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Undergraduate Course
BA (Hons) Curating
Overview
The details
Curating
V351
October 2026
Full-time
What is the BA Curating?
The BA Curating is a three-year degree, extendable to four with an optional placement or study abroad year.
You’ll develop the knowledge, practical experience and professional skills needed to curate exhibitions, manage collections and work across museums, galleries and the wider cultural sector. Combining art history, exhibition design and hands-on curatorial practice, you’ll learn how exhibitions are researched, planned and delivered for diverse audiences. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}
Why this course
The BA Curating combines the history of art with the practical skills needed to create engaging exhibitions and cultural experiences. You'll explore how museums and galleries shape the way we understand art, history and society, while developing the confidence to curate exhibitions of your own. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}
Learn from expert art historians, curators and researchers whose work spans exhibition design, heritage, visual culture and contemporary curatorial practice. Their teaching is informed by internationally recognised research and close links with museums, galleries and cultural organisations. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}
Throughout your degree you'll gain practical curatorial experience, working with artworks from the University's renowned Essex Collection of Art from Latin America (ESCALA), visiting major museums and galleries, and learning how exhibitions are researched, designed, interpreted and installed. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}
You'll also develop the digital skills increasingly expected within today's museum and gallery sector, including creating online exhibitions, digital interpretation and virtual exhibition spaces, helping you prepare for the future of cultural practice. :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}
Add a placement year or study abroad to gain valuable professional experience, broaden your cultural perspective and strengthen your CV.
By the end of your degree, you'll have developed strong research, project management, communication and creative problem-solving skills, preparing you for careers across museums, galleries, heritage organisations and the wider creative industries.
Who should apply
- Students interested in art, museums, galleries and cultural heritage
- Aspiring curators, exhibition designers, museum professionals or gallery managers
- Creative thinkers who enjoy researching, organising and communicating ideas to different audiences
- Anyone looking for a degree that combines academic study with practical, industry-relevant experience
What you'll learn
- Curatorial practice: Learn how exhibitions are researched, designed, interpreted and delivered for public audiences
- Art history and visual culture: Explore major artistic movements, collections and the cultural significance of museums and galleries
- Museums and heritage: Examine the history, ethics and contemporary challenges facing museums, heritage and collections
- Digital curation: Develop skills in online exhibitions, virtual interpretation and digital engagement
- Professional practice: Build expertise in project management, research, communication and audience engagement
Your learning experience
- Hands-on curating: Gain practical experience installing exhibitions and working with artworks from the University's ESCALA collection
- Gallery visits: Take part in staff-led visits to museums and galleries, including regular study visits to London
- Optional study abroad year: Spend a year at one of our partner universities and experience another culture with the Study Abroad programme
- Optional placement year: Gain professional experience in a museum, gallery or cultural organisation with university support from Placements at Essex
- Expert teaching: Learn from leading art historians, curators and heritage specialists with internationally recognised research expertise
- Specialist facilities: Benefit from the Art Exchange gallery, the Centre for Curatorial Studies, ESCALA and links with Firstsite and other cultural partners
Careers and outcomes
A BA Curating degree can prepare you for careers in sectors and roles such as:
- Museums and galleries: Curator, exhibitions officer, collections manager, learning officer or gallery coordinator
- Heritage organisations: Heritage officer, interpretation specialist, archive or collections professional
- Arts and cultural organisations: Exhibition producer, programme coordinator, arts administrator or cultural project manager
- Creative industries: Auction houses, commercial galleries, arts consultancy, publishing and events management
- Public engagement: Community arts, outreach, education and audience development roles
- Further study: Postgraduate study in curating, museum studies, art history, heritage or cultural management
Employers of graduates from this course
Graduates from this course have developed skills suited to careers across museums, galleries and the wider cultural sector, including organisations such as:
- Museums and heritage organisations
- Commercial and public art galleries
- Auction houses
- Arts and cultural charities
- Creative and cultural organisations
Why we're great.
- We are distinct - study the social and political implications of art and go beyond its historic institutions.
- Our structured programme of study trips at home and abroad takes you far afield and explores local settings
- We house over 750 piece of art from Latin America, known as ESCALA.
Course content
Components and modules explained
Components
Components are the blocks of study that make up your course. A component may have a set module which you must study, or a number of modules from which you can choose.
Each component has a status and carries a certain number of credits towards your qualification.
| Status | What this means |
| Core |
You must take the set module for this component and you must pass. No failure can be permitted. |
| Core with Options |
You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component but you must pass. No failure can be permitted. |
| Compulsory |
You must take the set module for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail. |
| Compulsory with Options |
You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail. |
| Optional |
You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail. |
The modules that are available for you to choose for each component will depend on several factors, including which modules you have chosen for other components, which modules you have completed in previous years of your course, and which term the module is taught in.
Modules
Modules are the individual units of study for your course. Each module has its own set of learning outcomes and assessment criteria and also carries a certain number of credits.
In most cases you will study one module per component, but in some cases you may need to study more than one module. For example, a 30-credit component may comprise of either one 30-credit module, or two 15-credit modules, depending on the options available.
Modules may be taught at different times of the year and by a different department or school to the one your course is primarily based in. You can find this information from the module code. For example, the module code HR100-4-FY means:
| HR | 100 | 4 | FY |
|---|---|---|---|
|
The department or school the module will be taught by. In this example, the module would be taught by the Department of History. |
The module number. |
The UK academic level of the module. A standard undergraduate course will comprise of level 4, 5 and 6 modules - increasing as you progress through the course. A standard postgraduate taught course will comprise of level 7 modules. A postgraduate research degree is a level 8 qualification. |
The term the module will be taught in.
|
COMPONENT 01: COMPULSORY
Writing and Researching Art History
(15 CREDITS)
This module is intended as a skills-building course for first year art history students, to develop writing skills across a range of assessed and non-assessed writing types (essay, critical review, reading summary, label text, catalogue essay etc). The module will also present an introduction to research methods in art history, and a historical overview of art historical writing.
View Writing and Researching Art History on our Module Directory
COMPONENT 02: COMPULSORY
Collect, Curate, Display: A Short History of the Museum
(15 CREDITS)
This module offers an introduction to the history of museums and galleries. We will consider the basic human instinct to collect and the creation of the first museums. We will examine ideas about taxonomy, ordering the world and the first museum spaces of display, asking questions about privilege and power. How have museums and galleries shaped history and science? What ethical issues are there today around these spaces? Should tobacco, oil and arms companies sponsor museums? Can museums be tools of ‘urban regeneration’? Do online archives and 3D scanning make museums themselves obsolete institutions?
View Collect, Curate, Display: A Short History of the Museum on our Module Directory
COMPONENT 03: COMPULSORY
Art and Ideas: I
(15 CREDITS)
This module tackles some of the biggest questions surrounding the history of art. You will explore some key theoretical issues in the history of art, such as the nature of representation, by engaging critically with seminal texts and artworks. In this module, you will develop your analytical and interpretive skills, and leave with a solid foundation for the study of the history of art.
COMPONENT 04: COMPULSORY
Introduction to Heritage and Museum Studies
(15 CREDITS)
This module provides an introductory overview to the field of heritage and museum studies and explores some of the conceptual, political and ethical issues faced by those working within and researching in the area of heritage and museums.
View Introduction to Heritage and Museum Studies on our Module Directory
COMPONENT 07: COMPULSORY
Beyond the BA: Skills for the Next Step
(0 CREDITS)
This course introduces key academic, professional and personal skills to support a successful transition beyond undergraduate study. Students develop confidence in critical thinking, communication, teamwork and self reflection while exploring future study and career options.
View Beyond the BA: Skills for the Next Step on our Module Directory
COMPONENT 01: COMPULSORY
Art and Ideas II: More Art, More Ideas - Critique and Historiography in the History of Art
(15 CREDITS)
How did our society decide what counts as ‘art’ and what is ‘culture’? Is there really such a thing as high vs low culture? What are the political stakes of these divisions? This module looks at the shift in ideas from ‘art history’ to visual and material cultural studies. This module will engage with these debates and teach you new methods for seeing, interpreting and understanding art, design, craft, performance, fashion, film and videogames. These new ways of seeing are often driven by new theoretical ideas , and allow us to look at culture to draw out new perspectives on social and political issues of activism and social change, sex, technology, police violence, migration, austerity and crisis, state surveillance, and our relation to animals and the environment.
COMPONENT 02: COMPULSORY
Contemporary Art: 1945 until Now
(15 CREDITS)
COMPONENT 01: COMPULSORY
Archives of Heritage
(15 CREDITS)
This module explores not only how we can use archives to help understand the history of heritage and museums, but also how archives can be used to relate new and underrepresented types of heritage. Examining different types of archives, we will explore how and why those archives have shaped heritage and museum work today. Simultaneously, we will think about how archiving offers the potential of more representative heritage futures.
COMPONENT 02: COMPULSORY
Capstone - Art History / Curating / Heritage
(30 CREDITS)
In this module you will produce a capstone project, taking the form of either of an 8,000-word written dissertation, or a curatorial project or heritage project of equivalent scope. The finished capstone project should show an all-round grasp of your subject and the ability to present your material clearly, succinctly and in the most appropriate sequence. It should also demonstrate evidence of a serious engagement with your topic, a mastery of the information currently available, and the inclusion of your own reasoned, critical judgements. A supervisor will help guide you as you begin to develop a research question, start researching the topic and write the dissertation or develop the curating or heritage project. This is a capstone module, available to final-year students on Art History, Curating, or Heritage courses with permission only.
View Capstone - Art History / Curating / Heritage on our Module Directory
COMPONENT 03: COMPULSORY
Art and Ideas III
(15 CREDITS)
This third art and ideas module deepens your existing thematic and historiographical knowledge building on Art and Ideas II. In this module, we will familiarise ourselves with some of the most influential and insightful theoretical approaches to art in the 20th and 21st Century.
Entry requirements
Clearing entry requirements
We currently have places available in Clearing across a range of our courses with most offers expected to be made at CCD - CDD (88 - 80 UCAS tariff points) or equivalent. A complete breakdown of expected Clearing entry requirements, by course, is available on our Clearing entry requirements page.
We consider each application individually and requirements may be lower for some of our courses, so please still get in touch if your grades are below those outlined.
English language requirements
English language requirements for applicants whose first language is not English
IELTS 6.0 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each component, or specified score in an equivalent test that we accept.
Details of English language requirements and the tests we accept for applicants who require a Student visa (excluding Nationals of Majority English Speaking Countries) can be found here
If we accept the English component of an international qualification it will be included in the academic levels listed above for the relevant countries.
Pre-sessional English courses
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 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
Fees and funding
Home/UK fee
£9,790 per year
International fee
£21,500 per year
Fees will increase for each academic year of study.
If your course has the option to include a placement year or study abroad, and you choose to do so, you will pay the following:
Placement year
20% of your standard tuition fee for that year
Study abroad
Full year abroad
15% of your standard tuition fee for that year
Single term abroad
Standard tuition fee
Scholarships and financial support
There may be scholarships, bursaries or discounts available to help with the cost of this course.
Fees and funding guide
What's next
Open Days
Our events are a great way to find out more about studying at Essex. We run a number of Open Days throughout the year which enable you to discover what our campus has to offer. You have the chance to:
- tour our campus and accommodation
- find out answers to your questions about our courses, student finance, graduate employability, student support and more
- meet our students and staff
Check out our Visit Us pages to find out more information about booking onto one of our events. And if the dates aren’t suitable for you, feel free to book a campus tour here.
2026 Open Days (Colchester Campus)
How to apply during Clearing
Once you’ve checked that we have the right course for you, applying couldn’t be simpler. Fill in our quick and easy Clearing application form with as much detail as you can. We’ll then take a look and get back to you with a decision.
If you already hold an offer from Essex
Please don't reapply through Clearing. We'll review your existing application using our Clearing entry requirements. If you're worried about meeting your offer or would like to change course, please contact our Admissions Team on ugquery@essex.ac.uk.
Interviews
We don’t require an interview for most of our courses that are available through Clearing, however there are some courses such as those in our School of Health and Social Care and East 15 Acting School where an interview (or audition) may be required. If this is something that’s required for the course you have applied for, we’ll email you with all of the details.
Visit Colchester Campus
Set within 200 acres of award-winning parkland - Wivenhoe Park and located two miles from the historic city centre of Colchester – England's oldest recorded development. Our Colchester Campus is also easily reached from London and Stansted Airport in under one hour.
Virtual tours
If you live too far away to come to Essex (or have a busy lifestyle), no problem. Our 360-degree virtual tour allows you to explore our University from the comfort of your home. Check out our Colchester virtual tour to see accommodation options, facilities and social spaces.
At Essex we pride ourselves on being a welcoming and inclusive student community. We offer a wide range of support to individuals and groups of student members who may have specific requirements, interests or responsibilities.
The University makes every effort to ensure that this information on its programme specification is accurate and up-to-date. Exceptionally it can be necessary to make changes, for example to courses, facilities or fees. Examples of such reasons might include, but are not limited to: strikes, other industrial action, staff illness, severe weather, fire, civil commotion, riot, invasion, terrorist attack or threat of terrorist attack (whether declared or not), natural disaster, restrictions imposed by government or public authorities, epidemic or pandemic disease, failure of public utilities or transport systems or the withdrawal/reduction of funding. Changes to courses may for example consist of variations to the content and method of delivery of programmes, courses and other services, to discontinue programmes, courses and other services and to merge or combine programmes or courses. The University will endeavour to keep such changes to a minimum, and will also keep students informed appropriately by updating our programme specifications. The University would inform and engage with you if your course was to be discontinued, and would provide you with options, where appropriate, in line with our Compensation and Refund Policy.
The full Procedures, Rules and Regulations of the University governing how it operates are set out in the Charter, Statutes and Ordinances and in the University Regulations, Policy and Procedures.
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