History of art
Study art history part-time with Oxford
Gain a global perspective of the History of Art with a part-time course
Our part-time qualifications in the history of art recognise the globally diverse range of users, makers, and viewers, offering you the chance to join a group of peers eager to learn more about visual cultures, voices, and experiences. Discover the latest debates in the history of art, through flexible learning and visits to Oxford’s world-leading museums and collections.
What can you gain?
- Get up to speed with the latest debates and methods to interpret works of art, particularly in the areas of politics, society, gender and identity, material culture and decolonising practices.
- Exchange ideas and develop questions with a group of like-minded peers.
- Gain practical knowledge and develop your interpretative skills through museum and gallery visits in Oxford and London.
- Fit study around your commitments and responsibilities by combining online digital learning with in-person teaching.
Short courses for adult learners
Explore a new topic or revisit a favourite subject over the course of a few days, a few weeks or a term. Our short courses run in person or online, with some offered in both formats – so you can choose the best study option.
Upcoming courses
Summer schools • Short courses
Explore Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks and the boundless curiosity that shaped his art and science. This interdisciplinary summer course in Oxford uncovers his search for universal laws of nature through observation, experiment and artistic innovation.
- Sun 05 Jul 2026 – 11 Jul 2026
- 9:00am – 12:55pm
Summer schools • Short courses
Discover how British art transformed across one of its most exciting centuries; from the moral passion of the Pre-Raphaelites to the dreamlike visions of the Neo-Romantics. Includes a visit to the Ashmolean Museum and Christ Church Picture Gallery.
- Sun 05 Jul 2026 – 11 Jul 2026
- 9:00am – 12:55pm
Summer schools • Short courses
Explore the power and mystery of artists’ final works across literature, music, and art. This course examines how creativity and mortality intertwine revealing why last creations, from Van Gogh to Plath, continue to move and inspire us.
- Sun 26 Jul 2026 – 01 Aug 2026
- 9:00am – 12:55pm
Online - flexible • Short courses
Explore Impressionism and modern life in nineteenth-century France through the work of Monet, Manet, Degas and their contemporaries. This course examines Impressionist techniques, women Impressionists, critical responses to the exhibitions, and the moveme
- Mon 07 Sep 2026 – 20 Nov 2026
Online - flexible • Short courses
From Paris to Moscow, Glasgow to Barcelona, this short online course examines the richness and variety of European art nouveau.
- Mon 14 Sep 2026 – 27 Nov 2026
Online - flexible • Short courses
This course will explore the English medieval cathedral as a developing institution which survived over a thousand years of religious upheaval and historical change, focusing on the multifaceted architecture of a range of truly great churches.
- Mon 14 Sep 2026 – 27 Nov 2026
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Undergraduate Certificate in the History of Art
The part-time Certificate in the History of Art teaches students about the production and provenance of works of art in museums, as well as key skills such as how to view and describe works of art.Undergraduate Diploma in the History of Art (2027 entry)
A two-year part-time course in which you study two modules from a choice of four, each of which allows you to immerse yourself in a specific period of art history. Taught at second-year undergraduate level.MSt in Literature and Arts
An interdisciplinary programme which encompasses literature, history, art, architectural history, political thought and the history of ideas.MSt in the History of Design
This two-year part-time master's degree explores how ordinary things and places created since 1851 reveal fascinating traces of historical experienc