Masters Degrees (Digital Art)

Immerse yourself in the world of emergent digital technologies. Integrating science, technology and art, we’ve created a multi-disciplinary, research-focused environment in which you can develop your own personal digital practice. From artists and designers to curators and musicians, our programme encourages critical discourse through the creative and innovative application of digital technologies.

Key features

-Break through the traditional boundaries of science, art and technology. Work in a cross-discipline environment and learn to implement pioneering digital technologies.
-Build a path to an exciting and dynamic career – our students have gone on to work as web designers, games developers, lecturers and digital consultants.
-Engage in a dynamic and integrated approach to teaching, designed to nurture creative communities and define new areas of innovation.
-Participate in international research collaborations though close relationships with the Centre for Media Art and Design Research (MADr) and the Institute of Digital Art and Technology (i-DAT). You’ll also benefit from strong links to all of their affiliated PhD programmes.
-Cultivate advanced digital skills through access to exclusive technological facilities including the Immersive Vison Theatre and IBM funded Smarter Planet lab.
-Join our network of award-winning graduates in the creative and technology sectors. Previous students such as Adam Montandon and Gianni Corino have gone on to win accolades from the Media Innovation Awards, Summit International Awards and Scrittura Mutante Awards.
-Study remotely, foster professional relationships and work alongside your studies through our flexible approach to learning. Modules are delivered via workshops and symposium sessions in digital media venues, supported by interactive online technologies.
-Establish and define your personal digital practice through your major project. Tailor your assessment to your own creative needs, by choosing from different proportions of practical and written work. Explore your individual interests with the support of two dedicated project supervisors.
-Choose to study digital art and technology as either a Master of Research (MRes) taught programme or Research Masters (ResM) research programme.

Course details

Benefit from both online and offline learning, giving you the flexibility to study remotely and maintain employment alongside your programme. Learn to embed theory in critical practice and prepare for your final project. Investigate virtual, networked and augmented environments in context and explore new digital architectures through diverse development tools and models. Full-time study allows you to take taught modules in parallel with your research project over one year. As a part-time student you’ll study the taught modules first, followed by the research project over a period of two years. Undertake a creative and experimental production accompanied by a dissertation or report as your final major project. Choose from different ratios of practical to written work and define your own digital practice, exploring your individual interests. You’ll also benefit from having two allocated project supervisors.

Core modules
-DAT701 Invisible Architecture
-DAT702 Synthesis
-DAT703 Project/Dissertation

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If you do not have the appropriate undergraduate preparation to embark on one of our MA courses, you may apply for our nine-month Graduate Diploma in Art History and Theory, which can constitute a qualifying year for the relevant MA course.

Our Graduate Diploma consists of eight modules at 3rd-year undergraduate level (up to two of these can be at 2nd-year level). You must complete the appropriate coursework and examinations, and can also write a project on a topic of your choice if this is agreed with your course director.

At Essex, you have the freedom to study what most interests you. Some of the topics you may choose to explore include the history of photography; modern and contemporary art; curatorial practice and exhibition design; as well as more vernacular forms of visual culture, such as body art and activist placards.

Regardless of the topics you pursue, we are committed to research-based teaching, with a particular emphasis on bringing the approaches of art history into contact with other disciplines and discourses. In so doing, we seek to facilitate a critical engagement with artworks and forms of visual culture, both within and beyond the traditional canons of art history.

On campus, the Essex Collection of Art from Latin America (ESCALA), Europe’s largest collection of contemporary art from Latin American, will provide an invaluable resource for studying art and curatorial practice first-hand.

One of the major reasons for choosing Essex is the quality of the education you will receive. We are 6th in the UK for research excellence, with 89% of our work rated “world-leading” or “internationally excellent” (REF 2014). We also achieved an exceptional 95% student satisfaction in the 2016 National Student Survey.

Our expert staff

Essex Art History features a dynamic group of art historians who investigate the production and reception of images and built environments, across cultures and media from the early modern period to the present. Our staff are experts on topics as diverse as activist art, 19th-century medical photography, the art of Latin America, urbanism, exhibition design and body art.

We also have significant experience in curation and public engagement. Recent projects include:
-Dr Gavin Grindon curated a section of Banksy’s Dismaland show and co-curated the Disobedient Objects exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, which was one of the most well attended shows in the museum’s history.
-Dr Matt Lodder has acted as contributor for various television shows on body art and body modification, including the Today programme, the Jeremy Vine Show, Sky News, BBC Breakfast News, ‘Coast’, and National Geographic’s ‘Taboo’.
-Dr Natasha Ruiz Gómez co-organised a major conference on Collect, Exchange, Display: Artistic Practice and the Medical Museum at the Hunterian Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, London.

Specialist facilities

At Essex, you have the best of both worlds: on the one hand, you are part of a tight-knit, campus community with close ties to several small but excellent museums in the nearby town of Colchester; on the other hand, you can travel from campus to London in an hour, which puts the world’s best museums and galleries at your fingertips.

Our facilities enable you to gain curatorial experience and engage in object-based learning, a cornerstone of our approach when teaching the history of art and its modes of display:
-Our Essex Collection of Art from Latin America (ESCALA) is the most comprehensive Latin American art research resource in the UK and has a state-of-the-art teaching and research space. Many of our students gain work and research experience through our collection
-Our onsite gallery Art Exchange runs an on-going programme of contemporary art exhibitions, talks and workshops by curators and artists, as well as exhibitions organised by our postgraduate curatorial students
-Enjoy regular visits to London galleries, including Tate Modern, Tate Britain, the National Gallery and the Royal Academy of Arts, as well as many independent and alternative spaces
-Colchester’s iconic Firstsite gallery features an exciting programme of contemporary art exhibitions, film screenings and talks, and exhibitions organised by our students

Your future

The visual arts and culture industries have become an increasingly significant part of the national and international economy, and art history graduates leave Essex with the skills to take advantage of this growing opportunity.

Graduates from our programmes are ideally prepared for roles in the media, in advertising, in museums and galleries, in education (in schools, universities, and cultural institutions), as conservators, as auctioneers, dealers and antiques specialists, in charities, in publishing, as specialist arts lawyers, as PR agents, in fashion, or to run their own galleries.

Our recent graduates have gone on to work in a wide range of roles including:
-A member of the valuation team at Sotheby’s (New York)
-Head of Learning at firstsite (a contemporary arts centre in Colchester)
-Visual Merchandising Manager at John Lewis (Oxford Street, London)

We also offer research supervision for students who wish to continue their studies with a PhD or an MPhil. We cover the major areas of European art, architecture and visual culture from 1300 to the present, as well as the art and architecture of Latin America.

We work with our university’s Employability and Careers Centre to help you find out about further work experience, internships, placements, and voluntary opportunities.

Example structure

Postgraduate study is the chance to take your education to the next level. The combination of compulsory and optional modules means our courses help you develop extensive knowledge in your chosen discipline, whilst providing plenty of freedom to pursue your own interests. Our research-led teaching is continually evolving to address the latest challenges and breakthroughs in the field, therefore to ensure your course is as relevant and up-to-date as possible your core module structure may be subject to change.

Graduate Diploma - Art History and Theory
-Art & Ideas III (optional)
-Curatorial Project
-Art, the Law and the Market (optional)
-Contemporary Art: 1980 to the Present (optional)
-Dissertation - Final Year Art History and Theory (optional)
-Final Year Dissertation Project (optional)
-Inventing the Future: Early Contemporary 1945-1980 (optional)
-Photography in History (optional)
-Reworking the Past (optional)
-Study Trip Abroad (Final Year) (optional)
-Study Trip Abroad (Year 2) (optional)
-Art and Power (optional)
-The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction: Film, New Media, Software and the Internet (optional)
-Visualising Bodies (optional)
-Picturing the City I (optional)
-After Impressionism: European Art From Van Gogh to Klimt (optional)
-Becoming Modern: European Art From Futurism to Surrealism (optional)
-Art in Latin America (optional)
-Art and Ideas II: More Art, More Ideas - Critique and Historiography in the History of Art (optional)
-Collect, Curate, Display (optional)
-Picturing the City II (optional)

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The MA in Digital Media is unique in its combination of practical and theoretical approaches to contemporary media and technology- http://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/ma-digital-media-technology-cultural-form/

The established and exciting degree is designed to help you understand digital transformations in media, culture and society and apply this understanding in practice, in the media and creative industries and in further research. You will be equipped with skills that can be applied to current and future developments in digital media, social media, computing and other aspects of technology.

The MA in Digital Media educates aspiring media practitioners and academics as well as early and mid-career professionals who seek to reflect on their roles in a structured and stimulating learning environment designed to give all students up-to-the-minute knowledge of digital media and the skills to apply that knowledge to future developments.

The MA offers two pathways:

-Pathway 1 is a theory programme where you learn about developments in digital media and technology from a wide range of perspectives

-Pathway 2 is a theory and practice programme where you improve your skills, understanding and experience in one of the following areas:

Documentary
Image making
Journalism
Writing

Acclaimed academics and practitioners

Benefit from the experience and expertise of one of the world’s leading media and communications departments. You'll be taught by theorists and practitioners of international standing: Sarah Kember, Joanna Zylinska, Graham Young, Tony Dowmunt, Angela Phillips, Julian Henriques and David Morley.

Work placements and internships

The MA in Digital Media regularly attracts offers of work placements and internships. Recently these have come from Google, The Science Museum and N1creative.com.

Facilities

Our students have access to state-of-the-art facilities including well-equipped lecture and seminar rooms, exhibition spaces, computer facilities and digital media suites.

The department is also currently host to the renowned philosopher of media and technology, Bernard Stiegler and students will have access to his modulein Media Philosophy as well as priority access to the innovative and popular option After New Media. Designed to complement the MA in Digital Media, this course provides a framework for thinking about the current media environment as well as future forms of human and computer interaction.

An established record

The MA in Digital Media has been redefining media theory and practice since 2004. Our students become proficient in:

the history, sociology and philosophy of digital media
the application of critical conceptual skills to specialist areas and future forms of media
multimedia skills in image making (photography, video, animation, graphic art) script writing, journalism and documentary
MA Digital Media students have access the pioneering option ‘After New Media’, a non-assessed online module which explores the themes of self mediation, ethical mediation and intelligent mediation, and develops a framework for thinking about 'life' after new media. As befits a course of this kind we will be combining media, and exploring their pedagogic potential – uniting digital-online technologies with more traditional teaching formats, such as reading groups, seminars and an end of year symposium.

Contact the department

If you have specific questions about the degree, contact Dr Sarah Kember.

Modules & Structure

The programme consists of:

Two compulsory core modules
Pathway 1 - between two and four option modules (worth 60 credits) OR
Pathway 2 - a two-term practice block (worth 30 credits) and either one or two option modules (worth 30 credits)
The dissertation or the practice/theory project

Assessment

Seen take-home paper; essays; dissertation or practice/theory project and other production work in the area of documentary, image-making, journalism or fiction.

Programme overview

This is an exciting programme which offers a critical, contextual and practical approach to digital media and technology. It problematises approaches to the 'new' media in academic and professional debate, especially those which overemphasise the potential for radical social change led by a homogenised technology itself.

The programme is defined by its resistance to technological determinism and its insistence on the importance of addressing the social and historical contexts within which a range of media technologies are employed. In order to provide a contextual framework and facilitate the conceptualisation of digital media and technologies as fully cultural forms and processes, the programme will draw on a range of disciplines including: media and cultural studies, sociology, anthropology and philosophy. However, the programme will remain focused on key contemporary concerns about the potential role of digital media in society and on refiguring the contours of the 'new' media debate.

The programme offers two pathways. Pathway 1 addresses central theoretical and conceptual concerns relating to digital media. Pathway 2 combines theoretical analysis and practical work, offering students the opportunity to explore new media theories and concepts in practice. Pathway 2 is primarily aimed at students who already have some experience in one of the areas on offer: documentary; digital photography and image making; journalism; writing. It is meant to appeal to media industry professionals who are keen to reflect critically on their practice within a structured learning environment, graduates of practice-based courses but also those who have gained their practical experience in documentary; digital photography and image making; journalism or writing in informal settings.

Programme structure

The first compulsory core course is Digital Media - critical perspectives and this is taught in a small workshop format in the Autumn term. This course functions as a foundation for the second core course and offers students a map of the key debates in digital media. The course is taught in ten two hour workshop sessions and is supported by the provision of one-to-one tutorials.

The second compulsory core course is Technology and Cultural Form - debates, models, dialogues and this develops questions of technology, power, politics and subjectivity which were introduced in the first core course. The first part of this course highlights the key conceptual concerns of a contextualised approach to digital media plus the relevant debates and models formulated by key figures in the field. The second part of this course aims to generate a dialogue between theoreticians and practitioners around some of the most intellectually stimulating, contentious and contemporary ideas in the field without necessarily seeking a resolution. This course is taught in ten two hour workshop sessions during the Spring term and is supported by the weekly provision of one-to-one tutorials.

Students are required to take options from the lists provided by the Media and Communications, Anthropology, Comparative Literature and Sociology Departments as well as the Centre for Cultural Studies. Examples might include: After New Media, Nature and Culture, Cultural Theory, Globalisation, Risk and Control, Embodiment and Experience, Political Communications. Options are taught primarily through lectures and seminars and take place in the Autumn or Spring terms.

Each student's option profile is discussed with the programme convenor in order to ensure that the balance of subject-specific topics is appropriate for the individual concerned. Option courses are taught primarily through lectures, seminars and tutorials and take place in the Autumn or Spring terms.

All students are required to produce either a 12,000 word dissertation on a topic agreed by the student and supervisor or a practice/theory project in the area of documentary, photography and image making, journalism or fiction. The length of the practical element is dependent on the media and the form used and will be agreed in advance with the supervisor. It will, however, be comparable with practical projects undertaken in practice MA programmes in the relevant field. Students undertaking the practice/theory project will also be expected to submit a 3-4000 word analysis of their practice which locates it within the theoretical debates explored in the MA as a whole. This essay may be presented as a separate document or as an integral part of the project depending on the nature of the project and by a agreement with both theory and practice supervisors.

Programme outcomes

The programme's subject specific learning outcomes require students to analyse and contextualise developments in digital media and technology with reference to key debates in the history, sociology, anthropology and philosophy of the media. Students who opt for the practice/theory pathway will also be required to produce material of publishable or broadcast standard and to evaluate the ways in which theoretical and practical insights intersect. All students will develop a wide range of transferable qualities and skills necessary for employment in related or unrelated areas. These are described by the Quality Assurance Agency as: 'the exercise of initiative and personal responsibility, decision-making in complex and unpredictable situations, and the independent learning ability required for continuing professional development'.

By the end of the programme students will be able to:

-Map and critically evaluate key debates in the field of new media
-Analyse and contextualise current and future developments in digital media and technology
-Evaluate and articulate key historical, sociological, anthropological and philosophical approaches to the study of digital media and technology
-Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of at least four differing areas of inquiry
-Demonstrate an advanced level of conceptual knowledge and (where relevant) practical skill appropriate for a sustained piece of work in the field
-Prepare and deliver clearly argued and informed work
-Locate, retrieve and present relevant information for a specific project
-Manage a complex array of competing demands and work effectively to a deadline
-Work resourcefully and independently
-Think critically and/or work practically within a given context

Skills

We provide graduates with skills that are cutting edge: in the critical analysis and/or creative production of digital media; in the disciplinary knowledge and conceptual frameworks necessary for current and future forms of media and technology; in the awareness of how digital media and technologies are re-shaping society from the ways we communicate (through social media and web 2.0) to the increasingly ‘smart’ environments in which we live.

Careers

Our programme provides a theory and practice pathway and prepares students for work in the following areas:

-media and creative industries; advertising, marketing and PR (graduates of the MA Digital Media have found work with Virgin Media, Google, the BBC and other leading organisations worldwide)
-research and academia (graduates from this programme have gone on to study for PhD degrees in higher education institutions around the world and also here with us)
-media production and new media art (graduates have exhibited, published and produced work in photography, journalism, TV, documentary, film and multimedia)

Graduate Ekaterina discusses her career:

"I work for a company, called Visual DNA, which already sounds like life happening After New Media. The company is the largest data provider in Europe and is totally multinational. We actually try to analyse human visual DNA, you memories, feelings, thoughts about the future, anticipations, etc by creating personality quizzes where instead of verbal answers we tend to use images.

My role is as Creative Developer. It involves working with images from concept to finding/shooting and post-production. My qualifications perfectly matched what they’ve been looking for, Digital Media rocks!

My tip for the new-to-be-graduates is this: physically go to places and companies and talk to people. It really opens up loads of possibilities, and when I tell someone where I’ve graduated from they look impressed, and there is some sort of respect coming from them."

Funding

Please visit http://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/fees-funding/ for details.

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Led by Dr Mel Jordan, Reader in Art & the Public Sphere, the Contemporary Art Practice programme has specialist pathway leaders in order to facilitate a distinct engagement with specific areas of contemporary art practice. The programme is delivered through four pathways: Critical Practice (led by Jeremy Millar), Moving Image (led by Jane Wilson), Performance (led by Professor Nigel Rolfe) and Public Sphere (led by Mel Jordan).

The Contemporary Art Practice programme enables us to incorporate practices that exceed the specificity of the well-established disciplines of Fine Art at the Royal College of Art. Contemporary Art Practice engages with contemporary modes of art production, dissemination and debate. It facilitates specialisation through its pathway structure enabling students to engage with a particular approach to developing their own art practice. The teaching methodology we employ is not technologically or materially determined however students are expected to utilise appropriate and specific means in which to manifest their ideas. Contemporary Art Practice students have access to all facilities within the School of Fine Art.

Critical theory has emerged as an essential intellectual framework for art criticism but what is its potential as a tool within the production of contemporary art? Studio-based and primarily focused on supporting the development of the artistic practice of its students, the Critical Practice pathway offers regular seminars exploring emerging ideas and bodies of theory as well as opportunities to work with organised forms of knowledge such as public archives and institutions.

Moving Image is aimed at artists using film and video, and practitioners working in the areas of documentary film, film and fiction cinema as well as practitioners who wish to draw upon, challenge and re-map established realms of Moving Image based practices. The diversity of approaches employed in the Moving Image pathway reflects the new reality of contemporary moving image.

Performance happens in the ‘here and now’ and not the ‘there and then’. Unlike many practices, where time is historic, and the image presented is necessarily an archive or record, ‘being and doing’ are more immediately significant in live time, and the expectation is that – in the contemporary – artists are often presenting work that is not made in advance but rather happening now!

Public Sphere is a major research area in the School, and the pathway supports expanded engagement with art and its publics as well as art’s social function. Social art practices have featured as a key force in the rise of the global biennale as well as being utilized by the Occupy Movement. Therefore questions about public space, participation, collaboration and collective action are becoming essential principles within the production of contemporary art both in terms of practice and theory.

Your application should be for MA Contemporary Art Practice and you will have to specify in which Pathway you wish to study: Critical Practice, Moving Image, Performance or Public Sphere. 

The programme offers:

•  specialisation through its pathway structure enabling students to engage with a particular approach to developing their own art practice through the pathways of Critical Practice, Moving Image, Performance and Public Sphere   
•  a commitment to developing and foregrounding the conceptual and social ideas in an individual students practice   
•  a teaching methodology which is not technologically or materially determined that encourages students to utilise appropriate and specific means for making contemporary fine art now   
• a teaching structure that incorporates content-led approaches to the teaching of Fine Art through lectures and seminars to enable students’ engagement with the histories, theories and expanded practices of Fine Art
• individual and group tutorial and cross school group crits, facilitated by leading practitioners and thinkers
• a critical discursive environment in which to discuss contemporary issues for thinking about, making and displaying contemporary fine art 
• a flexible studio space that can be utilised collectively or individually 
• access to a range of technical facilities across the school of Fine Art including the Moving Image Studio, traditional and digital printmaking, photography and wood and metal workshops 
• access to college-wide technical workshops
• an on-going programme of off-site events, exhibitions and commissions
• opportunities for teaching placements, exhibitions, overseas travel and international exchanges (including Paris and Kyoto)

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Over the past few years, career opportunities in the digital media sector have increased dramatically. The interactive media industry is reaching maturity and needs qualified professionals able to offer a diverse range of expertise. This course addresses those needs and is designed to provide you with skills in interactive media content creation, interactive design, digital media production,social media management, digital media project and account management. In the most recent (2014-15) Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey, 100% of graduates from this course were in work or further study within six months.

More about this course

This professionally-oriented course will appeal to graduates with an interest in digital media, experienced professionals from the design, media, public relations and marketing sector wishing to retrain for a career change or promotion, and those wishing to progress towards research and PhD studies. The Masters in Digital Media addresses issues in interactive design, interactive media, the internet and its applications, digital solutions for the industry and the public sector, usability design, effective digital media project management, digital audiences and audience research, social media management, digital media strategy, digital interactive television, mobile communications, and new media ownership. The course will provide skills in the relevant multimedia software.

You will learn how to:
-Assess and select the appropriate tools to produce a digital media project
-Produce digital media projects using the appropriate software applications
-Research and analyse the current issues and future developments in digital media, social media, media communications and e-solutions
-Manage digital media projects and production teams
-Produce digital media and social media strategies
-Appreciate the complexity of the international digital media and creative industries and communicate effectively in a media professional environment
-Apply research, design and management skills to the production of new media projects

Assessment methods include interactive projects, design portfolios, presentations, essays, examinations and reports.

Modular structure

The modules listed below are for the academic year 2016/17 and represent the course modules at this time. Modules and module details (including, but not limited to, location and time) are subject to change over time.

Year 1 modules include:
-Digital Media Project Management (core, 20 credits)
-Principles of Digital Media (core, 20 credits)
-Digital Media Dissertation (alternative core, 60 credits)
-Digital Project (alternative core, 60 credits)
-Accredited Work-Based Learning in the School of MCC (option, 20 credits)
-Advanced English for Masters Studies (option, 20 credits)
-Digital Media Strategy and Consultancy (option, 20 credits)
-Digital Storytelling (option, 20 credits)
-Digital Video Production (option, 20 credits)
-Globalisation (option, 20 credits)
-Interaction Design (option, 20 credits)
-Multimedia Journalism (option, 20 credits)
-Web Design (option, 20 credits)

After the course

The course is particularly suited to students looking to work in: web design; UX design, interactive media production; digital video production; new media project management and account handling; consultancy and policy advice in the area of digital media and communication technology; social media management; digital media strategy, training and research in related fields; electronic publishing; online journalism and broadcasting; administration, management and research in digital media, digital advertising and marketing and digital information industries.

Moving to one campus

Between 2016 and 2020 we're investing £125 million in the London Metropolitan University campus, moving all of our activity to our current Holloway campus in Islington, north London. This will mean the teaching location of some courses will change over time.

Whether you will be affected will depend on the duration of your course, when you start and your mode of study. The earliest moves affecting new students will be in September 2017. This may mean you begin your course at one location, but over the duration of the course you are relocated to one of our other campuses. Our intention is that no full-time student will change campus more than once during a course of typical duration.

All students will benefit from our move to one campus, which will allow us to develop state-of-the-art facilities, flexible teaching areas and stunning social spaces.

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This course is for you if you need to improve your English language skills and subject knowledge of art history before going on to a Masters course. You improve your language fluency and academic vocabulary, develop your academic skills, and gain experience of western methods of teaching and learning so that you can progress onto a relevant Masters course in our School of Philosophy and Art History.

At Essex, you can progress onto our MA Art History and Theory, MA Curating Contemporary Art, MA Gallery Studies and Critical Curating, or MA Gallery Studies with Dissertation.

Our International Academy offers some of the best routes for international students to enter higher education in the UK. Our innovative courses and programmes have proved very successful with international students and have also attracted UK students because of the distinctive learning environment we offer.

If you are an international student, you may find that the education system in the UK is slightly different from other countries and, sometimes, that the transition to the British system can be challenging. Our courses help you to settle in and adapt to life in the UK.

Alongside improving your academic English skills, you also study two important areas of art history, focusing on a combination of Italian Renaissance art, modern European art, and contemporary art.

Our School of Philosophy and Art History is ranked 6th among art history departments in the UK for research excellence (REF 2014) - ahead of all but three of the Russell Group - with 89% rated as ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. As such, you will be taught by some of the most innovative scholars in the field. Additionally, because we are a small school, you will be taught by our expert staff in your very first year, a rarity in UK art history courses.

Our expert staff

We are a dynamic group of art historians who investigate the production and reception of images and the built environment, across cultures and media, from the early modern period to the present day.

Our staff’s research interests include activist art, modernist art and totalitarianism, art and science, the artistic status of body modification, expressions of societal anxiety in art, as well as architecture and urbanism.

We also have significant experience in curation and public engagement. Recent projects include:
-Dr Gavin Grindo co-curated the Disobedient Objects exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, which was one of the most well attended shows in the museum’s history
-Dr Matt Lodder has acted as contributor for various television shows on body art and body modification, including the Today programme, the Jeremy Vine Show, Sky News, BBC Breakfast News, ‘Coast’, and National Geographic’s ‘Taboo’
-Dr Natasha Ruiz Gómez co-organised a major conference on Collect, Exchange, Display: Artistic Practice and the Medical Museum at the Hunterian Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, London

Specialist facilities

By studying within our International Academy, you will have access to all of the facilities that the University of Essex has to offer:
-We provide computer labs for internet research; classrooms with access to PowerPoint facilities for student presentations; AV facilities for teaching and access to web-based learning materials
-Our new Student Services Hub will support you and provide information for all your needs as a student
-Our social space is stocked with hot magazines and newspapers, and provides an informal setting to meet with your lecturers, tutors and friends

Our outstanding art history facilities give you the opportunity for object-based learning, which is rare in other universities, and also e-nable you to gain curatorial experience:
-Our Essex Collection of Art from Latin America (ESCALA) is the most comprehensive Latin American art research resource in the UK and has a state-of-the-art teaching and research space. Many of our students gain work and research experience through our collection
-Our onsite gallery Art Exchange runs an ongoing programme of contemporary art exhibitions, talks by curators and artists, and exhibitions organised by our curatorial students
-Enjoy regular visits to London galleries, including Tate Modern, Tate Britain, the National Gallery and the Royal Academy of Arts, as well as many independent and alternative spaces
-Access our lively common room and departmental film collection
-Colchester’s iconic Firstsite gallery runs an exciting programme of art exhibitions, film screenings and talks

Example structure

Postgraduate study is the chance to take your education to the next level. The combination of compulsory and optional modules means our courses help you develop extensive knowledge in your chosen discipline, whilst providing plenty of freedom to pursue your own interests. Our research-led teaching is continually evolving to address the latest challenges and breakthroughs in the field, therefore to ensure your course is as relevant and up-to-date as possible your core module structure may be subject to change.

Art History with English for Academic Purposes - Graduate Diploma
-English for Academic Purposes
-Advanced English for Academic Purposes
-Critical Reading and Seminar Skills
-Extended English for Academic Purposes Project
-Photography in History (optional)
-The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction: Film, New Media, Software and the Internet (optional)
-Art & Ideas III (optional)
-Art, the Law and the Market (optional)
-Reworking the Past (optional)
-Visualising Bodies (optional)
-Inventing the Future: Early Contemporary 1945-1980 (optional)

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Our CIM-accredited Marketing (Digital Marketing) MSc is designed for those seeking to develop their knowledge of digital marketing and e-commerce at an advanced level, preparing you for a career in marketing, advertising or social media.

On the course, you will:

• Develop the skills and knowledge necessary to manage digital marketing campaigns within a modern marketing communications mix
• Examine the range of digital marketing channels and contextualise emerging digital marketing opportunities
• Hear guest speakers from the digital marketing industry discuss best practice in email, mobile, social media, SEO and digital strategy.

Scholarships

Scholarships are available for this course. Please click the link below for more information.
https://www.brighton.ac.uk/studying-here/fees-and-finance/postgraduate/index.aspx

Course structure

The course is organised into three-hour blocks of teaching and seminar activities, which are based on specialist reading, research and case studies. Modules are assessed through essays, reports, group work, presentations and examinations.

All of our Marketing MSc courses share six core modules. This specialist route includes one subject-specific module (Digital Marketing), but also shares a range of optional modules which enable you to tailor the course to your own interests and career aspirations.

In the final phase of the course, you will complete a 15,000-word dissertation on a marketing topic of your choice, which will require you to make recommendations for real-life marketing practice. Throughout your dissertation, you will receive support from a supervisor who will help to guide you in your research.

Syllabus

You will learn through a combination of structured teaching and independent study and research. Modules will be assessed with a mixture of essays, reports, group work, presentations and examinations.

Students select six core modules and select one optional module.

Modules:

Moving to Masters
Critical Developments in Marketing Theory and Practice
Marketing Planning and Strategy
Marketing Research I: quantitative methods
Marketing Research II: qualitative methods
Digital Marketing
Dissertation

One from:

International Marketing
Social Marketing
Behavioural Economics
Branding and Communications
New Product Development

Please see the website for more information:

https://www.brighton.ac.uk/courses/study/marketing-digital-marketing-msc-pgcert-pgdip.aspx

CIM

This course is accredited by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), the world's largest organisation for professional marketers. The CIM have awarded the course Multiple Award Pathway status, which means that you will have a number of exemptions from CIM qualifications.

CIM qualifications are highly sought after by employers and – alongside our Marketing MSc – will ensure that you are equipped with the best education for a successful marketing career.

CIM membership:

You will be entitled to free CIM affiliate-level membership, giving you access to a range of benefits and services. CIM membership is a clear demonstration of your commitment to ongoing professional development.

Membership benefits include:

•The Marketer – the members' magazine
•Studying Member e-news
•Learning Zone website – study resources
•Marketing library and online archive resources

Professional Certificate in Marketing

The course consists of four units, two of which will be exempted:

• Marketing Essentials (exempt)
• Marketing Information and Research (exempt)
• Assessing the Marketing Environment
• Stakeholder Marketing

Professional Diploma in Marketing

The course consists of four units, two of which will be exempted:

• Marketing Planning Process (exempt)
• Delivering Customer Value through Marketing (exempt)
• Managing Marketing
• Project Management in Marketing

Diploma in Digital Marketing

This course consists of three units, one of which will be exempted:

• Marketing and Consumer Behaviour (exempt)
• Digital Marketing Essentials
• Digital Marketing Planning

Brighton's digital industry

Home to over 1,000 companies in the digital sector, Brighton is one of the UK's leading centres of creative media technology and the council have recently invested £10million in a state-of-the-art digital hub.

Brighton Digital Festival is a month-long celebration of digital culture and runs throughout September of every year. In 2013, the festival drew 41,000 people to 175 events that included coding workshops, motion capture performances and 3D printing installations.

WiredSussex are a locally based membership organisation for companies and individuals working in the digital sector. They offer internship services and a doorway to job opportunities across the city.

International Study Exchange

Through our partnership with MIP Politecnico di Milano Graduate School of Business you have the opportunity to gain an international perspective to your studies. On our study exchange programme you would join MIP’s International Master in Multichannel Marketing Management course, which is taught in English.

You will be able to choose from a range of modules including Design & Marketing: the Italian way in different sectors including for example Design, Fashion and Furniture, Automotive, Wine and Sports Marketing.

Teaching excellence

Most of our tutors worked in industry before joining the university and continue to consult for corporate firms, which allows them to integrate the latest commercial developments into our courses. They are also active researchers at the forefront of marketing theory.

Industry representatives advise on the content and development of our courses and contribute to teaching as guest lecturers. Their talks help to bring classroom theory to life by sharing real-world case studies, results and pitfalls.

You will learn transferable skills in research, presentations, group work and conflict resolution, all of which are highly sought after in today's highly competitive job market.

Class sizes are small enough for there to be a personal and friendly atmosphere where staff know students by name and can closely monitor their progress.

Careers and employability

Digital media and marketing has grown into a multi-billion pound industry. As demand for digital marketing has grown, so has the number of specialist digital jobs in companies and agencies.

This course is ideal for potential marketing professionals and digital marketing specialists.

Graduates are likely to be able to choose from a wide variety of marketing careers, from those traditionally associated with marketing (such as advertising, direct marketing, event management, market research, public relations and sales) to specialist digital marketing roles such as:

• Analytics Manager
• CRM (Customer Relationship Marketing) and email marketing Manager
• Digital Agency Account Manager and Sales Director
• Copywriter
• Digital Marketing Manager and Web Manager
• Ecommerce Manager
• PPC (Pay Per Click) Search Manager
• Search Manager / SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) Manager
• Social Media Manager or Community Manager
• Web Developer and Web Designer

Entrepreneurship network:

Beepurple is the university’s entrepreneurship support network. They offer free support any student or graduate with their business ideas, freelance plan or social enterprise project.

Beepurple run events throughout the throughout the academic year, designed to equip you with key skills that will improve your employability and help you grow a successful business. By taking part in their activities and events, you will meet like-minded people, hear how other graduates set up their own businesses and gain key enterprise skills that will help you stand out from the crowd.

For more information visit http://www.beepurple.co.uk

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A pathway degree combines specialisation with flexibility. It is suited both to those of you who are beginning a journey towards a PhD in a particular field, and to those of you who wish to further develop undergraduate or personal interests. The pathways have emerged from clusters of excellence and expertise in the Department and relate directly to our Research Schools of Architectural History and Theory, British Art, Medieval Art and Medievalisms, Modern and Contemporary and Sculpture Studies. We therefore have concentrations of staff working in these areas, and related lectures, colloquia and site visits taking place.

The Modern and Contemporary Art pathway

If you select the Modern and Contemporary Art pathway you could choose options focusing on a wide range of works ranging from painting, sculpture and architecture, to photography, installation, performance and contemporary works engaging with new media and the digital. You will study works of art from geographically diverse regions, from the international rise of ‘pop art’ across the globe from the 1960s, to the arts of the Americas, and art from west and east Europe from the early twentieth century to the present day. As well you will be introduced to a range of formal, methodological and theoretical ways of thinking, writing and talking about the work of art in this period.

In order to complete the degree, at least two of your four option modules and your dissertation must be completed in Modern and Contemporary Art. Beyond this, the programme structure provides the flexibility for you to either specialise entirely in Modern and Contemporary Art, or to select up to two of your option modules from art history modules outside the field, or from modules offered by other humanities departments and interdisciplinary centres. Training will be offered in both general and pathway-specific research skills, which will prepare you for the development of a sustained independent research project for your dissertation, on which you will work closely with an academic supervisor who is expert in the field.

Degree Structure

Taken full-time, the one-year MA in History of Art (Modern and Contemporary Art) consists of:
-Autumn and Spring Terms: A core module focusing on Research Skills and Methods in History of Art, including pathway-specific sessions.
-Autumn Term: Two taught modules of your choice; an option is always offered on historiographical and theoretical approaches to art history.
-Spring Term: Two further modules of your choice.
-Summer Term and vacation: A dissertation of 15,000-20,000 words.

Taken part-time over two years, you would do one option in each of the Autumn and Spring terms, and work on your dissertation during the Summer terms and summer vacation.

Each option is taught by weekly two-hour seminars and assessement is in the form of a 4,000 word essay. Field-trips to view art and architecture are included in the programme, as appropriate.

The Research Skills and Methods in History of Art module, which is taught on a fortnightly basis across the Autumn and Spring Term, culminates in the production of a dissertation synopsis, on which the module is assessed.

The programme culminates in the production of a 15,000-20,000 dissertation, produced under the supervision of a member of staff. The work accounts for 50% of the final degree mark.

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This MFA, described as one of the most influential MFA programmes in the world, subjects art-making to critical scrutiny. Artists on the programme strengthen the motivation, self-reflection and ambition of their practice and its leading ideas. http://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/mfa-fine-art/

While on the programme you will continually engage with what it means to practise as an artist today and the position taken by an art-practice in relation to art's complex history and its currency in wider social and cultural processes.

Given the wide international breadth of artists on the programme and the open range of media welcomed in it, a primary concern in discussion is how a particular artist's work and ideas are understood in and across different social, artistic and intellectual contexts.

Our primary emphasis is on how artists look to shift prevalent expectations and whether their work does so – perhaps then transforming what art might be. We place a strong emphasis on student-centred learning, particularly in the studio seminars and personal tutorials based on your art-making, its key concerns and ideas and their mutual interdevelopment. A lecture programme will in addition contribute to your understanding of concerns relating to contemporary art in broader contexts.

The degree has been described as one of the most influential MFA programmes in the world.

Visit us

Why not visit one of our Postgraduate Art Open Days? You can also explore our exhibitions and events archive.

You can also view our programme activities and projects on art.gold, follow staff, student and alumni activity on Facebook, and get course announcements on Twitter.

Guest Research Student

If you are an international student and would like to study a 'tailor-made' programme (for up to a year), you may be interested in applying as a Guest Research Student.

Contact the department

If you have specific questions about the degree, contact Sadie Murdoch.

Structure

The programme is divided into two parts:

Year One (Diploma stage) can be taken either full-time for one year (until late July) or part-time for two years (until late July in both years). This year seeks to establish the core conecerns and ambitions of your art.

Year Two (MFA stage) can be taken either full-time for one year (until late August) or part-time for two years (until late July, and then until late August in the final year). This stage of the programme enables you to address your ambitions for your art with an awareness of how it is situated.

Applicants who are already in possession of 120 grade credits for postgraduate study from another programme are able to apply for direct entry into Year Two of the programme on either a full or part-time basis. You may also take advantage of an exit point at the end of Year One of the programme and graduate with the Postgraduate Diploma in Fine Art.

What you study

This two-stage programme is designed to subject the making of art work, the ideas and concepts involved, and the works of art themselves, to artistic and critical scrutiny. This will include individually directed research to review, consolidate and strengthen your individual position as an artist. Students accepted onto the programme work in media areas including painting, sculpture, printmaking, installation, performance, art writing, textiles, digital media and video. The programme places a strong emphasis on student-centred learning – especially on your individual response to the divergent views you will experience in relation to your practice.

Among other qualities, you are expected to: contribute actively in tutorial and seminar discussions; to welcome and encourage sustained analysis of your practice by tutors and fellow students; to understand that the production of contemporary art takes place in a demanding and testing environment; and to take an independent path in developing your practice and its concerns.

Learning on the programme is primarily achieved through an appropriate combination of self-initiated and directed work in studio-practice and Critical Studies. Individual tutorials, seminars, lectures, workshops and research laboratories support this work. All parts of the programme are mandatory for all students. There are no optional modules on the programme. Modules and assessments are structured similarly on both parts of the programme.

Studio seminars

Seminars help you develop the confidence and ability to discuss your own work and the work of others, and to use the combined knowledge and experience of the group to assist in understanding and developing your own practice. This element of the programme is student-led with tutors responding to the needs and concerns of the participants. Studio seminars are organised by groups and take place weekly. Each student presents work for a seminar once in each term.

Tutorials and group tutorials

These develop your practice within contemporary art and current debate. You receive scheduled one-to-one tutorials with your Group Tutors and other staff from the study area. Two tutorials a term are scheduled with the core studio staff. In addition, you are expected to select a number of visiting tutors relevant to your practice for tutorials. These tutors are chosen in consultation with your Group Tutor, and cover a wide range of specialisms – discussion with them should further your understanding of your work in terms of the development of your practice. You are expected to write a report immediately after each tutorial summarising what took place and recording your considered responses to it.

Critical Studies

You are expected to identify and initiate the discussion of the critical concerns and interests of your practice. These concerns are developed through studio-based teaching and in discussions with your Critical Studies tutors, and developed further through the Critical Studies seminar and essay. For this reason, and in contrast to many other programmes, Critical Studies for the MFA Fine Art at Goldsmiths does not offer a series of subjects taught and learnt through seminars, group reading and discussion, but bases the teaching and learning of Critical Studies primarily in relation to your own practice.

Lectures

These introduce and develop issues of critical significance in contemporary culture and fine art by presenting arguments and discursive frameworks for contemporary practice. Lectures run through the first two terms on a weekly basis. They provide an opportunity for you to critically engage with your own practice in terms of wider cultural debates with which they may be unfamiliar. The lectures also provide an occasion for all members of the postgraduate programmes to meet on a regular basis.

Taught workshops

Each workshop will comprise four staff-led discussion-based sessions on a philosophical, theoretical or historical topic relevant to contemporary art practice, and will involve texts to be read in advance. Each student takes two workshops during the first year (students may apply to substitute part of this requirement with structured independent study).

Collaborative seminars

Student-led collaborative seminars, supported by staff and teaching assistants around a topic of mutual interest, are held during the second year. These will involve engagement with the professional art community, may take place outside the college in collaboration with other institutions such as museums and galleries, and may culminate in an open event or publication.

Assessment

The three examination elements for both Year One and Year Two are: Collection of Tutorial Reports, Exhibition, and Critical Studies Essay. All three elements must be passed to successfully complete each part of the programme. Each element of examination has both progression and final points of assessment.

Skills & Careers

Graduates from the MFA in Fine Art Goldsmiths go on to success in a range of fields. As well as the many internationally reknown artists who have studied at Goldsmiths, others have gone onto become gallerists or curators or have entered the fields of art administration, education and other cultural industries.

The course at Goldsmiths enables you to focus on the development of your own skills and aspirations and to equip you with the resources to succeed in your chosen profession.

Other entry requirements

Requirement for part-time study: you need to have your own studio space in which to work over the four years of the programme.

You might also be considered for some programmes if you aren’t a graduate or your degree is in an unrelated field, but have relevant experience and can show that you have the ability to work at postgraduate level.

Funding

Please visit http://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/fees-funding/ for details.

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The graduate program in Digital Futures responds to the increasingly important and sophisticated role of digital technology as a catalyst for change.

Digital Futures has an international student cohort and faculty. The program features collaborative overseas eGlobal courses with world-wide educational and industry partners. A global perspective is key to securing our graduates’ futures in the eclectic international creative digital industries, encompassing design, arts, creative services, entertainment, media and cultural industries. The Digital Futures program is offered in partnership with the Canadian Film Centre (CFC) Media Lab.

The Digital Futures student-centred learning approach applies to both research and practice. The curriculum ensures that you gain core digital knowledge and skills as you explore your specific areas of interest through electives, industry internships, residencies and independent study.

The program focuses on practice-based learning and prototyping, with an enterprise component and supporting thesis research. Industry partnerships help students to build a career runway in advance of graduating. You are encouraged to work with industry partners in internships which lead to mentorship for your thesis research.

WHO SHOULD APPLY?

You should have a background in design, technology, culture and/or enterprise as demonstrated by an undergraduate degree and relevant work experience. Our students are designers and artists, filmmakers, architects, journalists and media specialists, scientists, engineers and business people. This diversity drives peer learning and collaboration across disciplines in the program.

THE MASTER’S DEGREE IN DIGITAL FUTURES

The master's in Digital Futures is a two-year full-time program. In the program, you will develop practice-based and scholarly research in technologically advanced design, art and media through the following:

Critical thinking
Research and practice
Business and innovation studies
Computing and emerging digital methodologies

This is a full-time, 8-credit program comprising:

Foundational courses in computation, business creation, innovation and leadership
Core courses in digital methods, research, theory and practice
Intensive digital project and prototyping courses
Individual research and creation overseen by a principal advisor and supervisory committee
Summer internship and/or study abroad
Elective choices
Creative digital thesis project and supporting paper (MFA/MDes) or a written thesis and supporting creative project (MA)

Students declare their intention to pursue the Master of Design (MDes), Master of Fine Arts (MFA) or Master of Arts (MA) at the time of application. The outcomes of the chosen degree are distinctive. The MDes and MFA focus on practice-based research creation with a supporting thesis. The MA flips that focus, with an emphasis on a scholarly research thesis and a supporting creative project.

ELECTIVE CHOICES

New elective courses are continuously created in response to trends and emerging technologies. These cutting-edge courses cover theory and practice in design, art, media, technology and enterprise. Some examples include:

Body Centric Technologies
Dialogues in Feminism and Technology
Digital Games
Information Visualization
IP: Getting Value from Your Creativity
Web + Mobile System Design
Transmedia Storytelling
Ubiquitous Computing
Affect and Emotion in Practic
Making It Real
From Data to Perception
Special Topic: Family Camera at the ROM

WHERE MIGHT YOUR GRADUATE DEGREE IN THE DIGITAL FUTURES PROGRAM LEAD YOU?

As a Digital Futures graduate, you’ll be qualified to work in positions such as:

App, web, and games designers and developers
Digital project leaders
Cultural industry producers
Managers and coordinators between art and design departments and IT
Creators and developers of your own start-ups
Film, television and digital transmedia producers
Digital strategists and educators

Graduates of the Digital Futures program will be poised to play leadership roles in research and development in the media, arts, technology, entertainment and education sectors.

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Digital technologies are now ubiquitous in nearly every part of our lives, and today's students need to become proficient with digital technologies as research and communication tools. The Digital Anthropology MSc at UCL combines technical skill with anthropological research methodologies in order to train students for research and involvement in this emergent world.

Degree information

Students gain skills training in digital technologies, from internet and digital film editing to e-curation and digital ethnography; study the anthropological theories of virtualism, materiality/immateriality and social networks; and develop an understanding of the consequences of digital culture through the ethnographic study of its social and regional impact in a global and comparative context.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. The programme consists of one core module (45 credits), three optional modules (45 credits) and a research dissertation (90 credits).

Core modules
-Digital Anthropology and Digital Anthropology Practical

Optional modules
-The Anthropology of Art and Design
-Mass Consumption and Design
-The Anthropology of the Built Environment
-Advanced Topics in Digital Ethnography
-Documentary Film and the Anthropological Eye
-Practical Ethnographic and Documentary Filmmaking
-Digital Infrastructure: Materiality, Information and Politics
-Anthropology and Photography
-Social Construction of Landscape

Dissertation/report
All MSc students undertake an independent research project which culminates in a 15,000-word dissertation.

Teaching and learning
The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars, practicals and laboratory sessions. It includes a weekly seminar series, with invited international speakers. Assessment is through essays, methodology practicals, written examination and the substantial research dissertation.

Careers

In addition to its importance for careers such as in media, design and museums, digital technology is also integral to development, theoretical and applied anthropology. Companies and institutions collaborating with the MSc are: British Telecom, UCL Computer Sciences, UCL Information Studies, Microsoft Research Cambridge, Skype, Intel, the British Museum, NESTA, NOKIA, the Home Office and Inventi V.

The programme is also developing relationships with: Cultural Informatics Research Centre for the Arts and Humanities (CIRCAh), Slade Centre for Electronic Media in Fine Art, Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Centre for Museums, Heritage and Cultural Studies, UCL Interaction Centre, UCL Digital Humanities and UCL Urban Laboratory.

Top career destinations for this degree:
-Digital Strategist, Canopy Brand Group.
-Researcher, River Research
-Principal Lecturer and Course Director, University of the Arts, London
-Assistant Print Analyst, GroupM
-Graduate Worker, Dare

Employability
New media and technology companies are showing considerable interest in Digital Anthropology as a degree that qualifies students for positions in all fields of user interaction and research. In the last few years students graduating from the MSc have been recruited by the best international agencies doing research on users' digital practices. In the non-profit sector students have joined organisations involved in policymaking, open access and citizen journalism. The subject is also a good grounding for students who are interested in continuing to a variety of PhD programmes.

Why study this degree at UCL?

The Digital Anthropology MSc at UCL is becoming a world leader in the training of researchers in the social and cultural dimensions of information technologies and digital media.

UCL Anthropology is one of the largest anthropology departments in the UK and offers an exceptional breadth of expertise. Our excellent results in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise and 2014 Research Excellence Framework show that we are the leading broad-based anthropology department in the UK. The programme combines ethnographic methods, critical thinking and practical explorations of the digital world and encourages in-depth research to develop the next generation of understanding about the impact, consequences, aesthetics and politics of digital technologies and infrastructures.

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Our Digital Media Arts MA is taught both at the University of Brighton and at Lighthouse. The Lighthouse is a digital culture agency where a key part of its work is education and professional development (PPD). Through short technology labs and courses they help empower the digital artists and creative engineers of tomorrow.

We have developed the course in the context of Brighton’s status as one of the main centres of the media economy, adopting an interdisciplinary approach that allows you to use and develop your existing skills in an environment that encourages both innovation and high-quality production.

The course provides excellent training for artists, designers and arts professionals wishing to seek a career in the creative industries, offering expert education in the areas of interaction design, social media, programming, digital film, installation, public art and interactive art. You will learn core digital media production skills, explore a broad range of creative digital practices, and access the most up-to-date developments and critical debates in the discipline.

While our professional studio environment enables you to explore the full creative potential of digital media arts practices, we also encourage live project work so that you gain direct experience and develop valuable links to the digital media and wider cultural industries.

The course offers a suitable route and an appropriate academic grounding for PhD study, as has been evidenced by recent student progression on to PhD programs at the University of Sussex, Goldsmiths, Plymouth University and The University of Auckland in New Zealand.

Areas of study

The course is designed to support your individual development and creativity as an artist and producer and is based around an essential core of practice-based learning, underpinned by a programme of theoretical lecture series, artist talks, seminars, workshops, tutorials and independent study.

You will learn core digital media production skills. Specialist workshops have included processing, motion graphics and sound art.

The course supports an interdisciplinary approach that enables you to develop existing skills and experiences in an environment that encourages both innovation and high quality production. Live project work in modules throughout the course will help you gain direct experience and develop valuable links in the digital media industries and wider cultural industries.

Modules will be relevant and up-to-date in this fast changing and evolving digital climate, allowing for flexibility to expand into new areas of development. Examples of theses areas include screen based web design, social media and interactive installations and also including using data analytics, coding, programming and hacking.

You will be taught by a diverse and experienced lecturing team, all of whom are creative practitioners.

The course offers a flexible mode of study for students, either as a part-time route (two years) or full time (one year).

Modules:

Cultures of Media Authoring and Web Design
Virtual Culture and Network Practices
Practice based Research Methods
Beyond the Screen: Interactive Installations
Presenting a Body of Work
Critical Theory: Media Concepts Research Paper

There will be an increasing emphasis on engaging with script and code, which is particularly pertinent to practical modules as they include the building blocks of developments for creative design, and web applications. These include the following languages - CSS, Flash, Processing, Pure Data, ActionScript 2.0 and 3.0, Wordpress, PHP, HTML5, Javascript, jQuery. MFC, C, OpenGL, Java and Lingo.

We encourage students to create work through the use of open source data and engaging with hacker ethics, which are concerned primarily with sharing, openness and collaboration, rather than using commercial software.

Student work

The Digital Media Arts MA at Brighton develops your production skills and unique artistic approach. Over the course, you will build a substantial body of digital artwork that will help you get ahead in the fast-moving and competitive new media industries.

You will create your art and design work using a range of digital technologies, producing screen-based work, interactive installations, social media interventions and soundscapes. All students produce work for the assessment show towards the end of the course.

Careers and employability

The Digital Media Arts MA is a practical course that teaches a range of skills in digital development and design that you can apply outside of university. The course aims to empower digital artists and critical engineers of tomorrow, in exploring the creative thinking that is critical to working effectively with technology.

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About the course

What is digital service design? It’s the art of building customer experiences with a strong digital element.

This new multi-disciplinary course is designed to help graduates develop cutting-edge user experience design techniques for designing digital products and services. The course features close integration with leading digital companies to help you develop deep knowledge of both design theory and practice as well as to equip you for employment in the digital sector.

The course has been designed in collaboration with Wilson Fletcher, a leading digital design studio, to closely mirror current professional practices. In the course, you will have the opportunity to apply for an industry internship at the end of your third term. Additionally, some of our digital design partners may also offer dissertation opportunities.

Aims

Brunel’s MSc course in Digital Service Design prepares you for roles in the fast-growing digital industry by providing a programme led by industry experts and practitioners.

By the end of the course you will be able to:

Generate ideas and turn them into viable concepts and working prototypes.
Work in multidisciplinary teams in a studio setting and take responsibility for your work.
Problem-solve and design for both user and business needs.
Understand the skills, tools and methodologies necessary to develop compelling strategies, products and services.
Design and develop experiences, products and services of high quality with digital media at their core.
Demonstrate a critical and practical understanding of the issues relevant to digital service design and their use in the context of modern industry and commercial environments.
Have a thorough and clear understanding of the methodologies and professional skills necessary for effective digital service design in a business environment.
Reflect – critically and in-depth – on relevant aspects of the state-of the art of both the practice and theory of digital service design.

Course Content

Typical Modules:

Digital Design Methodologies
Digital Innovation
Systems Project Management
Digital Service Applications
Research Methods
Data Visualisation
Dissertation

Special Features

Quality internships
You will have the opportunity to apply for an internship with a high-profile company.

As a result of enrolling on this course, you will have the opportunity to form a network of industry contacts which will be invaluable when you enter into the world of employment.

You will work on a number of individual and group practical projects based on real-world briefs.

You will develop the technical, interpersonal, creative and strategic skills needed to succeed in the digital service design industry.

A cutting edge programme
You will explore areas of design and rapid prototyping, innovation methodologies, interview and workshop facilitation, journey mapping, customer research methodologies, project management and how to develop and present actionable recommendations and much more.

Women in Engineering and Computing Programme

Brunel’s Women in Engineering and Computing mentoring scheme provides our female students with invaluable help and support from their industry mentors.

Teaching

You will be taught by our lecturers and practising researchers, through a mixture of lectures, seminars, lab sessions, guest lectures from industry experts, talks and workshops. We will thus be providing you with theory-based teaching that is based on up-to-date research in this exciting area.

Academics and guest lecturers on the course come from a wide variety of backgrounds and have experience working on high-profile projects at companies like Wilson Fletcher, Marks & Spencer, The Telegraph, W12, Virgin Media, BBH, IDEO, Friday, SapientNitro, RBS, Hugo & Cat etc.

Assessment

You will be assessed through a combination of coursework, examination and dissertation. You will also produce a portfolio of evidence for the Digital Design Methodologies module. Examinations are held in May.

Work Placements

This course is focused on employment and students have the opportunity to undertake an internship after they complete their dissertation. Digital design companies potentially offering internships include: Wilson Fletcher, ORM, Hugo & Cat, DDB, Furthermore, BBH, The Guardian, M&S, W12, Friday, UsTwo.

Selected students may also have the opportunity for a company-sponsored dissertation project in term three.

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-The MA Art Therapy is approved by The Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) and is situated in the postgraduate area of The School of Creative Arts. The programme places a strong emphasis on developing the student’s artistic identity in tandem with their understanding of the skills and knowledge required for safe therapeutic practice
-Contemporary visual art practices that link to psychodynamic processes are taught across the curriculum. Students learn how research is a cross-discipline mode of enquiry while developing knowledge of how theory underpins and informs art therapy practice with a range of vulnerable people
-Students attend placements throughout the course and develop themselves professionally through supervision, reflection and by articulating their practice in writing, research and presentations
-The programme guides students toward achieving employment in health care, education and/or voluntary organisations. Focusing on the public sector these range from adult and child mental health, palliative care, learning disability, prisons, main stream and special schools etc.

Why choose this course?

MA Art Therapy places particular emphasis on the relationship art therapy has with other art forms such as fine art, ceramics, design, film and digital image making, on a theoretical and practical level. Experiential learning is regarded as a key experience with time and space given to the continuing development of the student's artistic identity.

The aim of the MA Art Therapy course is to train art therapists for employment in the public sector. This includes theoretical and practical knowledge, understanding and skills relevant to a range of client groups and settings. You are offered a broad theoretical foundation in the key principles of psychodynamic and humanistic psychotherapy in relation to current art therapy theory and research. The programme area also offers a range of pre and post qualification opportunities such an Arts Therapy Foundation programme, Introductory and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) short courses and research opportunities up to PhD.

The MA Art Therapy course has links with the Faculty for Health and Human Sciences and European universities and organisations e.g ECArTE. The University is within easy reach of London by rail, road and air.

The core staff team have an excellent reputation in terms of teaching quality and research in their fields. The programme also employs other professionals such as psychotherapists and arts therapies who continue to conduct clinical practice with a range of client groups.

You have access to a state of the art Learning Resources Centre which contains a wealth of material on related disciplines, maintained by specialist staff who provide support and advice when need. Personal Therapy for the duration of the training is a requirement of all students.

Careers

The qualification leads to an award that is recognised for professional registration purposes by the Health Professions Council (HPC) and The British Association of Art Therapists (BAAT).

Career opportunities vary from work in the NHS, social services, the voluntary sector and increasingly in main stream education. Art Therapists frequently work on a sessional basis or part time in a range of settings. Students receive workshops on how to market themselves post-qualification.

Structure

Year 1
Core Modules
-Art Therapy Practice 1
-Creative Economies
-Experiential Training 1
-Experiential Training 2
-Research and Enquiry

Optional
-Creative Economies (Online)
-Research and Enquiry (Online)

Year 2
Core Modules
-Art Therapy Practice Part 2
-Discourse and Reflection: Art Therapy
-Experiential Training 3

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Forensic art encompasses a wide range of subjects, notably facial anthropology and identification, such as two and three-dimensional facial reconstruction, craniofacial superimposition, post-mortem depiction, composite art and age progression.

This highly innovative one-year taught Masters course will encompass all these fields, employing highly specialised tutors from scientific backgrounds alongside experienced forensic art supervisors.

Why study Forensic Art at Dundee?

Forensic Art is the presentation of visual information in relation to legal procedures. A forensic artist may aid in the identification or location of victims of crime, missing persons or human remains, and may facilitate the identification, apprehension or conviction of criminals.

Forensic artists require technical and conceptual art skills alongside comprehensive medical and anatomical knowledge. The course provides training and expertise at the cutting-edge of the forensic art profession

What's so good about studying Forensic Art at Dundee?

You will benefit from the facilities of a well-established art college, whilst appreciating the newly-refurbished laboratories, a dedicated library and access to human material in a modern medical science environment.

The award-winning staff in the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification (CAHID) are amongst the most experienced in the UK in the fields of human identification, forensic anthropology, craniofacial identification and the study of the human body. The core remit of the Centre is the study of anatomy and staff deliver high quality anatomy teaching at all levels, via whole body dissection which allows students to develop a sound knowledge of the human body.

The Centre was awarded a prestigious Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher Education in November 2013. Presented in recognition of 'world class excellence', the Queen’s Anniversary Prizes are among the most highly-regarded awards for the UK’s universities and colleges.

Teaching & Assessment

Teaching methods include traditional and online lectures, practical workshops in the studio and dissecting room and small group discussions. These encourage debate around theoretical research-based solutions to current practical problems.

The MSc will be taught full-time over one year (September to August).

How you will be taught

The course is delivered using traditional methods including lectures, practical studio sessions and small group discussions with an encouragement into debate and theoretical solutions to current problems.

What you will study

This highly innovative one-year taught MSc will encompass these fields, employing highly specialised tutors from scientific backgrounds alongside experienced forensic artists.

Semester 1 (60 credits)

In semester 1 the focus is on the study of anatomy through dissection, prosection study, illustration and facial sculpture and applying this to life art practice. Students will also be introduced to research methods and digital media.

Anatomy 1 - Head and Neck (15 credits)

Anatomy 2 - Post Cranial (15 credits)

Life Art (10 credits)

Digital Media Practice (10 credits)

Research Methods (10 credits)

Semester 1 may be also taken as a stand-alone PGCert entitled ‘Anatomy for Artists’.


Semester 2 (60 credits)

Forensic Facial Imaging, Analysis and Comparison (25 credits)

Forensic Art (25 credits)

Medical-Legal Ethics (10 credits)

On successful completion of Semesters 1 and 2 there is an exit award of a Postgraduate Diploma in Forensic Art and Facial Identification.

Semester 3 (60 credits) - dissertation and exhibition resulting from a self-directed project undertaken either at the university or as a placement.

How you will be assessed

A variety of assessment methods are employed, including anatomy spot-tests; oral and visual presentations; portfolio assessment of 2D/3D image acquisition and of artwork; written coursework and examination, such as forensic case reports.

Careers

This programme aims to provide professional vocational training to underpin your first degree, so that you can enter employment at the leading edge of your discipline. Career opportunities in forensic art are varied and will depend on individual background and interests.

In forensic art, potential careers exist within the police force and overseas law enforcement. Possible careers include:

Police art & design departments producing law enforcement documents, image enhancement, CCTV surveillance, image collection, staff posters and presentations.
SOCO/CSIs in UK or overseas law enforcement agencies
Facial composite practitioner and witness interview expert in police force
Archaeological artist working with museums, institutes and exhibitions
Facial identification services
Medico-legal artwork
Freelance art applications
Special effects and the media/film world
Academia – teaching or research
PhD research

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