Program Overview

MA Fine Art

Key Facts

• Course Code: W191-MA
• Qualification: MA
• Course duration: 1 year (full-time), 24 months (part-time)
• Available for September start 2025

Typical Entry Requirements

• Entry Requirements: 2:1 Bachelors (Honours) degree in a relevant subject area, or equivalent, and submission of a satisfactory portfolio. Non-graduates will be considered individually based on relevant work experience.
• English Language Requirements: IELTS 6.5 with minimum 5.5 in each component, or equivalent
• Other Requirements: Applicants are encouraged to submit an up-to-date CV as part of their application.

Course Overview

The MA in Fine Art features a highly practical repertoire of modules which will encourage you to direct your studies into areas of art which particularly fascinate you. Technical, stylistic, and conceptual experimentation is enthusiastically encouraged throughout this MA scheme and undertaking this course will push you to develop your skills in your chosen medium, whether that is illustration, drawing, painting, photography, or interdisciplinary studies.

Why study MA Fine Art at Aberystwyth University?

• Throughout this course, you will become more confident as a creative practitioner of contemporary art and will be equipped with highly valuable skills, expertise, and critical capabilities that are appreciated in a wide range of employment contexts within the Arts and beyond.
• 24/7 studio access
• Preparation for the creative and practical realities of life as a professional artist
• A scheme that provides vocational training and experience in higher education teaching at undergraduate level
• Opportunity to submit articles for publication and to develop your engagement with critical and public opinion
• There are over 20,000 original artworks in Aberystwyth School of Art’s collection
• Aberystwyth University is a top 50 university for research power and intensity – REF 2014
• 100% of Aberystwyth School of Art’s research was either world leading or internationally excellent in terms of research impact – REF 2014
• 75% of the School of Art’s publications were of an internationally recognised standard or higher – REF 2014
• Opportunity to work closely with staff in a stimulating research environment
• Opportunity to study within one of the UK’s up-and-coming Schools of Art and to develop as a confident artist in a comfortable environment

About this course

• Duration: One year full-time, 24 months part-time
• 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.
• Course Fees: Please see the tuition fee pages for current tuition fees. Please note that all fees are subject to an annual increase.

Modules September start - 2025

Year 1

• Core:
  • Artworld: Contemporary Practice in Context (for Students of Fine Art) (AHM1020, 20 credits)
  • Exhibition 1: Consolidation (ARM0460, 60 credits)
  • Vocational Practice (ARM0120, 20 credits)
  • Exhibition 2: Resolution (ARM0260, 60 credits)
  • Portfolio: Development (ARM0520, 20 credits)

Careers

• Careers: The range of posts to which our graduates progress widens all the time. Our alumni have gone on to work in designing companies, museums and galleries, as art teachers, on education programmes in galleries, in gallery assistant posts, and producing family-based learning activities in galleries and museums.
• Skills: Throughout this course you will develop a wide array of skills that will not only market you as a professional artist, but also as a mature individual with attractive skills and qualities for potential employers. This course will encourage you to develop and sustain a self-initiated programme of work, increase your critical faculties, increase your technical possibilities, develop your skills, knowledge, and hands on experience of artistic processes, and more.

Teaching & Learning

• What will I learn?: The course can be studied either full-time or part-time. When studied full-time, the course is divided into two parts over three semesters. In Part One (September to May), you will study a number of core modules, together worth a total of 120 credits. Modules include Art and Visual Culture, Vocational Practice, Portfolio Development, and Exhibition 1. In Part Two, you will explore and resolve your chosen artistic problem (agreed in consultation with your supervisor), culminating in the second of your two public exhibitions. This study is equivalent to a Masters dissertation and is worth 60 credits.
• How will I learn?: The taught part of the course is delivered through lectures, seminars, and practical exercises. During semester three (June-September), you will arrange your level of contact time with your assigned supervisor.
• How will I be assessed?: In Part One, students are assessed via a mix of exhibitions, portfolios, essays, presentations, web-design production, and teaching experience projects. Successful completion of the Part 2 exhibition leads to the award of an MA.