Any Courtauld MA History of Art students with Social Sciences undergraduate degrees

Hello,

I have just recently graduated from the University of Nottingham with an MSc in Business, and my undergraduate degree is also in Business Studies. I always have a plan to study history of art at the Courtauld after a master's degree in business. I saw the Courtauld website stating that 2:1 in bachelor (typically in humanities or social sciences). However, I only saw a few students coming from business background in MA while some were only offered places at a Graduate Diploma in History of Art. I am planning to get into 2025 entry, so I have to apply at the end of 2024. I am wondering whether I might have a fighting chance with others who have solid backgrounds in art history or art-related degrees. I only have 3 months of internship in local art gallery as a curatorial and marketing assistant. As an international student, getting another two degrees on top is not financially viable. Thank you.

You need to be able to articulate how your experiences (not necessarily gained through your degree) connect to the MA and also demonstrate your knowledge of your intended specialism if you apply to the Special Options. If you make a general application to the MA, then make sure your writing sample is very good and the admissions officers may match you to a suitable option, upon which you may get an interview. The interview involves visual analysis of an unseen artwork but you are not expected to know the historical facts. If you can demonstrate a keen eye for stylistic detail and engage with the debates of the field in the specialism, you will be fine. That being said, although your undergrad degree will not necessarily discount you, you still need thorough preparation. I myself came from a legal background and I have an offer for the MA History of Art from The Courtauld.

You need to attend an Open Day at the Courtauld and ask them the question.

This is a very helpful and elaborative answers. I really appreciate your time and effort. I am planning to do curating short course at UAL this April and hoping to get into work placements at Christie’s or any works in auction houses, galleries or museums. I am also planning to do my own curation, or hopefully together with others in the industry as an extra portfolio to submit. May I ask you when you submitted the sample written essay, did you submit the essay related to art or art history? Thank you.

My sample written essay was on art history (but not the traditional object-based analysis kind). In total I submitted two essays in lieu of one long one. One was a comparative analysis between the films Workers Leaving the Factory, Modern Times, and The Clock. The other was a comparative analysis between Simon Rodia's Watts Towers and Allan Kaprow's Fluids.