History of Art and History of Music

History of Art and History of Music is a degree that studies two of the most significant and enduring forms of human creativity through the lens of their historical development. Art history asks how images and objects have been made and used, how they relate to the societies and belief systems that produced them, and how our ways of looking at and valuing art have changed over time. Music history asks parallel questions about how musical forms and practices have developed, how music functions in different social and cultural contexts, and how the history of composition and performance reflects and shapes broader cultural change.

Studying the two together develops a rich and comparative understanding of how human beings have expressed meaning through both the visual and the sonic.

At the University of Edinburgh, this four-year full-time programme develops expertise in both disciplines simultaneously. You will study visual art across a range of periods, media, and traditions, developing the vocabulary and critical methods of art historical analysis, including formal description, iconographic interpretation, and contextual argument. In music history you will engage with the development of Western musical forms from the medieval period to the contemporary, alongside the musicological methods needed to analyse and write about music.

A year abroad is available, offering the chance to study in a different cultural environment, which is particularly enriching for a degree concerned with how culture is situated in specific places and times.

Edinburgh's cultural resources, including its museums, galleries, concert halls, and festival life, provide vivid contexts for the subjects you are studying.

Graduates pursue careers in museums and galleries, arts administration, concert programming, music journalism, arts criticism, education, auction houses, heritage management, and cultural policy. Many go on to postgraduate study in art history, musicology, or curatorial practice. The combination is distinctive and valued by cultural organisations that need staff who can engage seriously with both visual and musical culture.