Course summary

The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (October/November 2022). For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas The Ruskin Master of Fine Art (MFA) degree is an intensive one year studio-based programme in the practice of contemporary art. You will be part of a small cohort on a course designed to direct and develop your artistic practice and theoretical knowledge in a supportive environment. The programme encompasses a diversity of disciplines including painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, art writing, installation, video, sound, performance and other expanded and experimental forms in contemporary art. It aims to encourage experimentation while supporting the development of a critical focus for the work. The MFA is located on one floor with a series of individual studio spaces, alongside shared and open spaces, all of which contribute to an intimate environment of self-directed peer learning, supported by permanent and visiting staff of the highest calibre. It is an exceptional artistic environment, distinct from larger art schools in the UK. The course encompasses regular one-to-one tutorials and weekly studio seminars, focused on your art-making, your key concerns and ideas, and inter-dependent development. A programme of dedicated masterclasses and skill-based workshops, designed specifically for the MFA, is available alongside a weekly school-wide high profile and diverse Visiting Speakers Programme. Our studio-based learning programme is facilitated through a regular seminar series characterised by a collective dynamic of mutual participation in generous and robust discussion; engaging with what it means to work as an artist today and considering how an artist's work and ideas are understood in and across different social, artistic and intellectual contexts. As part of this holistic approach to practice and theory, dissertation tutorials with specifically allocated tutors take place on a regular basis in the studios. You are encouraged to understand your work contextually and to discuss it in relation to contemporary, theoretical and historical discourse. Your personal artistic interests, and those of the cohort as a whole, are embedded into tutorials, seminars and presentations, determining the direction of your creative development, guided by the Ruskin faculty. You will also have access to humanities and sciences lectures and seminars in affiliated departments and colleges across a world-leading University. The University’s specialised libraries are open to Ruskin students as are activities generated by the colleges. Oxford offers a wide range of cultural engagements, including the Ashmolean Museum, the Pitt Rivers Museum as well as Modern Art Oxford. When starting at the School you will be allocated a practice tutor who will oversee your artistic development and a dissertation tutor who will support your academic writing. Elective tutorials with visiting tutors and speakers are also available which will help strengthen your art practice. Two programmes of weekly seminars are held throughout Michaelmas and Hilary Term. The first programme allows students to present their studio work for group analysis whilst the second programme is dedicated to the reading and discussion of contemporary art and its associated history and theories. Ruskin’s technical staff are on site to offer both technical training and support when required. They also run a series of specialised workshops. A variety of masterclasses, including but not limited to writing practice, performance and research methodologies, are held regularly throughout each term.