Program Overview

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Ceramics MA/MFA

Overview

Our Ceramics course thrives in the heart of a town with World Craft Town status, with UCA Farnham also home to the esteemed Craft Study Centre. Guided by world-leading practitioners and frequently hosting guest speakers from the ceramics industry, our MA/MFA Ceramics degree course offers you unmatched insights and extensive networking opportunities.

What You'll Study

The content of the course may be subject to change. Curriculum content is provided as a guide.

Integrated Pre-Masters (if undertaken)

Our Integrated Pre-Master's course will prepare for postgraduate study by improving your academic and creative skills before your degree begins.

You'll build a portfolio of work whilst you explore your subject specialism and benefit from personal development tutoring that will support your academic growth and help refine your specialism.

If you need to enhance your English language skills you can opt to join a pre-sessional English course to improve your IELTS score as well.

Term One

• Exploratory Practice: This unit focuses upon the exploration of individual practice. You will develop your practice into a means of inquiry – investigating the potential of skills, techniques, ideas and themes to analyse and interrogate approaches to practice.
• Research Contexts: Exploring the design, construction and expression of practice as a process of research, you will be introduced to critical research methodologies which you will employ in your independent research enquiries.

Term Two

• Reflective Practice: This unit promotes rigorous self-critique and the subsequent progression of increasingly independent practice. You will begin to interrogate your research and practice in a far greater depth with a view to constructing your specific Major Project proposal. You will also consider modes of display, audience and the documentation of work in preparing you for the professional realisation of ideas.
• Professional Contexts: Focused on professional development, you will engage with opportunities and projects developed with partner organisations. Through group work and individual research, you’ll establish and develop a sense of your position in relation to your identified subjects, interests and practice areas. This unit also includes the opportunity to develop a creative business plan, funding application, or pitch to professional audiences.

Term Three

• Major Project: To conclude your studies, you will undertake a sustained, in-depth and critically informed research inquiry. You will define your practice through your own work and an understanding of how it sits in relation to others — identified industries or professional contexts, collaborators and audiences. The major project will culminate in a substantial body of work.

MFA – Advanced Practice (if undertaken)

• Advance Practice: Should you choose to undertake the MFA route of this degree, you will spend this unit developing, extending and furthering your professional practice. Through advance research methods, this unit will require you to demonstrate the skills, knowledge, confidence and originality that you have developed as a practitioner and researcher. Through this unit you will be supported in preparing PhD applications, organising public events and seeking external platforms to work with professional contexts and engage audiences.

Specifications

• Course information 2025/26 entry
• Course information annex for Integrated Pre-Masters 2025/26 entry
• Student regulations

Please note, syllabus content indicated is provided as a guide. The content of the course may be subject to change in line with our Student Terms and Conditions for example, as required by external professional bodies or to improve the quality of the course.

Fees & Funding

Tuition Fees

• MA course:
  • 2025/26 (full-time): £10,500
  • 2025/26 (part-time): £5,250
• MFA course:
  • 2025/26 (full-time, year 1): £7,000

UCA Scholarships and Fee Discounts

At UCA we have a number of financial support information available to assist you with the cost of your studies.

Current UCA students and alumni may be eligible for a tuition fee discount.

Financial Support

There are lots of ways you can access additional financial support to help you fund your studies - both from UCA and from external sources. Discover what support you might qualify for please see our scholarships and fee discounts.

Additional Course Costs

In addition to the tuition fees there may be other costs for your course. The things that you are likely to need to budget for to get the most out of a creative arts education will include books, printing costs, occasional or optional study trips and/or project materials.

These costs will vary according to the nature of your project work and the individual choices that you make. Please see the Additional Course Costs section of the Course Information Document for more details of the costs you may incur.

Facilities & Equipment

Our Farnham campus provides first-rate facilities with extensive workshops and equipment to support your study. This includes, a throwing room with wet and dry stores, hand building studio space and plaster workshop, glaze room with application equipment and Kiln room for gas, electric and reduction firing. It's also home to our Crafts Study Centre - a purpose-built museum, research centre and gallery dedicated to crafts.

Entry & Portfolio Requirements

For this course we will need to see your portfolio for review. You can either submit a digital portfolio or request an in-person portfolio review with the course team.

View postgraduate portfolio advice

Standard Requirements

• A good honours degree or equivalent qualification in a related discipline
• Relevant work experience, demonstrating your ability to study at postgraduate level

Consideration will also be given to applicants who can make a strong case for admission in relation to a particular project and can demonstrate their potential to satisfactorily complete the course.

Postgraduate Requirements

Integrated Pre-Masters course

Our Pre-Masters courses require a recognised bachelor degree or 3 year diploma with a strong portfolio in a relevant subject. Applicants will also need to meet any course-specific requirements.

Masters course

For our Master’s courses, we usually require that you have successfully completed a Master’s degree at a recognised university.

English Language Requirements

View more information for students from various countries.

Career Opportunities

As part of this course, you'll have access to well-established industry connections. These include:

• Historical research, exhibition and curation with the Watts Gallery
• Links with Froyle Tiles and Lambs Terracotta - providing an opportunity to research interior and exterior architecture, along with restoration and renovation projects
• Local production of Dartington Pottery at the nearby Grayshott Pottery - beneficial to those researching surface and glaze
• Farnham-based 318 Ceramics and the New Ashgate Gallery Trust

Our course will equip you with a host of valuable and transferable skills. Upon successful completion, you might decide to become a self-employed artist, or forge a career within the craft and design industries.

Recent graduates work as:

• Artists
• Designers
• Makers
• Arts administrators
• Gallery curators
• Teachers
• Writers.

You may want to undertake further study or research to specialise even further.

Our Staff

• Debra Allman - Programme Director of Crafts
• Ashley Howard - Senior Lecturer in Ceramics
• Grant McCaig - Lecturer Silversmithing, Goldsmithing & Jewellery
• Joshua Kerley - Senior Lecturer in Glass
• Adrian Bland - Senior Lecturer in Critical and Contextual Studies

"My time at UCA was really great; the diversity of expertise amongst both staff and students was very thought-provoking and encouraged experimentation, which the fantastic facilities made possible."

Ros Perton

Apply Now

Please use the following fields to help select the right application link for you:

• My location: UK/International
• Select entry year: 2025/26
• Select study option: Full-time/Part-time

Apply

Related Courses

• Ceramics MA/MFA at UCA Farnham
• Glass MA/MFA at UCA Farnham
• Jewellery MA/MFA at UCA Farnham

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