History of Art and Architecture is about the study of images, objects and buildings. It is unique in developing high levels of visual literacy applicable to a range of career pathways. It explores why works of art look the way they do and seeks to discover what they say about the societies that created them. It develops skills in visual analysis, critical assessment, and communication. Direct experience of objects, artworks, and buildings is fundamental to the discipline and Dublin?s impressive collections of paintings and sculpture, together with its rich architectural heritage provide an ideal basis for study. Students do not need any previous knowledge of art history or any practical skill in art to take this course.

In recent years graduates have been employed as lecturers, curators, editors, and writers in universities, galleries, museums, publishing houses and art salesrooms in Ireland and abroad. These include the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Dulwich Picture Gallery, the Universities of Princeton, Oxford, Cambridge, and Saint Andrews, the National Gallery of Ireland, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, the Irish Architectural Archive, and University College Dublin. History of Art and Architecture is particularly important in developing skills in visual analysis which are valuable across a wide range of career paths. Graduates have worked in a broad range of administrative, commercial, and media-based employment and have commented on the usefulness of visual literacy in marketing, public relations, and journalism.