Base in the School

From its founding in the 1950s, the model developed by the School now known as Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies has been interdisciplinary and critically-oriented.

A narrative history of the School (FAHACS) can be read here.

It presently offers discrete or combined programmes of study in four broad areas at undergraduate and postgraduate levels:

→ Contemporary fine art practice
→ Social histories of art from global perspectives
→ Museums and galleries studies
→ Critical theory from a cultural studies stand-point

The AWP is rooted in specific overlaps between all of those areas of teaching and the many constellations of research that lead them. The last Research Excellence Framework assessment (REF 2014) confirmed that over 70% of scholarship produced by FAHACS staff was internationally excellent or world-leading and that the Univeristy of Leeds was amongst the top 10 research-intensive universities in the country.

This status was complemented by acknowledgment of the quality of our teaching when the University was awarded The Times' and Sunday Times' University of the Year 2017.