International Centre for Cultural and Heritage Studies
10 Reasons to study in ICCHS
- Staff: We have expert and friendly teaching staff with international research profiles and professional experience of, and expertise in, heritage, museum and gallery work.
- Reputation and student employability: we are internationally renowned for high quality professional training, research and consultancy. Our reputation and the quality of our programmes means that our graduates have a strong advantage in the job market within the museum, gallery and heritage sector both nationally and internationally. Our graduates from the past few years have been successful in obtaining positions such as: Audience Researcher at the National Media Museum, Learning Officer, Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums and Curator, The Frederick Horsman Varley Art Gallery of Markham (Canada); many of our graduates from earlier cohorts are now in more senior positions, such as: Exhibitions Manager at the British Museum, Deputy Director, Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, Head of the Kitale Museum, Kenya and Collections Manager, Hartlepool Museum and Heritage Service.
- Guest lectures: ICCHS has close links with the sector. A vast range (100+) of external speakers, from all areas of the museums, galleries and heritage world, come to lead sessions. This means that the programmes balance theory with practice and retain their up-to-the-minute relevance.
- Broad vision and specialisation: the programmes allow students to develop a holistic view of the sector, focusing on everything from ancient castles to contemporary art galleries; after this, students specialise in specific areas. Students are therefore equipped for work both in single areas (e.g. art or history curatorship) and between different kinds of organisations.
- Hard work!: the intensiveness of the course means that students come away with the highest possible level of knowledge, skills and experiences to help them work in any area of the sector, anywhere in the world.
- Hands-on work: ICCHS adopts a practical approach to teaching and learning: students use conservationequipment, curate exhibitions, develop education projects, produce marketing materials, professional reports and policies, etc. Students also undertake an eight-week work placement in a museum, gallery or heritage site. (It is also possible to study part-time.)
- Local attractions: there are rich heritage resources in the area, for example, World Heritage Sites like Hadrian’s Wall as well as world famous museums and galleries such as the Bowes Museum and BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art. Newcastle is a vibrant, beautiful and historic city famous for its nightlife, within a fascinating region renowned for its countryside and coastal scenery.
- Culture on tap: the University’s Great North Museum opened over three sites as a major capital development in 2009, comprising the art collections in the Hatton Gallery, the archaeological, natural history and ethnography collections housed in the Hancock and a state-of-the-art storage facility. The Great North Museum’s resources are used for teaching, practical exercises and exhibitions curated by our students.
- Travel opportunities: the curriculum involves numerous mandatory and optional study visits all over the UK and abroad; an Erasmus scheme allows EU students to undertake funded work placements in Europe; there is also plenty of scope for personal travel (Newcastle International Airport is used by low fare airlines flying all over Europe).
- Community: the group work, the exhibition work, the trips, the research student seminars, the student society, the parties… The informal atmosphere plus all the hard work makes for a friendly community feel and lots of memorable, fun times.