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During the first year of the programme you undertake three units of study: Unit 1a, Unit 1b and CHS. These Units are each worth 40 credits and assessed through a combination of continuous and summative assessment methods.

The first year is experimental and diagnostic, you reflect on your previous work and often radically change your understanding and practice. In the first week of term you are registered and orientated to the College and School. An introductory seminar and brief introductions to each other via short presentations of work follow. Introductions to technical staff and workshops also take place.

You then begins the process of developing a self-initiated and self-directed body of studio work in whatever form will test and expand your ideas and ambitions. This is supported and challenged (in both years) by tutorials, lectures, seminars, and workshops. Group critiques in the programme take place in the first two terms.

A week of cross-college projects is open to you, and exhibition or archive visits help you to broaden your range of references and contextualise your work. These will be subject to local and national restrictions.

To support your progress in Units 1a and 1b you will be assigned a personal tutor with whom to discuss your work in tutorials twice a term. You will also be offered the opportunity for tutorials with other members of the programme team, and will have the opportunity to request tutorials from other tutors. Although working primarily on your own practice, there are also group critiques, seminars, lectures, and workshops. You produce work for studio critiques in terms one and two. You are expected to be engaged in all aspects of the curriculum and test out new ways of thinking and making. You will be introduced to a range of presentation skills using digital tools preparing you for the end of the year assessments at which your progress will be examined.

In the spring term, you contribute to the Work in Progress Show. Your work is not expected to be resolved at this stage. It is an opportunity to take risks, trying new materials and ideas. As this is in a public context it includes the question of spectatorship. This enables you to reflect upon the efficacy of the visual forms and concepts with which you have been working.

During the second year of the programme you undertake three units of study: Unit 2A (40 credits), Unit 2B (60 Credits) and SoAH School Unit (20 Credits). These units are assessed through a combination of continuous and summative assessment methods.

The second year requires a shift in emphasis towards sharing, distributing and contextualising work. You are expected to produce a coherent body of ambitious work in a form that reflects your particular ideas and interests. You will participate in an external exhibition project, a student-led final show event, and some form of publishing project, which will take a form in line with local and national guidelines. Each student gives a presentation about their work and optionally undertakes a talk or workshop to an external audience. You are expected to be able to professionally document and present your work and ideas verbally, in writing and through images. Workshops are held to aid this process.

Your work should now have a clear direction and resolution, demonstrating a level of conceptual and technical competency appropriate to your own aims and objectives. Preparations begin for the unit 2B assessment which is examined via the Independent Research Portfolio and a presentation of a major body of work undertaken. Through this period the you are expected to undertake self-initiated research to develop and realise a body of self-directed work that is to Masters level.

Alongside your participation in programme based units, you will also participate in the SoAH School unit, which, through study groups, lectures, symposia, crits and tutorials will support you in discussing and evolving your work against a broader frame of reference.

All studio-based MA students follow a weekly schedule of Critical & Historical Studies (CHS), a College-wide initiative that provides you with the intellectual framework to build a coherent relationship between theory and practice.

CHS delivers exciting, thought-provoking and inspiring lectures by experts within the programme and high-profile visiting lecturers. You’ll have the opportunity to explore the theoretical background and aspects of your chosen discipline through a tutored dissertation process, as well as receiving individual tutorial support from our team of expert tutors.