History of art : Career areas

In 2010, six months after graduation, around 5% of history of art graduates were in paid employment in the UK or overseas. Of these, around 10% had entered professional roles in areas related to their field of study such as the arts, culture or marketing, 8% were in managerial roles in the public and private sector, and 3% had chosen to pursue careers in finance and business. Around 9% of graduates who were in employment had taken clerical or secretarial roles.

A degree in the history of art will equip you well for a career in arts and heritage management, galleries/museums and archives, journalism and the media, publishing and the creative arts.

Where are the jobs?

Arts administration is a popular choice. Many graduates work in museums and galleries. As well as curatorial work, there are opportunities in areas such as outreach, education, marketing, public relations (PR) and events management.

Specialist booksellers, antique dealers and auctioneers are also key employers and another option is to follow an academic career in higher education.

For further details of some of the areas that may be of interest, see:

• creative arts - refers to activities such as art, crafts and design, dancing, music, acting, writing, photography.
• advertising, marketing and PR - concerned with promoting and selling products and services and includes planning, promotion, media relations and market research.
• publishing - concerned with the production of a range of materials including books, journals, magazines and newspapers.

You may also be interested in education and media.

See industry insights for further information on possibilities in other employment areas.

Statistics are collected every year by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) to show what HE students do immediately after graduation. These can be a useful guide but, in reality, with the data being collected within just six months of graduation, many graduates are travelling, waiting to start a course, paying off debts, getting work experience or still deciding what they want to do. For further information about some of the areas of employment commonly entered by graduates of any degree discipline, check out What Do Graduates Do?  and your degree...what next?