ObjectivesThe MA Graphic Arts pathway is designed to be a meeting place for people who are hungry to engage with communication design practice at a deeper level: to research, investigate and debate the nature and dynamics of communication, and explore how they can produce meaningful outcomes using conventional and unconventional forms. There is particular emphasis on communication, which may be located in printed design outcomes (books, magazines, posters etc), screen (motion graphics, video, web etc) or cut across these. Editorial control and responsibility to content and intention are at the core of developing themes. Narrative form, structure, the relationship of type and image and a deeper understanding of commercial print, multiples, electronic and broadcast media and other means of dissemination are considered both intellectually and practically. Lectures and seminars consider approaches to research and practice in visual communication, the changing role of graphic designers and illustrators in contemporary society, and locating your own work in relation to this. Practical work enables you to test and extend your current practice, and explore media and ideas. You will develop your design process from creative strategies for generating ideas, gathering and analysing information, producing text, exploring potential ideas and media, to producing final outcomes. There are opportunities for collaboration with students from other MA Media strands and a lecture programme that explores significant cross disciplinary themes. There is also a range of visiting speakers offering professional knowledge and experience. The programme is modular, allowing the choice, time and flexibility to develop new skills and ambitions. This means that you can adapt your programme of study to best suit your needs. You can also change whether you study full or part-time by changing the number of modules you study each year.
Entry requirementsWe are looking for highly motivated students with skills and experience in graphic design, illustration or related subjects. Candidates will normally be expected to have attained an honours degree, but applicants with other qualifications or professional experience are also encouraged to apply. All applications are carefully considered and prospective candidates invited for interview. Interviewees should be able to show a portfolio of their current practical work which includes evidence of developmental stages and process as well as final outcomes. Examples of written work are also important.
Academic titleMA/Postgraduate Diploma Media (Graphic Arts)
Course descriptionContent
The programme is made up of five modules, which are taken across three semesters (full time) or six semesters (part time). Each module carries a credit weighting, and to qualify for an MA (Master of Arts) you must successfully complete each module to gain 180 credits.
The modules are as follows:
1. Introduction to Graphic Arts (30 credits)
This module introduces the subject through practical work and debate. It forms a basis for you to consider your initial perception of graphic arts as an area of creative practice and your own motivations for investigation, study, and practice within the broad scope that it offers. It allows you to become familiar with the resources available to you and begin to negotiate a programme of independent study. Students also work with students from other strands of the MA Media to design and produce a collaborative project.
2. Option Module (30 credits)
At this stage in the course you are able to take one of a series of option modules, each of which have specific sets of concerns related to the practice and theory of art, media and design. The options are:
-Research Methodologies
-Enterprise in the Creative Industries
-Research Methods
3. Analysing Practice in Graphic Arts (30 credits)
This module enables you to consider the different forms available to visual communicators, including print, screen and 3D/environmental outcomes. Through individual proposals you develop your work in one or more of these areas. You are encouraged to interrogate your design process and working method(s), taking into account how a designer transforms and adapts their choice of medium, style and design method based on an editorial concept, to meet new circumstances and opportunities. Relevant technical skills are delivered through workshops that enable students to explore the subject further and experiment with their ideas.
4. Developing Practice in Graphic Arts (30 credits)
This module builds upon your skills as a practitioner and seeks to develop concepts and ideas through an understanding of the self. At the beginning of this module you research and submit a proposal for the development and realisation of a body of practical work. The work involved in the preparation and presentation of the project proposal forms the basis of the syllabus during this module. It culminates in an illustrated presentation concerned with your work and its context. Critical reflection on this module prepares the ground for the final module's work.
5. Extended Practice in Graphic Arts (60 credits)
Building on the experience gained from the previous modules, you undertake to produce a self directed body of work that shows your ability as an innovative and creative visual communicator, capable of creating meaningful and interesting content for an identified audience. The choice of media is entirely open but should be appropriate to the nature of your research and the intention of your work. The body of practical work is complemented by a substantial evaluation report which contextualises your particular approach to Graphic Arts.
Teaching and learning
You are taught through a series of lectures, seminars, practical workshops and projects.
You are based in the Graphic Design studios at Bush House and the School's postgraduate facilities at Bower Ashton. They are equipped with high-end Apple Macintosh and PC computers with industry standard software and DVD authoring facilities. You also have access to the School's EPI Centre, Print Centre and library. You will have the opportunity to:
-research, explore and produce graphic arts outcomes appropriate to your personal direction within the subject;
-increase your knowledge of the range and scope of graphic arts/visual communication practice;
-increase your range of technical skills and improve presentation, management and organisation skills;
-be part of a critical mass of students from a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines;
-benefit from the opportunities generated by the University's links to the creative and media industries eg networking, exhibitions, screenings and gaining professional contacts.
The full MA programme comprises 180 credits divided into three 60-credit stages: Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma, and Master's. You work incrementally through the three stages and must pass all modules at each stage in order to progress to the next.
You may join the programme on one of two routes: full-time or part-time. Full-time students typically study for three semesters over 18 months and part-time students study for six semesters over three years. A semester is a 15-week period of study and generally runs September to January and February to June