Postgraduate ( full-time, part-time)
September
Intermediate awards: PG Cert, PG Dip
Course duration: 12 months full-time or 24 months part-time.
Apply directly to ARU
Prepare for a career as a professional artist. Independently develop your practical work, research skills and critical thinking, with support from our experienced staff and visiting artists. Test out your ideas in a professional environment and gain invaluable experience of exhibiting, curation and collaboration.
Find out more about teaching options and studying during COVID-19 in the Entry requirements section, below.
As well as preparing you for work as a practising artist, you will pick up skills and knowledge that will equip you for other roles. Our past students now enjoy careers in further and higher education, museum and gallery management, public arts projects, artist in residence schemes and fellowships opportunities, both in the UK and abroad.
Or you might decide to continue on to a research degree, like our PhD Fine Art.
Our links with local art organisations, such as Aid & Abet, Changing Spaces, Wysing Arts Centre and Cambridge Artworks, will give you the chance to take part in professional exhibitions, portfolio reviews and live projects. You will also be able to take part in Fine Art Professional Practice and networking initiatives for both students and alumni.
Our Fine Art Research Unit (FARU) runs fortnightly lectures that will give you a chance to hear contemporary artists and staff talk about their work, and engage in debates about art practice. Recent speakers have included Phillip Allen, Juan Bolivar, Rebecca Fortnum, Danny Rolph, Hayley Newman, Günter Herbst, David Kefford, Cally Spooner, Tim Ellis, Andrew Grassie, Lilah Fowler, Jemima Brown, Caroline Wright and Matthew Derbyshire.
Find out more about our placements and work experience, or the faculty's employability support.
Modules are subject to change and availability.
On most of our core modules, you will demonstrate your progress through visual research outcomes supported by a written evaluative statement, except for the Master’s Dissertation where you will submit a 6,000-word contextual essay.
At Cambridge School of Art, we combine the traditions of our past with the possibilities afforded by the latest technologies.
Using our expertise and connections in Cambridge and beyond, we nurture creativity through experimentation and risk-taking to empower the makers and creators of the future.
Our academics excel at both practice and theory, making a real impact in their chosen fields, whether they are curating exhibitions, designing book covers or photographing communities in Africa. They are also regularly published in catalogues, books, journals and conference papers, their research classed as being of ‘international standing’, with some elements ‘world-leading’, in the most recent Research Excellence Framework.
Our campus is close to the centre of Cambridge, often described as the perfect student city.
You will have the chance to experiment with many different art forms, making use of all our art facilities, which include fine art studios, printmaking and 3D/sculpture workshops, photography dark rooms, and computer suites for video production and digital imaging. You will also have access to three Mac suites with the full Adobe Creative Suite, plus high-quality 27-inch monitors.
If you are a full-time student, you will have an individual studio space to work in. If you are part-time, you will need your own external studio facility, but may be able to negotiate some temporary on-site space for specific projects. Whether you are full-time or part-time, you will be based in our MA studios and we will encourage you to make full use of them both during and outside of formal teaching times. You can also arrange to use the studios on weekday evenings and at weekends during term-time.
As a Cambridge School of Art student, you can also get access to, and full training in, all of our industry-standard art facilities
£9,200
£4,600
£16,200
£8,100
The part-time course fee assumes that you're studying at half the rate of a full-time student (50% intensity). Course fees will be different if you study over a longer period. All fees are for guidance purposes only.
Estimated cost of materials
£500-£750.
Optional field trip to Antwerp - 2 nights
Cost £160
Field trip to London
£16-23 per semester
You can pay your fees upfront, in full or in instalments – though you won't need to pay until you've accepted an offer to study with us.
How to pay your fees directlyYou can pay your fees upfront, in full or in two instalments. We will also ask you for a deposit of £4,000 or a sponsorship letter. Details will be in your offer letter.
Paying your feesIt’s important to decide how to fund your course before applying. Use our finance guide for postgraduate students to learn more about postgraduate loans and other funding options.
We also offer a range of ARU scholarships, which can provide extra financial support while you're at university.
Students taking up a place on this course are eligible to apply for the Mark Wood CBE Art and Design Scholarship, which recognises and encourages excellence. Read more and download the application form.
As well as a number of scholarships, we offer an early payment discount. Explore your options:
You will be required to attend an interview of around 20 minutes, during which you will evidence your discussion with a portfolio or, if you are resident outside of the UK, an e-portfolio.
For more information on how to prepare and submit your portfolio please visit our portfolios and interviews page, or go straight to the detailed guidance for MA Fine Art portfolios.
Whether you're studying entirely online or through a blend of on-campus and online learning from September 2020, you'll need a computer and reliable internet access to successfully engage with your course. A small number of our courses require additional technical specifications or specialist materials. Before starting the course, we recommend that you check our technical requirements for online learning. Our website also has general information for new students about starting university in 2020-21.
Our published entry requirements are a guide only and our decision will be based on your overall suitability for the course as well as whether you meet the minimum entry requirements. Other equivalent qualifications may be accepted for entry to this course, please email answers@anglia.ac.uk for further information.
Due to national restrictions all universities in England, including ARU, are only able to provide face to face teaching on campus for a limited number of courses.
In response to the COVID-19 global pandemic all our students can choose to either study face to face on campus or online only, and students are able to change their mode of delivery at given dates throughout the trimester.
For on-campus teaching, we offer at least four hours face-to-face teaching related contact time per week for our undergraduate full-time courses, supported by online learning using our established online learning systems. The number of contact hours vary course by course, and you can contact us for further information. The provision offered is subject to change due to the possibility of further Government restrictions, however we remain committed to delivering face-to-face teaching and ensuring a COVID-19 secure environment.
In the event that there are further changes to the current restrictions that are in place due to the pandemic, we may need to move some courses online only at short notice to remain in line with Government guidelines and ensure the continued safety of our students and staff.
We welcome applications from international and EU students, and accept a range of international qualifications.
Whether you're studying entirely online or through a blend of face-to-face and online learning from September 2020, you'll need a computer and reliable internet access to successfully engage with your course. Before starting the course, we recommend that you check our technical requirements for online learning.
If English is not your first language, you'll need to make sure you meet our English language requirements for postgraduate courses.
Check the standard entry requirements for IELTS requirements for this course.
If you don't meet our English language requirements, we offer a range of courses which could help you achieve the level required for entry.
We also provide our own English Language Proficiency Test (ELPT) in the UK and overseas. To find out if we are planning to hold an ELPT in your country, contact our country managers.
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