Museum, Gallery and Heritage Studies

Newcastle and the North East have a unique mix of exceptional heritage and cultural resources, which include the World Heritage site of Hadrian’s Wall, the Great North Museum, the Bowes Museum, and the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art.

Our International Centre for Cultural and Heritage Studies is an important centre for interdisciplinary research into museum, gallery and heritage studies and is well placed to make full use of the resources on our doorstep as well as taking advantage of our extensive network of research collaborators.

We treat heritage, museum and gallery studies as an integrated discipline and this perspective enables you to combine a broad vision of the subject area with specialisation in a particular topic. For example, if you are interested in curatorship you may choose to focus on issues relating to types of collections (social history, natural history, historical and contemporary art or archaeological materials and sites). Or you may want to explore how heritage organisations, museums and galleries engage with conservation plans, digital media, and educational activities to improve access to their collections for a variety of audiences.

Our key research themes are: cultural politics and policy; identity, community and place; and representation and media. Supervision for research degrees is available in all these areas. We have been successful in attracting considerable research funding from sources such as UK research councils, the UK government, the European Union and the British Academy so you will join a varied and vibrant research culture in which collaborations with museums and other institutions play an important part.

We also have postgraduate funding for our research degrees and taught programmes. For 2012 entry, this will include AHRC-funded PhD studentships and AHRC-funded MA studentships.

Our MA programmes take a practical approach to working in the cultural sector and have strong links with local, regional, and international organisations and employers. Guest lectures, work-based projects and placements enable you to apply your knowledge, skills and ideas to real-life situations. Your compulsory placement will be organised by our Placement Co-ordinator and supported by our extensive network of professional colleagues.

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