Modern and Contemporary Art and Theory

Accessibility statement

Award Award	Duration Duration	Start dates Start dates	Application Application
PhD (MPhil also available) PhD (MPhil also available)	Full-time: 3–4 years Part-time: 6–8 years Full-time: 3–4 years Part-time: 6–8 years	October October	January January

The department of art history at the OU has a strong record of pioneering and world-class research in modern and contemporary art.

A landmark achievement in this area is the internationally acclaimed three-volume series Art in Theory: an Anthology of Changing Ideas, which is continued in the volume Art in Theory: The West in the World co-edited by Professor Leon Wainwright (2020).

Research is being conducted around nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first-century art and design with a particular interest in the art market, collecting and reception as well as around the politics of contemporary art, art activism and methodologies including display and curatorial practices. This work also encompasses art from an ecocritical/environmental angle, transnational networks, diasporas and migration.

We welcome applications that correspond with current staff research interests. We look for detailed and well-thought-out proposals, which set out specific research questions and outline the originality of your topic or approach.

A UK Masters’ degree or equivalent level in a relevant subject (art, architecture or design history), or exceptionally a First Class undergraduate degree with a substantial dissertation. If you are not a UK citizen, you may need to prove your knowledge of English.

We welcome applications to study topics that complement our current research.

UK fee UK fee	International fee International fee
Full-time: £5,238 per year Full-time: £5,238 per year	Full-time: £13,289 per year Full-time: £13,289 per year
Part-time: £2,619 per year Part-time: £2,619 per year	Part-time: £6,645 per year Part-time: £6,645 per year

Some of our research students are funded via the AHRC Landscape Award scheme; others are self-funded.

For detailed information about fees and funding, visit Fees and studentships.

To see current funded studentship vacancies across all research areas, see Current studentships.

An image to illustrate the Modern and contemporary art and theory research topic

Entry requirements

Potential research projects

Current/recent research projects

Potential supervisors

Fees and funding

PhD fees

Links

How to apply

Explore

Undergraduate

Postgraduate

Policy