Widening Participation
Widening participation aims to increase the numbers of under-represented groups in Higher Education.
We are committed to admitting the brightest students to The Courtauld, regardless of your background, or your experience of studying Art History. We currently do this though Insight programmes and contextual offers. You can find more information about our commitment to widening participation in our Access and Participation Plan. We have also created a summary of the Plan.
Contextual offers
We are committed to allowing all our applicants to demonstrate their potential, and show themselves to their best advantage, regardless of background. In recognition of the barriers students from underrepresented backgrounds face in applying to higher education, The Courtauld offers a contextual offer scheme. Eligible students may receive an offer of up to two grades lower than our typical grade requirements.
Students from the following groups are likely to be made a contextual offer:
- Students from IMD Q1&2
- Students from the Global Majority
- State school attendees
- Disabled students
- Care experienced students
- Carers
- Estranged students
- Students who are the first in their family to attend higher education
It is also important to know that we do not expect you to have been studying Art History A-Level in order to be considered here. Art History is multi-disciplinary, and draws on skills from many other subjects, such as History, English Literature, Religious Studies, Philosophy and Sociology.
Many of our undergraduate students have never studied Art History before. If you have a passion for art, close looking, and discussing what you see, both with others and in writing, Art History could be a great fit, and we would love to receive an application from you.
If you have any queries on the application process, please contact our admissions team
Insights Programme
If you are a student and you want to get an insight into what Art History is all about, we run many exciting programmes throughout the year, so you can participate in lectures, courses and discussions and even presentations of your own, so you can get a flavour for what Art History is like to study, and learn about where it could take you in your career.
If you have a passion for art, are naturally inquisitive, and love looking closely at the things you see in the world around you, Art History might just be for you, and we would love to hear from you!
Have a look at our links below to see how you can get involved:
Insights into Art History
A series of free one-day workshops specially designed for 16-18 year olds.
Summer University
Spend five days experiencing student life at a world-class university specialising in Art History, Conservation, and Curating.
Art History beyond London
An outreach programme designed for schools and colleges outside London delivered directly in your classroom.
More activities for schools and colleges
For any further information or to speak to us directly, please contact our Outreach team
Financial support
The Courtauld recently launched the James Hughes-Hallett Undergraduate Scholarship to provide financial support to undergraduate students who are underrepresented in higher education.
In each academic year, beginning 2021/22, The Courtauld will award three UK undergraduate students £10,000 each over the course of their three-year BA course. This money can be used to support living costs, and is in addition to the annual Courtauld bursary, which is worth up to an additional £3,000 per year.
To be eligible for the James Hughes-Hallett Undergraduate Scholarship, students must be attending a non-selective UK state school and have a household income below £40,000 per annum. In addition to the main criteria, priority will be given to students whose parent(s)/guardians did not attend university, care leavers, estranged, carers, and students that are living with a disability, come from a minority ethnic group or have refugee status.
You may also be eligible for financial support in the form of The Courtauld Bursary, which offers up to £3,000 per annum.
We have also have a Hardship Fund available during your studies to provide short-term emergency funds to meet the immediate financial needs, if necessary.