Art and Design Interdisciplinary Practices MA

Our MA Art and Design: Interdisciplinary Practices develops your professional practice while engaging with the hybrid nature of art and design in contemporary culture. You will apply art and design methodologies to challenge conventional viewpoints. A multidisciplinary team of expert staff encourages you to work across mediums, processes and working methods (such as photography, installation, print, digital media, sculpture, illustration, curatorial practice, textiles, drawing, sound, graphic design, site-specific art, participatory arts or 3D design).

This stimulating course offers you an education in contemporary art and design from an interdisciplinary perspective. You will be supported as creative individuals from a range of tutors and practitioners, with the aim of pushing your existing practice in new directions. The course helps you develop a wider contextual understanding of your practice, while gaining strong research skills in order to develop interdisciplinary projects underpinned by contextual and theoretical debates.

You will be encouraged to develop independent study in relation to different cultural perspectives and a range of contemporary art and design practices, such as fine art, curation, visual communication, fashion, product and interior design.

Our graduates progress into many different careers including graphic design, independent contemporary art practice, typography, gallery education, arts administration, event management, photography, community arts and education. Our course prepares you for life as a creative professional, a PhD researcher or work in other career areas.

There is scope to work on external live projects and our academic staff are highly experienced with national and international research profiles.

BA (Hons) Degree in Art and Design, Fine Art, or other Arts-based Degree course, related subject. The minimum academic qualification required is a 2:2 award. Those with equivalent prior professional or life experience will also be considered.

IELTS 6.0 overall with 5.5 minimum in all bands.

Graduate employment is high. In the 2014-2015 DLHE survey 100% of full time and 87% of part time students who joined the Art-based Masters programme graduates were in employment with graduates from 2013-2015 earning between £20,000 and £35,000 per annum. A high number of 2014-2015 graduates reported that the programme prepared them well or very well for employment.

The acquisition of transferrable skills: creative problem solving; communication and presentation skills; adaptability and flexibility; independence and teamwork and good time management is important. Specific modules have been designed to address employability e.g. Managing Arts Events and Projects; Technical Methods, Workshop Practice and Learning; Small Arts Business Set Up and Creative Publishing and Public Dissemination.

From the sample detailed in the employability section a significant number of our graduates have become highly successful arts professionals. Numerous others have been employed in a number of other professions including:

• Conference/ exhibition organisers
• Web designers
• Health professionals
• Graphic designers
• Business professionals
• Insurance underwriter
• Industrial relations officers