Frequently Asked Questions

You do not! The only pre-requisite to participation in our courses is a passion for the visual arts and for art history, along with a good command of the English language.

Our courses are not assessed and while we provide extensive course materials on our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) for most parts of the programme, it is up to students how much preparatory and subsequent study they wish to undertake.

Any student who attends either four Summer School courses in one year or six courses over three years is eligible for a Short Courses Certificate, signed by the Director. Certificates are made out in September after Summer School and will be posted to your home address. If you would like us to mark your achievement in this way, please send a note – by email or in person – to Jackie Sullivan at short.courses@courtauld.ac.uk by 1 September, with details of the courses you have attended.

Our students range in age from 18 to 80s and beyond! We occasionally accept under 18s – please contact us to discuss requirements.

Student feedback has shown that our students find our courses extremely sociable. We keep class sizes low to facilitate and encourage discussion. On campus courses include breaks with refreshments, giving students the opportunity to get to know each other over coffee and cake. Those attending a Summer School on campus course are invited to the Frameworks programme, which is shared by all Summer School courses, and weekly drinks receptions.

At present, concessions are available for Saturday Study events.

The fee depends on a course’s length and intensity, and can be found on its webpage. Any income generated by the Short Courses is used to support the work of The Courtauld in order to advance the study of art history and conservation.

Spring and Autumn Courses online

The fee for five-day or five-week online courses in the programmes Variations on a Theme and Making Sense of… in the Spring and Autumn is £195. There is an additional fee of £50 for optional Saturday visits where these are offered.

The course fee for Spring and Autumn online courses includes

• Five pre-recorded one-hour lectures for all Making Sense of… and Variations on a Theme courses. Lectures are delivered to students two weeks before the first discussion session.
• A live Zoom seminar in the afternoons, depending on student numbers in two groups at 14:00 and at 16:00, and for the evening online courses Making Sense of Ideas on Art and Abstraction (both autumn) at 18:00 and 19:30 [London time]. Optional museum and gallery visits take place on Saturdays, from 10:00-13:00. The spring online Variations on a Theme: Modernism in Art and Music consists of 5 pre-recorded lectures/music sessions and 3 extended Zoom seminars.
• A social ‘icebreaker’ session, usually on the Wednesday before your first Zoom seminar, to meet your tutor and classmates. We teach in small groups to facilitate discussion.
• Pre-course reading materials, handouts, further reading suggestions, student-to-tutor and peer-to-peer discussion forums on the VLE.

Spring and Autumn Courses on campus

The fee for three-day courses on campus is £360, and £475 for courses over four days.

The course fee for Spring and Autumn on campus courses includes:

• Classroom sessions
• Course visits
• Morning and/or afternoon coffee/tea breaks (when students are on campus)
• Extensive course reading and handout materials and suggestions for further self-directed study on the VLE
• Reference access to the Library during course delivery and in the nearest vacation

Summer School online and on campus

The fee for each online course in the Summer School is £395, and £595 for each on campus course.

Summer School online includes

• Ten one-hour pre-recorded lectures normally sent four weeks before the start of live Zoom seminars during the course week
• Five live Zoom seminars; one on each afternoon for the course week at 14:00
• A social ‘icebreaker’ session in the week before the first Zoom seminar, normally on a Wednesday
• Opportunities for communication with fellow students and your tutor(s) on two VLE forums
• Extensive course reading and handout materials on the VLE, including suggestions for further self-directed study

Summer School on campus includes

• Classroom sessions
• Course visits
• Morning and/or afternoon coffee/tea breaks (when students are on campus)
• A Monday soft drinks reception and guided tours to aspects of the Gallery at Somerset House
• A Thursday late afternoon framework event followed by a drinks reception
• Extensive course reading and handout materials and suggestions for further self-directed study on the VLE
• Reference access to the Library during Summer School and in the nearest vacation

Evening Study Winter online

The fee for online courses in the winter months is £395 for ten-lecture courses, and £195 for five-lecture courses. There is an additional fee of £50 for optional Saturday visits where these are offered.

The course fee for Evening Study Winter online courses includes

• Ten pre-recorded one-hour lectures for courses on women artists in France; looted art, and Holbein at the Court of Henry VIII. Lectures are delivered to students four weeks before the first discussion session. The course on Giulio Romano consists of 5 pre-recorded one-hour lectures, which will be sent two weeks before the start of discussion.
• A live Zoom seminar in the evenings, depending on student numbers in two groups 18:00 and 19:30 [London time]. Seminars for the Holbein course exceptionally start at 19:00 [London time]. Optional museum and gallery visits take place on Saturdays, from 10:00-13:00.
• A social ‘icebreaker’ session, usually on the Wednesday before your first Zoom seminar, to meet your tutor and classmates. We teach in small groups to facilitate discussion.
• Pre-course reading materials, handouts, further reading suggestions, student-to-tutor and peer-to-peer discussion forums on the VLE

Study Tours online

The fee for all courses in the programme Study Tours Online is £145.

The course fee for online Study Tours includes

• Four one-hour pre-recorded lectures provided two weeks in advance of the live Zoom week-end seminars and discussions
• Two extended week-end seminars, on the Saturday and Sunday of the course, at 14:00, and depending on student numbers, also at 16:00
• Extensive course materials on the VLE
• Opportunities for communication with your fellow students and tutor(s) on two discussion forums on the VLE

Study Tours in person

The fee for three-day tours is £445 and £595 for the four-day tour to the Castle of Bracciano and nearby Rome. N.B. Travel to and from the primary destination of the tour, and accommodation, are not included in the course fee; participants are free to make their own arrangements.

The Study Tours fees include:

• Expert guidance and tuition by our course leaders
• All relevant entry fees to museums, galleries and historic sites
• Travel by coach or public transport between sites (where relevant)
• Most tours also include sessions in a classroom on site, or the provision of a pre-recorded lecture
• Extensive course materials on the VLE

The Castle of Bracciano/Rome course fees include:

• Expert tuition by the Castle curator
• Free access to the 18 rooms in the public wing of the museum; one room exclusively reserved for Courtauld participants as a classroom, exclusive access also to an open air Renaissance loggia. One lesson to be held in the private wing of the Odescalchi apartments.
• Coffee breaks in the Castle
• All museum and gallery entry fees in Rome and audio guides where relevant

Our courses are open to nationals of any state; it is the prospective student’s responsibility to ensure that they obtain whatever kind of visa may be necessary to enter the UK. Further information about visitor visas can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-visas-and-immigration.

Our search found that people from the EU or USA do not need a visa to study in the UK for 6 months or less, while for example Chinese passport holders would need to apply for a Standard Visitor visa to engage in short-term study. You can find out the specific information for your country here: https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa/y.

The Campus at Vernon Square

Vernon Square has always served as an educational setting. It was built as a school by the London City Council in the early twentieth century and has more recently served SOAS, University of London as a second campus.

The building offers two large lecture theatres, and nine seminar rooms on the first and second floors, and a reception space and open-air terrace on the top floor. It is fully accessible, with step-free entry, single-level flooring, disabled toilets, lift access to all rooms, and free on-site parking for blue badge holders.

Please bear in mind that all Spring, Autumn and Summer School courses on campus include visits to museums, galleries and other sites within London, its surroundings or nearby cities and therefore a certain degree of physical activity. Likewise, all Study Tours in person require a fair amount of walking and getting around towns and sites, in some circumstances on uneven or otherwise difficult terrain. If you have any doubts whether a particular course or tour is suitable for you, please contact us for further information.

For day-time courses held on campus, morning and afternoon tea and coffee will be provided free of charge, if you are in the Institute, and water will always be supplied in the teaching rooms. In addition, sandwiches and snacks can be bought in our staff and student common room, or you may wish to bring a packed lunch and eat on our terrace. There are a large number of independent and chain sandwich/snack bars in and around both King’s Cross/St Pancras and Angel stations, as well as several more sophisticated eateries.

Summer School 2023 features 29 intensive courses on a global range of topics from late classical to contemporary art. Each course lasts five days, so you can follow one course per week. Our online courses consist of 10 pre-recorded lectures that are made available 4 weeks before the start of the course, and 5 live Zoom seminars during which you can discuss the lecture content with your tutor. Each Zoom seminar lasts approximately one and a half hours and they normally take place at 14:00 [London time]. Our in-person courses are taught at our Vernon Square campus and in museums and galleries across London. Their teaching days generally last from 10:00 to 16:30, with registration from 09:30 on the first day, for on campus courses.

See our full range of Summer School courses:

Summer School online

Summer School on campus

Summer School courses are non-residential but you may need accommodation while in London. Because of concerns over Covid, accommodation is currently unavailable for short-stay visitors at several of London’s student residences. Our research has shown that the following still offer rooms during the summer. Please note that we have no personal experience of these residences.

International Hall – in the heart of Bloomsbury, a 15-minute walk to Vernon Square. Please follow the link below for more information about and to book the International Hall
https://www.speedybooker.com/en-GB/vendor/internationalhall

AXO offers short-term student accommodation at various sites in London. Their Oxford Circus residence is near Great Portland Street tube station, which has a direct connection to King’s Cross. Alternatively, it is a 35-minute walk to our campus at Vernon Square. AXO Camden and AXO Islington are approximately a 50-minute walk or can be reached by bus or tube from Vernon Square. Find out more about AXO short stays using the link below
https://axostudent.co.uk/short-term-stays/

iQ likewise has several residences near Vernon Square that can be booked for short stays. iQ City, near the Barbican, is a 25-minute walk from Vernon Square. Please follow the link below for more information
https://www.accommodationforstudents.com/student-hall/1684-iq-city-london

iQ Shoreditch, a stone’s throw away from Old Street Station which has a direct tube connection to King’s Cross, is a 35-minute walk from our campus. The link below provides more information about iQ Shoreditch
https://www.accommodationforstudents.com/student-hall/472-iq-shoreditch-london

Tufnell House in Islington is a 30-minute walk or can be reached by several bus connections from Vernon Square. Please us the link below to find our more information about Tufnell House
https://www.accommodationforstudents.com/student-hall/319-tufnell-house-london