Course Overview
Status
Applications Open in mid-October for 2025 entry
Location
Vernon Square Kings Cross, London WC1X 9EP
Duration
12 months (full-time)
Awarding body
University of London
Intake
24 students per year
Are you looking to build your career in the dynamic international art market? Does the opportunity to pursue advanced study and research on Art and Business from both a contemporary and a historical perspective excite you?
The Courtauld’s new one-year MA in Art and Business, taught in collaboration with King’s Business School, offers an unparalleled opportunity to develop the skills and knowledge you’ll need to succeed in today’s commercial art world. You’ll learn from an extraordinary range of experts in their field through an MA that draws on The Courtauld’s rich resources as a centre for learning about the visual arts and King’s excellence in business teaching.
The course will offer you a unique insight into the ecology of today’s art markets and provide an in-depth understanding of the systems underpinning them. You’ll explore the development of Western art markets since the seventeenth century, charting how diverse works of art have been traded, appraised, advertised, and contested as well as how the market has transformed artistic practice. You’ll also gain the financial, business, and entrepreneurial expertise required to succeed in the art world.
During the course, you will engage regularly with some of the most successful and influential figures of today’s art world, including gallerists, auction-house specialists, art lawyers, art fair organisers, art advisors, curators, artists and critics. You’ll also be able to work directly with The Courtauld’s exceptional art collection and benefit from the experience of going on numerous field trips with your tutors, including an all-group field trip to Europe.
Upon completion of the MA Art and Business, you will have:
- An advanced, critical understanding of the workings of today’s art markets.
- A deep knowledge of the histories of the British, European and North American art markets and their global dimensions.
- A sophisticated set of skills learnt from a wide range of leading art world professionals.
- An invaluable expertise in the financial, business and entrepreneurial skills required for success in today’s art world.
- Competency in data analysis, financial management, strategic thinking, project management, communication, entrepreneurship, equitable partnerships, and leadership.
- A broad-ranging view and understanding of the careers available in the art market.
- An extensive professional network.
Careers and Employability
The Courtauld’s MA in Art and Business will equip you with the knowledge to pursue a wide range of career paths within the art market internationally. This course is ideally suited to those looking to pursue a career in the commercial gallery and art fair sectors, auction houses, art advisory services, art financing and insurance, logistics, provenance research, academia, and more.
Students from the programme will join an international network of Courtauld alumni who work across the cultural sector and benefit from the friendships, support, and mentorship available within that community.
Programme Leaders
Teaching and programme structure
The course is structured around core and topic modules.
Core modules offer a comprehensive exploration of the art market and its history while providing invaluable expertise in the financial, business and entrepreneurial skills required for success in the contemporary art world.
Topic Modules are taught over single semesters by members of the Courtauld’s Art and Business faculty and will provide students with the opportunity to study a specific Art and Business topic in depth. Emerging out of the research interests of the faculty and designed to encourage independent student reading and research, these topic models will also help give students the research and writing skills they will require to produce their final dissertation or art business project. Students will be required to take one topic focusing on a historical area and one with a contemporary focus.
You will also produce a final dissertation or an art business project. These are independently researched and written projects chosen in discussion with one of the Art and Business faculty. The dissertation can have a historical, contemporary or transhistorical focus, and will require an extended period of independent research that engages critically with the existing historiography of the subject and with relevant primary sources. The art business project will demonstrate your skills in evaluating the professional environment of the art market and in applying your learning in a practical context.
Assessment
The formal assessment of MA in the Art and Business is based on the following components:
- Core Module (Understanding the Art Market): 1 x 2,500-word paper to be presented and submitted by the end of Semester 1; Group research project, to be presented and submitted by the end of Semester 2.
- Core Module (Histories of the Art Market): 2 x 2,500-word papers to be presented and submitted by the end of each semester.
- Core Module (The Business of Art): Group/team pitch of a business plan (by the end of semester 2) and a 1,500-word individual, reflective essay on business plan development (by the end of semester 2).
- 2 x Topic Modules (Collecting in Times of Crisis/Revisiting the Art Fair): 2 x 3000-word essays to be handed in at the beginning of the semester/study period following the semester in which the teaching takes place.
- Dissertation (10,000 words) or equivalent Art Business Project.
Entry requirements
UK qualifications: Students will normally have achieved a good 2.1 in their Bachelor’s degree (typically in the Humanities or Social Sciences).
Overseas qualification: Equivalent to a good 2.1 in a UK first degree (e.g. US applicants should have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or above).
English language requirements: If your first language is not English, we require proof of English language proficiency –please see the English Language Requirements page.
Fees and funding
Tuition fees can be found here.
Financial support for your studies:
Postgraduate Master’s Loan: Please visit the Student Finance England website for further information and to apply online.
Courtauld Institute of Art Scholarships: Every year the Courtauld provides over £500,000 in MA scholarships, which are awarded on the basis of academic merits. The average postgraduate scholarship is £6,000. Applications are welcomed from Home, EU and Overseas applicants and students. Find out more about our scholarships.
Alumni Loyalty Scheme: This scheme is open to any graduate of The Courtauld Institute of Art admitted to a taught postgraduate programme of study. Recipients will receive a 10% loyalty discount off their tuition fee for the duration of the course. Further information about loans, grants, and bursaries to support you during your studies at The Courtauld can be found here.
Support
To support you through the degree, we offer:
Wellbeing support: We have a dedicated Wellbeing team, with counsellors and advisors.
Academic Skills training: The academic skills tutor offers group and one-to-one classes to help you to develop the skills and confidence you need to succeed on the degree. We also have two Royal Literary Fund fellows who will help you with your writing skills – concentrating on how to structure and improve your writing.
Careers advice: You can access bespoke, one-to-one career guidance throughout your studies. The Courtauld Careers Service offers advice and support on exploring career and further study options, finding internships, enhancing employability, understanding and navigating the jobs and self-employment market, and making successful applications. This service is available to all graduates for up to two years after graduation.