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Museums and Galleries in Education MA

London, Bloomsbury

The Museums and Galleries in Education MA combines academic study with professional educational practice in museums, galleries and heritage sites, looking at influential contemporary and historic theories in museum and gallery education. This course also enables international collaborations to take place across the academic and professional field of museum studies.

UK students International students
Study mode
UK tuition fees (2026/27)
£14,200
£7,100
Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.
Overseas tuition fees (2026/27)
£35,400
£17,700
Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.
Duration
1 calendar year
2 calendar years
5 calendar years
Programme starts
September 2026
Applications accepted
Applicants who require a visa: 20 Oct 2025 – 26 Jun 2026
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Applicants who do not require a visa: 20 Oct 2025 – 28 Aug 2026
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

You will normally be required to have an upper second-class Bachelor's degree in an arts, humanities or science-related subject from a UK university, or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard, together with professional or voluntary experience in museums, galleries or heritage sites.

The English language level for this course is: Level 2

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

This course is suitable for international students on a Student visa – study must be full-time, face-to-face, starting September.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

The course enables students to carry out practical and theoretical studies on education in museums and galleries. University-based sessions are supplemented by teaching sessions at national, regional and university collections. Additionally, students gain flexible access to historic and contemporary sites and those students opting to follow the Dissertation: Work Placement module sit a 21-day research-based placement in a museum, gallery or heritage site.

Who this course is for

This course combines academic study with professional educational practice. It is suited to those interested in working in education/learning/curation/research in the cultural sector. Applications are invited from a range of suitably qualified professionals such as gallery and museum educators, heritage interpreters, arts administrators, artists, designers, lecturers, and primary and secondary teachers.

Read about what it takes to study for a Master's at UCL

What this course will give you

The Museums and Galleries in Education MA has a long and distinguished history for both those wishing to learn about the educational potential of the cultural sector and those wishing to expand their existing careers.

UCL Institute of Education (IOE), ranked world number one for twelve consecutive years (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025), is ideally situated for students to make excellent use of an extraordinary range of institutions, many within walking distance of the Art, Design and Museology studios.

Moreover, the MA works in close collaboration with the Art Education, Culture and Practice MA, and together they have created an international research-active environment in which to share knowledge and professional expertise.

Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme

The foundation of your career

Graduates of this course are currently working as: education officers at historical sites; digital programme managers in national art and design museums; heads of learning and heads of interpretation and curation in museums and galleries and heads of research in museums/galleries in the UK, continental Europe, and internationally.

Recent graduate destinations include:

  • Senior Producer (Formal Learning) Young V&A
  • Head of Public Programmes, The Courtauld Institute of Art
  • Assistant Curator, Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura & Hayama
  • Learning department, Museum of London
  • Young People's Programme Manager, Learning and National Partnerships, The British Museum
  • Head of Learning and Participation, Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration
  • Head of Access and Learning, RAF Museum
  • Communications and Participation Manager, Group for Education in Museums
  • Head of Education, Freelands Foundation
  • Public Engagement, Oxford University Museum of Natural History
  • Heritage Officer, Enfield Council

Employability

The MA Museums and Galleries in Education aims to shape the museums, galleries and heritage sector through nurturing innovative and critical educators and leaders of the future.

The wide range of assignment briefs afford opportunities for students to work collaboratively building their leadership and communication skills alongside independent scholarly research and the cultivation of analytical skills required to, e.g develop a Heritage Lottery funding bid, curate an exhibition, or design a digital media tool. 

In addition, students are provided with a diverse range of networking and collaborative opportunities through the visits to, and work off site in, a wide range of institutions enabling them to develop knowledge and understanding both of historical and contemporary discourses but also the key challenges facing the sector.

Networking

Art, Design and Museology run a series of research seminars each academic year which provides all students within the group an opportunity to extend their knowledge and understanding and to build up a network of contacts working within the field. Other opportunities include visits off site and the posting via Moodle (the virtual learning environment) of volunteering and paid job opportunities and other research events from colleagues and alumni.

Teaching and learning

Teaching methods include lectures, seminars, workshops, reading groups, and off-site visits for gallery and museum-based learning, delivered by IOE staff, visiting lecturers and professionals working in museums, galleries and heritage sites.

Assessment includes assignments, the production of electronic media, and the potential to develop/realise practice-led research/curating/programming projects.

For full-time students, typical contact hours are around 6 - 8 hours per week in terms 1 and 2. Teaching is a mixture of lectures, seminars, workshops, tutorials, feedback, and the use of a Virtual Learning Environment. In addition to this, full-time students typically study a minimum 7 hours per week, per module, in self-directed study, plus, students would be required to commit additional time to preparing and completing coursework assignments.

In term 3 students will be completing their drafts and then the final assignments for both of their term 2 modules, and continuing their dissertation research, keeping regular contact with their dissertation supervisors into mid July (draft submission) and then completing the research, analysis and final writing up of their dissertation during August.

Please note that contact hours may vary depending on the modules you choose.

Modules

The course consists of two compulsory modules, two optional modules, and the Dissertation Work Placement module OR two compulsory modules, three optional modules and the Report module.

Compulsory Modules:

  • Issues in Museums & Galleries in Education
  • Responsive Museums & Galleries: Inclusion & Outreach in practice
  • Dissertation: Work Placement OR Report

Recommended Optional Modules (NB: other modules from the MA Art Education, Culture and Practice course are available subject to approval by the Course Leader): 

  • Critical Heritage: Themes, Practices and Issues
  • Contemporary Art & Artists in Education
  • Curation and Education
  • Material & Virtual Cultures: Transforming the Museum and Gallery Experience

The course consists of two compulsory modules, two optional modules, and the Dissertation Work Placement module OR two compulsory modules, three optional modules and the Report module.

Year 1:

Compulsory Modules:

  • Issues in Museums & Galleries in Education
  • Responsive Museums & Galleries: Inclusion & Outreach in practice

Year 2:

Compulsory Modules:

  • Dissertation: Work Placement OR Report

Year 1 and Year 2 - Recommended Optional Modules (NB: other modules from the MA Art Education, Culture and Practice course are available subject to approval by the Course Leader): 

  • Critical Heritage: Themes, Practices and Issues
  • Contemporary Art & Artists in Education
  • Curation and Education
  • Material & Virtual Cultures: Transforming the Museum and Gallery Experience

The course consists of two compulsory modules, two optional modules, and the Dissertation Work Placement module OR two compulsory modules, three optional modules and the Report module.

It is expected that you will begin your studies with the compulsory module Issues in Museums & Galleries in Education and that you will sit either the Dissertation: Work Placement module OR the Report module in your final year of study. The second compulsory module Responsive Museums: Inclusion and Outreach in practice can be taken in Years 1-5 depending on an individual's study pattern and following discussions with their Personal Tutor.

Compulsory modules






Optional modules






Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability are subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MA in Museums and Galleries in Education.

Placement

As part of the Dissertation Work Placement module, the Museums and Galleries in Education MA course offers students a 21-day research-based placement in a museum, gallery, or heritage site. Recent placements have been at The British Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum, October Gallery, the Craft Council, Royal Palaces, the Jewish Museum, Mall Galleries, and Museum of London. In addition to the placement itself, students are required to write a Dissertation and a Work Placement Report.

Accessibility

The department will endeavour to make reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities, including those with long-term health conditions, neurodivergence, learning differences and mental health conditions. This list is not exhaustive. If you're unsure of your eligibility for reasonable adjustments at UCL, please contact Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

Reasonable adjustments are implemented on a case-by-case basis. With the student's consent, reasonable adjustments are considered by UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services, and where required, in collaboration with the respective department.

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information about support available can be obtained from UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

For more information about the department and accessibility arrangements for your course, please contact the department.

Visit us

All open days and events

Online - Open day

Graduate Open Events: Museums and Galleries in Education MA and Art Education, Culture and Practice MA

Are you interested in furthering your career in education and making a difference in the UK or worldwide? Meet our academics, hear about the courses you are interested in and have the chance to ask any questions you might have. Be inspired by our wide-ranging and flexible courses run by leading academics.

Watch on demand event

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students
Fee description Full-time Part-time
Tuition fees (2026/27) £14,200 £7,100
Tuition fees (2026/27) £35,400 £17,700

Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.

Postgraduate Taught students benefit from a cohort guarantee, meaning that their tuition fees will not increase during the course of the programme, but UCL reserves the right to increase tuition fees to reflect any sums (including levies, taxes, or similar financial charges) that UCL is required to pay any governmental authority in connection with tuition fees.

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Where the course is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees.

Additional costs

For full-time and part-time offer holders with a fee status classification of UK, a fee deposit will be charged at 2.5% of the first year fee.

For full-time and part-time offer holders with a fee status classification of Overseas, a fee deposit will be charged at 10% of the first year fee.

For modular/flexible offer holders with a fee status classification of UK, a £350 deposit will be charged.

For modular/flexible offer holders with a fee status classification of Overseas, a £500 deposit will be charged.

Further information can be found in the Tuition fee deposits section on this page: Tuition fees.

There may be instances where a student, undertaking their 21-day placement in a museum, gallery or heritage site as part of their Dissertation: Work Placement, may be required to have a DBS. The DBS application cost will be covered by UCL, but students who are required to arrange an overseas police check will need to pay for these; costs vary by country. 

If students undertake fieldwork involved in their report or dissertation it must be self-funded.

For in-person teaching, UCL’s main teaching locations are in zones 1 (Bloomsbury) and zones 2/3 (UCL East). The cost of a monthly 18+ Oyster travel card for zones 1-2 is £119.90. This price was published by TfL in 2025. For more information on additional costs for prospective students and the cost of living in London, please view our estimated cost of essential expenditure at UCL's cost of living guide.

Funding your studies

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.

See all the ways you can fund your studies

Next steps

Students are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.

There is an application processing fee for this course of £90 for online applications. Further information can be found at Application fees.

When we assess your application we would like to learn:

  • why you want to study Museums and Galleries in Education at graduate level
  • why you want to study Museums and Galleries in Education at UCL
  • what particularly attracts you to the chosen course
  • how your academic and professional background meets the demands of this challenging course
  • where you would like to go professionally with your degree

Together with essential academic requirements, the personal statement is your opportunity to illustrate whether your reasons for applying to this course match what the course will deliver.

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate courses (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.

Year of entry: 2026-2027

Apply for this course

Got questions? Get in touch

Culture, Communication and Media
Culture, Communication and Media

j.borradaile@ucl.ac.uk

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