London Admission Requirements

Prospective students are encouraged to apply early to ensure their place in the program of their choosing, if accepted. If you plan to apply for financial assistance, you must submit your application to the Master’s program in advance of applying for aid, and following the below deadlines.

• Regular Decision: Apply by Monday, March 2 to qualify for scholarships

All deadlines are 11:59 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time for the published date.

To be eligible for admission, applicants must have earned a bachelor's lower second-class honors (2:2) degree or its equivalent from an accredited institution by the date on which they enroll at the Institute.

Applicants should demonstrate the following skills:

• The ability to perform at a postgraduate level, as indicated by academic achievement and recommendations.
• Knowledge of art history. Applicants without an art history background might receive conditional offers based on completing pre-requisite coursework.
• Excellent verbal and written communication and analytical skills. For international students, an IELTS academic score of level 7 overall, TOEFL 100 IBT, or its equivalent is required.
• Professional experience is not a required element of our application process, however relevant employment and/or internships enhance a student’s application.

All prospective students must apply using the online application. A complete application includes:

• Academic transcripts/mark sheets: from all undergraduate and post-secondary academic institutions attended.
  • Unofficial copies of transcripts are sufficient for the application process and for issuing decisions. The documents must be in English. If your original degree certificate, academic transcript or other relevant documents are not in English you must provide an officially certified translation. The admissions department will require an official transcript once you enroll in the program.
  • Official international transcripts must be accompanied by certified course by course credential evaluations. The evaluation will convert the grades and GPA into the United Kingdom grading scale.
• Two (2) letters of reference: References from an academic or professional contact. For those candidates with work experience, at least one reference should be professional.
• A personal statement (1,000 words maximum): Please tell us about yourself, your reasons for your choice of program, any relevant academic or art related experience, and your future career goals.
• A writing sample: A graded paper of no fewer than 1,000 words from an art history or art-related course or 1,000-word original essay or mock review written for an art publication or website. Footnotes are required for any citations.
• A curriculum vitae or résumé
• An English language proficiency exam (required for non-native English speakers): A minimum overall score of IELTS academic level 7 or TOEFL 100 IBT will be considered. If your undergraduate coursework was conducted in English or if you have extensive English-speaking professional experience, it may be possible to waive the English language proficiency exam, upon review of your application. Note: TOEFL and IELTS scores expire two years after the test date.
• Payment of the application fee: A nonrefundable fee of £50 (GBP) is required for the 2020 online application. Applications are not considered complete until the fee has been paid.

GRE test scores are not required, but are accepted. The GRE code for Sotheby’s Institute of Art is 4161.

Tuition and Fees for Master’s Degree 2020-2021

Tuition:

• Semester 1*: £10,850 (UK/EU citizens) or £13,000 (other countries)
• Semester 2: £11,350 (UK/EU citizens) or £13,500 (other countries)
• Semester 3: £5,500 (UK/EU citizens) or £6,700 (other countries)

Fees:

• Deposit: A non-refundable deposit of £1,000 upon acceptance is required to secure your place on all programs.
• *Field study fee: Ranges from £2,350 to £4,205 according to program and destination. This fee will be applied to the first semester tuition and covers all transportation, accommodations, and privileged access to venues and events. Please see the program pages for specifics.

Sotheby's Institute of Art tuition and fees are updated annually based on the curriculum and field study destinations. Course work is completed in semesters 1 and 2. For students pursuing a Master’s degree, a thesis or capstone project is required and is undertaken in the third semester.

Sotheby’s Institute of Art offers partial-tuition scholarships towards full program tuition to qualified domestic and international candidates. Scholarship awards are based on need and merit. In order to be considered for a Scholarship, candidates must submit an online Master’s or Postgraduate Diploma programme application, and indicate they would like to be considered on the application form by selecting the ‘Applying for Scholarship’ option. The Scholarship application will require filling out a basic form, and sending in the required documentation. Merit will be assessed holistically using the programme application materials submitted.
Please note that Scholarship awards are not guaranteed.

Scholarship Application includes:

• Scholarship form
  
• Three months’ worth of financial statements for every bank/savings account held by the applicant and sponsor (if applicable) – These should be the most recent prior to date of application
  
• Tenancy agreement or predicted rental cost for the entire academic year

Applicants will receive scholarship decisions along with their admissions decision for the program if all applications are completed before the following deadlines:

· Regular Decision: March 2

· Scholarship applications submitted after the early and regular decision dates will receive notification of their award within 2 weeks of submitting the completed scholarship application materials.

Our admissions team will follow up with you within one working week about any outstanding documentation or required information. Applicants whose documentation is complete will receive notification if they will be offered an interview.

If you receive an offer, a non-refundable deposit of £1,000 is required to secure your place.

Visas
Applicants who require visas are advised to apply through their appropriate consulate or other government agencies at least 12 weeks prior to the start of classes in order to ensure sufficient time for processing. Students who require visas will receive visa documentation after they confirm their intention to enroll by submitting their Enrolment Forms and deposits, but no earlier than three months prior to the start of classes.

Applicants to the London campus from non-EU countries who require visas to enter the UK are urged to begin the application process three months before the start of their course. UK processing time for a Tier 4 Points Based System General Adult student visa may take 12 weeks or more. For more information, please visit www.gov.uk/visas-immigration.

Please note: Materials should not be mailed to the Institute unless specifically requested by the Admissions Office. Transcripts and other supplemental application materials should be uploaded through the online application system.

admissionslondon@sothebysinstitute.com
+44 (0)20 7462 3219

Admissions Office
Sotheby's Institute of Art
30 Bedford Square
Bloomsbury, London WC1B 3EE
United Kingdom