Masters degree in History of Film & Photography offer advanced study of the historical, cultural and technological development of filming and photographic practices.
Taught MA degrees are typical for the field, though research oriented MRes and MPhil programmes may also be available at some institutions. Entry requirements normally include an appropriate undergraduate degree such as Media Studies.
This distinctive programme allows you to think about the critical and creative relationships between film, photography and the media, while developing your skills to produce projects of your own.
A major independent project sits at the heart of the course, supported by modules that put your practice into the context of contemporary debates. You’ll explore the different critical approaches to the making and consumption of photography and film, allowing them to inform the short film and photography projects you’ll work on.
It’s a flexible programme which allows you to choose from a range of optional modules to focus on topics that suit your own creative and critical interests. You could study cultural policy, international film industries, film and TV writing, feminism in the media and more.
You’ll be taught by leading researchers and practitioners in the field, and our cutting edge research will inform all your teaching.
Our School has a range of fantastic facilities to support your studies. The 58-seat Phil Taylor Cinema is equipped with Dolby Digital sound and high-definition projection facilities, as well as projectors for 16mm and 35mm film.
You can also work on your own projects in our 44 editing suites, equipped with Avid Media Composer editing software and Adobe Creative Cloud. The fully equipped TV studio also has a large green screen area, lighting and photo-flash facilities. We also have a track and dolly, sliders, Glidecam and various cranes, and you’ll have access to a new photographic dark room.
We also run a loans service where you can borrow a range of HD digital camcorders and various Canon stills cameras to help with your project work.
The whole programme is based around a major independent project. You can choose to complete a dissertation and take classes developing your knowledge of research methods to support your work. Alternatively, you can complete a short film or photography project that you’ll exhibit at the end of the programme.
The modules you study throughout the year give you the theoretical and contextual knowledge you need to inform your project, as well as developing your skills in filmmaking and photography.
You’ll study two core modules. One will explore the links between photographic creativity, optical science and the nature of cinema and allow you to work on a short film project. The other will look at the historical development of photographic practice, contemporary issues and debates.
Alongside these modules you’ll choose from a range of options to focus on topics that interest you, from film industries around the world to new media, cultural policy, communication and development, television narrative and more.
If you choose to study part-time, you’ll complete the MA over two years, instead of one, taking fewer modules each year.
These are typical modules/components studied and may change from time to time. Read more in our Terms and conditions.
Compulsory modules
Optional modules
We use learning methods that reflect the diversity of the programme, including workshops, lectures, seminars, group learning, tutorials and film screenings. Independent study is also a vital element of the programme, since it allows you to develop your skills and explore your creativity in practical work.
We also use different methods of assessment, some of which will depend on the modules you choose. These are likely to include portfolios of practical work, group and individual projects and reports, essays, literature reviews, case studies, presentations, scripts and commentaries.
This programme will give you a broad base of knowledge and skills across two important forms of communication. It will also equip you with cultural awareness and advanced skills in research, analysis, interpretation and oral and written communication.
We encourage you to prepare for your career from day one. That’s one of the reasons Leeds graduates are so sought after by employers.
The Careers Centre and staff in your faculty provide a range of help and advice to help you plan your career and make well-informed decisions along the way, even after you graduate. Find out more at the Careers website.
This course will engage you in the challenging task of making sense of the multitude of photographic images that shape the world today.
It is the first MA in the UK to combine the history and theory of photography with practice and curation in a genuinely interdisciplinary context.
You’ll explore the pivotal role of photography over the past two centuries across diverse global contexts – from the ways in which photography represents the complexities of 19th-century world views to the ubiquity and power of photography in our digital age.
You’ll also develop your practical skills, working with expert practitioners and leading photography curators.
Choose to study this course full time or part time, to fit around your work and family life. Modules for the full-time course are listed below.
For details about the part-time course, contact course co-ordinator Sophie Heath at [email protected]
You may choose to study this course full time over one year, or part time over two years to suit your work schedule or other commitments.
You’ll learn from our faculty and also external experts and professionals. Teaching is by lectures, seminar debates and visits to collections of photographic materials across the south of England.
The MA is structured for you to explore theoretical and practical aspects of photography in core modules during the autumn term(s). In the spring term(s), you choose from a range of options on topics such as:
During the summer, you choose to either write a dissertation or develop a practice-based project.
Assessment methods include essays and practice-based projects, encouraging you to develop a portfolio of practical and critical skills and expertise.
This course is currently subject to validation, in line with our procedures for assuring the quality of our degrees. This means that some course detail may change. The validation process will be concluded before the course starts.
Our aim is to ensure that every student who wants to study with us is able to despite financial barriers, so that we continue to attract talented and unique individuals.
Our Careers and Employability Centre can help you find part-time work while you study. Find out more about career development and part-time work
You’ll gain academic and research skills as well as a crucial range of professional skills directed at working in the cultural, creative and heritage sectors – an arena in which millions of people are employed worldwide.
This MA prepares you for a variety of exciting careers across:
It also provides an ideal foundation for doctoral research.
Are you passionate about films and all things visual or on screen? Do you want to work in the arts or do you want to find a way to do this? This programme gives you cultural contexts across a range of different genres and history of film to understand why films depicted what they did and how this contributed to the world around us and the way we live. It is well known that film has shaped other disciplines like fashion, the way we think, cultural identity, how we are able to express ourselves or understand something better we previously didn't know about. It is an opportunity to put the record straight on history and get to the root cause and effect of different periods in history through characters. Film is also about getting to the truth in documentary films. Film also follows many other arts disciplines in interpreting them and bringing them to our attention in a way that theatre and performance cannot in terms of scale and reality. Much of what has been successful on the West End Stage, Opera, ballet, the life of a famous painter or other creative is often successfully depicted in film due to its ability to portray several art forms together successfully.
Film isn't the only art form to transform our lives but it probably reaches more people than any other art form around the world. It probably has more of a profound influence in people's lives around the world to change the course of their life in work, interests, style, imitation and more. Different ages of photography have been monumental in transforming our perceptions and getting us closer to reality such as old film and photography of the 19th century, war in the world and celebrities being the first fashion icons of the 50s, without the need for script.
You study and analyse film across the recent past and you look at animation and digital from the days of the Walt Disney team making up each frame to its evolution into digital animation and speed production. You also look at how changing tastes and cultural styles have changed the way in which we view film and by what method, plus you look at living overseas in the context of your own cultural identity. From this you gain useful skills and knowledge to critique contemporary film, curate exhibitions work in museums, become and expert in a specific theme or age of film.
Semester 1
Semester 2
Semester 3
Find out more detail by visiting the programme web page
https://www.abdn.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-taught/degree-programmes/332/film-and-visual-culture/
Find out about fees
https://www.abdn.ac.uk/study/international/tuition-fees-and-living-costs-287.php
*Please be advised that some programmes have different tuition fees from those listed above and that some programmes also have additional costs.
View all funding options on our funding database via the programme page
https://www.abdn.ac.uk/funding/
Find out more about:
Find out more about living in Aberdeen and living costs
Learn to speak and write confidently about museums and curatorship, with a focus on photography, together with hands-on experience in a museum setting. You consider the future of museums and how you can contribute to it.
You visit museums in Sussex and in London, allowing you to learn first-hand about institutional histories, collections, permanent galleries and temporary exhibitions. You’re taught by Sussex tutors and external specialists. In the past, these have included senior staff from the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, the V&A, and the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
Choose to study this course full time or part time, to fit around your work and family life. Modules for the full-time course are listed below.
For details about the part-time course, contact course co-ordinator Sophie Heath at [email protected]
In the autumn and spring terms, you take museum skills modules and an option based on photography at Sussex. You also visit local and national collections. With your tutors and classmates, you debate a range of ethical concerns facing museum curators. The summer term is taken up with a work placement.
This MA introduces you to:
Assessed work includes term papers, practical assignments, a learning journal (written during the placement as a reflection on that experience) and a 12,000-word dissertation.
In the summer term, you undertake a work placement in one of our partner museums or galleries, working with photographic collections. You'll gain vocational skills and practical experience.
Our aim is to ensure that every student who wants to study with us is able to despite financial barriers, so that we continue to attract talented and unique individuals.
Our Careers and Employability Centre can help you find part-time work while you study. Find out more about career development and part-time work
You gain knowledge about objects and collections, specifically in the context of photography, and develop a critical awareness of museum practices.
You develop communication and project management skills. These skills provide the practical and theoretical foundation for careers in:
100% of students from the Department of Art History were in work or further study six months after graduating. Our students have gone on to roles including:
(EPI, Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey 2015 for postgraduates)
Our MA in International Film Business aims to train the next generation of innovative executives for the international film industry.
We will teach you about film finance and sales, distribution and marketing, creative management and development, digital strategy and festival curation and programming.
You will learn about the impact technology is having on the industry and gain insider access to a range of events including the Berlin Film Festival and European Film Market.
The London Film School is a world leading postgraduate filmmaking school and you will have the opportunity to access their extensive expertise, attend master-classes and industry events organised by the school as well as the opportunity to benefit from working with an industry mentor as part of the dissertation.
As you might expect from a ground breaking programme of study, assessment will be more than just essays. Instead you will give presentations, pitch ideas, and take on negotiation exercises. During your first term at the University of Exeter you will design, promote, and deliver a pop-up cinema event in the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum.
If you’re serious about pursuing a career in the film business this MA will give you the chance to develop the key business skills and networks you will need, and benefit from mentoring by leading UK and European industry professionals.
The MA in International Film Business is co-directed by Angus Finney, of The London Film School and Professor Will Higbee at the University of Exeter.
Angus is the author of The International Film Business, Project Manager of the Film London Production Finance Market, and a former Director of Renaissance Films. A well-known authority on the industry, he has executive producer credits for films such as Candy (2006), Dear Frankie (2004), and Disco Pigs (2001).
Professor Higbee has particular expertise in French and African cinema as well as broader issues in national and international film. His research has been widely published and he is a regular participant in film festivals and events around the world.
Together they will guide you through an intensive year that goes beyond the course content and into the reality of working in the international film industry.
As an MA International Film Business student you will have access to the world-renowned expertise of the London Film School and the academic excellence and research resources of the University of Exeter.
Your first term will be taught by leading film and business academics at Exeter where you will undertake a global survey of international film production, distribution and exhibition strategies and trends, and study business strategy, accounting and finance, intellectual property and entertainment economics. You will have the opportunity to examine innovative business models and the rapidly changing digital landscape of independent film.
At the London Film School you will take part in talks, master classes and question and answer sessions with film makers, as a graduate of the MA you will have access to the knowledge and contacts few programmes can offer their alumni. You’ll study the entertainment value chain through seminars delivered by London Film School staff and industry professionals, and a further series of intensive full-day seminars exploring film business innovation.
While there is no requirement to make a film as part of the MA, you can take the initiative in the second and third term to work independently, outside of the programme, with other LFS students who are studying on the MA screenwriting or filmmaking.
In your second term you will take part in our field trip to the Berlin International Film Festival, including access to the European Film Market, which is a business to business event not open to the public.
The Berlinale takes place in February and is one of the world's oldest and most important international film festivals. About 400 films from all around the world are screened each year at the festival, most of which are international or European premieres.
As well as the excitement of premieres and the films in competition, the Berlinale is an important place for film industry executives to do business. The Berlinale hosts both the European Film Market and the International co-production market, where around 400 companies are represented. The festival also organises a variety of workshops, panel discussions and film programmes.
The MLitt in Art History is designed to develop and enhance core research and writing skills, to introduce and deepen knowledge of the theoretical and methodological foundations of Art History, and to enable students to explore current critical debates, art media and contextual questions.
The MLitt degree requires two semesters of full-time (or four semesters part-time) coursework, normally equivalent to four modules. Each module has a minimum contact time of 16 hours. The modules are taught as small group discussion seminars, with an average size of four to eight students in each group. Additionally, there may be class trips where relevant to the taught modules.
The assessment for the taught modules is based on coursework including:
Further particulars regarding curriculum development.
The modules in this programme have varying methods of delivery and assessment. For more details of each module, including weekly contact hours, teaching methods and assessment, please see the latest module catalogue which is for the 2017–2018 academic year; some elements may be subject to change for 2018 entry.
Realise your ambitions and take the lead in the creation and development of a film project that will showcase your individuality and talent.
The first three semesters will follow the MA Filmmaking course to give you a thorough grounding in collaborative filmmaking. Mentored over the following two semesters, you will make an extended piece that will develop your own style as you become a confident and experienced filmmaker.
Working on your own project or taking a head of department role alongside a fellow MFA student, your expertise will be tested in a dedicated specialism such as directing, producing, cinematography, animation or editing.
Whether your ambitions lie in fiction, documentary, animation or experimental films, this course will allow you to develop your idea into a professional piece of work. We will give you the independence and freedom to realise your project, complemented by the support of our expert tutors.
We will give you the independence to make the film you want to make. Our expert team will provide tutorial encouragement, supervision and advice, and you will have access to industry-standard equipment and resources at our Northern Film School.
From cinematographers to producers and editors to animators, our teaching team is made up of highly respected film and television professionals, many of whom are still active in their fields. We will aim to match you with a tutor who specialises in your area of interest so that we can provide you with bespoke advice and guidance.
As the first film school in the UK to receive JAMES accreditation in recognition of the expertise of our staff, the professional level of our facilities and the opportunities we provide for our students, the Northern Film School is one of the best schools in the UK to explore and develop your ideas as a filmmaker.
The MFA (Master of Fine Arts) is a highly respected qualification in the US and is growing in significance in the UK. More importantly, you will graduate with a fully realised film project that will extend your portfolio and demonstrate who you are as a filmmaker. Your experiences on the course will prepare you for the collaborative nature of the filmmaking industry.
Taught Masters degrees in History, Art History, Philosophy and American Studies at Sussex, a top 20 University
