MA/PgDip

Art and Design: Contemporary Fine Art

3 good reasons to study Art & Design: Contemporary Fine Art at Salford:

Real-world relevance and professional, vocational preparation or continuation
Long established association with key creative and professional networks
Benefit from the facilities and resources at MediaCityUK through teaching and project based activities and exhibition opportunities.

The MA Art & Design course operates within the context of contemporary art and design practice and creative engagement as subject areas. This course aims to provide a multidisciplinary learning environment and an integrated culture of professional practice that encourages interaction amongst students from different subjects; and aims to fully embrace the diversity within and across disciplines by facilitating the achievement of a distinctive award.

MA Art & Design: Contemporary Fine Art encourages and fosters critical, contextual practice; contemporary and innovative methodologies; cross-disciplinary and collaborative practices; and reflective, studio-based, practice. Independent contextual and theoretical research is used as a means of developing relevant, independent enquiry and challenge in support of your evolving creativity and professional practice.

Course details

This course embraces a range and diversity of practices and aims to:

Develop creative, critical, analytical and intellectual competencies informed by contemporary professional practice
Develop an advanced understanding of research methods in general and those of importance to creative practice and industry in particular
Enhance your knowledge and understanding of professional and collaborative frameworks
Provide the opportunity to develop industry experience and understanding through contact by placement, project and/or contact with professional practitioners.

MA Art and Design: Contemporary Fine Art is for committed fine art practitioners who wish to develop their personal creative practice towards a higher, professional level. It actively encourages the pursuit of individual agendas for study and for personal choice of media/disciplines selected from the range of practices within the field. You will contextualise your work via rigorous analysis of relevant cultural discourses and reflective studio-based practice.

This course fosters an appreciation of cultural imperatives and mechanisms and enables you to establish your own criteria for sustainability. There are live project work opportunities. Studio production is emphasised as a key driver for practice development. There is a challenging seminar programme and a comprehensive schedule of visiting or visits to artists/art professionals. A wide range of in-house staff can contribute to teaching on the course and all academic staff for MA Art and Design: Contemporary Fine Art are practitioners in the field of contemporary fine art.

Course Structure

On MA Art and Design: Contemporary Fine Art your independent studio practice is supported by creative research and methods of enquiry, contextual analysis and presentational strategies. The process of interrogation and investigation is centred on a series of action learning sets or seminars. These enable you to test your ideas about and explore the methods, techniques and rationales within your work. The aim is to build specialist knowledge, stimulate further enquiry and contextual awareness, and expand on production in a studio context. Throughout the MA Art and Design: Contemporary Fine Art, you evolve a personalised theoretical document in parallel with, and driven by, your practice.

The course has both full-time and part-time routes, comprising of three 14-week semesters or five 14-week semesters, which you can take within one or up to three years respectively:

For the full-time study option:

Semester 1 - October to February

Semester 2 - February to June

Semester 3 - June to September

You will take five core modules and will study one day a week for both full-time and part-time modes. Full-time students will have concentrated module delivery in both the morning and afternoon. Part-time students will only have module delivery in the morning or afternoon, depending on which year of study you are currently in, providing you with the opportunity to work independently on your current project for the remaining half a day a week while in attendance at the University.

Semester 1

During the first semester, focus is placed upon you investigating, critically-reflecting and presenting ideas and findings; developing an understanding of research methods for practice; experiencing different strategies and a broad approach to the subject area.

Importance is placed on developing:

(1) the ability to explore, manage and present research content/drivers and potential of your individual practice;

(2) the ability to identify and articulate practice-derived and research issues from your studio production or live projects; (3) the ability to analyse, critically reflect and present your developing concerns and any potential outcomes.

Research Methods and Practice (30-credit)

This module identifies core research methods and activities for the art, design and creative and cultural industries sector in order to allow you to develop an individual approach to your postgraduate studies at MA level. Once core principles are established, you can tailor your approach to research and enquiry according to your individual perspectives.

Specialist Practice (30-credit)

This module enables you to identify your place in the context of the notion of specialist practice in the art, design and creative and cultural industries sector. You will define your intentions in terms of your personal programme of self-directed study in order to develop appropriate outcomes that relate to a specialist area of practice.

Semester 2

This semester focuses upon developing student knowledge, ability and application to explore different practical and theoretical issues relating to a variety of practices in art and design, and the creative and cultural industries.

Creative Contexts (30-credit)

The creative and cultural industries embrace a range of professional subjects. Given the transversality of these industries, it is important for you to have sufficient knowledge about the sector and its wider contexts, enabling you to identify and acquire professional skills within and across relevant sub-sectors. It is also important to enable you to understand and have experience of working in a multidisciplinary environment and an international context.

Practice in context (30-credit)

This module deals with the theoretical and practical issues faced by practitioners in the context of art and design, and the creative and cultural industries. The module supports you in developing new ideas through research and practice and through an appraisal of the context in which they operate. Particular emphasis is placed on contexts that emerge from international perspectives and from contemporary debates around creativity.

SEMESTER 3

This semester focuses exclusively on either self-directed major project: practice/or major project: dissertation.

The aim of the self-directed major project: practice is to offer you the opportunity to critically engage in a major practice-driven project in which the emphasis will be on production, analysis and critical reflection in response to your practice-drivers and concerns; or major research project: dissertation, in which the emphasis will be on developing a constructive response to a research question.

During the 'major project’ you are provided with a supporting supervisor, in developing concerns and practice-drivers accrued throughout the chosen programme of study, via a programmed series of tutorials. Individual tutorials and peer interaction/group discussions are integral to the development of the major project.

Negotiated Thesis/Major Project (60 credits)

The self-directed major project: practice or major project: dissertation will develop your ability to conduct an original, individual research programme (practical or written) at postgraduate level and to formulate your own resolutions or conclusions from your body of work.

Course Enquiries

For course enquiries please call us on:

T: +44 (0) 161 295 4545

Or Email us at:

Home/EU students
E: enquiries@salford.ac.uk

International students
E: international@salford.ac.uk