Course Overview

Our BA Curating can provide you with the intellectual and practical skills you need to realize your career ambitions, combining classroom-based learning with hands-on experience in museums and galleries.

Within the classroom, you gain an overview of major developments in art history – something essential for any budding curator. You will also learn about the history and theory of exhibition design, with a particular emphasis on how curatorial choices shape our experiences while viewing artworks and the other objects on display in museums and galleries.

The Essex Collection of Art from Latin America (ESCALA), Europe’s largest collection of Latin American art, will offer you a place to experiment with installing artwork. Besides getting your feet wet with the more tactical aspects of installing art, these experiences will open your eyes to how curatorial decisions transform the kinds of stories that artworks tell when displayed alongside others.

Frequent, staff-led visits to London museums and galleries will also expose you to the latest developments in curating, and you will be strongly encouraged to conduct a placement in order to gain exposure to the inner workings of a museum, auction house, or gallery.

To ensure you are prepared to meet the challenges facing curators in the 21st century, opportunities to cultivate digital skills will be available throughout the course. For example, for your final project, you will curate an online exhibition, for which you will produce a virtual walk-through of the exhibition space and develop digitally-accessible interpretative material for all objects on display.

Essex is the ideal choice for a BA in curating. We are 3rd in the UK for research outputs in art history (Grade Point Average, REF2021). We are one of the few leading art history programs that offer an undergraduate course specializing in curating and you will be taught by our expert staff in your very first year—another rarity in UK art history courses.

General Eligibility

UK entry requirements

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 Programmes at both Higher and Standard Levels. Exact offer levels will vary depending on the range of subjects being taken at higher and standard levels, and the course applied for. 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

We also consider T-levels.

International & EU entry requirements

We accept a wide range of qualifications from applicants studying in the EU and other countries. Get in touch with any questions you may have about the qualifications we accept. Remember to tell us about the qualifications you have already completed or are currently taking.

Part Time Work Details

20 hours per week.

Language Requirement

• If you do not require a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK then we will assess your English language proficiency/ability at your interview or audition.

  If your first language is not English and you are an international student that requires a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK then you will need IELTS 6.0 overall, with 5.5 in each component.