Curating Collections and Heritage MA

Top reasons to choose this course

• The course is developed in partnership with the Brighton & Hove Museums.
• Part-time study and flexible learning opportunities.
• Staff include academics who develop leading research as part of the Centre for Design History on the museums and heritage sector, and curating professionals including from Brighton & Hove Museums, the Design Archives and Royal Museums Greenwich.
• Opportunity to take a 120-hour placement as well as practical workshops with partner organisations.
• We believe a diverse workforce is important and have a dedicated studentship for students of colour.
• Choose business management modules and graduate with Curating Collections and Heritage with Management.
• Access to internationally important collections including the Brighton & Hove Museums' collections of decorative art, world art and natural history; University of Brighton's Design Archives; University of Brighton's Dress History Teaching Collection; University of Brighton St Peter's House Library Special Collections.

• Off-site study visits, live briefs and hands-on sessions.
• Join a vibrant community, featuring visiting researchers and practitioners, reading groups, lectures and workshops.
• Guest speakers have included practitioners from the V&A, the British Museum, the Museum of Transology, Whitechapel Gallery, and the Museums Association.
• Placement hosts have included: Brighton & Hove Museums, Novium Museum, Zenzie Tinker Textile Conservation Studio, Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft, Mass Observation Archive and University of Brighton Design Archives.

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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.

Option modules*

• Critical Perspectives on Exhibitions
• History of Fashion and Dress: New Directions
• Exploring Objects
• Queer and Now
• Globalisation and Global Politics
• Issues in Graphic Design: Modernity, Identity and Meaning
• Digital Curating
• Collections Intensive
• Professional Placements in Collections and Heritage (120 hour placement)
• Mediating Objects
• Protecting Human Rights and Building Peace

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:

• Leadership with Ethics
• Global Supply Chain and Finance
• Sustainable Strategic Management
• Managing Finance in Different Contexts
• Marketing and Communication
• Entrepreneurship and New Venture Planning.

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.

Resources and 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-classDesign 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. 

Professional development 

The following modules are 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 Harriet at: h.atkinson2@brighton.ac.uk 

Meet the team

Dr Harriet Atkinson, course leader

Harriet is a historian of art and design, with a background in curating, heritage funding and cultural policy. As well as working at University of Brighton, London's Royal College of Art and University of the Arts London, she has worked for a range of public bodies including Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Association of London Government and the Heritage Lottery Fund. Her research has focused on the role of exhibitions in propaganda, protest, diplomacy and national projection. Her award-winning documentary film Art on the Streets, about a wartime exhibition mounted on a bombsite, is screening daily at Tate Britain until July 2026.

See the trailer of Harriet's film, narrated by children's author Michael Rosen.

Read more about Harriet.

Other staff who teach on the course include:

• Dr Claire Wintle,
• Dr Megha Rajguru
• Dr Veronica Isaac
• Dr Lara Perry
• Dr Charlotte Nicklas
• Professor Annabella Pollen
• Professor Darren Newbury
• Dr Helen Mears, Head of Research at Royal Museums Greenwich
• Dr Eliza Tan
• Jody East, Digital Manager at Brighton & Hove Museums.

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 Brighton & Hove Museums

"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."

Glenda Harris, graduate

"The variety of optional modules enabled me to tailor my studies to fit my interests. The tutor’s practical industry experience combined with regular guest lectures from museum professionals provided valuable insights, and the work placement module offered hands-on experience that helped boost my confidence."

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 Brighton & Hove Museums 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)."

Renee Keefe, graduate

"This course emphasises the importance of acknowledging our colonial past while also fostering strengths in engaging and collaborating with various cultures and communities in museums and galleries. Studying in this environment has opened up new research opportunities that resonate with me as an Indigenous person. It has also prepared me for future employment in curating and research that focuses on decolonising and postcolonial curatorial practices, enabling me to work collaboratively with diverse communities and other cultural collections."

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 a Curating Collections and Heritage MA applicant from the African or Asian Diaspora or from a marginalised ethnicity. 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 2025–26.

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 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

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