Fine Art at UCA

Understand and build upon the relationships between art, design, architecture, and curation, and develop your own innovative approaches to fine art, on our Fine Art course at UCA Canterbury.

This course attracts students from around the world resulting in a vibrant, diverse, and international community, and you’ll be moving across key areas in visual and material culture as you produce complex and extended projects, full of speculation and experimentation.

You’ll be encouraged to develop research strategies reflecting contemporary contexts in both your theoretical thinking as well as your own creative practice. You’ll benefit from insight from our academic team as well as esteemed visiting lecturers and artists and enjoy visits to international exhibitions in major institutions in London such as The Tate, The Royal Academy, Whitechapel Gallery, Zabludowicz Collection and The Hayward Gallery.

You’ll also have the opportunity to discuss your work with industry specialists from some of the world's most innovative organisations such as The Tate, The Turner Contemporary or The National Gallery.

The MA is also available as an MFA route which offers a further enhanced opportunity for students wanting to develop their professional portfolio to the highest level, or to build a proposal for Doctoral level study, and pursue an academic research career path. Applicants can apply to undertake the full MFA, or undertake an MA and transfer to the MFA at the end of the MA period.  

 

 

Course entry options

Select from the following options to find out more about the different study options available for this course:

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Campus
UCA Canterbury
Start date(s)
September 2024, September 2025
Duration
1 year full-time
Entry requirements

Honours degree (or equivalent qualification) in the subject/related discipline
and/or
Relevant work experience

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Campus
UCA Canterbury
Start date(s)
September 2024, September 2025
Duration
2 years part-time
Entry requirements

Honours degree (or equivalent qualification) in the subject/related discipline
and/or
Relevant work experience

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Campus
UCA Farnham
Start date(s)
September 2024, September 2025, January 2025, May 2025
Duration
2 years full-time
Entry requirements

A recognised bachelor degree or 3 year diploma with a strong portfolio in a relevant subject

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Campus
UCA Canterbury
Start date(s)
September 2024, September 2025
Duration
2 years full-time
Entry requirements

Honours degree (or equivalent qualification) in the subject/related discipline
and/or
Relevant work experience

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Campus
Start date(s)
Duration
Entry requirements
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Campus
Start date(s)
Duration
Entry requirements

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Discover the stories of our Art students
What you'll study

What you'll
study

The content of the course may be subject to change. Curriculum content is provided as a guide.

For our students coming from a non-UK educational background, UCA has launched an Integrated International Pre-Masters year, which is based at UCA Farnham.

On this course you’ll prepare for postgraduate study with a mix of online and face-to-face learning that will give you the study skills required to complete a Master’s, and you’ll also improve your English for academic study.

Experimental Studio
This unit is designed to encourage you to take an experimental approach to your studio/post-studio practices. You will be challenged to engage in new processes, methods, and ideas outside of your immediate comfort zone to develop advanced and evolving contributions to your practice.

Research Contexts
Exploring the design, construction and expression of art practice as a process of research, in this unit you will be introduced to critical research methodologies which you can then employ in your independent research enquiries.

Studio Practice
You will use this unit to develop styles and approaches articulated at postgraduate level aligning your aims within your own practice. You will consider appropriate theory and themes in contemporary art practice and how it might inform the work that you wish to create.

Professional Contexts
Focused on professional development, this unit engages students with professional contexts through opportunities and/ or projects developed with partner organisations. Through group work and individual research, within this unit students will establish and develop a sense of their position in relation to their identified subjects, interests and practice areas. This unit also includes the opportunity to develop a creative business start-up or collaborative practice project.

Major Project
As the culmination of your studies, you will be able to undertake a sustained, in-depth and critically informed research inquiry. You will define your practice through a substantial body of work and an understanding of how it sits in relation to others — identified industries and/or professional contexts, collaborators, readers and audiences.

The extension of your degree to an MFA means studying this Advanced Practice unit in addition to the units listed above. This unit is dedicated to developing, extending, and furthering your professional practice. Through advance research methods, you will have to demonstrate the skills, knowledge, confidence, and originality that you have developed as a curatorial practitioner. You will be supported in preparing PhD applications, curating exhibitions, organising public events, and seeking external platforms to work with artists and engage audiences.  

Course specifications

Please note, syllabus content indicated is provided as a guide. The content of the course may be subject to change in line with our Student Terms and Conditions for example, as required by external professional bodies or to improve the quality of the course.

Fees & funding

Fees & financial support

Tuition fees

MA course:

  • 2024/25 entry (full-time): £10,500
  • 2024/25 entry (part-time, year 1): £5,250

MFA course:

  • 2024/25 entry (full-time, year 1): £7,000 

Tuition fees

MA course:

  • 2024/25 entry: £10,500  (see fee discount information)

MFA course:

  • 2024/25 entry (year 1): £7,000  (see fee discount information)

Tuition fees

MA course:

  • 2024/25 entry (MA): £18,000
  • 2024/25 entry (Integrated International Pre-Masters course - Sept & Jan): £17,500
  • 2024/25 entry (Integrated International Pre-Masters course - May): £8,750

MFA course:

  • 2024/25 entry (MFA year 1): £11,700

Please note: the fees listed here are correct for the stated academic year only. For more detailed information about our course fees please see our fees and finance pages

UCA scholarships and fee discounts

At UCA we have a number of scholarships and fee discounts available to assist you with the cost of your studies.

Current UCA students and alumni may be eligible for a tuition fee discount.

Financial support

There are lots of ways you can access additional financial support to help you fund your studies - both from UCA and from external sources. Discover what support you might qualify for please see our financial support information.

Additional course costs

In addition to the tuition fees there may be other costs for your course. The things that you are likely to need to budget for to get the most out of a creative arts education will include books, printing costs, occasional or optional study trips and/or project materials.

These costs will vary according to the nature of your project work and the individual choices that you make. Please see the Additional Course Costs section of your Course Information for details of the costs you may incur.

Explore our Gradshow

Each year, we’re privileged to be able to share our graduates’ incredible work with the world. And now’s your chance to take a look.

Visit the online showcase

Facilities

You'll enjoy being able to create in our large purpose-build studios and flexible project spaces. Our facilities include workshops for plaster and rubber casting, glass casting, slumping, fusing and enamelling (kiln), ceramic bisque and gloss firing, low melt metal casting, and carving (wood, stone and polystyrene). You'll also have access to machinery to create artwork in wood, metal and plastics. A printmaking studio includes relief and block painting, plate or stone lithography and intaglio and screen-printing.

View 360 virtual tour

Fine Art studios, UCA Canterbury

Sculpture workshop, UCA Canterbury

Photography studio, UCA Canterbury

Fine Art studios, UCA Canterbury

Career opportunities

Working internationally with other universities, local and national galleries and museums, and specialist partners within industry, our course draws on a number of industrial links and expertise from a range of creative fields.

You'll be actively encouraged to show and distribute your work outside of the university context. And guest lectures and professional practice seminars will enable you to develop your personal networks and awareness of professional practice.

Connections include local arts organisations such as:

  • Stour Valley Arts
  • Strange Cargo
  • The Creative Foundation
  • The Whitstable Biennale
  • Turner Contemporary

Our MA Fine Art course features regular Professional Practice talks, tutorials and crits with the likes of:

  • JJ Charlesworth, Editor Art Review
  • Jean Wainwright, independent curator and art critic
  • Emma Lewis, Curator Tate Modern
  • Sid Motion, Gallery Owner Sid Motion Gallery London
  • Priyesh Mistry, Associate Curator of Modern & Contemporary Projects, National Gallery London

Lots of our graduates go on to develop careers in fields such as:

  • Arts administration
  • Creative media management
  • Curatorial practices
  • Education
  • Filmmaking
  • Fine art
  • Freelance photography
  • Pre and post production work
  • Printmaking and reprographics
  • Producing
  • Public art
  • Publishing
  • Sound production
  • Video editing.

You may want to undertake further study or research to specialise even further.

Ian Palmer

"I speak as a mature student and can recommend this course without question. Without realising it, the structure of the course, the external speakers, masterclasses and administrative and library support creates an environment that encourages discussion, experimentation and enquiry that drives developments in your artistic practice. I benefited greatly from this environment in ways I had not anticipated at the start. If this was not enough, it was fun, a true collegiate experience."

Ian Palmer

Entry & portfolio requirements

For this course we will need to see your portfolio for review. You can either submit a digital portfolio or request an in-person portfolio review with the course team. Further information will be provided once you have applied. View portfolio advice

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