analysis and argument appropriate to visual artefacts and/or visual media
Learning methods
A1-A6 are acquired through lectures, classes and coursework (with regular feedback, both oral and written, from tutors).
Art history lectures and seminars demonstrate skills of visual analysis and theoretical understanding in the context of a particular historical/geographical framework. Knowledge and understanding are developed further through seminar discussions and presentations with oral feedback from tutors.
Throughout, students are expected to extend and enhance the knowledge and understanding they acquire from classes and lectures by regularly consulting library materials related to the course. This independent research is then consolidated in essay work and through feedback in written form.
Assessment methods
Assessment of students' knowledge and understanding takes place through a variety of assessment instruments, including: coursework essays, individual presentations, virtual exhibitions, and unseen written examinations (including questions on visual material in photographic form).
Assessment methods are inclusive by virtue of their variety; students have an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding in diverse ways (essay-writing, presentations, creating virtual exhibitions, responses to unseen examinations).
B: Intellectual and cognitive skills
B1: Analyse a given body of material, breaking it down into component points or parts and highlighting the most significant among them.
B2: Synthesise evidence, arguments or ideas from different sources productively in a self-directed manner
B3: Reason critically and offer judgements based on argument
B4: Respond to unfamiliar artefacts, issues or ideas with an open mind
B5: Solve problems using knowledge and experience.
Learning methods
Development of intellectual and cognitive skills are initiated through lectures and classes, where students are expected to develop skills, and further developed in seminars, as well as one-to-one tutorials where appropriate. The seminar-based work encourages critical discussion arising from the analysis and interpretation of texts or visual artefacts/media with an emphasis on being able to reason cogently, argue coherently and present one's own viewpoint persuasively.
The theoretical work done in Art and Ideas in Levels 4 and 5 particularly emphasises skills B1- B5 through the guidance given in seminar discussion and through feedback on essays. The seminars are intended to foster cognitive skills. Students translate the skills acquired there collectively into individually assessed essays. In turn, the essays prepare students for examinations, in the modules in which they are held. Exams test students’ ability both to demonstrate and to sustain the same skills in controlled conditions.
Learning methods are inclusive by virtue of their variety (lectures, discussion, close reading, training in visual analysis and critical thinking); this allows students with different learning styles to achieve the learning outcomes.
Assessment methods
Assessment of B1-B3 is by written essays, take-home research papers, in-class slide tests, summaries of weekly readings, and unseen written examinations, including questions on visual material in photographic form.
Assessment methods are inclusive by virtue of their variety; students have an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding in diverse ways (essay-writing, presentations, creating virtual exhibitions, responses to unseen examinations).
C: Practical skills
C1: Visual Skills;, including: observation (recognition of materials and techniques but also other aspects of works of visual art and media such as formal organisation or narrative structure), description (using ordinary as well as specialised language) and analysis
C2: Research Skills, including: use of appropriate methods to locate primary and secondary sources, as well as visual artefacts and media
C3: Critical Skills: including selection of relevant material, and appraisal of other people's arguments on the basis of familiarity with source materials and current literature
C4: Writing Skills, including: use of proper academic conventions, creating logical and structured narratives, and effective use of language to convey particular and general responses of readers or viewers to visual artefacts and media, and to articulate complex conceptual issues and create frameworks for understanding them
Learning methods
Skills C1 and C3 are introduced in lectures and developed through classes and through seminars. Gallery visits form a crucial element in the development of C1, through dialogue among students and with staff in front of particular artefacts, often after preparation in class. Guidance on skills C1, C2, C3 and C4 is given in teaching, in supervision of essays, and to a limited extent in School Handbooks. The strategy ensures that, having acquired a basic command of the range of skills, students exercise these skills in the more specialised courses.
A member of staff gives students choosing a Capstone module in Art History, Visual Culture and Media Studies formal guidance on the development, research and writing of specialist studies in the form of written instruction and in presentations.
Learning methods are inclusive by virtue of their variety (lectures, discussion, close reading, training in visual analysis and critical thinking); this allows students with different learning styles to achieve the learning outcomes.
Assessment methods
Assessment of students' knowledge and understanding takes place through a variety of assessment instruments including coursework essays, presentations, virtual exhibitions, and unseen written examinations, including questions on visual material in photographic form. Students are expected to analyse texts in the light of the contextual, conceptual and comparative frameworks offered to them during the scheme, whilst also formulating their own arguments and displaying critical competence.
Provision is made for students to be assessed on a Capstone project in Art History, Visual Culture and Media Studies in the third year in lieu of a taught course. Essay questions are designed to test all skills. In-class slide tests and unseen written examination questions, including questions on visual material in photographic form, test skills C1, C3 and C4.
Assessment methods are inclusive by virtue of their variety; students have an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding in diverse ways (essay-writing, presentations, creating virtual exhibitions, responses to unseen examinations).
D: Key skills
D1: The ability to communicate information, arguments and ideas cogently and effectively in a range of different contexts using a range of different aids or resources; special ability to deploy visual material in a variety of media in the context of presentations or written work
D2: Students should be able to make use of IT for research purposes (including searchable databases such as library catalogues and internet sources), to present assessed work, and be able to use email.
D3: Management of projects and timetables. Students should be able to apply knowledge and understanding in order to make judgements and offer solutions in a range of contexts.
D4: Ability to 'read' an argument in seminar discussion; ability to respond effectively; ability to work in a variety of group contexts.
D5: Students should have the ability to work to briefs and deadline, to take responsibility for their own work, and to reflect on their own learning and performance and make constructive use of feedback
Learning methods
The University's Academic Skills website (including self-assessment tools) will be listed in the School Handbook.
The key skills are implicit throughout the degree. Communication is developed through seminar discussion, but also through attending lectures.
Visual media skills are developed through personal instruction to students using slide projectors or DVDs in class, and through drawing attention to the media whereby visual artefacts are presented to us, both in terms of informing students but also developing a critical appreciation of the relationship between image and context in any medium.
Students are expected to acquire IT skills based on some initial guidance.
Students will be given the opportunity to work constructively and productively in groups, and be able to participate effectively in seminars.
Students are expected and encouraged to share responsiblity for their own programme of studies.
Learning methods are inclusive by virtue of their variety (lectures, discussion, close reading, training in visual analysis and critical thinking); this allows students with different learning styles to achieve the learning outcomes.
Assessment methods
Essays and dissertations are assessed for qualities that incorporate skills D1, D2, D4 and D6.
Assessment methods are inclusive by virtue of their variety; students have an opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding in diverse ways (essay-writing, presentations, creating virtual exhibitions, responses to unseen examinations).