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The University of Edinburgh

UCAS Code: VW33 | Master of Arts (with Honours) - MA (Hons)

Entry requirements

A level

A,A,B

AAB. Required subjects: A levels: no specific A Level subjects required. GCSEs: English at C or 4.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

36

36 points with 665 at HL. Required subjects: HL: no specific subjects required. SL: English at 5.

Scottish Higher

A,A,B,B

AABB by end of S5 or AAAB by end of S6. BBB must be achieved in one year of S4-S6.Required subjects: Highers: no specific Higher subjects required. National 5s: English at C.

UCAS Tariff

120-136

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course

Course option

4years

Full-time | 2025

Subjects

History of art

History of music

You will study history of art and history of music in equal depth with this joint honours programme.

**History of art**

History of art will introduce you to art from different periods and world cultures.

You will:

* learn how, and for whom, works of art were made

* situate artworks within visual and material culture more broadly

* explore the meanings of works of art and visual culture and the ways they continue to be interpreted

In Years 3 and 4 you will have the opportunity to:

* specialise in particular aspects of the field

* develop independent research projects

* develop a dissertation

* study abroad (Year 3)

**History of music**

In history of music, you will explore a broad range of music through various contexts, including:

* aesthetic context

* cultural context

* social context

* political context

You will be introduced to varied issues relating to the production and reception of both popular and western art music.

In Years 3 and 4 you will choose from a diverse range of options and have the opportunity to write a dissertation on a music-related topic.

History of art and history of music complement each other:

* many ideas and movements are shared across the visual arts and music, and in particular across historical periods

* both subjects benefit from shared methodologies and historical contexts

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£28,000
per year
International
£28,000
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£1,820
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni

Course location:

Central area campus

Department:

Edinburgh College of Art

Read full university profile

What students say

We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

61%
History of art
76%
History of music

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

History of art, architecture and design

Teaching and learning

91%
Staff make the subject interesting
83%
Staff are good at explaining things
80%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
58%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

65%
Library resources
96%
IT resources
74%
Course specific equipment and facilities
27%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

78%
UK students
22%
International students
17%
Male students
83%
Female students
95%
2:1 or above
9%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
A
A

History

Teaching and learning

86%
Staff make the subject interesting
92%
Staff are good at explaining things
82%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
67%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

77%
Library resources
91%
IT resources
79%
Course specific equipment and facilities
63%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

82%
UK students
18%
International students
35%
Male students
65%
Female students
92%
2:1 or above
8%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
A
B

After graduation

The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

History of art, architecture and design

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£20,000
med
Average annual salary
93%
med
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

12%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
11%
Business, research and administrative professionals
8%
Other elementary services occupations

This is a category for graduates taking a wide range of courses that don’t fall neatly into a subject group, so be aware that the stats you see here may not be a very accurate guide to the outcomes for the specific course you’re interested in. Management, finance, marketing, education and jobs in the arts are some of the typical jobs for these graduates, but it's sensible to go on open days and talk to tutors about what you might expect from the course, and what previous graduates did.

History

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£20,000
med
Average annual salary
94%
med
Employed or in further education
68%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

13%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
11%
Business, research and administrative professionals
8%
Other elementary services occupations

History is a very popular subject (although numbers have fallen of late) — in 2015, over 10,000 UK students graduated in a history-related course. Obviously, there aren't 11,000 jobs as historians available every year, but history is a good, flexible degree that allows graduates to go into a wide range of different jobs, and consequently history graduates have an unemployment rate comparable to the national graduate average. Many — probably most — jobs for graduates don't ask for a particular degree to go into them and history graduates are well set to take advantage. That's why so many go into jobs in the finance industry, human resources, marketing, PR and events management, as well as the more obvious roles in education, welfare and the arts. Around one in five history graduates went into further study last year. History and teaching were the most popular further study subjects for history graduates, but law, journalism, and politics were also popular postgraduate courses.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

History of art, architecture and design

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£22k

£22k

£27k

£27k

£30k

£30k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

History

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£22k

£22k

£27k

£27k

£30k

£30k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Explore these similar courses...

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here