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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 MA 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.

Course entry options

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

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.

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.

Context and Method
In this unit, you’ll be asked to consider specific texts to address key themes and ideas, which have influenced thinking and practice in contemporary art. In seminars and lectures you’ll discuss texts drawn from artistic, literary and philosophical contexts. This will help you consider your own ideas, and you’ll also learn about what research methods are available to you for your studies.

Exploring Practice
Running in parallel with Context and Method, you’ll explore your own creative practice - and how it fits into the wider context of contemporary art - through practical enquiry, group discussion of ongoing work and one-to-one tutorials. This will help you refine what areas of art interest you most, and help you put together your MA project proposal, a written document, which is assessed at the end of the unit alongside a presentation of your practical work.

Project Development
You’ll begin developing your MA project proposal, evaluating and testing out methods and theories as you go. You’ll be guided and questioned through one-to-one tutorials and group critiques and you’ll be encouraged to continue questioning and exploring your ideas throughout. Additionally, you’ll produce a critical research paper, and you’ll be actively encouraged to show and distribute your work outside the university context.

Final Project
The culmination of what you’ll have learned through the course, your final project is the focus of your final term. You’ll generate an idea for a piece which can be either disseminated, displayed or published, either for the public or to other professionals. You’ll be encouraged to produce something ambitious but to a professional level of resolution. As well as your final body of work you’ll produce a critical evaluation paper and a professional practice folio.

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

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

Tuition fees

Tuition fees

  • 2024/25 entry (MA): £18,000
  • 2024/25 entry (Integrated International Pre-Masters course - 30 weeks): £17,500
  • 2024/25 entry (Integrated International Pre-Masters course - 15 weeks): £8,750

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.

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

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
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

Entry & portfolio
requirements

MA course

  • A good honours degree or equivalent qualification in a related discipline

and/or

  • Relevant work experience, demonstrating your ability to study at postgraduate level.

Consideration will also be given to applicants who can make a strong case for admission in relation to a particular project and can demonstrate their potential to satisfactorily complete the course.

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.

MA course

The entry requirements for this course will depend on the country your qualifications are from, please check the equivalent qualifications for your country:

Any additional entry requirements listed in the UK requirements section, e.g., subject requirements, work experience or professional qualifications, also apply to international applicants applying with equivalent qualifications.

Portfolio requirements

You will be required to submit a portfolio for review. Further information on specific portfolio requirements and how to submit your portfolio will be sent to you after we have reviewed your application.


MA course with Integrated International Pre-Masters course

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

Any additional entry requirements listed in the UK requirements section, e.g., subject requirements, work experience or professional qualifications, also apply to international applicants applying with equivalent qualifications.

Portfolio requirements

You will be required to submit a portfolio for review. Further information on specific portfolio requirements and how to submit your portfolio will be sent to you after we have reviewed your application.


English language requirements

To study at UCA, you'll need to have a certain level of English language skill. And so, to make sure you meet the requirements of your course, we ask for evidence of your English language ability, please check the level of English language required:

Don't meet the international entry requirements or English language requirements?

You may be able to enter the course through the following entry pathways:

Apply now

Please use the following fields to help select the right application link for you: