Art & Design

While digital technology plays a significant role in all of our postgraduate provision, this MA provides the opportunity to focus on the development of a high level of digital expertise in your chosen area.

Digital practice lies at the heart of this course. It seeks to build an understanding of current and emerging technologies and their application, as well as specialist expertise in your chosen area of digital art or design practice. You are also able to work in collaboration with others where appropriate.

What you study

In Stage 1 you undertake professional skills development to build your digital expertise and skills in research. Stage 2 culminates in a feasibility study for a negotiated major project. Finally Stage 3 enables you to complete major project work, supported by regular tutorial contact and studio interaction.

How you learn

The Digital Arts and Design programme is structured to enable you to build progressively upon your knowledge and experience. At MA level it is vital that you take an active role in structuring your own learning, and engage with the relevant methods and underpinning theories of your discipline.

Teaching and learning is a student-centred, activity-based process which integrates the content, sequence and development of student learning. The development of knowledge, skills and practice is matched by appropriate teaching and learning strategies. The methods employed, and the philosophy behind them, are under constant review and appraisal to ensure they remain relevant, rigorous and progressive.

The use of a variety of methods, including tutorials, seminars and workshops, enables key learning principles to be applied to the day-to-day interaction between participants. Individual support, provided by a personal tutor, is an integral feature of the learning and teaching strategy. An intrinsic aspect of your main study area and its supporting subjects is research.

Approaches to teaching and learning tend to have the following underlying principles:

• the development of professional responsibility and autonomy in learning in order to ensure the integration of theory and practice
• the enabling of active and co-operative learning
• the provision of flexible and negotiated assessment opportunities directly related to the individual learning context
• resources which match programme outcomes and needs.

The development of practical and professional skills demands hands-on experience, informed by subject knowledge and critical understanding. Practical workshops are used to introduce specific skills, followed by independent learning, project work, tutorials and critiques.

How you are assessed

Various assessment methods are used throughout all of the modules and are specified in the module handbooks. These are primarily what we call in-course assessments, where you submit work during the delivery of the module, rather than sit timed examinations at the end.

Digital Arts and Design modules are generally project based and primarily assessed through appraisal of a portfolio of work, often accompanied by a verbal presentation. Art & Design work is largely developmental and you will be assessed on the process by which you achieve your solutions as well as the result, so it is essential that you provide clear evidence of your development work.

Career opportunities

Graduates have the opportunity to go on to a range of design-related employment requiring specialist digital knowledge and skills.

Entry requirements

Applicants should normally have a good undergraduate degree in an arts discipline, relevant experience or equivalent qualifications. Applicants will be interviewed.

For additional information please see the undergraduate and postgraduate entry requirements in our admissions section

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