Masters Degrees (Sequential Art)

MA Fine Art aims to produce creative practitioners whose work already reflects a sense of historical documenting, mapping and cataloguing wishing to approach the interaction with audience and history from an inventive and strategic standpoint. It enables students to respond creatively to ‘place’ through a structured project, developing artwork presented to identified audiences at the researched site, archive or in alternative contexts.

The MA Fine Art is a sequential programme of study, progressing from Postgraduate Certificate to Diploma and then Master’s Award in Fine Art. Students must complete 9 modules for the award of MA Fine Art.

LEARNING ENVIRONMENT AND ASSESSMENT

Teaching and Learning involves a combination of lectures, seminars, screenings, presentations, group and individual tutorials, with case studies including artists’ initiatives, placements [if appropriate] to develop an integrated and experimental view of theory and practice. All students are allocated an individual supervisor according to their Fine Art Project and Contextual Study.

Students also undertake a Professional Practice Programme delivered by Research Staff, Visiting Artists, Lecturers, Curators, Funding Agencies and representatives from Public Arts, Administrators and Regional Arts Associations when available.

Attendance for part-time students will be on average one day a week and it may occasionally be necessary to attend on 2 days depending on the semester. Individual tutorials with supervisors are by prior arrangement.

The assessment process will be determined by the student’s satisfactory demonstration and completion of the entire module learning outcomes and assessment components. The ‘MA Fine Art Project’ and the ‘Contextual Report’ will be graded in percentage terms. Students must present the MA Fine Art Project in the public domain (the University or alternative venue) with an appropriate Contextual Report.

FURTHER INFORMATION

MA in Fine Art offers Two Awards in Full-Time or Part-Time mode with an annual intake starting in September: MA Site and Archive Intervention runs in parallel with MA Fine Art Studio Practice.

The MA Fine Art utilises the international profile of the staff research team and creates the possibilities for effecting dynamic shifts in cultural production. The employment opportunities today are greatly increased for post-graduate students suitably experienced as artist/arts professionals working in the expanded field of art practice, which is reflected in the content of this course.

The MA courses offer access to specialist teaching, workshop facilities and good technical support with supportive and accessible learning resources at the library and on the computer network to develop professional, creative and contextual skills.

A range of full time and associate lecturers, all of whom are practising and exhibiting artists teach Fine Art at the University. A team of qualified technical staff and visiting artists also supports the course.

MA Fine Art aims to produce creative practitioners whose work already reflects a sense of historical documenting, mapping and cataloguing wishing to approach the interaction with audience and history from an inventive and strategic standpoint. It enables students to respond creatively to ‘place’ through a structured project, developing artwork presented to identified audiences at the researched site, archive or in alternative contexts.

The Post Graduate Programme gives students the opportunities to realise an ambitious ‘Fine Art Project’ to define and sustain a high level of professional practice supported by a ‘Contextual Report’, which undertake an analytical, critical and creative approach to theoretical formats. It also explores strategies for research publications to create potential employment opportunities, dissemination of practice and publicity networks.

OPPORTUNITIES

A student having developed a programme of innovative work at Master’s Level could be expected to operate as a practising artist achieving both a professional level of awareness and high standard of visual work. However, careers in Fine Art can also encompass a broader range of possibilities, as artists and designers, work in the creative industries and the public realm and in education.

The MA Fine Art is a sequential programme of study, progressing from Postgraduate Certificate to Diploma and then Master’s Award in Fine Art. Students must complete 9 modules for the award of MA Fine Art.

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The Master of Fine Arts in Criticism & Curatorial Practice program offers graduate students an exceptional opportunity to explore and experiment with contemporary art, media and design through engagement with history, theory and criticism within curatorial practice.

OCAD University’s distinctive program focuses uniquely on the practices of curating and criticism, leading to the Master of Fine Arts degree. Our graduate faculty and adjunct faculty include practising curators and critics who bring deep intellectual and professional expertise to the studies of criticism and curatorial practice.

OCAD University’s reputation for excellence entices internationally renowned authorities to its annual Artist-in-Residence program, and assists students to establish programmatic internships in Canada and abroad.

The MFA in Criticism & Curatorial Practice is a full-time, 60-credit program normally completed within two academic years or five sequential semesters. With the Program Director’s approval, some part-time students may be admitted with a more flexible completion schedule.

The program comprises the following:

Five core seminars (critical theory, research methods, issues in exhibitions, critical writing, and issues in criticism and curatorial studies)
Two core practice and issues-based studio/seminars
An institutionally embedded theory and practice-based course,"Inside Curatorial Practice", which including a collaborative group exhibition
Two elective seminars or studios
Individual research
Summer internship or study abroad
Thesis: curatorial exhibition and critical essay, or criticism thesis

Students entering the program will have an honours-equivalent four-year bachelor’s degree in studio art or design, or art history/visual culture, or a related discipline, and several years of practical experience. They will be interested in augmenting their existing knowledge base through a program of study that facilitates exploration of and experimentation with the full range of contemporary art and/or design curatorial and critical practices, and that provides the historical, theoretical and critical armature required.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the MFA in Criticism and Curatorial Practice are:

to ensure that students acquire advanced research skills for visual and academic investigations in the areas of art, media, and design practice and critical theory;
to contribute to new knowledge in the areas of art, media, and design research methodologies in criticism and curatorial practices;
to promote the development of practices that facilitate sustainability, social responsibility, and diverse social and cultural perspectives;
to develop and advance curatorial and critical practices in design;
to promote contemporary art, media, and design practices within public contexts;
to contribute to the development of the field of Canadian art, media, and design criticism;
to contribute to the development of the field of curatorial practice in private and public galleries and museums and to independent curatorial practices.

KEY FEATURES

Partnerships, internships and events at organizations such as the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Textile Museum, C Magazine, the Toronto Alliance of Art Critics, and various Toronto artist-run centres.
The Summer Internship, which is an approximately four-week placement with a gallery, museum, arts publication or other relevant cultural institution in Canada or abroad. The internship allows students to integrate the knowledge gleaned from first-year seminars with the practices of curating and criticism.
The annual Artist-in-Residence program, which brings internationally renowned artists, designers, curators and critics to OCAD U for a one-week residency during which they conduct seminars, attend studio critiques, and give a public lecture/presentation.

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The Sequential Design/Illustration MA attracts new and established illustrators, artists and designers from all over the world who are keen to explore the principles of sequence within their chosen field and make them visible through a variety of forms.

These forms have included written and illustrated books for children and adults, interactive design, film, graphic novels, stage and exhibition design, animation, book arts, narrative textiles, experimental writing, product design and even community projects that encourage social development through storytelling.

In its 25-year history, this course has built on the gathered knowledge and experience of its staff and students to cover topics that are relevant to all MA students interested in storytelling, visual narrative and delivering complex sequential messages.

Recent graduate work – ranging from a biography of Edith Sitwell to a series of calendars made from human hair – demonstrates the diversity of individual research. Other students have examined the legacy of recipes, the secret language of headscarves, the parallels between quantum physics and Taoism as demonstrated through a detective novel, and the role of plumage in communication.

Course structure

You can study on a part-time or full-time basis:

• Part-time, for two years, is designed to fit in with your professional life and allows more time for reflection. Part-time students work on the course for two days a week – one day on site and one day working independently.

• Full-time, for one year, is an intensive year of study. You work four days a week: two days with the course and two days independently.

Lectures, seminars, reviews and assessments are held at fixed times on Wednesdays. Other patterns of attendance vary according to individual circumstances. During holidays you will be engaged in independent study.

Your work will be predominantly project based, which may comprise of one or more parts focusing on a central theme or idea. A single project or investigation will in most cases sustain a student through the entire duration of the course, but at stage assessment, in consultation with tutors, it may naturally evolve into a new or related area of study.

The nature of the subject demands the continual interaction between research, analysis, and practical realisation, as well as an extended period of development for ideas to become fully meaningful. Throughout this investigation you will receive support and guidance from the course tutors.

Areas of study

As the course develops, there is increasing opportunity for independent and self-directed work, though each student is allocated a personal tutor who oversees the planning and content of individual projects. Besides practice-based work, the course also includes a written element in which you will be asked to reflect critically on the research and development of your project.

The Visual Narrative module includes lectures, themed group events and small practical activities such as the Surprise Project, where you are asked to deliver a surprise though a sequence of six images or objects, with the module group as your target audience. From this experience, you learn the nature and importance of surprise in basic storytelling and develop a vocabulary for narrative. In scheduled theme day events, such as Modern Cautionary Tales, you work in groups to challenge your quick-thinking skills in the invention, planning and presentation of a story.

While students accepted on the course should come with the technical skills necessary to fulfil their projects, access to the diverse workshops facilities – for example in bookbinding, letterpress, printmaking and photography – will be made available as appropriate to your project. There is also a substantial specialist library and a full range of computer facilities.

In order to bring together a variety of students and approaches, this course coexists with the Arts and Design by Independent Project MA. Both are based at our Grand Parade campus.

Stage 1:

Sequential Project(s)
Visual Narrative
Research and Investigation

Stage 2:

Major Sequential Project(s)
Project Report

Visiting lecturers

We arrange a programme of weekly lectures by a range of practitioners and academics to broaden your experience and understanding of professional issues and activity. Lecturers describe their practice and professional experience, sharing insights about their research methods and discoveries.

The programme is organised to relate to specific stages of the course and varies on a two-year cycle, so part-time students have access to a different set of events in each of their two years of study.

Careers and employability

Because of the diversity of our students and the projects they create, their professional achievements are equally wide-ranging. Successful commercial enterprises have been established, research degrees undertaken, books published, collaborative design groups formed, and work exhibited in major galleries and institutions. Graduates have also participated in festivals and conferences around the world.

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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.

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Our Masters in Comics and Graphic Novels is the only course of its kind in the UK, and Dundee is one of only a handful of institutions in the world offering the opportunity to study comics at postgraduate level. Our expert staff are involved in making comics, researching comics, organising major comics conferences, and co-editing peer-reviewed journals in this expanding field.

Aims of the Course

This course will provide you with an understanding of the comics medium and the comics industry, and their relation to different genres, national cultures, and various media. You will be encouraged to think critically about these ideas, and to appreciate the importance of relating critical close analysis of style and form to theory, context, politics and history.

You can also practice creating comics from script writing to thumbnails, pencils, inks, lettering, colouring and production methods.

These analytical and creative skills, combined with assessments that test presentational and communication skills and problem solving abilities, are essential in the workplace. The fact that the course is interdisciplinary in its approach (looking at writing and visual culture together) means that we foster creativity and ingenuity in developing critical approaches to the work.‌

How you will be taught

The MLitt is led by Dr Chris Murray with the MDes led by Phillip Vaughan.

A variety of teaching methods are used, including: small group teaching, one-to-one teaching, supervised study, seminars, tutorials, presentations, invited speakers and discussion groups, lectures, workshops, practical classes and demonstrations.

How you will be assessed

The assessment methods used in this course include weekly journals, presentations, research essays, dissertations and projects. Some of the option modules include assessment of creative work accompanied by reflective essays.

Dissertations and projects are supervised on a one-to-one basis to ensure continuity, and this will provide you with the opportunity to work on an area of comics study or creation of your own choosing (subject to approval by the tutor).

What you will study

There are two teaching semesters, from September to December and from January to March. You'll study the core modules below, plus your choice of optional modules

From April onwards, you'll write your dissertation or produce your major project.

Core Modules for MLitt

Critical Approaches to Comics and Graphic Novels
International Comics Cultures
Dissertation

Core Modules for MDes

Creating Comics
Comics Production
Major Project

Optional modules (shared between both courses):

Critical Approaches to Comics and Graphic Novels
International Comics Cultures
Creating Comics
Comics Production
Comics and Film
Science Fiction Comics
Autobiographix: Documentary and Autobiographical Comics

Employability

This course offers good employment opportunities for anyone interested in working in the field of comics, either critically or creatively. You will also meet many industry professionals during the course, and have the chance to make valuable connections.

Students taking this programme may also choose to pursue academic careers, work in the media, or in the creative industries or publishing. An understanding of comics cuts across publishing, computer games, the internet, television, and film.

You'll have networking opportunities throughout the course, you'll meet with industry professionals and there will be opportunities to attend and organise major comic conventions. There are also opportunities for internships.

Additionally, the high levels of analysis, problem-solving abilities and the presentational and communication skills that you will develop on this course are highly valued by employers.

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This two-year part-time Masters Degree in Literature and Arts course offers the opportunity to study the literature and arts of three different periods of English history (ranging from the c16th to the c19th) in an interdisciplinary manner over four five day residences and two online modules. The course offers full access to the library and electronic resources of the university, a team of expert tutors, and a high level of personal and academic support.

VIDES (volume of interdisciplinary essays)

VIDES 2016 - Volume 4
In the second year, as part of the preparation for the dissertation, each student writes a short essay around two documents or artefacts which they have chosen which comment on a particular topic but from contrasting viewpoints. The student group is divided up into a number of small committees responsible for peer reviewing and editing the journal, deciding on its house-style and designing it.

To make navigation around the journal easier the volume is also presented on the open.conted site where you can find a list of all the essays with their abstracts to help you identify the essays which are of interest you. We hope you enjoy the read!

If you have enjoyed VIDES 2016 - Volume 4 you might also like to read VIDES 2015 - Volume 3, VIDES 2014 - Volume 2 and VIDES 2013 - Volume 1.

Visit the website https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/about/mst-in-literature-and-arts

Description

This literature and arts course brings together the creative, intellectual and manufactured output of people in the past. It has a twofold aim – to explore the past through the lens of human creativity, and to inform our understanding of that creativity by studying the context within which it emerged. It is therefore an interdisciplinary programme which encompasses literature, art and architectural history, history, philosophy and theology. Based in Oxford, and taking full advantage of the remarkable human and cultural resources which this university has at its disposal, the literature and arts course is designed around three sequential periods of British history, from Early Modern (c.1450) to the early twentieth century (c.1914). By studying each period through a range of disciplines, students will acquire a broad and multi-faceted picture of the past. In this framework giant achievements such as Milton’s poetry or Wren’s architecture can be understood not only as products of their times but also in so far as they stand as uniquely inspired statements, or as harbingers of future developments.

Interdisciplinary study raises challenges for a student in terms of methodologies. How do I analyse and interpret a picture when I have only ever worked with text? A poem when I have only worked with documentary sources? A building when I have only ever studied abstract ideas? How do I make viable connections between these different areas of study? An online element offered towards the beginning of the course will provide the opportunity to discover, practise and develop these skills, and to engage with current theoretical discourses concerning the way scholars relate with their source material. Similarly a more advanced on-line component in the second year will focus on interdisciplinary research skills, including trying out those skills by contributing to a small volume of papers on a subject related to the chosen dissertation topic.

Whilst focusing on British history and culture, the course will begin with an introductory unit which sets Britain in a world context and explores her cultural relationship with the rest of the world since the sixteenth century. Using the layout of the Ashmolean museum’s international collections with its emphasis on global interaction, this unit will principally be concerned with the formation of British culture through the stimuli of influences beyond Europe.

The literature and arts course aims to enable students to specialise in certain disciplines and ultimately in a particular historical period, whilst structuring their learning within a strong contextual and critical framework. It aims to enable students to make the most of the university’s resources (e.g. its libraries, computer facilities, museums and historic monuments), to provide a high quality of academic and pastoral support, and to maximise the potential for learning within a peer group. It sets out to encourage a richly democratic view of cultural history in which all men’s and women’s lives play their part.

Programme details

Structure of the Literature and Arts Course
Year One

Two core courses in year one will introduce students to post-graduate research skills and methodologies and use a series of case studies to explore some of the challenges inherent in the practice of interdisciplinary study.

Students will also take two options during year one, which will allow them to begin to specialise either by period or theme.

Year Two

A third option at the start of year two will enable students to gain wide-ranging insight into their chosen area of study before deciding on their dissertation topic. A final core course in cultural theory will prepare the student for the writing of the dissertation. This involves writing an article for and contributing to the production process of the course's online journal, Vides. The dissertation occupies the final two terms of year two.

Core Courses

Core courses will be both residential and delivered through online distance learning modules.

Residences: students will attend tutorials, seminars and lectures during five-day residences in October, February and late June/July in year one and in October of year two, plus an initial residential induction weekend, prior to the first core course. Residences will account for eighty face to face teaching hours over the two years (structured around intensive discussion in seminars).

Distance-learning: these modules are fully supported by a dedicated Virtual Learning Environment. Students will engage in on-line group discussions using the course website and email. Students will also have access to the electronic on-line resources of Oxford University's Library Services, including the Bodleian Library, and all other University libraries, including the English Faculty Library, the History Faculty Library, the Philosophy Faculty Library and the Theology Faculty Library. These modules are designed such that students need not have a sophisticated understanding of IT; materials may be provided in a variety of ways to suit the student's preference and situation.

In keeping with the Oxford ethos of tutorial instruction, individual tutorials and supervisions will be an integral part of the programme, most notably with regard to the dissertation. Individual supervision will be undertaken both face-to-face and by e-mail.

Options

Each of the options residences is structured in the same way, beginning with an historical introduction to the period and ending with a plenary discussing where connections can be made between the subjects studied through the week. The options are taught in the mornings and afternoons and represent a range of disciplines, specifically Literature, History, Visual Culture and Philosophy/Theology/History of Ideas. Each student chooses two options out of four offered. Please note that due to timetabling constrictions it is not always possible to allocate each student to their preferred options. The following list indicates the subjects which were available in 2014/15, there may be some changes for 2016.

Late Medieval and Early Modern
Shakespeare in History - Dr Lynn Robson
Tudor Monarchy– Dr Janet Dickinson
The Role of Wit, Conceit and Curious Devices in Tudor and Jacobean Art and Architecture - Dr Cathy Oakes
The Uses of History in Seventeenth-century England - Dr Gabriel Roberts

The ‘Long Eighteenth Century’
Writing, Money and the Market - Dr Carly Watson
British Collectors and Classical Antiquities – Dr Stephen Kershaw
The British Empiricists: Locke, Hume and Berkeley – Dr Peter Wyss
Overseas Trade and the Rise of Britain as a Superpower - Dr Mike Wagner

The ‘Long Nineteenth Century’
Love and Sex in the Victorian Novel - Dr David Grylls
Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Late Nineteenth Century British Culture – Professor Barrie Bullen
The British Empire and the Indian Mutiny– Dr Yasmin Khan
'Habits of Heart and Mind' - Victorian Political Culture – Professor Angus Hawkins

Dissertation

A dissertation of 11,000 words will be the focus of the final two terms of the second year.

The final core course, delivered in Hilary term of the second year, is envisaged both as a graduate-level survey of relevant cultural theory, which will provide the necessary intellectual contexts for the students' chosen dissertation topics, and as an opportunity to fine-tune the students' research and writing skills in preparation for the dissertation. After completing Vides, students will decide on their dissertation subject in consultation with the Course Director. They will be advised on reading lists and a timetable of work by their dissertation supervisor.

The dissertation is intended to demonstrate the student's knowledge and awareness of more than one subject discipline in this final piece of assessment.

Who should take the course?

The design of the Masters Degree in Literature and Arts is part-time over two years, and as such it is intended for gifted students who, due to their obligations to professional work or caring duties, would otherwise be unable to pursue higher degrees. The MSt in Literature and Arts is taught in the format of regular short residences in Oxford, together with an element of closely-monitored distance-learning.

The course is ideal for the following:

- Graduates in Humanities disciplines who have entered employment, but who wish to maintain their momentum of study progressing to a postgraduate qualification. This group will include teachers, librarians, and archivists, and others involved in humanities-related professions.

- Humanities graduates who would like to study part-time because of other responsibilities (including caring roles).

- Graduates who have reached a stage in life where they wish to pursue a new area of study, either for personal development, or to establish new career paths.

While the Masters Degree in Literature and Arts can be seen as a stand-alone qualification, it will also prepare students for doctoral work.

Find out how to apply here - http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate/applying-to-oxford

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Introduction

MA Illustration and Visual Media explores the creation and production of images at a time of unparalleled possibilities for skilled visual communicators. Specifically investigating the opportunities for image-makers to work with time-based, sequential, interactive and narrative forms, students on the course will develop an experimental illustration practice that reflects the integrated nature of the design, communication and media industries.

Content

This is a practice-led course that explores both the theory and practice of illustration across a broad range of visual media. MA Illustration and Visual Media aims to develop your visual voice with an emphasis on critical engagement with both the discipline and the world at large. This may take the form of investigating abstract concepts from domains such as science, technology and philosophy by developing bespoke visual languages to translate these ideas to diverse audiences. Other approaches may also include using critical ideas to produce self-directed visual authorship. Practical projects and technical workshops are run in tandem with theoretical and critical seminars in order to support the relationship between critical and practice based learning.

This approach provides you with a unique platform from which to produce relevant and engaging work within the discipline of illustration that has resonance and value to the world at large. Through the development of a portfolio of work the course places graduates in a position to work across sectors as diverse as visual communication, art direction, information communication, branding, news, current affairs, entertainment, art and design as well as encouraging visual authorship.

The course supports progression to research at MPhil/PhD level as well as to advanced self-directed experimental practice.
Building on LCC's resources, in digital, time-based and interactive media alongside printmaking, graphic design and visual communication, the course encourages experimental and reflective practice that echoes the cross media nature of the design, communication and media industries.

Structure

Phase 1

Units 1.1 Illustrative Practice and Visual Media (40 Credits)
Unit 1.2 Critical Practice and Research Methods (20 Credits)

Phase 2

Unit 2.1 Expanded Practice and Personal Voice (60 Credits)
(Exceptional Postgraduate Diploma exit point after 120 credits)

Phase 3

Unit 3.1 Final Major Research Project (60 Credits)
(Weighted 50% written component and 50% practical component)

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Our Arts and Design by Independent Project MA is a highly individual course offering you the opportunity to propose and develop your own academic programme in a particular field of craft, design, communication or image-making within a stimulating educational context.

A central project forms the core of the course. The project encourages experimentation and innovation in a specific field. You will develop and consolidate your project in consultation with academic staff throughout the course, utilising facilities and drawing on expertise from our other arts and humanities courses, as well as other areas of the university.

There is an extensive programme of lectures, events, films, and seminars throughout. We ask you to keep a critical diary during the course and to write a project report at the end of each year. This report is a considered critique of your studio-based work and decision making.

Course structure

You can study on a part-time or full-time basis:

• Part-time, for two years, is designed to fit in with your professional life and allows more time for reflection. Part-time students work on the course for two days a week – one day on site and one day working independently.

• Full-time, for one year, is an intensive year of study. You work four days a week: two days with the course and two days independently.
Lectures, seminars, reviews and assessments are held at fixed times on Wednesdays. Other patterns of attendance vary according to individual circumstances. During holidays you will be engaged in independent study.

Your work will be predominantly project based, which may comprise of one or more parts focusing on a central theme or idea. A single project or investigation will in most cases sustain a student through the entire duration of the course, but at stage assessment, in consultation with tutors, it may naturally evolve into a new or related area of study.

The nature of the subject demands the continual interaction between research, analysis, and practical realisation, as well as an extended period of development for ideas to become fully meaningful. Throughout this investigation you will receive support and guidance from the course tutors.

Areas of study

As the course develops, there is increasing opportunity for independent and self-directed work, though each student is allocated a personal tutor who oversees the planning and content of individual projects. Besides practice-based work, the course also includes a written element in which you will be asked to reflect critically on the research and development of your project.

The Visual Narrative module includes lectures, themed group events and small practical activities such as the Surprise Project, where you are asked to deliver a surprise though a sequence of six images or objects with the module group as your target audience. From this experience, you learn the nature and importance of surprise in basic storytelling and develop a vocabulary for narrative. In scheduled theme day events, such as Modern Cautionary Tales, you work in groups to challenge your quick-thinking skills in the invention, planning and presentation of a story.

While students accepted on the course should come with the technical skills necessary to fulfil their projects, access to the diverse workshops facilities – for example in bookbinding, letterpress, printmaking and photography – will be made available as appropriate to your project. There is also a substantial specialist library and a full range of computer facilities.

In order to bring together a variety of students and approaches, this course coexists with the Sequential Design/Illustration MA. Both are based at our Grand Parade campus.

Stage 1:

Independent Project (Stage 1)
Visual Narrative: The Art and Design of Storytelling
Practice Based Research Methods

Stage 2:

Major Independent Project (Stage 2)
Applied Research Methods
Completion Statement

Visiting lecturers

We arrange a programme of weekly lectures by a range of practitioners and academics to broaden your experience and understanding of professional issues and activity. Lecturers describe their practice and professional experience, sharing insights about their research methods and discoveries.

The programme is organised to relate to specific stages of the course and varies on a two-year cycle, so part-time students have access to a different set of events in each of their two years of study.

Careers and employability

Because of the diversity of our students and the projects they create, their professional achievements are equally wide-ranging. Successful commercial enterprises have been established, research degrees undertaken, books published, collaborative design groups formed, and work exhibited in major galleries and institutions. Graduates have also participated in festivals and conferences around the world.

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Why take this course?

This exciting new MA in Illustration offers you the opportunity to question, develop and reflect upon you own practice by exploring both traditional and innovative techniques. Through a negotiated project you will be encouraged to define your role as a creative practitioner in a broad social, political and historical context. This MA would suit graduates from arts based courses but also professionals returning to education to complete ‘unfinished creative business’.

The staff team has a wealth of experience with internationally renowned practitioners in the field of artist’s books and zines, practice-based PhDs and printmaking. The course benefits from an extensive dedicated collection of artists’ books and zines located within the illustration studios. You will consider the question “what is illustration?” and seek to redefine and cross boundaries. A strong social awareness ethos underpins the course enabling you to develop a unique voice within the creative industries.

What will I experience?

On this course you can:

Reflect on and challenge your illustration practice through a mix of lectures, seminars, group critiques, themed events, short projects, workshops and individual tutorials.
Engage with high profile visiting lecturers alongside the University’s dedicated careers department to build your Professional Practice skills.
Develop your existing skills through specialist workshops which could include print workshops, Adobe workshops that could lead to Adobe Certified Associate status, laser cutting and 3D printing, photography, collage and drawing.
Explore themes such as, narrative and sequential illustration, humour and satire, ethical and social positioning of the artist, and exploring literary sources for inspiration, limited edition publications, small presses and artists’ books.
Discuss the social responsibility of the illustrator as a cultural producer.

What opportunities might it lead to?

The course will provide you with the practical skills necessary to compete in a commercial arena and rhetorical skills to enable you to promote your work.

Our graduates could pursue careers such as:

Art director
Animator, storyboard artist and digital illustrator
Graphic/editorial designer
Toy and character designer
Comic book or graphic novelist
Printmaker and small press publisher
Zinester

Module Details

This course will help you learn independently through practice-based study, culminating in a self-defined project, with a reflective report. You will also position your work in relation to what is happening at the forefront of the subject area, with particular focus on social, political and social issues.

Here are the units you will study:

Proposal: This unit is about designing an independent practice-based project that will form the basis of your body of work. You will research a theme related to your practice and develop an independent programme of study outlining research and development.

Illustration Major Project: You will produce a resolved body of work responding to and reflecting on your initial MA proposal. This will consist of critical diary/blog, media experiments, sketchbooks and final artwork(s). It could take a variety of forms, e.g. artists book, print sequences, children’s books, comics and zines, animation etc.

A Question of Research: This unit provides an introduction to debates and research methods relevant for creative practitioners and your application to a pertinent research question. It also encourages self reflection on the research process.

Contextual Research in Illustration – You will use a variety of forms/techniques to communicate your research into your practice and the reverse. It will consist of three elements that build upon each other: a verbal presentation - sharing research and development; Illustration major project reflective document - evidencing methodology through to resolution; and a final project statement with accompanying digital portfolio of images.

Programme Assessment

You will receive guidance and supervision throughout the programme that encourages independent learning. There will be regular contact teaching time including group tutorials, 1-1 tutorials and workshops but we also aim for you to engage in the wider studio culture that develops within the subject area along side the undergraduate students in illustration.

During the final stage of the course in the summer term the learning becomes more independent and self-managed, making your timetable more flexible.

You will be assessed after the submission of your work for each unit. We also present structured feedback to ensure your project development on the right track.

Student Destinations

We anticipate that once you have completed this degree the scope of your opportunities within the creative industries will have widened giving you the rhetorical skills to enable you to effectively promote your work. You will have consolidated or repositioned your practice as a creative individual giving you a competitive edge in the commercial arena as an illustrator/artist. Alternatively, for those who wish to continue studying, there is always the option of progressing to doctoral level in your specialised area of illustration.

Our graduates could pursue careers such as:

Children’s book author/illustrator
Animator, storyboard artist and digital illustrator
Graphic/editorial designer
Comic book or graphic novelist
Educational, heritage or medical illustratort
Printmaker and small press publisher
Zinester

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Introduction

Gain practical skills and expand your knowledge of design principles, research methodologies and theory with this postgraduate certificate. Explore visual language, typography, colour and information design through set and self-initiated projects. This course offers an intensive vocational route in the graphic design profession and is an ideal option if you need a bridge to Masters study.

Content

London College of Communication’s vocationally-focussed Postgraduate Certificate will help you to build practice-based and professional skills in the highly diverse field of design for visual communication.

Visual communication is a process by which ideas are made visible and conveyed through media to enhance meaning, experience and understanding. This one-year intensive course re-examines the relationship between design principles, research methodologies and the related theoretical contexts.

The programme is ideal for those from diverse academic backgrounds who wish to extend and develop their prior experiences through visual communication. Students on the course have previously studied subjects from molecular genetics to English, architecture to textiles, micro-biology to fine art and product design to geography. The course is a confidence-building bridge to Masters study as well as providing the foundations for professional career development.

You can expect to become part of a unique learning community made up of staff, guest speakers and fellow students from a diverse range of creative disciplines and cultures. Through tutorials, set and self-initiated projects, workshops and group discussions, you will gain a deeper understanding of the design process that will enhance your practice. Visual language and grammar, typographic hierarchy, symbol design, graphic representation, identity and information visualisation are just some of the areas you will explore.
Personal projects will provide you with a foundation in the principles of visual communication whilst engaging with postgraduate level research methods and conceptual development. Examples of personal projects include: mapping directional devices in the city; the promotion of a typeface; visual analysis of people flow and visual surveys of lettering. Graduates from this course have found employment within high profile international creative agencies, design management, teaching and professional practice. Some have established their own design studios, while others have gone on to achieve highly at Master’s level.

Structure

The Postgraduate Certificate Design for Visual Communication has three components:

Research and Development
Design Resolution
Professional and Academic Context

The course includes: visual language and grammar; typographic hierarchy; narrative and sequential design; symbol design; graphic representation; identity; information visualisation; as well as opportunities to pursue projects of individual interest.

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Immerse yourself in exploring professional and practical approaches to children’s illustration and gain an in-depth understanding of the relationships between image, text, readers and context in the world of children’s literature.

Developed and taught by leading teaching staff including children’s authors, this degree draws on both professional and critical perspectives from art and education, cultural studies, design and sociology to deliver a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach to the subject.

Guidance from tutors and a choice of modules and assignments will enable you to develop personal projects, culminating in a practice-based dissertation. At the end of the programme you will have the opportunity to exhibit your work.

Illustration skills

Throughout the programme you will develop and refine your practical illustration skills and ideas, working within short and longer project formats. These projects focus on materials and their combination, colour, tone, creating atmosphere, addressing the reader and the relation of illustration to text. You will have the opportunity to work in collaboration with students on the MA in Children’s Literature. This is an opportunity to develop and refine your work and ideas within the project format.

The sociopolitical context of children’s illustration

This degree not only develops your practical skills, but also challenges you to question the context in which children’s books are produced and interpreted, and how they can challenge or reinforce dominant ideologies. You will interrogate the power relations that determine what is published, distributed and selected to be read by children in schools.

Understanding the publishing landscape

You will gain knowledge and insight into the professional world of children’s publishing through exposure to professional networks such as the Association of Illustrators, guest lectures from established illustrators, studio visits, and a bespoke module in Children’s Publishing. This module develops an in-depth understanding of the children’s publishing landscape and your skills in self-publishing and establishing dialogue with designers, editors and agents.

Read less

Immerse yourself in exploring professional and practical approaches to children’s illustration and gain an in-depth understanding of the relationships between image, text, readers and context in the world of children’s literature.

Developed and taught by leading teaching staff including children’s authors, this degree draws on both professional and critical perspectives from art and education, cultural studies, design and sociology to deliver a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach to the subject.

Guidance from tutors and a choice of modules and assignments will enable you to develop personal projects, culminating in a practice-based dissertation. At the end of the programme you will have the opportunity to exhibit your work.

Illustration skills

Throughout the programme you will develop and refine your practical illustration skills and ideas, working within short and longer project formats. These projects focus on materials and their combination, colour, tone, creating atmosphere, addressing the reader and the relation of illustration to text. You will have the opportunity to work in collaboration with students on the MA in Children’s Literature. This is an opportunity to develop and refine your work and ideas within the project format.

The sociopolitical context of children’s illustration

This degree not only develops your practical skills, but also challenges you to question the context in which children’s books are produced and interpreted, and how they can challenge or reinforce dominant ideologies. You will interrogate the power relations that determine what is published, distributed and selected to be read by children in schools.

Understanding the publishing landscape

You will gain knowledge and insight into the professional world of children’s publishing through exposure to professional networks such as the Association of Illustrators, guest lectures from established illustrators, studio visits, and a bespoke module in Children’s Publishing. This module develops an in-depth understanding of the children’s publishing landscape and your skills in self-publishing and establishing dialogue with designers, editors and agents.

Read less