Program Overview

MA Art Market, Provenance and the History of Collecting

Course Overview

The MA in Art Market, Provenance and the History of Collecting is a unique postgraduate degree that focuses on vocational skills such as Provenance Research and tools of research for the history of collecting and the art market. The course is taught in London by specialists from The University of Buckingham and from outside experts, with frequent visits to museums and institutions in the UK and abroad.

Key Features of the Programme

• Unique postgraduate degree, focusing on vocational skills such as Provenance Research and tools of research for the history of collecting and the art market.
• Interdisciplinary and diverse in approach
• Taught in Bloomsbury, London
• Visits to key museums, collections, galleries and auction houses in the UK and abroad
• Study Week in Vienna or Florence
• Country House Study Week (shared with the MA Decorative Arts and Historic Interiors)

Entry Requirements

• A first or second-class honours degree from a recognised university or,
• A recognised professional qualification

Mature Students

Age is no barrier to learning and we welcome all applications from suitably qualified students. Due to their flexibility, our London-based MAs attract a wide variety of applicants from a range of backgrounds, including people in full-time employment and retirees. Our current students range in age from 21 to 75.

International Students

We are happy to consider all international applications and if you are an international student, you may find it useful to visit our international pages for details of entry requirements from your home country.

English Levels

If English is not your first language, please check our postgraduate English language requirements. If your English levels don’t meet our minimum requirements, you may be interested in applying for our Pre-sessional English Language Foundation Programmes.

Selection Process

Candidates apply online, sending in their supporting documents. Applications will be assessed by the Programme Director.

Teaching and Assessment

The MA in Art Market, Provenance and History of Collecting employs a stimulating variety of teaching strategies, including traditional lectures and seminar discussions, workshops with partner institutions, class visits to relevant museums, galleries and archive collections, and Study Weeks to various English country houses and to Vienna or Florence.

Modules Studied on this Course

• The Practice of Research / Provenance
• Collectors, Patrons and Dealers
• Art across Borders: Networks, Collecting, and Conquest
• Architecture, Power and Display: The Town and Country House in Europe
• Objects Interpretation Project
• Cabinets of Curiosities and the Shaping of Knowledge

Projects and Achievements

Recent Projects and Achievements include the exhibition catalogue Treasures from Faraway, realised by our students in in 2023 in collaboration with Strawberry Hill House.

After Your Course

The course provides a vocational and academic training to a new generation of art historians, museum curators and archivists, art dealers and auctioneers as well as providing a stepping-stone towards further postgraduate research.

Course Fees

• Start: Sep 2025
• Type: Full-time (1 Year)
• First Year: £10,300 (UK), £16,480 (INT)
• Total cost: £10,300 (UK), £16,480 (INT)
• Start: Sep 2025
• Type: Part-time (2 Years)
• First Year: £5,150 (UK), £8,240 (INT)
• Total cost: £10,300 (UK), £16,480 (INT)

Scholarships and Bursaries

We have bursaries and scholarships available for both home and international students at undergraduate and postgraduate level, and these are awarded based on location, merit or financial need.

• Postgraduate First-Class Scholarship
• Sheikh / Mubarak Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah Scholarship (Postgraduate)