Close icon

Personalise what you see on this page.

Choose from the options below. We'll show you information based on your current location as default.

I'M FROM

  • United States
Please select so we can show the most relevant content.

LIVING IN

  • United States
Please select so we can show the most relevant content.

LOOKING FOR

  • Undergraduate courses
Please select so we can show the most relevant content.
Viewing as a student from United States living in United States interested in Undergraduate courses

Course options

  • Qualification

    PhD/DPhil - Doctor of Philosophy

  • Location

    Colchester Campus

  • Study mode

    Full time

  • Start date

    APR-24, OCT-24, JAN-25, APR-25

  • Duration

    4 years

Course summary

The University of Essex is one of few research-intensive universities to offer a practice-based PhD in curating. Like a traditional PhD in art history, this degree allows you to conduct sustained, innovative research about an issue from the field of visual culture, broadly defined. Only instead of resulting in a book-length thesis of roughly 80,000 words, this degree culminates in you curating a major, research-based exhibition and writing a complementary thesis of c. 40,000 words.

The premise underlying this PhD is that exhibitions constitute one of the most important platforms for sharing research – a platform that may be complemented by rigorous written research, but one that reaches audiences and makes arguments not possible through writing alone.

As part of the PhD Curating, you investigate a topic of your choosing. This topic may relate to the history and theory of curating. However, you can also explore other facets of visual culture, opting instead to use curating as the vehicle for presenting your research. Regardless of your topic, you critically assess the impact of your research, both on the history of visual culture and on contemporary discourses concerning the production, distribution, and reception of exhibitions.

The practical dimension of this PhD enables you to develop your skills as a curator. To this end, you will conceive of an exhibition from start to finish, with key deliverables that include: preparing a preliminary curatorial plan of your chosen exhibition project; finding a venue; implementing a promotional plan; developing an education programme; preparing the different components of the exhibition; organising shipping; mounting and installing artworks or other objects on display (some or all of which may be loans); and, finally, presenting your exhibition to the public. If needed, you may gain professional art-handling training and further hands-on experience, which we can arrange through our ties to both university-managed and external galleries.

Alongside this practical project, you will also prepare a thesis that serves two ends: first, to explore your research question in greater detail than the exhibition itself would allow; and second, to provide a critical commentary on the process of developing your exhibition. The final degree is awarded based on an assessment of both the exhibition and the thesis.

Your future

Most of our successful graduates are now working in academic institutions, in museums or galleries, or in other arts-related professions, both throughout the UK and abroad. Several graduates are now Professors in leading art history departments, such as York and CUNY, while others have worked as curators at high-profile museums such as the Tate Modern, the Museum of Modern Art (New York), or the Royal Academy of Arts (London).

Tuition fees

Students living in United States
(International fees)

£ 18,750per year

Tuition fees shown are for indicative purposes and may vary. Please check with the institution for most up to date details.

University information

University of Essex

  • University League Table

    32nd

  • Campus address

    University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, Essex, CO4 3SQ, England

The careers team offer dedicated international careers advice and support throughout studies and after graduation.
Central London is easily accessible from all of the university's campuses.
Gain access to the curriculum from nine European universities through the YUFE (Young Universities for the Future of Europe) virtual campus.

Is this page useful?

Yes No

Sorry about that...

HOW CAN WE IMPROVE IT?

SUBMIT

Thanks for your feedback!