Overview

The Aberystwyth Masters in Fine Art provide you with an excellent opportunity to develop your artistic skills, understanding and technical aptitudes as you strive to pursue your art.  In every area of this course, technical, stylistic, and conceptual experimentation is enthusiastically encouraged.  You will also be able to participate in ‘Forum’ seminars to communicate orally and critically about your own and colleagues’ works.  You will also have the opportunity to submit articles for publication to contextualize your practice and develop your engagement with critical and public opinion. 

One of the central strengths of this course is your personal development as an artist.  You will be challenged to experiment, test hypotheses, and extend your field of action in preparation for exhibitions.  You will develop a portfolio of work that is a creative and imaginative interpretation of subject matter demonstrating the acquisition and refinement of technological dexterity and stylistic sophistication.  You will also benefit from gaining new insight into careers in fine art, defining concepts of the subject and the crucial importance of professional identity.

The course is a full-time programme, taught over one year, and is divided into two parts over three semesters.  In part one, you will study a number of core modules, together worth a total of 120 credits, whilst directing your own study in part two where you will explore and resolve your chosen artistic problem, culminating in the second of your two public exhibitions.  This study is equivalent to a Master’s dissertation project and is worth 60 credits. 

The subject of this final public exhibition will be agreed in consultation with your supervisor(s) and, in tackling it, you will be encouraged to develop and sustain a self-initiated programme of work.  Subject to the satisfactory completion of the study modules and exhibition, the Masters in Fine Art is awarded.  The descriptions relating to all the study modules can be found in the "at a glance" tab.

Upon graduation from the Masters in Fine Art, you will have demonstrated artistic excellence, personal rigor and critical engagement with your own and the work of other artists, which will define you as an artist.  You will be well-prepared for the realities – both creative and practical – of life as a professional artist.

Fact file

Duration:	One year full-time. The academic year is divided into three semesters, but this course is administered in two parts: Part One runs from October to May; Part Two runs from June to September.
Contact Time:	Approximately 10-14 hours a week in the first two semesters.  During semester three you will arrange your level of contact time with your assigned supervisor.
Assessment:	The taught part of the course (Part 1) is delivered and assessed through lectures, student seminars, practical exercises and exhibitions. Successful completion of your exhibition (Part 2) leads to the award of an MA.
Entry Requirements:	BA honours degree (2:1) in a related subject at undergraduate level and accompanying portfolio of work.  Those who are not graduates must satisfy the University that they are of the required academic standard to pursue postgraduate study.
English Language Requirements:	If you have a Bachelor’s degree from a UK University, you do not need to take an English proficiency test.   Non-native English speakers who do not meet this requirement must take a University-recognised test of academic English language proficiency: IELTS or TOEFL.  The required IELTS minimum proficiency level is 6.5.  For TOEFL, the minimum scores are as follows: 580 for the paper-based test; 237 for the computer-based test (with an essay rating of 5.0); and a score of 93 for the internet-based test.  More information on IELTS can be found here [Link: www.ielts.org] and, for TOEFL, here [Link: www.ets.org/toefl/]
Course Fees:	For details of fees, please view this page. [Link: http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/postgrad/funding-fees/eu-taught/tuitonfees/   There are a number of Aberystwyth Scholarships and International Excellence Scholarships (AIES) to help fund the studies of students who meet specific criteria.  In addition, accommodation is guaranteed to all international students.



At a Glance (W191)

Career Development

Qualification:             Masters in Fine Art

This degree will suit you:

• If you wish to develop your personal, creative, productive, and imaginative artistic abilities;
• If you wish to work within one of the UK’s up-and-coming schools of Art;
• If you aim to pursue a career in Art or serious effort to exhibit your work in public and critical arenas;
• If you wish to develop a conceptual, practical and historical framework for your art.

 
 

Employability

Every aspect of the Aberystwyth Master’s in Fine Art programme is designed to enhance your employability.  Successful completion of this degree is in itself certain to do so by building your CV; but more significant is the hugely enhanced array of knowledge, abilities and skills with which you will graduate. 

Your pursuit of personal development as an artist, coupled with increased critical faculties, will make you a strong candidate for any post where people and opinions meet.  Likewise, the study skills, technical knowledge and hands-on experience of artistic processes will give you a tremendous advantage in employment within the Arts.  Whether your chosen career path involves illustration, drawing, painting, photography or printmaking, your Masters Degree in Fine Art from Aberystwyth University will signal to prospective employers your commitment to personal excellence, professional rigour and technical innovation.

 

Professional Independence

The course acknowledges the difficulty artists face in the transition from the requirements of a degree level course to the emerging independent direction required of professional practising artists. By playing an active, learning-based role in the operation of the School’s galleries, you will gain an insight into the work needed to sustain a busy gallery.  You will stage public exhibitions in the School’s galleries and elsewhere, and part of the course’s assessment relates to your performance as a professional, exhibiting artist.

Studio work is designed to increase students’ technical possibilities, and the School is particularly well equipped in all areas of the graphic arts. The course seeks to assist the student by developing individual abilities and direction in a certain area of art practice to the highest standards possible.  In addition to this subject-specific training, this MA is designed to give you a range of transferable skills that you can apply in a variety of situations.  Whether this is further study, personal artistic pursuits or employment, you will be better equipped to pursue success in your chosen field. 

 

Your work in the Contemporary Context

This course does not operate in isolation, and you will examine your own work in the wider context of contemporary practice.  As mentioned above, your assessed exhibitions will give you first-hand experience of the vital but often daunting rite of holding up your work for scrutiny by your tutors, peers, critics and the public.  You will also encounter and engage with the debate in cultural theory regarding the interface between art practise, art theory and the concept of visual culture.  By considering its implication for the study of fine art and art history, your study programme encourages you to improve your capacity for conducting a critical review of yours and others’ work through discussion, presentation and writing.

Contacts

The Programme Leader for this course in 2010-2011 is Mr Robert Meyrick

 

Tel: (01970) 622460

Fax: (01970) 622461

Email: artschool@aber.ac.uk

 

School of Art

Aberystwyth University

Buarth Mawr

Aberystwyth

SY23 1NG

School of Art website

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