Bachelors of Art Honours, History of Art
Learning with curiosity, criticality and creativity
Overview
The Honours degree in History of Art is undertaken by coursework and a research essay. Students are required to complete all four coursework units and submit a long essay of 10,000 words. The degree offers a means to both understand and critique the discipline of art history by considering a range of art histories in dialogue with art objects, art exhibitions, art historical texts, and the constructions of local and global art histories. The degree is also foundational to further encounters with adjunct fields such as museum and heritage studies, archaeology and anthropology, archives and curatorship, and many more.
By exploring the disciplinary boundaries, margins and overlaps, the various courses in the department invite students to rethink a range of art historical perspectives and approaches for and from the global south. The long essay offers an opportunity for students to study, write and make visible original research enquiries and actively contribute to discourses in the field.
Curriculum
4 courses and a long essay
(i) Core course: Writing Art Histories
(ii) 3 electives - wits.ac.za/wsoa/cpavc/postgraduate/
Please consult the latest Humanities Rules and Syllabuses to see what other electives can be taken with this degree.
Entry Requirements
- A bachelor’s degree or equivalent with 65% course mark aggregate in a third year major.
- At least an upper second class pass in the final undergraduate course in History of Art or a related field.
Documentation required
- Complete Application
- Transcripts
- Certified copies of qualifications
- Motivation Letter
- CV
- Sample of writing (such as a 3rd year course essay or related academic writing).
Additional entry requirements may apply.
University Application Process
- Applications are handled centrally by the Student Enrolment Centre (SEnC). Once your application is complete in terms of requested documentation, your application will be referred to the relevant School for assessment. Click here to see an overview of the Wits applications process. Refer to Wits postgraduate online application guide for detailed guidelines.
- Please apply online. Upload your supporting documents at the time of application, or via the Self Service Portal.
- Applicants can monitor the progress of their applications via the Self Service Portal.
- Selections for programmes that have a limited intake but attract a large number of applications may only finalise the application at the end of the application cycle.
Please note that the Entry Requirements are a guide. Meeting these requirements does not guarantee a place. Final selection is made subject to the availability of places, academic results and other entry requirements where applicable.
International students, please check this section.
For more information, contact the Student Call Centre +27 (0)11 717 1888, or log a query at www.wits.ac.za/askwits.
University Fees and Funding
Click here to see the current average tuition fees. The Fees site also provides information about the payment of fees and closing dates for fees payments. Once you have applied you will be able to access the fees estimator on the student self-service portal.
For information about postgraduate funding opportunities, including the postgraduate merit award, click here. The University's Postgraduate Funding portal is a database of scholarships, bursaries and other funding opportunities available to Wits postgraduate students. Please also check your School website for bursary opportunities. NRF bursaries: The National Research Foundation (NRF) offers a wide range of opportunities in terms of bursaries and fellowships to students pursuing postgraduate studies.