History of Art and History with Foundation Year BA (Hons)

Our fascination with the historical past, and the visual art it has bequeathed us, is richly evident in our thriving heritage sector and record numbers of visitors to museum and galleries.This wide-ranging BA in History of Art and History with Foundation Year will take you from the ancient world through to the present day exploring social, cultural, intellectual and political histories to develop your understanding of visual culture within these contexts. You will acquire the analytical skills and critical approaches that enable you to investigate texts, images and historical documents for yourself, and develop your competence in both visual perception and historical interpretation.Before proceeding to the main degree, you will spend your Foundation Year preparing yourself for a degree in the arts by improving your study and research skills and gaining arts-related knowledge and understanding. You will have the opportunity to take a language module as part of the Foundation Year.Upon successful completion of the Foundation Year, you can automatically progress on to our three-year, full-time, evening study BA History of Art and History.We also offer part-time Foundation Year degrees which allow you to spread out your Foundation Year studies over two years. As the 'Foundation Year' is made up of 120 credits, as a part-time student you can take 60 credits in each of your first and second years before starting the main four-year BA History of Art and History. This means that you can take six years to complete the part-time degree with Foundation Year.**Highlights**- Our Foundation Year programmes will fully prepare you for undergraduate study. They are ideal if you are returning to study after a gap, if you have not previously studied the relevant subjects, or if you did not achieve the grades you needed for a place on your chosen undergraduate degree.- In the most recent Research Excellence Framework (REF), Art and Design at Birkbeck achieved 100% for a research environment supporting world-leading or internationally excellent research.- You will benefit from small, highly interactive classes, alongside students of different ages and from various walks of life. You can take advantage of field trips, including an annual visit to a European city, which takes place in the Easter vacation. We offer information evenings for prospective students interested in our History of Art programmes throughout the year.- We have a state-of-the-art cinema and exhibition spaces, all housed in a historic building that was a former home to key members of the Bloomsbury Group, including the author Virginia Woolf and the artist Vanessa Bell. See a video about our home in Gordon Square.- As a student here, you'll be invited to a dynamic range of events, many of which are organised through our research centres, including the Centre for Museum Cultures, the History and Theory of Photography Research Centre, Architecture, Space and Society Network, Vasari Research Centre for Art and Technology, the Pears Institute for the Study of Antisemitism, the Raphael Samuel History Centre, the Institute of Historical Research and the Institute of Classical Studies. These give you access to some of the foremost figures in the discipline, and insight into the most recent and up-to-date research.- The School of Arts is an official partner of the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London. Opportunities for students have included a year’s free membership of the ICA, private views, discounts on all talks and events, free members' screenings and £3 cinema tickets on Tuesdays, up to 25% off ICA Artists' Editions and a monthly e-newsletter.