21Oct
PostgraduateCourse summary
Looking across time and place, this interdisciplinary MA in Visual Culture offers you the opportunity to develop your knowledge of visual culture and arts and your understanding of how we perceive and interact with objects and images around us. By studying examples such as fine art, film, photography, architecture as well as scientific imaging practices, you will be able to explore the uniqueness of objects, images and events, understand how to appreciate them and consider how other people may respond to them in the context of the working practices found in cultural institutions including museums, galleries and heritage organisations. The course is delivered over one year full-time and two years part-time through a mixture of lectures, interactive seminars, skills development workshops and field trips. It consists of core and optional modules and a dissertation which will cover both theory and practice in visual culture. Your learning will benefit hugely from the University’s strengths in the subject, including the Centre for Visual Arts and Cultures, which hosts a wide range of events and brings together researchers across departments and faculties. You will also have access to University institutions such as the Oriental Museum and Palace Green Library. This course has been created to prepare you to be able to continue your studies in visual culture at a higher level with a view to pursuing a research career in academia but it will also provide you with a qualification which will act as a springboard to a career in the vibrant and fascinating cultural sector.
Modules
Core modules: Visual Culture: Theory and Practice will provide you with an overview of visual culture and arts, and key research skills, including an introduction to working practices in museums and galleries and will offer you the opportunity to develop your own specialised research interests within the broad field of visual culture and arts. You will be expected to produce a piece of scholarly writing that demonstrates your familiarity with relevant theoretical frameworks and the ability to apply them in research. The Dissertation is an opportunity to explore and research, in depth, an aspect of visual art and culture of your choice. It enables you to demonstrate your familiarity with relevant theoretical frameworks and your capacity for independent thought, critical thinking and analysis. Examples of optional modules: Critical Curatorship; Visual Modernities; Crossing Cultures: Word, Text and Image in Translation; An Exhibitionary Complex: Museums, Collecting and the Historical Imagination; Classical Modernisms; Debating Heritage and Museums.
Assessment method
Learning will be delivered through lectures, seminars and workshops and there will also be an opportunity to take part in field trips and further develop your skills through work placements. You will be given every opportunity to develop your own area of interest in visual culture in the seminars that are highly interactive and through the workshops which aim to develop your skills and knowledge. You will be expected to learn about the presentation of visual culture during field trips, to visit museums and galleries where you will learn about displays and meet curators. There is also a requirement for you to undertake guided reading in advance of seminars and a dissertation will be completed under supervision in an area of interest to you. Assessment is rigorous and may include a book review exercise, an exhibition to analyse for your fieldwork report and an object, which will be the subject of a critical commentary that you will write. You will also complete a dissertation of between 12,000-15,000 words. In your assessments, you will apply the contents of the seminars in order to explore an aspect or aspects of visual culture that particularly appeal to you.
How to apply
International applicants
If you are an international student who does not meet the requirements for direct entry to this degree, you may be eligible to take a pre-Masters pathway programme at the Durham University International Study Centre.
Entry requirements
Students will normally be required to have an Honours Degree, usually at 2:1 level or higher or GPA average of 3.2 from a recognised national or international university in an arts, humanities or social science subject. The course assumes no prior knowledge of visual arts and culture, but previous interest or experience of visual culture would be an advantage. Two positive academic or equivalent professional references. Relevant professional practice in a field of visual arts and culture to be evaluated on an individual basis, may be considered in lieu of formal academic qualifications in some cases.
English language requirements
Durham University welcomes applications from all students irrespective of background. We encourage the recruitment of academically well-qualified and highly motivated students, who are non-native speakers of English, whose full potential can be realised with a limited amount of English Language training either prior to entry or through pre-sessional and/or in-sessional courses. It is the normal expectation that candidates for admission should be able to demonstrate satisfactory English proficiency before the start of a programme of study, whether via the submission of an appropriate English language qualification or by attendance on an appropriate pre-sessional course. Acceptable evidence and levels required can be viewed by following the link provided.
English language requirements
https://www.durham.ac.uk/study/international/entry-requirements/english-language-requirements/
Fees and funding
Tuition fees
| England | £11300 | Year 1 |
| Northern Ireland | £11300 | Year 1 |
| Scotland | £11300 | Year 1 |
| Wales | £11300 | Year 1 |
| Channel Islands | £11300 | Year 1 |
| EU | £25000 | Year 1 |
| International | £25000 | Year 1 |
| Republic of Ireland | £25000 | Year 1 |
Additional fee information
The tuition fees shown are for one complete academic year of study, are set according to the academic year of entry, and remain the same throughout the duration of the programme for that cohort (unless otherwise stated).
Sponsorship information
For further information see the course listing.
Provider information
Durham University
The Palatine Centre
Stockton Road
Durham
DH1 3LE