Curating Collections and Heritage MA

Why study with us?

• The course has been developed in partnership with the Royal Pavilion and Museums Trust, Brighton & Hove, and responds to employers’ demands for the collections and heritage workforce.
• Part-time study and flexible learning means the course can be incorporated into workplace professional development. Elements of the programme are designed to support applicants who are undertaking or hope to take their Associateship of the Museums Association qualification.
• Teaching staff include respected University of Brighton academics who develop leading research on the museums and heritage sector, and curating professionals including from the Royal Pavilion & Museums Trust, the Design Archives and Screen Archive South East.
• Students can gain industry experience on the course through a 150-hour placement as well as practical workshops with partner organisations.
• We specialise in digital curating and digital approaches to museum and heritage practice are a central component of many of our modules.
• Students can develop their understanding and practice by choosing business management modules and graduate with Curating Collections and Heritage with Management.

• Students have access to internationally important collections including the Royal Pavilion and Museum’s collections of decorative art, world art and natural history and University of Brighton-held collections relating to design history, screen history, and historic dress.
• Off-site study visits, live briefs and hands-on sessions in all modules bring insight into contemporary practice.
• Part-time students can arrange an individual programme of study which suits their needs.
• You will be welcomed into a vibrant research community, featuring visiting researchers and practitioners, reading groups, lectures and workshops. Recent speakers have included practitioners from the V&A, the British Museum, the Museum of Transology, Whitechapel Gallery, and the Museums Association.

Course structure

Your MA will be structured around three compulsory modules and a research project:

• Museums and Collections in Context

This module addresses key concepts in contemporary museum and collections practice. It engages with museums and collections as institutions, exploring their role and impact on society, policy context, ethical responsibilities, and how they are governed and operate. Through seminar discussion and portfolio development, students gain familiarity with and reflect upon professional concerns in museums and other collections-based organisations.

• Caring for Collections and Their Users 

This module addresses key concepts in contemporary museum and collections practice. It engages with collections and their users, exploring the development, care, management and research of collections, as well as learning, audience engagement and development. Through seminar discussion, poster presentation and portfolio development, students gain familiarity with and reflect upon professional concerns in museums and other collections-based organisations.

• Heritage in a Global Context

Through weekly seminars and site visits, students will reflect on what constitutes ‘heritage’ by exploring how historical, aesthetic and cultural value is attributed to material forms of the past. The module combines theoretical and political debate in the analyses of global case studies (e.g. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial) and the creation of local case studies (e.g. Brighton Pier) that involve site documentation, the identification of interpretive techniques and reflection upon meaning.

• Research Project

You will develop a substantial, original piece of writing based on your own intellectual and practical interests in curating theory, history or policy. Supported by the supervisory guidance of a subject-specialist tutor, and introductory seminars, you will design, manage and conduct an independent research programme, building on primary research and in-depth secondary scholarship to write either a traditional dissertation or a report related to a particular challenge in the collections and heritage sector and suitable for presentation to industry.

To complete your degree and cater to your specialist interests and learning requirements, you choose three further option modules, one in semester 1 and that will take place in semester 2 and over the summer months.

See option modules tab for a list of options.

Professor Lou Taylor with a student in the Dress History Teaching Collection

Option modules 

• Issues in Graphic Design: Modernity, Identity and Meaning
• Critical Perspectives on Exhibitions
• Professional Placements in Collections and Heritage
• History of Fashion and Dress: New Directions
• Digital Curating
• Collections Intensive

If you wish, one of your options can be chosen from our other humanities MA programmes.

Management modules are taught by the university’s School of Business and Law which specialises in management in the not-for-profit sector. These include:

• Managing People
• Managing Finance in Different Contexts
• Marketing and Communication
• Leadership with Ethics
• Managing Organisational Behaviour
• International Management and Leadership
• Managing Talent, Performance and Reward
• Entrepreneurship New Business Venturing
• Sustainable Strategic Management
• International Trade and Logistics
• Marketing in an International Context

Some of these modules are MBA modules and require previous management experience. Others are available for all students.

Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.

Lab facilities

Mithras House is home to all our School of Humanities and Social Science courses. It has a series of ‘labs’, which may be used for teaching on your course or in your independent research work.

Design lab
A space housing our extensive collection of historic dress and textiles, which are used in some teaching on our History of Art and Design courses. It has the space and equipment to work on textile projects. Displays created by students on these programmes are on view in the social spaces of the building.

Life lab
A comfortable space with lounge furniture intended for qualitative research with larger groups. Due to its relaxed layout and naturalistic environment, the space is suited to research using focus groups, research using observation-based methods and child research.

City lab
A space designed for collaborative student learning. It is used by students and staff involved in the university’s Global Challenges programme, our collective mission to contribute towards solutions to tackling the pressing issues facing our world

Stats lab
A specialist workspace with computing equipment for statistical analysis and projects involving video and audio editing software. The lab is accessible as a study space to students on psychology courses. It is also available to students studying courses involving video and audio recording and editing, and contains eight soundproof booths.

VR and eye tracking lab
This lab is used for psychological research, eye-tracking and virtual reality research.

You will also benefit from: 

• world-class Design Archives

• St Peters House Special Collection which contains rare, valuable, and delicate books, illustrated books, artist books and handmade items

• Screen Archive South East, a moving image archive. 

In addition, the university has close relationships with local festivals and organisations such as Cinecity, the Brighton Photo Biennial, the Brighton Festival, Brighton Festival Fringe, Brighton Digital Festival, Fabrica and Lighthouse. These connections provide a range of opportunities for students. 

Resources

Students on the MA will have access to our excellent collections and gallery spaces:

• Our world-class Design Archives, an internationally significant research base with a curatorial team that initiates and promotes collaborative activity through a programme of projects.
• Our excellent art and design library, St Peters House, with its special collection containing rare, valuable, and delicate books, illustrated books, artists’ books and handmade items.
• Screen Archive South East, a moving image archive collection of magic lantern slides, films, video, and associated materials capturing the many varied aspects of life, work and creativity from the early days of screen history to the present day.
• Dress and Textiles Teaching Collection, a vast collection of garments from the eighteenth century onwards.

Students have access to the moving image archive of the Screen Archive South East.

Professional development 

The following modules are all available as freestanding modules for individuals who would prefer to work towards an MA over time, or take individual modules as continuing professional development.

• Museums and Collections in Context: this module focuses on museums as institutions, exploring the role and impact of museums, the policy context for museum practice, the ethical responsibilities of museums, and how museums are governed and operate.
• Caring for Collections and their Users: this module engages with museum collections and their users, exploring the development, care, management and research of collections, as well as learning, public engagement and audience development.

If you are interested in taking a freestanding module, contact c.wintle@brighton.ac.uk +44(0)1273 643089.

Students have access to our renowned Design Archives.

Meet the team

Dr Claire Wintle, course leader

Dr Claire Wintle’s research focuses on objects, collecting and museums and examines the ways in which collections interact with the politics of empire, nationalism and decolonisation. She has a particular interest in the interpretation of India in museums and galleries, in the UK, the US and in India itself.

She has worked in collections and public programmes at National Museums Liverpool, Manchester's Museum of Science and Industry, and Royal Pavilion and Museums, Brighton & Hove.

Other staff who teach on the course include: Dr Megha Rajguru, Dr Veronica Isaac, Dr Lara Perry, Dr Helen Mears, Head of Research at Royal Museums Greenwich, Dr Eliza Tan and Kevin Bacon, Digital Manager at Royal Pavilion & Museums Trust, Brighton & Hove.

Read a Q+A with Dr Eliza Tan about her career journey.

Student views

Lisa Hinkins, graduate and Gallery Explainer and Visitor Service Officer at Royal Pavilion & Museums Trust

"This MA, co-designed and developed with museum staff, gave the course a unique academic and vocational learning programme that was very exciting to me. Further to this, I was able to take MBA optional modules. This allowed me to build on previous job experience and knowledge, enabling me to graduate with Management and to broaden my museum sector career opportunities.

"The excellent tutorial support and guidance gave me the confidence to push myself that resulted in me being a speaker at the Gayness in Queer Times Conference (Brighton) and a co-curator of the LGBTQ community led exhibition, Queer the Pier at Brighton Museum & Art Gallery (BMAG).

"I have also guest lectured on the Brighton design history undergraduate programme, bringing both my postgraduate learning and exhibition-making experience to students. I have also taken a workforce development placement assisting the curator for the Goal Power! Women and Football exhibition at BMAG."

Chloe Van de Velde, graduate

“My experience of the Curating Collections and Heritage MA was very enjoyable. I loved that the course was not purely lecture based and there were many points where we could have lively discussions with people who currently curate or work in museums. I have gained valuable insight into the heritage field whilst studying in a vibrant and creative city.

A.S.Kalume (aka BeKuto waSirya), graduate

"Working with The Royal Pavilion Trust opened me up to the world of curators during my tenure as part of a community project The fashion cities Africa exhibition; I was intrigued and accepted an opportunity to qualify for this MA course.

"My insight and perception has dramatically changed, gaining experience in research, project management, presentation and analysing data.

"I was head hunted for a curating post by a Chicago based organisation even before I had graduated. My tribe in Kenya has appointed me as the chief negotiator in returning Vigango the future looks Bright(on)."

Course fees

Scholarships, bursaries and loans

We offer a range of scholarships for postgraduate students. Bursaries and loans may also be available to you.

Find out more about postgraduate fees and funding.

The Change Studentship will be awarded to an African diaspora, Asian Diaspora or ethnically diverse Curating Collections and Heritage MA applicant. Find out how to apply...

The fees listed here are for the first year of full-time study if you start your course in the academic year 2024–25.

You will pay fees for each year of your course. Some fees may increase each year.

UK undergraduate and some postgraduate fees are regulated by the UK government and increases will not be more than the maximum amount allowed. Course fees that are not regulated may increase each year by up to 5% or RPI (whichever is higher).

If you are studying part-time your fee will usually be calculated based on the number of modules that you take.

Find out more

• Fees, bursaries, scholarships and government funding info for UK and international undergraduate and postgraduate students
• Student finance and budgeting while studying
• About the university’s fees by checking our student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf).

Campus where this course is taught

Accommodation

Local area

Maps

Support and wellbeing

Sport at Brighton