Masters Degrees (Book)

The Master of Fine Arts in the Book Arts Program began in 1985, and emphasizes the art and craft of making books by hand. We are located in the College of Communication and Information Sciences, School of Library and Information Studies, at The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa; a verdant, traditional campus located on the banks of the mighty Black Warrior River.

Visit the website https://bookarts.ua.edu/

The program leading to the M.F.A. in the Book Arts degree is a 60-credit hour course of study comprising four basic areas: printing/publishing, bookbinding, papermaking, and the history of the book. These areas do not work in isolation. Connections between them are made as often as possible. Our emphasis is on the book as an integrated unit, although there is opportunity for a student who wishes to pursue a specific interest in one or more of these areas after the initial general year of study. We are interested in developing craft skills based on historical principles and techniques, and the artistic expression that follows.

The M.F.A in the Book Arts Program develops book artists who have well-honed technical knowledge of the various facets of contemporary bookmaking, and who have an understanding of the historical evolution of the book including its materiality, and the role of the book in society. Courses explore the reconciliation of modern sensibilities with historic craft. It is to be remembered that the M.F.A. degree, and the 2.5-3 years leading to it, is a starting point in what is a lifelong process of acquiring skills and sensibilities in the art and craft of making books.

We accept up to eight new students each year. Our students are highly motivated, and come from various undergraduate backgrounds and work experiences. We have four graduate assistantships available yearly, on a competitive basis, plus three Windgate Fellowships.

The general goal for the M.F.A. program is to develop professional artisans who are technically proficient in the book arts and cognizant of the historical background in which these various crafts evolved and of the professional environment in which our graduates will work. To reach this goal, the school has created the following two specific goals and enabling objectives.

1. To provide students with an education that inculcates craft skills required for proficiency in the book arts, and that develops a sound foundation for the aesthetics and methodology of these arts:

a. Provide each student with fundamental technical skills in each of the crafts comprised by the book arts

b. Ready each student to apply these skills and techniques in the marketplace

c. Provide advanced technical skills in each student’s area of professional specialization

d. Create in each student a desire to acquire and upgrade skills beyond the formal program

e. Provide and reinforce in each student an appreciation for the aesthetics of the crafts

f. Facilitate the choice by the end of the first semester of an initial professional specialization in either printing or binding

g. Maintain a faculty whose members are recognized leaders in their fields

2. To enhance the professional status of artisans engaged in the book arts:

a. Acquaint students with the heritage, responsibilities, trends, and standards of the profession

b. Instill in students a concept of the interrelationship of the book arts

c. Enlist faculty to assist the book arts community by helping to establish standards, by supporting professional organizations, by offering continuing educational opportunities, and by serving as consultants and lecturers

d. Encourage faculty to publish and exhibit original works whenever appropriate

e. Encourage faculty to conduct research and disseminate findings to practitioners and teachers in the book arts community

Applicants are required to submit either the general portion of the Graduate Record Examination or the Miller Analogies Test in support of the application for admission. Ideally, prospective students should submit a portfolio of their work (in their area of experience), and if at all possible be interviewed by the book arts faculty. For detailed information about the application process please see the Graduate School website (http://graduate.ua.edu/).

Read less

The MA in Book History and Publishing Culture is aimed at anyone interested in the history of the book and the publishing industry, from the introduction of the paperback to the advent of the ebook. It draws on theories of print culture and book history to identify the ideological challenges to the culture of publishing and the ways in which contemporary practice has been shaped by social, economic and technological developments. The course is taught by specialists in the field and is closely linked to our renowned MA in Publishing. The core programme focuses on the theory and practice of authorship, textual production, dissemination and reception in the period 1870 to the present day.

In addition,you have the opportunity to take elective MA modules in Publishing, English and History, enabling the study of the interrelations between these disciplines.

See the website http://www.brookes.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/book-history-and-publishing-culture/

Why choose this course?

- The MA in Book History and Publishing Studies provides you with the academic skills and knowledge to extend your studies in this burgeoning and interdisciplinary field.

- This programme provides you with access to a specific selection of the vocationally oriented modules on the master's publishing programmes.

- The Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies (within the School of Arts) at Oxford Brookes offers the largest range of postgraduate courses in publishing studies and print culture in Europe. We offer full-time and part-time courses with a variety of exit awards to suit your needs and career aspirations.

- Studying any of the publishing programmes at Oxford Brookes gives you excellent employment prospects, opportunities for extensive industry links and networking in the global publishing centre of Oxford, unrivalled access to work experience and international internships, and specialist careers advice including our Working in Publishing Day.

- You will be part of large faculty with a variety of research interests and extensive industry expertise which will provide you with comprehensive coverage of publishing, from mass market books to magazines; print and digital dissemination.

- You will have access to a wide range of visiting speakers from the publishing industry who regularly contribute to the programmes, and access to unique research resources and specialist publishing collections; The Book Prize Archive; André Deutsch Collection, African Publishing Collection; the Bodleian Library.

- You will have the opportunity to visit international book fairs including Frankfurt, London and Bologna, and to attend an international Summer School in Florence with students from Slovenia, Germany, Italy and France.

- There is an industry advisory board attached to the publishing courses with representatives from major publishers such as Bloomsbury, Faber, HarperCollins, Hodder and Random House. Additionally, we have links with publishing organisations such as the Independent Publishers Guild, OPuS (Oxford Publishing Society) and the Society of Young Publishers – regular events are held at Oxford Brookes.

Teaching and learning

We use a variety of teaching and learning methods across the course. Most modules use more than one learning and teaching method. This ensures that you are exposed to a range of different learning opportunities, which helps maintain your motivation and interest.

Some of the key teaching methods we use are:
- lectures designed to provide students with the foundation knowledge and a framework for study that will enable them to achieve the learning outcomes for the module

- seminars and workshops designed to encourage students to engage in discussion with tutors and peers to test their understanding and ability to apply ideas, to develop their transferable skills and to encourage deeper learning

- field trips to book fairs, libraries and publishing archives to enable students to undertake research in print culture and publishing history

- individual supervision in support of self-directed outcomes for dissertations or major projects

- resource-based learning materials in several of our modules and virtual learning environment to support student learning through Computer Assisted Assessment and Computer Assisted Learning.

Approach to assessment

Assessment for the programme is by written course work. The assignments include researched essays, project work and the opportunity to contribute to an online journal.

Specialist facilities

Students on the course have access to the Bodleian Library and archives of local publishers, including the Oxford University Press, for research. The library at Oxford Brookes has an extensive collection of texts and journals about publishing, as well as a special collection on publishing in Africa. It also houses the Booker Archive and the André Deutsch Archive.

Field trips

A place on the tutor-led field trip to Frankfurt Book Fair which is held in October is available for applicants who have accepted their place by mid-July. The Bologna Book Fair, which occurs in the spring is also tutor-led with arranged interviews with publishers, but students organise their own flights and accommodation. The London Book Fair, also held in the spring, offers students volunteer opportunities in addition to meetings with publishers and access to many of the seminars that are held during the fair.
Attendance pattern
Attendance at lectures and seminars varies with your chosen modules. In most cases, you will have at least two days in the week without formal tutor contact hours. These times are emphasised here because you can use this time for work experience with local publishers and with fellow students in group work as preparation for presentations and reports.

How this course helps you develop

Academic writing and research skills are honed to a high level during this programme. In the second semester, assessment for the compulsory module involves contribution of a research article for an online journal. Students are also involved in the academic editing and design of the journal which is available to the public. This practice enables student to demonstrate excellence in archival and secondary research activities.

Careers

The course provides excellent prospects for students interested in further academic study in the interdisciplinary fields of media, publishing studies, cultural production and book history. In addition, students go on to work in academic publishing and are equipped to succeed in editorial positions in publishing.

Free language courses for students - the Open Module

Free language courses are available to full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students on many of our courses, and can be taken as a credit on some courses.

Please note that the free language courses are not available if you are:
- studying at a Brookes partner college
- studying on any of our teacher education courses or postgraduate education courses.

Research highlights

The Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies (OICPS) is one of the leading centres for publishing education in the world. Our staff and students contribute to a vibrant research environment that is interdisciplinary in emphasis and international in scope. We focus on areas such as book consumption and the life cycle of books, book trade and publishing history (especially 18th-21st centuries), museum publishing, serials publications, pedagogy and publishing education, and the future of the industry. Members of staff have published award-winning monographs, key pedagogical textbooks, and a range of scholarly articles and edited collections.

Students pursuing doctoral studies with us are investigating such topics as girls' magazines in the cultural and consumer marketplace, the future of university libraries, German publishing in the First World War, and marketing strategies for children’s literature in the Middle East. We also supervise students for the PhD by Publication. Most of our research students are based in Oxford, but a number work on their studies from a distance with regular contact in person and by email.

Research is supported by the resources of Oxford Brookes Library –especially its Special Collections featuring the Booker Archive, the Publishing in Africa Collection, the Rainbird Archive, and the Peter Stockham Collection of Children’s Books—as well as by other local and regional archives and university libraries.

OICPS carries out independent research and training with the international publishing industry. Recent research and consultancy clients include the British Council, Hewlett Packard, the Society of Experimental Biology and Sports Books.

If you have a topic relating to publishing that you would like to study at doctoral level, please contact us with a preliminary synopsis.

Read less

MLitt in The Book. History and Techniques of Analysis

• Develop a deep understanding of key issues and methods in book history c.1445-1870.

• Become familiar with the invention, development, spread, and transformation of printing in the period concerned.

• Explore important aspects of book history, such as the economics of the book trade, the social and religious context of printed books, news and censorship, the development of the illustrated book, the relationship between books and the Enlightenment, the industrialisation of print, and the history of libraries and book collecting.

• Acquire the technical skills required for rare book curatorship (teaching involves the Special Collections department): bibliography, paper, format, type, provenance, bindings, fingerprints, technical description, cataloguing, research tools and methods.

• Undertake skills training in palaeography and either Latin or a modern foreign language.

• Study as part of active book history research community with the Universal Short Title Catalogue, Department of Special Collections, Book History Online, the St Andrews Book History Conference series.

Features

* With around 50 staff, we can offer an unusually broad and varied portfolio of research expertise.

* We have a friendly and collegial atmosphere, in which our postgraduates are actively involved. Social events run throughout the year, starting with a Welcome Reception, and including parties organised by the different Departments, Centres and Institutes.

* Our large postgraduate community includes around 90 research postgraduates and a further 50 taught postgraduates.

* We have a strong commitment to providing skills training to enhance the employability of our postgraduates.

* We are committed to the provision of language training throughout the degree; we also offer up to six language bursaries to incoming postgraduates wishing to develop skills essential to their research.

Postgraduate community

The University of St Andrews is one of the world’s Top 40 Arts and Humanities universities (Times Higher Education 2015) and home to a major centre for postgraduate historical study. Building on excellence in individual research, the School has expertise across the Mediaeval, Early Modern and Modern periods, and a wide geographical coverage. Our research interests range from sixth-century Scotland to Iran in the early twenty-first century (and innumerable other places in between). We have particular strengths in Middle Eastern, Transnational, British, Continental European and US History; as well as groupings focused on Reformation Studies, Environmental History, and Intellectual History. As befits Scotland’s oldest university, the School is also a leading centre of Scottish
historical research.
The School of History occupies three sites in the heart of the historic town of St Andrews. All are within a few minutes’ walk of each other, and of the University Library:
• On tree-lined South Street and close to the ruins of the Cathedral, most Mediaevalists and Reformation Studies colleagues are based in a charming seventeenth-century town house and the adjoining mediaeval residence of the Hospitallers.

• St Katharine’s Lodge is a nineteenth-century former school (attended by Field Marshal Earl Haig) close to St Andrews Castle and the magnificent West Sands beach.

• Middle Eastern History is in the Arts Building, which opened in 2008, with elegant new teaching and work spaces.

Facilities

• The University Library provides extensive collections for use in historical study, including an outstanding Special Collections facility, and continues to make substantial investment in materials, including electronic resources, each year.

• Computer facilities are also readily available within workspaces and University clusters.

• A scheme of competitive scholarships and bursaries is in place to support selected postgraduates financially.

• Language bursaries are available (through a competitive scheme) to enable students new to St Andrews to gain language skills in the summer before starting their postgraduate study.

• All History postgraduates at St Andrews receive financial assistance annually from the School of History specifically to subsidise research expenses.

• Postgraduate students can apply for material support for the organisation of conferences and seminars; this has led in the past to successful events and subsequent publication.

• Social events run throughout the year including the Welcome Reception, a Christmas Party and a Champagne Brunch at graduation. Students may also attend annual Reading Parties and enjoy the opportunity to meet visiting speakers over dinner after research seminars.

Careers

Following a taught postgraduate course in History at the University of St Andrews, students go on to pursue careers in a range of sectors including journalism, publishing, think tanks, government, law, and teaching. Others continue in academia, moving on to a PhD.

Read less

The University of London’s postgraduate degree in the History of the Book was inaugurated in 1995 and each year attracts a range of students from many countries. The University’s location in the centre of London, with its unrivalled resources for all aspects of book history within easy reach, together with the expertise that exists in its many colleges and institutes, makes it an ideal place in which to carry out research of an interdisciplinary nature. The history of the book has developed rapidly over the last 40 years as its power to clarify problems in many other disciplines has become evident. Scholars have come to see the study of the book as an aid to understanding literary and other texts and, more recently, as a way of understanding broader social, cultural, and intellectual processes in history.

The programme aims to:

Give students a broad understanding of book history from c. 3000 BCE to 2000 CE

Introduce students to the range of disciplines that make up the subject, including historical bibliography, palaeography, codicology, history of printing, bibliometrics, history of publishing, history of reading, and library history

Provide frequent opportunities to handle archaeological and historical objects relating to the subject

Give students the ability and confidence to deal with primary sources for book history (both manuscript and printed)

In addition, the MRes will:

Provide selected students with a foundation of three appropriately specialised taught courses (60 points in all), which will equip them to undertake a more extensive programme of master’s level research than that offered by the MA

Provide the opportunity for able students to write an extended dissertation (30,000 words) on a subject that requires treatment at a much greater length and depth than the usual MA topic

Offer students a degree programme that satisfies the needs of those who wish to undertake more extensive research or go on to do an MPhil or PhD

Structure

The MA consists of a series of six taught courses (including two core courses) plus a dissertation of 15,000 words.

The MRes consists of a series of three taught courses and a 30,000 word dissertation.

Students may also choose courses from the London Rare Books School programme under the guidance of the Course Director and Course Tutor.

London Book Trade Internship

Students have the option to substitute one of the modules with an internship at a London bookselling firm. The internships offer a key opportunity for students to experience life in a bookselling firm, to undertake projects for the company (everything from stocktaking to cataloguing to running a book stall at a fair), and to make connections in the book trade. In the past, students have been placed in Maggs Bros., Jarndyce Booksellers, Robert Frew Ltd., and Ash Rare Books.

Teaching and Supervision

Teachers are recognised experts drawn from the Institute, the British Library, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Lambeth Palace Library, and other institutions, at which some of the teaching takes place.

Read less

The MA Children’s Book Illustration course is aimed at both professional practitioners wishing to pursue a sustained period of time developing new ideas or recent graduates wishing to focus their studies and refine ideas at an advanced level. The course will also consider students from non-traditional illustration backgrounds, such as fine artists, graphic and Internet designers and animators, providing they can offer clearly articulated and informed reasons for wishing to study Children's Book Illustration at an advanced level.

The emphasis of the course is on the practice of illustration for children’s picture books and story books. At postgraduate level you will be encouraged to pursue a unique and personal line of enquiry within their chosen area of children’s book illustration and design.

LEARNING ENVIRONMENT AND ASSESSMENT

Through the collective community, students have access to a wide range of staff expertise and extensive workshops and studio resources.

The course is supported by extensive computer, studio and workshop facilities located within the department and the University as a whole. There is also a programme of guest lecturers, company and consultancy visits as well as exhibitions and extra workshops.

Both the practical and theoretical elements will be assessed both during and at the end of each module. The final form of the assessment strategy and criteria is the result of collaboration between student and staff.

FURTHER INFORMATION

The MA in Children’s Book Illustration is aimed at practicing professional illustrators, artists and designers wishing to develop new ideas and techniques aimed at the children’s market, and at recent graduates who wish to focus and refine their ideas at a more advanced level

Understandably, Children’s Book Illustration is primarily a visual course; however authorial control over content is also hugely important in the children’s book field so the ability to write creatively and to fuse written and visual content is an important component in the practice of children’s book illustration. You will have the opportunity to collaborate with postgraduate students on the MA Writing for Children course.

At the end of the course you will have a body of work produced to a professional and publishable standard. This will culminate in a final project and public exhibition, and hopefully, although not exclusively, in professional publication.

Read less

Humber’s Creative Book Publishing graduate certificate program combines creativity and entrepreneurship with the only opportunities in Canada to specialize in literary agenting/rights management and publishing technology. Taught by working professionals, and visited by industry experts and published authors, students of this program regularly make valuable contacts.

After two months of foundational publishing courses including business models, acquisitions, contracts, copyright, technology, creativity, operations and content management, you will choose three of four specializations: editorial, marketing, literary agenting/rights management or advanced technology. In the final month, students are organized into groups representing publishing enterprises. They collaborate to create model publishing companies from the ground up including business plans, publishing lists, jackets and covers, websites, and marketing campaigns. This intense capstone assignment provides an unprecedented knowledge base which prepares graduates for a successful career in publishing.

Course detail

Upon successful completion of the program, a graduate will:
• Create a freelance business in any of the following areas – Editorial, Publicity/Public Relations, Design/Packaging.
• Represent authors as literary agents to publishing houses in Canada and internationally.
• Publish their own creative works independent of publishing houses.
• Critically analyze proposals and literary works for legal implications including copyright issues, libel, trademark, moral rights and intellectual property rights.
• Prepare business documents related to publishing such as business plans, annual reports, and business proposals in conformity with industry and market standards.
• Evaluate national and international markets.
• Prepare sales and promotion strategies and materials, and negotiate agreements for the selling of rights of authors’ works.
• Produce publishing content for media outlets as arts commentators, book reviewers, and TV/radio producers.
• Analyze manuscripts for quality and profitability.
• Analyze and predict publishing operations in the areas of distribution, credit, supply chain, information technology, warehousing and inventory control, and customer service.
• Analyze public policy and granting structures available to publishing as a Canadian cultural industry.
• Prepare marketing strategies and create marketing documents and materials for book proposals, book jackets, and sales presentations.
• Complete structural edits and copy edits, perform proofreading, and production editing as part of the editorial process.

Modules

• CBPP 5000: Acquisitions
• CBPP 5002: Contracts, Legal Issues and Publishing Ethics
• CBPP 5003: Book Production and Manufacturing
• CBPP 5004: Sales and Retail
• CBPP 5005: Marketing Overview
• CBPP 5008: Editorial Overview
• CBPP 5012: International Publishing
• CBPP 5015: Publishing Finance
• CBPP 5018: Technology
• CBPP 5021: Enterprise Group
• CBPP 5022: Enterprise Individual

Your Career

Book publishing is an innovative cultural industry that adapts to rapid and constant change in the marketplace and to evolving technological requirements while continuing to nurture creativity and growth. Find opportunities in editorial, marketing, technology, contracts, subsidiary rights, sales, management/operations and production/ design. Or work in closely related fields as a content manager, publicist, literary agent, book reviewer, arts journalist, bookseller, educator, or entertainment/copyright/intellectualproperty expert in government agencies and industry associations. Humber also encourages entrepreneurship and the development of new enterprises including self-publishing and freelance options. Professional development is emphasized throughout the program.

How to apply

Click here to apply: http://humber.ca/admissions/how-apply.html

Funding

For information on funding, please use the following link: http://humber.ca/admissions/financial-aid.html

Read less

Introduction

MA Book Arts at Camberwell College of Arts focuses on debates concerning the cultural, creative and individual functions of the book. The course engages with aspects of the book such as sequence, poetry, structure and materials; encompassing printed multiples and sculptural one-offs.

Content

What students can expect from the course:

- To develop a project from proposal to final exhibition

- To research content, materials and technical skills, then produce written and practical work exploring a subject in relationship to contemporary practice

- To receive support and supervision throughout the course from specialist academic staff in workshops, individual tutorials, seminars and lectures

- To take part in staff and student-led seminars to help promote debate, and work-in-progress sessions that allow for supportive critique

- To develop research skills, professional practice and an understanding of the wider context of book arts as an area of fine art and design practice

- To take part in a shared lecture programme across the Visual Arts courses that draw upon the richness of research across Camberwell, Chelsea and Wimbledon Colleges

- To get involved in artists book fairs and visiting special collections in London such as the Tate, John Latham’s Flat Time House and the National Art Library at the V&A Museum

- To explore the expanded book in a display or installation by showing work in public exhibitions

Structure

Unit One – Research, Development and Practice

Students will explore, experiment and research to further develop their Project Proposals. This unit introduces students to pathway specific issues and topics, research methodologies and techniques. It aims to orientate students and their practice within the course, and develop their contextual, critical and research skills at the onset of their MA learning.

Unit Two – Reflection and Presentation

Resolution and presentation of students' work according to their Project Proposal. A symposium will provide the opportunity to present their research and provide further peer feedback. Students' practice at this stage should synthesise their practical, conceptual and professional abilities and they will be expected to consider their future practice, audience and context of their work in contemporary practice.

The intention and context of students' work will inform their decisions they will take regarding a final exhibition. Students' will also be expected to work collaboratively with their peers to actively plan, organise and install an exhibition as part of their continued Personal and Professional Development.

Read less

Follow in the footsteps of acclaimed children’s artists. Show your work to publishers at book fairs and exhibitions and get dedicated support from a team of internationally-recognised artists, who’ll help you to develop your own personal visual vocabulary and make connections with the children’s publishing industry.

Overview

This taught studio course, the first of its kind in the UK, will give you the dedicated support and knowledge you need to develop your practice in the art of children’s book illustration.

Within the broad guidelines of each module, you’ll propose and develop a project, with guidance from internationally recognised illustrators, writers and publishers of children's books. You’ll share and discuss your work with other students in group critiques, and attend lectures and seminars that will inform your studio practice.

Illustration at Anglia Ruskin is built on a tradition that goes back to the founding of the Cambridge School of Art in 1858. Our MA students work in dedicated illustration studios right next door to the Ruskin Gallery, with access to a fully equipped printmaking studio.

By studying with us, you’ll follow in the footsteps of alumni such as designer and war artist Edward Bawden, acclaimed graphic satirist Ronald Searle, and Roger Law and Peter Fluck, founders of the TV phenomenon Spitting Image.

Teaching times: currently either Mondays and Thursdays (9am-3pm) or Tuesdays and Fridays (9am-3pm). There are also lectures and presentations on Wednesdays from 3-5pm (full-time); Wednesdays 9am-5pm in semesters 1 and 2 (part-time)

Careers

Our partnership with Walker Books and its American counterpart Candlewick Press will give you the chance to go on a work experience visit to their London offices. They also sponsor our annual Sebastian Walker Award for Most Promising Student.

Many of our past students now enjoy careers as freelance authors and illustrators for children. Among our published graduates are Paula Metcalf, Marta Altés, Nadia Shireen, Birgitta Sif, Rebecca Patterson and Jo Empson.

You may decide to take your work to a deeper level with a research degree, like our PhD Children’s Book Illustration.

Modules

Core modules:
Observation and Experiment
The Sequential Image
The Diploma Project
The Diploma Review
Master's Project: Art and Design

Assessment

In your first three studio modules, you’ll show your progress through project work, worth 80% of your module grade, and an essay relating to the contextual study lectures, which is worth 20%.

Your Diploma Review thesis will be assessed 100% on your 6,000-8,000 word essay, while the Master’s Stage Project will be assessed 90% on your project work and 10% on your written report.

What you'll study

Cambridge School of Art has been inspiring creativity since 1858 when it was opened by John Ruskin.

Engaging with current debates surrounding contemporary practice and with the state-of-the-art facilities, Cambridge School of Art houses light, bright studios, industry-standard film and photographic facilities, and 150-year-old printing presses alongside dedicated Apple Mac suites. Our digital art gallery, the Ruskin Gallery, exhibits both traditional shows and multimedia presentations, from national and international touring exhibitions and our own students.

We are the only university in Cambridge offering art and design courses at higher education level. A tight-knit community of artists, academics and over 900 students, we collaborate across our University, the creative industries, and other sectors. Cambridge is a centre for employment in the creative industries and there are rich opportunities for collaboration with the city’s entertainment, technological, scientific, arts and heritage industries.

Our graduates have a history of winning national and international awards and an excellent employment record. They include Pink Floyd's Syd Barrett and Dave Gilmour, Spitting Image creators Peter Fluck and Roger Law, and illustrator Ronald Searle, the creator of St Trinian's.

We’re part of the Faculty of Arts, Law and Social Sciences, a hub of creative and cultural innovation whose groundbreaking research has real social impact.

Field trips

At our annual London graduation exhibition you’ll show your work to leading publishing companies and literary agencies. We also organise a stand at Bologna Children's Book Fair each year, where you’ll have more opportunities to secure a publishing deal with industry reps. As a direct result, our past students have signed contracts with publishers including Macmillan, Random House, Nosy Crow, Sarbacane (Fr), Donizelli (It), Child's Play, Walker Books, HarperCollins (NY), Doubleday (NY), Penguin (NY), Faber & Faber and Hodder. Advances against royalties have ranged from €2,000 with an independent publisher, to $50,000 for a three-book deal.

Work experience

Our partnership with Walker Books and its American counterpart Candlewick Press will give you the chance to go on a work experience visit to their London offices. They also sponsor our annual Sebastian Walker Award for Most Promising Student.

Specialist facilities

You’ll work in dedicated illustration studios right next door to our Ruskin Gallery, with access to a fully-equipped printmaking studio.

Read less

Programme description

Based at the University’s internationally recognised Centre for the History of the Book, this programme brings together theory and practice to explore cultural history, intensive archival research and the latest intellectual developments in this specialised field.

This programme provides an introduction to Book History as a concept and provides a general overview of the key developments in the field, tracing the movement from scribal culture to hand printing, from industrialisation to new technologies.

You will be taught by leading international experts, combining traditional bibliography, special collections training and advanced theoretical approaches, to advance your knowledge and practical skills.

As well as the major manuscript and printed collections held by the University, you will have access to the National Library of Scotland (which holds one of the most important collections for the study of bibliography in Europe).

Programme structure

Over two semesters, you will complete two compulsory and two option courses, along with a course in research methods, followed by an independently researched dissertation.

Compulsory courses:

Cultures of the Book
Working with Collections
Option courses may include:

Working with Pre-modern Manuscripts
Expanding the Book: Image and Literacy in Valois France
Print Culture and the Enlightenment: Edinburgh and London, 1710-1814
Working with Pre-modern Manuscripts
Critical Theory: Issues and Debates
Digital Humanities for Literary Studies
Shakespeare Adapted
Poor Things: Capitalism, Reification and 20th Century Literature
Modernism: Text, Image, Object

Work placement/internship opportunities

Work placements allow students to take advantage of the exceptional resources in Edinburgh for the study of books in order to gain hands-on experience that will be beneficial in their future careers.

Placements may take place internally, for example in the Centre for Research Collections at the University Library, or externally with several partner organisations.

You will receive training from the placement supervisor, and will undertake well-defined projects in the course of your placement, such as cataloguing, conservation, collation, digitisation and other kinds of work.

You will reflect on your placement in a poster presentation, and it will provide material for an academic essay. Regular academic oversight of the work placement will be provided by the Course Organiser.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the programme, you will have a firm grasp of:

the extensive range of media forms and technologies, from manuscript to electronic text
the issues surrounding conservation, cataloguing, digitisation, and the display and management of collections
advanced archival research methodologies in manuscript and print

Read less

The Publishing - Book, Magazine and Electronic program is one of the most prestigious programs of its kind in Canada. Through hands-on education, it prepares you for employment in a wide variety of areas in the publishing industry.

Established in 1974, this unique and award-winning Publishing program has earned several accolades for academic excellence and for the career success of its graduates.

In this School of Communications, Media, Arts and Design program, you learn to:
-Be an integral part of the team that helps to shape the evolution of Canada's cultural and literary landscape
-Publish e-books
-Help build the careers of the next generation of writers in the publishing industry
-Take part in publishing the bi-yearly On the Danforth magazine

Your experience in the Publishing program is rounded out by an industry field placement at a book or magazine publisher in Toronto. During this time, you acquire critical working experience, industry knowledge and professional relationships as you initiate your new career.

A career in book, magazine or online publishing promises a world of innovation, stories and culture that integrates your creative, marketing and business skills.

Career Opportunities

Companies that have hired program graduates include: Penguin, Random House Canada, Pearson Education, Toronto Life, Nelson Educational Publishing, Chatelaine, Canadian Living, Style at Home, Hockey News, Cycle magazine, Harper-Collins Canada, ECW, House of Anansi, Firefly Books, Outpost Magazine, Cottage Life, McClelland & Stewart, McGraw-Hill Ryerson and Profit.

Program Highlights
-The two-semester accelerated format covers all facets of the publishing process, including e-books and online magazines.
-You complete a six-week field placement in the industry.
-The graduate certificate that is earned reflects a high standard of learning.

Career Outlook
-Editorial assistant
-Marketing coordinator
-Social media assistant
-Web editor
-Web developer
-Sales coordinator
-Publicist
-Copy editor
-Design and layout artist
-Fact checker
-Digital marketer
-Advertising sales representative

Areas of Employment
-Trade and educational book publishing
-Consumer and business-to-business magazines
-Online publications

Read less

Design and carry out your own visual projects, exploring the relationships between word and image, as you prepare for a career as a visual artist in a growing creative industry.

Overview

Whatever your artistic background, our Master's course will develop your visual practice in areas that are important for illustrators and book artists, such as visual sequencing and visual text. It will challenge you to cross the divide between fine art and applied art found on many undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, making it a unique course for the UK.

Studying in our purpose-built studios at Cambridge School of Art, much of your work will be practice-based. You’ll propose and undertake self-directed projects, attending group critiques and tutorials that will help you develop your creative skills.

You'll also attend a series of integrated lectures and seminars. These serve two purposes. You’ll explore aspects of illustration and book art, such as the relationships between word and image, narratology and visual language. And you'll receive guidance on research methods and critical writing - which you'll put to immediate use on the course, as well as in your future career.

Throughout the course, you’ll collaborate and discuss your work with staff, visiting professionals and fellow students, giving you an invaluable opportunity to see how others respond to it. All of our teaching team are practising artists, so you’ll hear about the latest news and issues in the industry, and have access to sound careers advice.

Teaching times: 9am-5pm Tuesdays and Wednesdays (full-time); 9am-5pm Wednesdays in Year 1, Tuesdays in Year 2 (part-time).

Careers

Our course will prepare you for a career as a freelance illustrator or freelance book artist. In recent years these roles have been increasingly in demand thanks to the growth of interest in artists' books, graphic novels, self-publishing, e-books and an awareness of small, batch publishing. You’ll also gain skills that will be useful in many other fields, such as bookbinding or teaching. You might even find a way to combine it with your current career, as did Dr Katy Shorttle, whose artwork on health issues was recently featured by The Guardian (http://www.theguardian.com/healthcare-network/gallery/2015/sep/25/ebola-mumps-old-age-inspire-doctors-artwork-in-pictures).

Modules

Process and Practice as Research
Visual Text
Sequence and Series
Master's Dissertation Art and Design
Master's Project: Art and Design

Assessment

You’ll show your progress through your self-directed visual projects, which will include written project proposals, developmental and final visual work, and a reflective commentary. On the Master's Dissertation module, you’ll submit a 6,000-word essay. Finally, the Master's Project will allow you to build on all previous modules to design a visual project which shows mastery of your subject.

Specialist facilities

You’ll work in purpose-built art and design studios, with open access to our printmaking, bookbinding, letterpress and laser cutting facilities, and training from dedicated technicians. We also have many digital imaging resources that you’ll be able to use, including Macs, scanners, and A3/large-format printers, as well as photography darkrooms, animation and moving image studios and 3D workshops. Our University’s Media Services Unit stocks photographic and recording equipment that you can borrow.

Read less

About the course:
-Practical design for printed books and ebooks, delivered by practising designers through projects and assignments
-Theory and history, taught through a variety of lectures, seminars and workshops
-Access to the University’s special collections, ensuring a truly hands-on experience
-Close to resources, including historic libraries in Oxford and the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London

WHAT WILL YOU STUDY?

Sample modules:
-Book design: practice (design projects)
-Book design: core (seminars and essays)
-Dissertation

Please note that all modules are subject to change.

EMPLOYABILITY

Our graduates have an excellent employment record. Many take up positions in type design studios, with publishers and general design studios, and wayfinding and information design studios. Others develop their own businesses, or take up managerial roles in creative firms. Employers include Apple, Monotype, Microsoft Typography, Victoria & Albert Museum, Oxford University Press, Financial Times and Nokia.

Read less

Taught by practitioners with extensive experience in children’s books, graphic novels and illustrated stories and utilising an impressive list of specialists from all areas of publishing, the course is divided into three terms (if studied full time).

Each module is designed to be flexible, allowing you to bring your own specific interests to the course work while developing and expanding your visual language and understanding of the requirements and demands of successfully seeing through the activity of writing, illustrating and preparing a text for publication. Additional time will be spent looking at the available avenues and opportunities for publishing, including co-editions, book fairs (a dominant and crucial factor in successful publishing), self-publishing and the international publishing market.

Read less

This specialist creative writing MA course enlists the expertise of our team of writer-lecturers, five of whom are currently published in the field of children’s writing. It is supported by visiting speakers from the children’s publishing world, including agents, editors, publishers and authors.

Leading Children's Literary Agent Jodie Marsh (United Agents) offers an annual prize for the 'most promising writer for young people'. We have an excellent track record of graduates achieving publication. Novels by Gill Lewis, Sam Gayton, Elen Caldecott, Jim Carrington, Alex Diaz, Marie-Louise Jensen, Sally Nicholls, Maudie Smith, Che Golden, C.J. Skuse and Sarah Hammond and picture books by Karen Hughes have all been published in the last five years. Ways to Live Forever by Sally Nicholls won the Waterstones Children's Book of the Year Award and the Glen Dimplex New Writers Award 2008. Marie-Louise Jensen and Elen Caldecott were both shortlisted for the 2009 Waterstones Prize, and Elen was longlisted for the Carnegie award for How Kirsty Jenkins Stole the Elephant.

COURSE STRUCTURE AND CONTENT

The course is for writers for children of all ages, from the picture-book age through to adolescent and ‘crossover’ writing which aims at markets among adults as well as young people. Though prose fiction is likely to be the main area studied, students will have the chance to look at writing in all forms, including poetry, picture book texts and non-fiction.

The course supports students to create a significant body of writing, with practical plans for its place in the real world of publishing. It is based on the principle that most writers learn and benefit from working closely with their fellow writers, in a disciplined supportive setting, and with tutors who are practising and published writers in their field.

MODULES

Writing Workshops - In the first semester’s writing workshop you will explore a variety of formats and approaches, gaining a sense of the different age- ranges and forms. This is also an introduction to the writing workshop experience which is the heart of the course. In the second semester’s workshop you will be asked to choose your area of writing, and use the workshop’s feedback and encouragement to explore it in more depth. Full-time students take one writing workshop in Semester One and one in Semester Two. Part-time students take one workshop each year.

Context Modules - Each full-time student takes one of these in the first semester and one in the second semester. The first semester’s context module, Writing for Young People: Forms, Ages and Stages, is concerned with the writer’s relationship with their audience, a sense of the history of and issues raised by children’s writing. The second semester’s module looks at Contemporary Children’s Publishing, and aims to give a realistic grasp of the choices open to new writers in the field. Part-time students take one of these context modules in each year of study.

Manuscript - This is the development of a manuscript as near to publishable quality as possible. It is supported by tutorials with a manuscript supervisor. It may be a novel, a book of stories, a collection of poems or picture book texts.

TEACHING METHODS AND RESOURCES

The course is modular and offered for full and part-time study. Part-time students take the same course over a two-year period, taking one module each semester. Students complete four taught modules (two writing workshops and two context modules) plus a manuscript (double module).

Modules are normally taught via tutor-led writing workshops, organised in 11 weekly three-hour sessions on the Corsham Court campus. The manuscript is taught via one-to-one tutorials, working with a tutor with particular knowledge of your field of work. Throughout the course, there will be special events to bring in writers to discuss their work, plus literary agents and editors with practical advice on the publishing process. Our current writer in residence is Marcus Sedgwick.

TUTORS

This course is taught by publishing writers and depending on timetables will include:

• Julia Green: her novels for young adults include Blue Moon, Baby Blue and Hunter’s Heart (Puffin), Breathing Underwater, Drawing with Light and Bringing the Summer (Bloomsbury)and her most recent novel for younger children is Tilly’s Moonlight Fox (Oxford University Press).
• Steve May: author of Dazzer Plays On and One Chance (Egmont).
• Jonathan Neale: his novels for children are Lost at Sea and Himalaya.
• Mimi Thebo: author of Wipe Out, Hit the Road Jack, Get Real (Harper Collins); Drawing Together (Walker).
• Steve Voake: his novels include The Dreamwalker’s Child, The Web of Fire, The Starlight Conspiracy, Blood Hunters, Fightback and Dark Woods (Faber & Faber), plus his Daisy Dawson and Hooey Higgins series for younger readers (Walker Books).
• Children’s publishing industry specialists John Mclay and Janine Amos

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The assessed coursework for each Writing Workshop is a folder of creative writing. For the first Context Module the coursework is an essay of approximately 2,500 words and a folder of creative responses. The second context module is assessed by a portfolio of writing tasks connected to the children’s publishing industry, including two book proposals. The manuscript is 35,000-40,000 words, or the equivalent in poetry or picture book texts.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Most of our students want a career as a published children’s author, and many have gone on to achieve this. Others have found work in the children’s publishing industry, or in libraries, bookshops and teaching or other work with young people.

Read less

The course provides an excellent overview of every aspect of publishing. It combines relevant theory with practice and, by equipping you with appropriate knowledge and skills, will enhance your employment prospects in publishing and related work.

The MA in International Publishing is a good choice for students who may already be working in publishing but want to increase their knowledge of international publishing management and issues related to publishing in a global environment. Students focus on international issues in their major project or dissertation.

It is one of a number of courses run by the Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies which enjoy a high international standing in the publishing world. We have close links with publishing companies in Oxford and London, and staff have extensive experience in national and international publishing roles.

See the website http://www.brookes.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/international-publishing/

Why choose this course?

If you choose to study at Oxford Brookes you will enjoy:
- Excellent employment prospects

- Extensive industry links and networking

- A great location in Oxford, which is a global publishing centre

- Unrivalled access to work experience and International internships

- Specialist careers advice including our Working in Publishing Day

- A large faculty with a variety of research interests and extensive industry expertise

- Comprehensive coverage of publishing, from mass market books to magazines

- Access to a wide range of visiting speakers from the publishing industry who regularly contribute to the programmes

- A variety of awards to suit your needs and career aspirations

- Access to unique research resources and specialist publishing collections; The Book Prize Archive; André Deutsch Collection, African Publishing Collection; the Bodleian Library

- The opportunity to visit international book fairs including Frankfurt and Bologna

- An industry advisory board with representatives from major publishers such as Bloomsbury, Faber, HarperCollins, Hodder and Random House

- Links with publishing organizations such as the Independent Publishers Guild, OPuS (Oxford Publishing Society) and the Society of Young Publishers – regular events are held at Oxford Brookes

- An extensive network of alumni throughout the world

- The opportunity to attend an international Summer School in Florence with students from Slovenia, Germany, Italy and France.

Teaching and learning

Some of the key teaching methods we use are:
- lectures that provide you with foundation knowledge and a framework for study that will enable you to achieve the module's learning outcomes

- seminars and workshops that encourage you to engage in discussion with tutors and peers to test your understanding and ability to apply ideas, to develop your transferable skills, and to encourage deeper learning

- computer workshops to give you the opportunity to test, clarify, and apply your IT skills

- field trips to book fairs and to the industry, for example, printers, publishers, retailers, so that you can observe at first hand aspects of the industry taught in lectures and workshops

- work experience and internship opportunities across a broad range of departments and market sectors

- group work role play simulating new product development in a real-life publishing context

- individual supervision in support of self-directed outcomes for the dissertation or major project

- use of resource-based learning materials and virtual learning environment to support student learning through computer-aided assessment and computer-aided learning.

Assessment is primarily by coursework. A limited number of class tests assess your skills in applying marketing terms and in proofreading.

Specialist facilities

Facilities available to publishing students include a purpose-built IT suite with an interactive whiteboard and sound and video projection. All students have the opportunity to learn and use professional software such as Adobe Creative Suite which includes InDesign, Acrobat, Photoshop and other software used for digital production. These technologies are taught in workshops and assessment for some modules involves producing course work using these programmes.

The library carries a comprehensive and up-to-date collection of books, journals and electronic resources relating to publishing. Students have access to many databases including Book Facts Online, the Bookseller, Business Source Complete, Fame, Global Publishing Information Reports, Logos, Mintel, Nielsen Bookscan, and Pirabase.

The library also includes a number of special collections of relevance to publishing students and researchers such as The Booker Prize Archive, André Deutsch Collection, Publishing in Africa Collection and the Book Design Collection.

How this course helps you develop

In addition to the and knowledge of contemporary publishing strategies and issues provided through the formal teaching in the compulsory and optional modules, you will develop a professional network which will enable you to navigate effectively through this international industry. You will gain skills in team working, digital and financial literacy, marketing and sales that combined with an innovative approach to contemporary media issues will enable you to start or to enhance your career in publishing.

Careers

The Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies (within the School of Arts) at Oxford Brookes offers the largest range of postgraduate courses in publishing in Europe. We offer full-time and part-time courses. Our programmes in Publishing provide you with the skills, knowledge and networks to kickstart your career in publishing, or to improve your current position.

Our publishing courses attract graduates from a wide range of disciplines who are seeking entry with advanced standing into the publishing industry. We also attract people wishing to update and enhance their knowledge of publishing practice and people working in publishing who are seeking, for the purpose of career advancement, knowledge outside their own specialist field.

Candidates from around the world enrol on the course to learn about publishing within the context of a global industry - in the past three years we have had postgraduate students from over 30 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North and South America.

Students leave the course with a broad understanding of the key issues facing the publishing industry in the 21st century. Graduates who have completed publishing courses at Oxford Brookes have been exceptionally successful in obtaining employment soon after graduation and have a strong record of career progression.

Our graduates have established an enviable reputation in the publishing industry and they are extremely successful in obtaining good jobs fast. Evidence from our alumni suggests that they are able to enter the industry at a higher level than would otherwise have been possible. The Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies has its own vacancy list of jobs in publishing and runs an annual Working in Publishing Day.

Research highlights

The Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies is one of the leading centres for publishing education in the world. Our staff and students contribute to a vibrant research environment that is interdisciplinary in emphasis and international in scope. We focus on areas such as book consumption and the life cycle of books, book trade and publishing history (especially 18th-21st centuries), museum publishing, serials publications, pedagogy and publishing education, and the future of the industry. Members of staff have published award-winning monographs, key pedagogical textbooks, and a range of scholarly articles and edited collections.

Students pursuing doctoral studies with us are investigating such topics as girl’s magazines in the cultural and consumer marketplace, the future of university libraries, German publishing in the First World War, and marketing strategies for children’s literature in the Middle East. We also supervise students for the PhD by Publication. Most of our research students are based in Oxford, but a number work on their studies from a distance with regular contact in person and by email.

Research is supported by the resources of Oxford Brookes Library –especially its Special Collections featuring the Booker Archive, the Publishing in Africa Collection, the Rainbird Archive, and the Peter Stockham Collection of Children’s Books—as well as by other local and regional archives and university libraries.

The Centre carries out independent research and training with the international publishing industry. Recent research and consultancy clients include the British Council, Hewlett Packard, the Society of Experimental Biology and Sports Books.

If you have a topic relating to publishing that you would like to study at doctoral level, please contact us with a preliminary synopsis.

Read less