Art Business MA
- Creative arts
- Creative professions
- Postgraduate
Kingston University’s Art Business MA will give you the key skills and knowledge needed to pursue a rewarding career in the world of art. You’ll understand global art markets in the context of their ever-changing artistic, cultural and economic environments.
Give your creativity the commercial edge
Study the UK’s only Art Business MA of its kind.
Studying this MA in Art Business at Kingston University will give you the commercial acumen to secure roles in galleries, auction houses, insurance and more. You might even graduate ready to set up and manage your own gallery or collection.
Through high quality, interdisciplinary teaching, you’ll gain insights, develop practical skills and hone your academic rigour. You’ll explore core business and legal concepts alongside industry-specific knowledge, preparing for the diverse professional landscape you’ll enter when you graduate.
During the course, you’ll benefit from being close to London – Europe's art market capital. You’ll learn from both rising and established art market practitioners, and have opportunities to visit a range of galleries, auction houses and art fairs.
Because Kingston School of Art and Business School deliver this course in partnership, you’ll learn in a uniquely creative, stimulating environment. This is the only course of its kind in the UK.
The course is all about meeting professionals from the industry and learning from them, rather than just studying theoretical disciplines. We had dozens of guest speakers and almost all of them were senior managers from amazing organisations like Christie's, Gagosian and Hauser & Wirth.
Inside art business
Hear from our students and academics as they share their insights on how our Art Business MA could help you develop the knowledge, skills and experience to prepare for a future career in the art world.
Why choose this course
While you study, you’ll benefit from top quality teaching at Kingston University. Not only are we ranked Gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework, our teaching staff have close professional links to keep your studies relevant to the changing work environment.
Keen to engage with the industry through an internship or work placement? Our partnership with the Society of Fine Art Auctioneers will help you find opportunities with contemporary art galleries, PR agencies and other organisations across the UK.
Kingston University has two on-site galleries, Dorich House and the Stanley Picker Gallery. We’re also a 30-minute train journey away from internationally acclaimed galleries and auction houses in London, including Tate Britain, the V&A, Sotheby’s, Christie’s and more.
Plus, you’ll experience the art market first-hand with trips to TEFAF in Maastricht and Art Basel. Other trips include visits to auction houses, market dealers, shippers, collections and foundations across London.
You’ll also have access to the library at Knights Park. Here, you’ll find specialist book and journal collections and a range of electronic resources.
The Art School Experience
As part of Kingston School of Art, students benefit from joining a creative community where we encourage collaborative working and critical practice.
Our workshops and labs are open to all disciplines, enabling students and staff to work together, share ideas and explore multi-disciplinary making.
Course content
You will benefit from a systematic approach to understanding the core functions of the art market across different sectors and geographies, understanding the importance of pre-modern markets and learning about the complexities of today's international art market. This will allow you to cater your studies to your individual needs and future career interests.
The History of the Art Market focuses your understanding of past and present art business practices and changes to the art market over the past 400 years. Object Analysis & Appraisal will teach you how to handle and value an artwork: how an art work is catalogued, its commercial value established and what happens during the process of selling a work of art. Art valuation classes are through lively and hands-on workshops and seminar sessions with teaching staff and art market professionals.
Through the Business and Art module, delivered at Kingston Business School, you will understand the complex and dynamic relationship between art and commerce. You will be taught the latest business practices, which will be tied to the context of the commercial art world.
Modules
This course gives you both an overview of the art market business and the opportunity to gain detailed knowledge in a specific area of fine art and collectibles.
Fundamental to the course are modules which introduce you to wide-ranging subjects, from connoisseurship, object identification and authentication to cataloguing.
The modules will enhance your business practice skills, and through the research element of the programme, you'll develop your critical analysis skills as well as detailed knowledge within a chosen specialist area.
Core modules
Optional modules
Additional year with placement
Many postgraduate courses at Kingston University allow students to do a 12-month work placement as part of their course. The responsibility for finding the work placement is with the student; we cannot guarantee the work placement, just the opportunity to undertake it. As the work placement is an assessed part of the course, it is covered by a student's Student Route visa.
Find out more about the postgraduate work placement scheme.
Career opportunities
After you graduate
You’ll complete this course with globally recognised knowledge and skills. Many of our international graduates return to their home countries to apply their learnings. Some progress to roles in commercial galleries, major auction houses, and art insurance. Others have set up galleries and online platforms, managed collections and advised collectors.
Industry experts
During the course, you’ll have the opportunity to hear from a wide range of art market professionals. Previous speakers include valuation and art insurance experts, PR professionals, Christie's Auction House, independent evaluators, valuers, appraisers, gallerists, artists, fair organisers and recruitment agencies.
Research with impact
Many of our staff are active in research, which means they bring the latest thinking and best practice to your studies. Our research culture covers the critical practices of fine artists, curators, cultural commentators, historians, designers, filmmakers and architects.
Teaching and assessment
The course is assessed through a mix of academic essays, seminar papers and presentations, case studies, and a major research-based project or dissertation. There are no written exams, but a focus on coursework only.
Fees and funding
Fees for future course years
Part time
If you start your second year straight after Year 1, you will pay the same fee for both years.
If you take a break before starting your second year, or if you repeat modules from Year 1 in Year 2, the fee for your second year may increase.
Funding support for postgraduate students
If you are a UK student living in England and under 60, you can apply for a loan to study for a postgraduate degree. Find out more through the government's website.
Scholarships and bursaries
Interested in studying Art Business MA at Kingston? The following funding support is available:
Additional course costs
Some courses may require additional costs beyond tuition fees. When planning your studies, you’ll want to consider tuition fees, living costs, and any extra costs that might relate to your area of study.
Your tuition fees include costs for teaching, assessment and university facilities. So your access to libraries, shared IT resources and various student support services are all covered. Accommodation and general living expenses are not covered by these fees.
Where applicable, additional expenses for your course may include:
How to apply
Before you apply
Please read the entry criteria carefully to make sure you meet all requirements before applying.
How to apply online
Use the course selector drop-down at the top of this page to choose your preferred course, start date and mode, then click 'Apply now'. You will be taken to our Online Student Information System (OSIS) where you will complete your application.
If you’re starting a new application, you’ll need to select ‘new user’ and set up a username and password. This will allow you to save and return to your application.
Application deadlines
We encourage you to apply as soon as possible. Applications will close when the course is full.
After you apply
If we need more information or want to invite you for an interview, we will be in touch directly. After that you will then hear whether your application has been successful.
Course changes and regulations
The information on this page reflects the currently intended course structure and module details. To improve your student experience and the quality of your degree, we may review and change the material information of this course. Find out more about course changes
Programme Specifications for the course are published ahead of each academic year.
Regulations governing this course can be found on our website.
What our students and graduates say
The course at Kingston was instrumental for what I am doing today. It taught me about the dynamics, history and stories of the art market. We also looked at issues on authenticity, connoisseurship, collecting and auction business. All this continues to help me inspire my team, as we build the next logical step in art dealing history: a database to systematise the private art market.
The course gave me the chance to survey the art market from lots of different perspectives. By the end of the year I'd worked out what I really wanted to do - work for a contemporary art gallery, nurturing and promoting artists. This is exactly where I am now, thanks to the opportunities that opened up to me while I was researching my dissertation.
