Modern and Contemporary Art: History, Curating and Criticism MSc

The programme of study comprises two core courses, option courses, and the dissertation where you demonstrate you can develop and pursue your own research ideas.

The two core courses of the programme are taught by a team of experts:

• Research: Theories and Methods (Semester 1)
• Cultures and Politics of Display (Semester 2)

Research: Theories and Methods

This course introduces a variety of approaches to doing research in the field at postgraduate level, and is essential not just to students who will seek positions in the art field but also to those who would like to carry on to a PhD.

Cultures and Politics of Display

This course offers more specialised knowledge on how we encounter art and/or mediate and contextualise it as professionals.

Option courses

Option courses can vary annually, but address developments from the 19th century and the historical avant-gardes to globalisation, all exploring the changing role of art and art institutions in society:

• digital art and its frameworks
• performance and participatory art
• inequality and policy in the arts
• feminist, postcolonial and decolonial critiques
• questions on class and labour
• memory and the lens
• the city in relation to museums
• the theories and politics shaping the contemporary art field
• curating and exhibition-making
• art in specific regions, countries and continents.

We also offer work placements as an option course in Semester 2 (but preparation begins in Semester 1).

The MSc ends with a dissertation that you research and write after Semester 2.

Our option courses are specially designed by staff as leading researchers in their fields (many with curatorial experience) with the aim of deepening students’ knowledge in a specific subject and exciting their intellectual curiosity.

The option courses engage theory-led debates while also introducing and contextualising a range of artworks and related cultural artefacts and their contexts of mediation.

Our option courses entail small-group teaching and may incorporate both lectures and seminar discussions.

Full-time

Full-time students do the MSc in one year, from September to August. You will complete two option courses in each of the two semesters. You will then research and write the dissertation between April and August.

Part-time

Part-time students complete the programme of study over two years. You will research and write the dissertation in Year 2 of your studies.

Teaching

The two core courses of the MSc include both lectures by experts and small-group tutorials where the lecture content is further unpacked and discussed. In the final part of the Semester 2 core course, Cultures and Politics of Display, you will meet the annually appointed Fellow in Contemporary Art Theory and Curating to gain insider’s knowledge on a given subject or role.

The option courses are taught by individual staff members and student numbers are capped to ensure a small group learning environment. The work placement as option course is overseen by a staff member.

The dissertation is supervised by a staff member with relevant expertise, while dissertation workshops are also offered before you start.

Besides the teaching that forms part of our curriculum, you are expected to attend the History of Art Research Seminars that take place weekly during term time. These seminars are given by invited researchers in the field and are important for introducing students to new material and approaches beyond our in-house expertise. The seminars help you acquire broader knowledge of the field.

In addition, academic staff and research clusters may organise events throughout the year with invited speakers that further expand your knowledge and understanding of modern and contemporary art, its frameworks and interdisciplinary grounding.

Assessment

Each course has its own mode of assessment, appropriate to its learning outcomes.

These may be:

• 4,000 or 3,000-word essays
• a report or oral presentation
• a combination of assessment methods.

Assessed assignments are monitored by a second staff member.

Assessment methods for this postgraduate degree do not include exams.

Once you complete the taught part of the MSc, you will begin to research and write a supervised 15,000-word dissertation on a topic you are interested in.

The dissertation is an exciting part of the programme, where you develop your own ideas and specialise in a subject. You are asked to think about a dissertation topic early on, though you will get more ideas as your knowledge deepens and as you encounter new areas of study and questions through your core and option courses.

Find out more about compulsory and optional courses

We link to the latest information available. Please note that this may be for a previous academic year and should be considered indicative.

The work placement option course is a popular feature of our programme.

If you choose this course, you will need to prepare for an interview with a partner institution or other art context to gain hands-on experience in appropriate tasks from a real work environment.

Work placements are offered on a competitive basis. The art institution offering the placement decides who receives the place. Work placements normally take place in Edinburgh or elsewhere in Scotland.

You will acquire knowledge and understanding of the field of modern and contemporary art, as well as transferable research skills.

The possibility of a work placement in a museum, gallery or comparable work environment can provide useful experience in a changing art world.

Our aim is to provide you with the knowledge and understanding necessary for your intellectual development in ways that prepare you for your future contribution to the field.

The comprehensive nature of this programme, including its specialised option courses, will equip you for a confident start in a range of art world and related work contexts and will be invaluable if you are interested in further academic study, such as a PhD, or a career in an art-world setting.

Contact with scholars and professionals means that you can network and understand the demands of specific settings.

The diversity of regions and art scenes addressed through our courses, and the emphasis we place on the contemporary art field, broaden your horizons and allow you to pursue career paths with confidence.

Field trips

There is no mandatory field trip for the MSc, although specific courses may require visits to relevant collections and institutions.

Campus facilities

Our courses are taught in appropriate rooms, normally on the ECA campus. The ECA campus, on Lauriston Place, is in the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town, minutes away from Edinburgh Castle. Our campus enjoys easy, walking-distance access to parkland and busy city life.

The MSc benefits from two specialist art libraries as well as the Main Library and the University’s other Libraries. You may also have access to the University’s Contemporary Art Research Collection.

• About the Main Library

The University has its own contemporary art gallery, the Talbot Rice, set in Old College and its impressive surroundings. The Talbot Rice hosts notable exhibitions by contemporary artists.

Talbot Rice Gallery

Lauriston campus redevelopment

ECA are excited to be undertaking a capital redevelopment of ECA’s Lauriston campus over the next 3 years, from April 2024 to April 2027.

The project aims to maximise the use of existing space, improve accessibility, and create a vibrant campus that fosters collaboration and innovation.

The project involves refurbishing and repurposing various spaces across the Lauriston campus, including technical facilities, student and teaching spaces, and the relocation of the Reid School of Music from Alison House to the Lauriston campus. New social spaces, seminar rooms, and studios are being created to accommodate our growing community.

You can find more about the project at the below link:

Building work starts at ECA’s Lauriston campus | Edinburgh College of Art

Support for learning

You can also benefit from the courses offered through the Institute for Academic Development (IAD) and Academic Language and Literacies for In-sessional Study (ALLIS).

Both of these facilities can enhance your academic experience and help improve performance where needed.

• Institute for Academic Development

• ALLIS courses for undergraduate and postgraduate taught students

These entry requirements are for the 2025/26 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2026/27 academic year will be published on 1 Oct 2025.

A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in a relevant subject.

Students from China

This degree is Band C.

• Postgraduate entry requirements for students from China

International qualifications

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:

• Entry requirements by country

English language requirements

Regardless of your nationality or country of residence, you must demonstrate a level of English language competency which will enable you to succeed in your studies.

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

• IELTS Academic: total 7.0 with at least 6.5 in each component. We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
• TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 100 with at least 23 in each component. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
• C1 Advanced (CAE) / C2 Proficiency (CPE): total 185 with at least 176 in each component.
• Trinity ISE: ISE III with passes in all four components.
• PTE Academic: total 73 with at least 65 in each component. We do not accept PTE Academic Online.
• Oxford ELLT: 8 overall with at least 7 in each component.

Your English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the programme you are applying to study, unless you are using IELTS, TOEFL, Trinity ISE or PTE, in which case it must be no more than two years old.

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration:

• UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries (non-MESC).

• Approved universities in non-MESC

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old at the beginning of your programme of study.

Find out more about our language requirements:

• English language requirements

Application fee

None.

Deposit

None.

Additional programme costs

This programme has additional costs.

This may include the travel fare to the site of the internship and/or to any local art institutions.

Living costs

You will be responsible for covering living costs for the duration of your studies.

Tuition fees

Funding for postgraduate study is different to undergraduate study, and many students need to combine funding sources to pay for their studies.

Most students use a combination of the following funding to pay their tuition fees and living costs:

• borrowing money
  • taking out a loan
  • family support
• personal savings
• income from work
• employer sponsorship
• scholarships

Explore sources of funding for postgraduate study

Featured funding

• Edinburgh College of Art scholarships

UK government postgraduate loans

If you live in the UK, you may be able to apply for a postgraduate loan from one of the UK’s governments.

The type and amount of financial support you are eligible for will depend on:

• your programme
• the duration of your studies
• your residency status.

Programmes studied on a part-time intermittent basis are not eligible.

• UK government and other external funding

Other funding opportunities

Search for scholarships and funding opportunities:

• Search for funding