menu icon
Book your open day visit nowClick to book open day

Different course options

Full time | Regent Campus | 1 year | 23-SEP-24

Study mode

Full time

Duration

1 year

Start date

23-SEP-24

Key information
DATA SOURCE : IDP Connect

Qualification type

MA - Master of Arts

Subject areas

Visual Arts Cultural Studies Visual Communication

Course type

Taught

Course Summary

Course summary

The Art and Visual Culture MA is part of the Cultural and Literary Studies Suite, a cluster of four MAs that bring together academics, curators and practitioners who share a commitment to investigating modern and contemporary culture from aesthetic, critical, literary, and experiential perspectives. You will share classes with students from the Cultural and Critical Studies MA, the English Literature: Modern and Contemporary Fictions MA, and the Museum, Galleries and Contemporary Culture MA, joining a fruitful and intellectually-rigorous environment designed to facilitate the sprouting of interdisciplinary thinking. As part of our Suite, you may also choose an option module from the other three MA programmes (what is referred to as an ‘elective’ module), a fantastic opportunity to explore a facet of culture outside of your chosen MA programme.

The Art and Visual Culture MA is an interdisciplinary, visual theory-based course established around the belief that visual literacy and the impact of visual forms of thinking and working play significant roles in our society. On the course, we interrogate visual perception and representation in high and popular culture, explore how these produce meanings, and how such meanings shape societies and individuals.

The course introduces you to a wide range of historical and contemporary debates that inform the theories and practices of visual culture, and supports you in developing a conceptual framework within which to evaluate the role of the visual arts, and other forms of visual production, in contemporary society and culture. The course gives you a solid grounding for careers in the art and cultural sectors as well as academia, and it is also suitable for practising artists wishing to further their research.

This MA balances historical and theoretical debates in the field of visual culture studies with a rigorous interrogation of cultural practices across a range of topics, including: contemporary visual arts; the visual and material culture of the city; modernism in art and architecture; popular and avant-garde cultures; fin de siècle visual culture; digital culture and new media technologies; migration, identity and gender as represented in cultural practices; activism and popular politics; theory and practice of archive research; and critical theories of modern and contemporary culture.

CAREER PATH

The MA in Art and Visual Culture prepares students for careers in the art and cultural sector as well as academia. The combination of seminars, workshops and field trips that the course offers equips students with sophisticated critical thinking skills as well as practical knowledge of how the cultural sector operates. As a result, many of our students have gone on to pursue successful careers as curators, artists, cultural consultants, events and communications managers, media arts project managers, editors and public relations specialists.

Many others have gone on to MPhil/PhD study in fields such as art history and visual culture, cultural studies and media. As part of the course, students have an opportunity to take a work experience module, which involves placements in art and cultural institutions in London and a chance to build a career profile. We work with the university careers office to help students prepare for entering the job market.

CAREERS AND EMPLOYABILITY SERVICE

Our Careers and Employability Service is here to support you to achieve your full potential.

With a growing network of over 3,000 employers around the world and a team of experienced careers consultants, we provide you with a variety of opportunities to work and develop new skills. As a University of Westminster student, you’ll have access to our services throughout your studies and after you graduate.

Modules

Development, execution, and writing-up of an independent research project on a topic chosen by the student. All students will attend regular research seminars. Individual supervision will provide topic-specific guidance.

Tuition fees

UK fees
Course fees for UK students

For this course (per year)

£8,500

International fees
Course fees for EU and international students

For this course (per year)

£15,000

Entry requirements

A minimum of a lower second class honours degree (2:2) in a relevant discipline including arts and humanities, fine art and performing arts, as well as some social science subjects. Relevant work experience might also be taken into consideration, especially in the case of applicants who don’t meet the standard entry criteria. Applicants may be asked to respond to a specific article.

University information

The University of Westminster is a global institution, hosting one of the most diverse student communities found at UK universities. With over 19,000 students at undergraduate and postgraduate level, together representing more than 160 nations worldwide. This is the university where individuality is encouraged, diversity is celebrated and anything is possible. The university offers student the chance to study at four different campuses, three...more

Similar courses at this uni