Arts and humanities at Birkbeck are ranked fifth best in London, 18th in the UK and 87th globally in the 2019 Times Higher Education World University Rankings by Subject. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF), Art and Design at Birkbeck achieved 100% for a research environment supporting world-leading and internationally excellent research. The School of Arts offers a number of bursaries for postgraduate students. Funds are also available to support MA coursework research expenses. You can attend a wide range of events, including the Postgraduate Research Seminar, which brings art historians from all over the UK and beyond to speak at Birkbeck, the biennial Murray Lecture, the Murray Seminar on Medieval and Renaissance Art, the exhibitions and displays at the Peltz Gallery (the School of Arts' purpose-built exhibition space) and other seminars and events across the School and at the Birkbeck Institute for Humanities.

To be considered for direct entry to a Master's degree at Birkbeck, you will normally be required to have successfully completed a Bakalavr/Specialist Diploma from a recognised university with a minimum final grade of 3.5 for programmes requiring a UK 2:2