Looking for a way into the captivating world of art history? Join expert tutors to explore key objects and principles on a journey that starts with early modern Britain, moves through twentieth-century European art, and brings us right up to date with a look at postmodern and contemporary visual culture.
Why choose this course with us?
- Learn at Cambridge, whatever your experience: this is an open-entry course
- Access Cambridge teaching in a flexible format: part-time and online
- Gain a credited, Cambridge award: boost your learning and career opportunities
- Join our peer-learning and Cambridge alumni communities: connection and support, for life
Course Dates
Course details
Tutors
Course information
Course highlights
During this part-time online Certificate course, you will explore different periods of Western art and visual culture within a chronological survey.
As part of our learning community, you will:
- become familiar with major themes in Western visual culture from the early modern to the contemporary
- feel empowered to conduct your own visual analyses of artworks across all media
- learn how to place artworks in their broader historical context, including political, cultural and theoretical
Course breakdown
The course will run from 17 October 2026 to 9 June 2027.
Each term's teaching usually takes place on Thursday evenings, with occasional Saturday afternoon sessions. Exact teaching dates and times will be confirmed in the course guide upon enrolment.
Michaelmas term: Restoration to Pre-Raphaelites
- Unit 1 start date: 17 October 2026
- Unit 1 end date: 6 January 2027
The period from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries saw immense shifts in terms of artistic styles and movements, from a British Baroque inspired by the huge numbers of migrant artists from the Continent, to the “Golden Age” of the eighteenth century, to a Victorian Britain in which conflict emerged between those artists and designers who sought to create innovative contemporary styles and those who immersed themselves in a revival of the arts of the past. During this time art came to be seen as a means of social reform, with the highest standards of design and craftsmanship being extended to the decorative as well as to the fine arts.
Lent term: Twentieth-century European art
- Unit 2 starts: week commencing 4 January 2027
- Unit 2 end date: 24 March 2027
Starting with Impressionism and Neo-Impressionism, developments of painting styles on the continent began to reflect technological, social and political change, showing an increasing commitment to the modern world. This unit charts the history of European art from the late 19th century through the avant-garde movements of the 1910s–30s (Cubism, Surrealism, Dadaism). Finally, we will consider the years leading to World War II and its immediate aftermath, a time when the European artistic landscape underwent a dramatic shift.
Easter term: Postmodernism and Contemporary Art
- Unit 3 starts: week commencing 29 March 2027
- Unit 3 end date: 9 June 2027
From the 1960s onwards, artistic practices on both sides of the Atlantic shifted away from traditional media such as painting to focus on technologically-mediated practices (photography, video art, installation art). Moreover, the rise of the “neo-avant-gardes” inaugurated a new relation between art and life, with movements such as Fluxus, Land Art, and Performance Art. This unit traces how these two distinct yet connected frameworks developed over the 1960s and 1970s, and how they have continued to be relevant to recent and contemporary art since the 1980s, from mass media appropriation to art using digital technologies.
After the course
This course gives you a wide-ranging introduction to art history and equips you with visual analysis skills that you can go on to apply in your life, whether personally or professionally.
Want to continue your studies with us at this level? You can apply for the Certificate in History of Art: Classical to Renaissance. On completion of both certificates, you can apply for the award of Certificate of Higher Education in History of Art. You may decide to study at a higher level, including the Diploma in History of Art, and we would be happy to advise on this.
Entry requirements
There are no formal academic entry requirements for this course. It’s open to all learners who are interested in the subject.
English language requirements
Our courses are taught in English and require a good level of fluency. If English is not your first language, you’ll need to meet the requirements of one of the language proficiency tests below. You’ll need to complete your test and submit the results to our admissions team by 22 September 2026.
IELTS (Academic), IELTS for UKVI Academic, IELTS One Skill Retake
Overall score of 6.5, with not less than 6.0 in any component.
TOELF iBT or TOEFL Home Edition
https://www.ets.org/toefl.html
Overall score of 92, with no element below 20.
Cambridge English C2 Proficiency
https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams-and-tests/proficiency/
Overall score of 176, with no element lower than 169.
As part of our open and inclusive learning environment, you can enjoy the world-class resources and expertise of the University of Cambridge wherever you are on your academic journey.
Our video-based teaching platforms offer a flexible way to access lectures, while our Virtual Learning Environment makes it easy to study and learn online and interact with your tutors and fellow students.
Our teaching methods include lectures and live seminars that include interactive learning activities. We will also give you reading to complete outside of classroom sessions.
You will be asked to submit a written assignment at the end of each unit to demonstrate your learning. There are more details about how this course is assessed in the course guide we will send you once you have enrolled.
Qualifications
This course is equivalent to half of the first year of a full-time undergraduate degree. It offers 60 CATS credits, which are recognised by higher education institutions and employers.
Hours of study
The award of academic credit is a means of quantifying and recognising learning and within the UK, one credit notionally represents 10 hours of learning. This course attracts 60 credits, so students should expect to need to study for approximately 600 hours in total to complete all units successfully. However, it is recognised that students study at different paces and use a variety of approaches, so this is a recommendation, rather than a hard-and-fast calculation.
SEEC Credit Level Descriptors for Higher Education (2021) here.
Fees
The total fee for this course is shown above in 'Course details'.
To help you manage your finances more comfortably, you can pay the fee in instalments. For more information on payment options, and how to secure your place, see how to pay.
Funding
We're dedicated to reducing and removing financial barriers to learning. Visit financial support before applying to find out what options may be available to help you in your studies. You can explore external funding and stay up to date on our concessions and bursaries.
We're committed to supporting you in your learning journey, and we offer a variety of support opportunities to meet individual needs. Visit student support to find out more about how we can help.
