Master’s Degree

MA in Contemporary Art

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Date
Fall 2026
Duration
1+ Year
Location
London
Program
Master’s Degree
Mode of Learning
In-Person
Language
English
Topic
Contemporary Art
Contact Admissions

+44 (0)20 7462 3232 admissions@sia.edu

Develop your expertise in art since 1968, examining the key movements, artistic tendencies, practices, and debates that have informed all aspects of contemporary art. 

The MA in Contemporary Art is the longest-running specialized Master’s program of its kind in the world.

For more than thirty years, our graduates have gone on to shape the contemporary art world through careers across the global arts ecosystem, from galleries and museums to auction houses, private collections, arts publishing, and academia.

Under the guidance of leading scholars and arts professionals, students develop a rigorous understanding of contemporary art history, critical theory, curating and art world studies (including the art market).

Alongside its rich and intensive core curriculum, the MA offers a range of pathways. Students can choose academic and/or workplace electives and pursue either a research-based or practice-based dissertation.

Additional opportunities include the Sotheby’s Fellowships and an extracurricular curating project in partnership with a prestigious art college.

Learning extends beyond the classroom through faculty-led visits to established and experimental art spaces, both locally and internationally.

The faculty are committed to helping students become intellectually confident, critically engaged and professionally accomplished arts graduates, distinguished by the depth of their specialist knowledge and the range of their professional skills.

Highlights

Unrivalled Art World Access

Students are immersed in the contemporary art world with unrivalled access to a wide range of specialists from commercial and non-profit arts organizations, including curators, dealers, critics, and auctioneers.

The Original Contemporary Art Program

Founded in 1991, the Master’s in Contemporary Art was the first program of its kind dedicated to the study of recent art. We continue to honor this culture of innovation in our teaching and programming.

Learn by Experience, Not Just in the Classroom

Through real‑world projects, visits and placements, students gain firsthand insight into how the contemporary art world works and where they fit within it.

Next Steps

Faculty

Program Director, MA Contemporary Art, London

j.hacking@sia.edu

Juliet Hacking began her academic career as a Visiting Lecturer (at the Universities of Derby and Reading, and the Courtauld Institute). In 1999 she took on a year-long research post at the National Portrait Gallery, London, where she also curated the exhibition and wrote the book 'Princes of Victorian Bohemia: Photographs by David Wilkie Wynfield' (Prestel, 2000).

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j.hacking@sia.edu

Senior Lecturer, MA in Contemporary Art, London

Marcus Verhagen wrote his doctoral dissertation on visual culture in France in the late nineteenth century. Still working on nineteenth-century art, he taught in the nineties at universities in both Britain and the States. Working primarily on contemporary art in the years since 2002, he has written about seventy articles and reviews for art magazines such as Art Monthly, Art Review, and Frieze. He has published in several periodicals, including Representations, New Left Review, Third Text, and Afterall.

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Senior Lecturer, MA in Contemporary Art, London

Pierre Saurisse completed his Ph.D. in France, and he taught contemporary art at the Universities of Aix-Marseilles and Rennes. In 2007 his book on chance in European and American art of the 1960s, La Mécanique de l'imprévisible , was published by L'Harmattan. He has reviewed exhibitions and books for Beaux-Arts Magazine, Critique d'Art, and Parachute.

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Lecturer, MA in Contemporary Art, London

Mike Cooter is an artist, writer, lecturer, and educator based in London and Lisbon. His work investigates the structural agency of objects, be they sculpture, cinematic props or other anthropological artefacts – objects co-opted or created to drive narratives, fictional or otherwise.

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Featured

Field Study

Field study is a hallmark of the master's programs, taking graduate students around the globe to explore established and emerging markets during key events and with an itinerary ranging from art fairs to visits to artist studios and private collections.

“Being present revealed how audiences responded, and how institutions and artists shape the experience of performance in ways that no amount of reading could have prepared me for. That, for me, was the real value of the study trip.” — Tara Vivian Kubik ’26

Details

Academic Structure

This program is unique in combining rigorous academic study of contemporary art with the acquisition of skills of professional practice.

The Master’s degree is awarded for 120 taught credits across two semesters, plus the completion of a 60 UK credit research or practice-based dissertation in the third and final semester.

The teaching of contemporary art in the period from 1968 until now has two main strands: Artworks and Art Worlds (30 credits) and Global Practices, Theories & Debates (30 credits), taught concurrently from semester one into the first half of semester two.

On these units, students undertake assignments that help them develop high-level postgraduate skills of research and writing.

On Professional Practice (15 credits), assignments simulate “real world” tasks and scenarios, such as exhibition installation plans, auction appraisals, museum catalogue entries and exhibition reviews.

Semester one also includes Art Futures (15 credits) which brings students from three of the MA programs together for an exploration of the art world of the future with particular emphasis on technology, sustainability, inclusion, and the politics of cultural property (restitution).

In the second half of semester two, students take two electives (15 credits each) from a broad offering reflecting the specialisms of all the Master’s programs and the vocational Work Placement elective. This enables each student to build a personalized Master’s profile.

Semesters one and two are intensively taught in-person on three days per week (other weekdays are dedicated to directed study or scheduled events such as international study visits).

For the third and final semester students research and write a research or practice-based dissertation under the guidance of a dedicated supervisor.’

View required courses and electives in our Master’s London Catalog here.

Tuition and Fees

Fall 2026 Entry

Home: Total Program Fees: £24,950

International: Total Program Fee: £42,500

Tuition includes participation in the field study component.

For more information on tuition and program fees, click here.

Field Study

Study trips and visits are significant learning events, where travel, experiencing art in situ, and informal access to tutors come together to create an immersive and enriching experience.

In 2026-27 MA Contemporary Art students will visit the Venice Art Biennale, Kassel (documenta), and the Sharjah Biennial in the United Arab Emirates.

Frequently Asked Questions

From visa information for international students to course credits, find answers on our FAQ page. If you don’t find the answer you’re looking for, contact an Admissions counselor.

Student Policies

Explore our library of academic and campus policies here. All students who enroll for graduate study must agree to the Terms and Conditions upon accepting their offer of admittance.

Enterprise Studio

The Enterprise Studio was created as an extra-curricular program for Master’s students to receive training and support for new business ventures, culminating in a start-up pitch competition, the Gavel. Through close access to mentors, students have the chance to shape their plans from ideation to execution with the winning Gavel team receiving significant seed funding for their future business.

Student Spotlight

MA Contemporary Art alumna Elena Rueda Ruiz de Austri is a Sales Assistant at Pace Gallery, a leading international art gallery in London. Her journey from Sotheby’s Institute to a role at one of the world’s most prominent galleries offers insight into building a career in the art world and navigating the evolving market.

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