Somaiya Vidyavihar

Programme overview

This is a two-year, full-time postgraduate programme based at the Vidyavihar campus that brings together art history, aesthetics, philosophy, criticism, curation and contemporary visual culture. It balances classroom study with experiential learning—gallery and museum visits, studio interactions, field trips and internships—and culminates in a dissertation in the final semester.

What you'll study

• Foundational studies in visual language, grammar of art and aesthetics.
• Global art histories alongside sustained work on Indian and South Asian traditions, from pre-modern to contemporary practices.
• Engagement with key thinkers (e.g. Walter Benjamin, Susan Sontag, Roland Barthes, Karl Marx, Abhinavagupta, Coomaraswamy, Homi Bhabha) and themes such as colonialism, modernity, spectatorship, memory and identity.
• Experiential components: gallery visits, museum walkthroughs, writing workshops, film screenings, field trips to prehistoric, historic, medieval and contemporary sites, and conversations with artists, curators, conservators, critics and publishers.
• Final-semester specialisation in one of three pathways: Art History and Visual Studies; Writing and Art Criticism; or Curation, each concluded by an independent dissertation project.

Entry requirements

Eligibility requires a bachelor’s degree in any field. The programme code is ST4002; it is delivered full time on the Vidyavihar – Mumbai campus and runs for two years. There is a multiple entry/multiple exit structure: exit after one year yields a Postgraduate Diploma; completion of two years awards the Master’s degree; students who exit after one year may return in a future cycle to complete the second year and upgrade to the degree.

Career prospects

• Work in academia, museums, galleries and research organisations as an art historian or researcher.
• Curatorial roles mounting exhibitions in museums, galleries and public spaces; exhibition director or curator of collections.
• Gallery manager, museum curator or roles in cultural management and arts research.
• Positions in publishing, art appraisal at auction houses or valuing firms, and cultural policy advisory roles in government or consultancy.

Scholarships & funding angle (general)

The programme offers need- and eligibility-based scholarships of up to 75%. Published fees list separate rates for Indian and NRI students for each year; on-campus student housing and a meal plan are available (triple- and double-sharing room options and a monthly meal plan). Contact admissions for current fee details and scholarship application procedures.