Course summary
Are you looking to build your career in the dynamic international art market? Does the opportunity to pursue advanced study and research on Art and Business from both a contemporary and a historical perspective excite you? The Courtauld’s new one-year MA in Art and Business, taught in collaboration with King’s Business School, offers an unparalleled opportunity to develop the skills and knowledge you’ll need to succeed in today’s commercial art world. You’ll learn from an extraordinary range of experts in their field through an MA that draws on The Courtauld’s rich resources as a centre for learning about the visual arts and King’s excellence in business teaching. The course will offer you a unique insight into the ecology of today’s art markets and provide an in-depth understanding of the systems underpinning them. You’ll explore the development of Western art markets since the seventeenth century, charting how diverse works of art have been traded, appraised, advertised, and contested as well as how the market has transformed artistic practice. You’ll also gain the financial, business, and entrepreneurial expertise required to succeed in the art world. During the course, you will engage regularly with some of the most successful and influential figures of today’s art world, including gallerists, auction-house specialists, art lawyers, art fair organisers, art advisors, curators, artists and critics. You’ll also be able to work directly with The Courtauld’s exceptional art collection and benefit from the experience of going on numerous field trips with your tutors, including an all-group field trip to Europe.
Modules
The course is structured around core and topic modules. Core modules offer a comprehensive exploration of the art market and its history while providing invaluable expertise in the financial, business and entrepreneurial skills required for success in the contemporary art world. Topic Modules are taught over single semesters by members of the Courtauld’s Art and Business faculty and will provide students with the opportunity to study a specific Art and Business topic in depth. Emerging out of the research interests of the faculty and designed to encourage independent student reading and research, these topic models will also help give students the research and writing skills they will require to produce their final dissertation or art business project. Students will be required to take one topic focusing on a historical area and one with a contemporary focus. You will also produce a final dissertation or an art business project. These are independently researched and written projects chosen in discussion with one of the Art and Business faculty. The dissertation can have a historical, contemporary or transhistorical focus, and will require an extended period of independent research that engages critically with the existing historiography of the subject and with relevant primary sources. The art business project will demonstrate your skills in evaluating the professional environment of the art market and in applying your learning in a practical context.
Assessment method
The formal assessment of MA in the Art and Business is based on the following components: Core Module (Understanding the Art Market): 1 x 2,500-word paper to be presented and submitted by the end of Semester 1; Group research project, to be presented and submitted by the end of Semester 2. Core Module (Histories of the Art Market): 2 x 2,500-word papers to be presented and submitted by the end of each semester. Core Module (The Business of Art): Group/team pitch of a business plan (by the end of semester 2) and a 1,500-word individual, reflective essay on business plan development (by the end of semester 2). 2 x Topic Modules (Collecting in Times of Crisis/Revisiting the Art Fair): 2 x 3000-word essays to be handed in at the beginning of the semester/study period following the semester in which the teaching takes place. Dissertation (10,000 words) or equivalent Art Business Project.
Entry requirements
UK qualifications: Students will normally have achieved a good 2.1 in their Bachelor’s degree (typically in the Humanities or Social Sciences). Overseas qualification: Equivalent to a good 2.1 in a UK first degree (e.g. US applicants should have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or above). English language requirements: If your first language is not English, we require proof of English language proficiency –please see the English Language Requirements page https://courtauld.ac.uk/study/english-language-requirements.
Fees and funding
Tuition fees
| EU | £35000 | Year 1 |
| England | £22500 | Year 1 |
| Northern Ireland | £22500 | Year 1 |
| Scotland | £22500 | Year 1 |
| Wales | £22500 | Year 1 |
| International | £35000 | Year 1 |
Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .
Additional fee information
Financial support for your studies:
Postgraduate Master’s Loan: Please visit the Student Finance England website for further information and to apply online.
Courtauld Institute of Art Scholarships: Every year the Courtauld provides over £500,000 in MA scholarships, which are awarded on the basis of academic merits. The average postgraduate scholarship is £6,000. Applications are welcomed from Home, EU and Overseas applicants and students. Find out more about our scholarships.
Alumni Loyalty Scheme: This scheme is open to any graduate of The Courtauld Institute of Art admitted to a taught postgraduate programme of study. Recipients will receive a 10% loyalty discount off their tuition fee for the duration of the course. Further information about loans, grants, and bursaries to support you during your studies at The Courtauld can be found here.
Further information about loans, grants, and bursaries to support you during your studies at The Courtauld can be found here https://courtauld.ac.uk/study/fees-and-funding/postgraduates.
Provider information
Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London
The Courtauld
Vernon Square
Penton Rise
London
WC1X 9EW