Course summary
This MA is for both photographers and fine artists and you will choose to work towards either an MA Arts (Photography) or MA Arts (Fine Art) award. It's an exciting opportunity for you to deepen your specialist skills, while working collaboratively with students from other disciplines. This programme will bring together a community of photographers and artists in a multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary environment, to explore the interface between media (both traditional and digital) in a stimulating and creatively enabling way. This will provide a unique and exciting opportunity for those who wish to specialise in the interpretation of time and space working creatively, practically and intellectually across disciplines. Discussions and debates around the differences and commonalities of the subject areas will both critically inform and support individual creative practice, including the relevance of the written word through narrative form and theoretical studies. You will undertake taught studio-based research, while gaining a strong theoretical awareness of contemporary practice. There will be lots of lively debates involving students and staff from a range of disciplines, giving you the opportunity to hear a rich range of voices and contribute your own. You will also become part of our thriving research culture and be able to attend the staff research seminar series, where colleagues discuss their latest projects. Our academic team have a wide range of backgrounds with expertise in fine art, photography, film, public art, performance, curatorship, critical theory, art history, philosophy and criticism, residencies and commissions. We have strong links with employers and cultural institutions, which we encourage you to maximise throughout this programme. There are also many opportunities to showcase your work and build a following. As a graduate from this programme, you will have developed a mature body of work in photography or fine art, as well as gaining the language and skills you need to locate and explain your practice in the professional art world. You will be well-placed to forge a career as an independent artist/photographer, or look for employment in sectors such as the creative industries, education, museums, libraries and archives, or publishing and broadcasting.
Modules
The modules fully integrate both theory and practice and are written and placed to encourage ideas and learning to be balanced and exchanged between the two. You'll study modules such as: Practice, Theory, Curation (Fine Art or Photography), Reflective Processes and Visual Enquiry (Fine Art or Photography) and Artistic Research and Critical Practice.
Assessment method
We'll assess you at the end of each module and provide written and verbal feedback on your progress. We use a range of assessment approaches, including the presentation of practical work, essays, reports including reflective journals, proposals and presentations. In between assessments, we will also give you regular feedback on your work.
How to apply
International applicants
For international students you will need to have qualifications and experience that are at the same level as for a UK student applying for the same course. If English is not your first language, you'll also need an IELTS score of 6.0 or equivalent.
Entry requirements
We aim to attract well-motivated students who wish to further their study in a stimulating and professionally orientated learning environment. All applicants will be expected to submit a portfolio of artwork and Creative Positioning Statement to the Programme Leader in advance of the interview. The portfolio should be a thematic body of work that explores a range of approaches underpinned by a conceptual understanding of context - in short, a coherent range of work exploring a theme/issue/set of ideas etc. A Creative Positioning Statement in the form of a description of your practice and the themes, issues or concerns you would like to explore or develop through this MA programme will be required. The length of the document will be approximately 500 words. Send us your portfolio via email through to [email protected] We understand that some of your work will not be in a digital format, for any physical pieces of work please take a photograph of it and submit the photograph. UK and EU Entry Requirements: You will normally be expected to have an appropriate fine art, or other first degree appropriate to apply for the MA (Minimum 2:2 or above), or a professional qualification of equal standing, or significant practical or professional experience gained following your initial qualification that would support your application. You should bring your portfolio to the interview normally arranged at the University. You will also be asked to provide a plan of how you intend to use the time on the MA to further your practice. If English is not your first language, you'll also need an IELTS score of 6.0 (with 5.5 in each skills area), or equivalent. The test must be taken within the last two years leading up to the course start date and must still be valid when Visa is issued.
Fees and funding
Tuition fees
No fee information has been provided for this course
Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .
Additional fee information
Please see our website for the latest fee information
Provider information
University of Derby
Kedleston Road
Derby
DE22 1GB