Masters Degrees in Drawing, United Kingdom

Introduction

MA Drawing at Wimbledon College of Arts is aimed at students who want to explore and interrogate the practice of drawing.

Content

What students can expect from the course:

- A course that promotes drawing for a purpose, focusing on process and cross-disciplinary dialogues that centre on communicating ideas to an audience, client or user

- To develop their drawing, discursive skills and agendas through a re-orientation of their practice

- Collaborations across and between diverse disciplines and courses at the College

- To have access to rich research sources such as Wimbledon’s Jocelyn Herbert Archive, the Stanley Kubrick Archives and University of the Arts London Centre for Drawing

- To benefit from the College’s established relationships we have with Tate Britain, The British Museum, Ashmolean Museum, The Royal Academy, The Sir John Soane Museum and the V&A drawing collections

- To explore a range of practices and disciplines where new languages and methodologies can be developed, including: architecture,
art, cartography, dance, design, engineering, performance, the sciences and writing

Structure

Unit One:

This will comprise of input from a range of practitioners from diverse disciplines, encouraging discussion of drawings purpose, its currency and potential for communicating and problem solving. This may include input from scientists, architects, writers and performers exploring the boundaries of drawing.



Unit Two:

This unit will focus on defining and developing themes from Unit One via individual or collaborative research questions. The unit will allow students to set up identifiable internal or external collaborations, and establish specific targets. The collaborative process can be used to resolve issues across and between disciplines.



Unit Three:

Will allow students to further develop their individual research questions, and explore and define practical methodologies to articulate drawing for a purpose.

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This is an intensive, vocational course with strong professional links to the industry, offering a maximum of four students, with high levels of painting and drawing skills, the opportunity to develop their careers as scenic artists. The skills and techniques acquired on this course are to the level necessary for theatre, television, film and animation industries..

During the year students acquire an understanding of professional practice and standards, and gain in-depth skills and experience in scenic art techniques and their application, combined with the practice of managing a scenic art department.

The Course has 3 very intensive terms during which students paint the sets for the School’s six main house public productions, offering them the opportunity to see their finished work used on stage in a wide range of public performances and venues. Teaching is led by the School’s Head of Scenic Art in collaboration with visiting industry professionals who provide master-classes in a range of skills and techniques that include; life drawing, portraiture, perspective, marbling, wood-graining, polystyrene carving and painting for animation. The scenic art students work collaboratively with the School’s other production departments, and most especially with design students. Furthering their introduction to the industry, work placements with principal companies are arranged during the course; particular attention is placed on students developing their own professional portfolio. Upon graduation students will showcase their work in a public exhibition and be interviewed by some of the UK’s leading industry practitioners. In a freelance industry most of our graduates begin working as assistants for scenic artists, scenic workshops and large theatre companies, eventually becoming supervising scenic artists themselves.

Recent graduate employment; The Royal Opera House, The Royal Shakespeare Company, Cardiff Theatrical Services, The Royal National Theatre, Northern Ballet, TR2 Plymouth, Richard Nutbourne - Cool Flight Ltd, Cameron Macintosh's National Tour of ‘Mary Poppins’, Disney's ‘Aladdin’, ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ for Warner Brothers. Film work includes; Wes Anderson's ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’ and ‘Isle of Dogs’ (still in production) Tim Burton's ‘Frankenweenie’, Aardman Animations' ‘Shaun the Sheep’, ‘Pirates’ and ‘Early Man’ (still in production). TV work includes 'Will' for TNT and ‘Crazy Face’ for Netflix.

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On this unique illustration course - the only one of its kind with a specific academic focus on authorial practice - you'll develop your own voice. You'll learn to see your work as an evolving practice rather than as a response to an already defined concept or brief, as you challenge and re-evaluate your work with the help of teaching staff who are experienced practitioners.

As your authorial voice develops and you learn to identify your audience, you'll also be encouraged to take an entrepreneurial approach, thinking creatively about the outlets and options for your work. This professionalism is aided by the course's close relationship with independent publisher Atlantic Press, offering you opportunities to gain direct experience in the many aspects of producing and publishing graphic literature.

At the heart of this studio-based course is a belief that there is a need to reassert the characteristics of personal origination, ownership, storytelling and literary ideas within the medium of illustration. We'll help you gain the confidence to take ownership of your work, you'll develop new ideas and concepts driven by your desire to create a distinct, original, authorial voice.

You'll explore narrative and storytelling as defined by your developing voice, working on longer-term projects across a variety of mediums that suit your interests – including children's books, graphic novels, digital work and screen-based production. The course will also engage you with current ideas and thinking related to notions of authorship, encouraging you to draw inspiration from a diverse range of influences, providing further personal insight and direction for your practice.

Visit the website https://www.falmouth.ac.uk/illustrationma

Building professional experience

A unique feature of our MA is our relationship with Atlantic Press (http://www.atlanticpressbooks.com/). The specialist publishing house, based in Penryn, was founded 15 years ago by course leader Steve Braund. The partnership enables you to learn about the whole publishing process, from concept to realisation – as well as the practical aspects of printing, distribution and marketing. The close proximity of a publishing press also means that internships to students on the course are offered on a regular basis.

The course will give you a grounding in all aspects of professional practice related to the work of an authorial illustrator. You'll also be encouraged to consider entrepreneurial approaches to your practice. At the end of the course, you'll mount a professional presentation of work from your negotiated MA project.

How the course is taught

Teaching takes place in the form of lectures, seminars, group critiques and workshops, supported by high-profile guest speakers. The Illustration Discourses lecture series considers authorial positions, related theories and their contexts. Both lectures and seminars will help inform your negotiated practical projects, whilst recording your studio practice in a research journal will aid self-reflection.

- Typical workshops

Research Journals
Creative Writing
Screen Printing
Life Drawing
Listening to Images
Book Art
Printmaking & Collography
Etching
Composition
Professional Practice
Table Top Book Binding
Visual Thinking
InDesign I
What are Archives?
Professional Practice, Networking & Entrepreneurship
Visual Narrative
Perspective
Book Design, Layout & InDesign
Bookbinding
Graphic Design

Course outline

This is a one-year course delivered over 45 weeks and divided into three 15-week study blocks. Alternatively, you can study part-time over two years, totalling 90 weeks.

Over the course of the year you'll be required to produce a sequence of three negotiated practical projects based on personal authorial illustration work.

The lecture and seminar series Illustration Discourses supports the practical work, running concurrently with a research journal, which builds connections and the opportunity to reflect on practice. You'll be expected to demonstrate progression; indicating the research, analysis, reflection and investigation necessary for the development of a successful and distinctive authorial illustration practice.

You'll also produce two analytical essays and deliver a presentation exploring areas of personal interest within the authorial context relating to your practice. These will show a consideration of audience awareness and the processes and development of your practice. In order to develop self-reliance the course allows you a good deal of freedom to develop your projects.

Facilities

- Individual studio space
- Full IT facilities
- Print room
- Comprehensive library facilities
- Access to specialist equipment

Assessment

- Assessment takes place at the end of each module
- Combination of visual, verbal and written assignments
- Final assessment takes place in September

Careers

Potential careers include:

- Commissioned or self-published illustrator
- Art director or creative director
- Illustration residencies
- Curatorial roles
- Teaching
- Further study

Interview and selection process

When you apply to join the course, we'll ask you to send us a study proposal and either samples of work or a link to your website or blog, if you have one. At interview we'll look for authorial illustration potential or capabilities, illustration ability, graphic skills, drawing skills, creative writing/storytelling potential, ideas and concepts. We really value meeting you in person but we can hold a telephone or Skype interview if this is not possible.

Falmouth Illustration Forum

Our respected annual Falmouth Illustration Forum recently celebrated its tenth anniversary with the publication of the world's first book devoted to the subject, The Authorial Illustrator (available from atlanticpressbooks.com (http://www.atlanticpressbooks.com/)). Each annual forum explores different aspects of authorial illustration and includes internationally renowned guest speakers.

View information about our forums here - https://www.falmouth.ac.uk/content/ma-illustration-open-forum-2014-witness-reportage-documentary

Find out how to apply here - https://www.falmouth.ac.uk/apply

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Postgraduate study in illustration reflects the diversity of the subject and the opportunities that exist in areas such as publishing, advertising, graphic and web design, theatre, television, art galleries and museums. We welcome applicants with a variety of approaches to Illustration, from both academic and professional perspectives.

Students are encouraged to explore a range of methods, with support from highly accomplished and respected staff, all of whom have understanding and expertise in the art of illustration.

Facilities include excellent individual working spaces with access to a drawing studio and extensive printmaking resources. There are life drawing classes, workshops and field trips for Masters students. Students will also have the chance to study bookbinding, book arts, digital technologies and web publishing.

The programme also includes working with writers, designers and publishers in collaboration and in live briefs. Many of our postgraduates have seen their work published and there are a small number of set projects, which evolve from year to year to reflect contemporary developments in Illustration. For example, Masters students have made work for the Royal Botanical Gardens, Edinburgh Film House and the ECA Bookmarks symposium.

Students are encouraged to take part in national and international competitions, with an aim to join the ranks of those who have exhibited and won prizes in prestigious events, such as the V&A Student Illustration Awards, Folio Society, Penguin Book Awards, 3x3 and Image Nation.

Programme structure

This programme offers an excellent opportunity for independent, focused study. MA students produce a body of practical and written work on an agreed topic. MFA students produce an additional extended range of work, appropriate to the length of the course. Self-directed projects are connected to a number of set projects, workshops and collaborations throughout the academic year.

Studies will combine practical studio work with theoretical and written studies, including professional practice elements in preparation for employment in the industry. There is a lecture/seminar series that will examine the wider context of your studies, presented by contemporary illustrators, designers and artists.

Career opportunities

Graduates explore an exciting and diverse range of careers, including working as picture book illustrators, designers, freelance illustrators, artists and craftsmen, or in leading agencies.

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The MA Illustration course encourages practitioners to question the nature of their practice and its context and position relative to the creative industries.

It recognises an expansive understanding of illustration through the exploration of relationships between illustrator as author, their audience and presentation, and sites and contexts for the work. Ideas are developed through specific individual approaches to research into practice and reflective enquiry. You may come to the course from a number of diverse backgrounds including illustration, graphic design, printmaking, drawing, photography and painting, or from outside art and design practice, having experience across other subject disciplines but demonstrating an abiding interest and evidence of a passion for illustration in all or any of its forms, good ideas and a willingness to take risks with your work.

This Master’s course is designed to appeal to students who are open to engagement with a diverse range of creative approaches and possibilities from traditional methods including drawing and printmaking, to lens and time based media, with ideas that might be realised through exhibition, publication or exciting new hybrid forms. As a particular characteristic of the discipline, the integration within practice of a mix of different media is recognised in the inter-disciplinary nature of the MA course. It is a methodology that can lead smoothly to the realisation of meaningful collaborative outcomes as well as distinct and individual approaches. The course is structured and supportive and will encourage you to further your own ideas and to realise your aspirations for future employment and freelance practice.

The MA Illustration course encourages students to engage imaginatively with their practice in relation to the evolving academic subject and practice of illustration. Your work will be considered in a global context and the emergence of approaches that challenge the orthodox practices and work within and beyond the traditional subject area. Graduates from the MA programme will be able to carve their own niche in an evolving market for visual material.

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The Master of Fine Art in Fine Art (MFA) provides postgraduate studio-based arts practice, critical theory in fine arts and access to the professional skills and knowledge to succeed in a career in the fine arts. The programme will appeal to independent artists wanting to extend their practice within a critical research framework supported by practicing tutors. Artists looking to extend their career path into curatorial practice in the contemporary arts, collaborative projects with arts organisations, arts in socially engaged practices and/or further research will find support for this trajectory in this broad-based programme. Teaching involves lectures, seminars, and group and individual tutorials from active artists with research profiles. The programme will equip you with creative, interpretive, critical and analytical skills to develop an advanced understanding of contemporary art and its social, cultural and historical contexts.

The image above shows a close up of the work Nova by Saad Querishi, a former student of Fine Art at Oxford Brookes. Saad has been commissioned to produce a piece of work for the new areas of the campus and will be acting as a resource for the students on the programme.

Why choose this course?

Your artistic practice – An independent studio environment enables you to further your work within a supported critical framework. Through group and individual tutorials, staff/peer critique and presentations, an incremental approach is applied whereby you will confidently develop your work towards public exhibition/dissemination. There are two formal exhibitions during the MFA programme.

Flexible studio options – Students may select to locate their studio either at Oxford Brookes or elsewhere. Students working from their own studios will be eligible for a reduced tuition fee. 

Technical resources – The School of Arts’ workshops offer supported working environments in a range of specialist areas including: sculpture, photography, video, sound, printmaking and book-works. All our workshops are staffed by highly skilled and creative Technical Specialists.

Extra-curricular activities – You will gain exposure to a range of contemporary artistic practice through the thriving creative student community in the School of Arts at Oxford Brookes. You will participate in the lectures and film screenings set up by the Fine Art Research (FAR) Group. These include visiting contemporary artists, critics, curators and notable alumni. Free life drawing classes extend your drawing skills and optional local, regional and international field trips provide further stimulus.

Theoretical framework – Your ability to articulate your own creative position is enabled through a critical engagement with a range of scholarship informed by diverse practices by nationally and internationally recognised artists, collectives and movements. An early theoretical module explores contemporary art discourse through seminars informed by selected readings and in a later module you develop a more intense involvement with theory related to your individual research interests.

Professional development – The programme enables you to identify a professional focus which is likely to inform your subsequent career trajectory. This might involve research preparation, a placement, a collaborative project or exhibition management/curatorial practice. With the guided experience in this module our graduates are better prepared for a successful career as a professional artist.

Careers and professional development

How this course helps you develop

In addition to the support, teaching and development opportunities afforded by the curriculum, as a student you will be immersed in the active arts environment of the School. During your studies with us you will have access to the visiting speakers arranged for this and for other arts programmes, for the seminars and conferences in diverse fields, including publishing, film, music and digital production in the School. The field trips, visiting artists, PhD students and opportunities in the programme’s Professional Experience module offer a rich network of individuals and organisations that enable you to make useful contacts for your future career. 

Careers

Graduates from this programme will be well equipped to pursue their practice as independent artists who have a well-developed understanding of the theoretical and professional contexts of the current and contemporary landscape of the arts and creative industries. 

This programme is delivered within the School of Arts, which offers a vibrant environment for the creative industries including film, photography, music and publishing. Through the modules, which address practice, theory and professional experience, students are provided with links to engage with employment and further study opportunities, either as independent practitioners, facilitators or participants within a range of group and collaborative practices and contexts. 

Free language courses for students - the Open Module

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

Please note that the free language courses are not available if you are:

• studying at a Brookes partner college
• studying on any of our teacher education courses or postgraduate education courses.

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Illustrators work within many disciplines, are able to visualise, elucidate and extend the meaning of a given field of knowledge or information and communicate ideas and narratives to specific audiences.

The contemporary practice of illustration is multidisciplinary, incorporating drawing, printmaking, traditional and digital media, model making, performance and collaborative, interactive practices.

Design Network

Based in the heart of the School of Art, MA/MFA Design: Illustration is part of an innovative design network — a community of staff and students exploring design ideas in a discursive, cross-disciplinary studio environment. Critically informed practical designers, the group works experimentally, inspired by new insights and possibilities.

While studying towards a particular qualification at MA/MFA level, students experience their subject in the broader context of contemporary design practice.

Specialist Environment

Dedicated spaces for the postgraduate community have been developed to enable the postgraduate community to flourish. These spaces, for thinking and practice, are located centrally within the School of Art, allowing easy access to an extensive range of workshops where the combination of traditional and state of the art equipment opens up a world of exciting possibilities.

Course Content

The MA Design: Illustration is made up of four units totalling 180 credits.

The programme is designed to help you acclimatise to the challenges of MA level research and practice, enabling you to identify and describe a clear direction for your postgraduate design study.

You will be encouraged to develop design propositions that encompass key design issues and have complexity and ambition, taking full consideration of the relative contextual drivers.

You will also be encouraged and supported to extend your experience in the professional sphere either through a practical project, research context, exchange, work experience, or other negotiated professional set of interactions with an external partner, groups of students and creative industry.

Towards the end of the programme you will undertake a major project to consolidate your past research and practice into fully realised collections, pieces, proposals, business plans, or exhibitions – whatever means is appropriate to the work. You will also have developed a strategy for the continuation of your practice located and contextualised to the profession or discipline.

If you choose to progress to MFA Design: Illustration award you will study a further two units of 60 credits each.

This route is focused on the continuation of your practice aligned to the research and selection of appropriate public or professional venues and platforms to disseminate a significant body of work. You will be required to produce work for a public audience in the most relevant and appropriate form along with any implicit publicity and dissemination material.

Resources

We have developed a dedicated postgraduate area occupying an entire floor of the main School of Art building, offering an exciting space to be, both intellectually and practically. The centre is located in the newly refurbished Chatham Tower with studios, design laboratories, seminar rooms and extensive workshops that form the nucleus of this vibrant, cross-disciplinary learning environment.

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

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

LEARNING ENVIRONMENT AND ASSESSMENT

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

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

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

FURTHER INFORMATION

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

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

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

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The MA in Fine Art combines studio work with a theory-based programme of lectures and seminars led by internationally renowned practising artists and history of art scholars respectively. A research-centred programme, students are admitted into painting, sculpture or fine art media (which includes electronic media, photography, print, film and video).

Degree information

The programme provides an intellectual and creative environment in which talented fine art graduates develop their individual potential as professional artists and pursue independent research. The History and Theory of Art component enables students to develop in depth the relationship between theory and practice in their own work.

The Fine Art MA is an integrated degree programme and does not have a modular structure.

The programme consists of studio work (75%) and History and Theory of Art (25%). There are no core or optional modules for this programme.

Dissertation/report
All students undertake an individual research project in their second year as a component of the History and Theory of Art course, which culminates in a substantial report.

Teaching and learning
A studio-based programme, students develop their work with tutorial/technical assistance according to need. The taught component is delivered through lectures, seminars, tutorials and workshops, but primarily demands individual investigation. Year 2 prioritises supervised individual research. Assessment is by exhibition of final studio-work and history and theory coursework including a dissertation.

Careers

The programme aims to develop students' individual potential; also providing an excellent foundation for further doctoral research. The Graduate Degree Shows are attended by gallerists, curators and collectors; providing a high-profile entrance to the professional art world. Recent graduates have established international careers as professional artists, receiving important commissions, gaining gallery representation, winning major prizes and residencies, as well as developing new artist-led initiatives. Others have roles in related careers including curation, museum and gallery management and teaching worldwide.

News and achievements of alumni including recent graduates are detailed on the news section of the Slade School website: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/slade/news

Top career destinations for this degree:
-Artist in Residence, Queenswood School
-Associate Lecturer, University of the Arts
-Artist and Director, Self-Employed Artist and Director
-Visual Artist, Leah Miller-Biot
-Film and TV Production Assistant, Unspecified Production Company and studying EAST, University of London (Institutes and Activities)

Employability
Professional development opportunities are actively encouraged with recent competitions including commissions to design a nine-storey mural and another to produce an artwork for the entrance to the UCL Grant Museum of Zoology.

Partnerships outside of UCL include one with Camden Arts Centre whilst the Slade is a founder member of the Junction: North London Cultural Consortium; all of which offers students the opportunity to experience working with galleries and other professional art bodies. In addition, there are several studio residency awards to help launch completing graduate students including the annual Red Mansion Art Prize of a residency in China.

Why study this degree at UCL?

The UCL Slade School of Fine Art is one of the UK's leading university departments for research in Fine Art, approaching the study and practice of art in an enquiring, investigative, experimental and research-minded way.

All academic staff are practising artists, actively involved in research as well as teaching, and have a diverse range of interests and expertise. Students benefit from excellent studio space and facilities, including a large research centre in Woburn Square.

The Slade's central London location enables easy access to a wide range of unparalleled learning resources including major galleries, museums, libraries, cultural institutions and theatres.

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The MFA in Fine Art is a studio-based, research-centred programme with a critical studies component, supported by studio-led seminars arising from the creative and critical interests of students and staff. Students are admitted into painting, sculpture or fine art media (which includes electronic media, photography, print, film and video).

Degree information

The programme provides an intellectual and creative environment in which talented fine art graduates may develop their individual potential as professional artists and researchers in their chosen studio area; whilst developing a critical awareness of the broadening intellectual and cultural contexts of fine art.

The Fine Art MFA is an integrated degree programme and does not have a modular structure.

The programme consists of studio work (100%) in the student's chosen subject area, and critical studies which are assessed on a pass/fail basis. There are no core or optional modules for this programme.

Exhibition
Assessment is by submission of the critical study and final examination of studio work in the form of an exhibition.

Teaching and learning
A studio-based programme, students develop their work with tutorial/technical assistance according to individual need. The taught component is delivered through lectures, seminars, tutorials and workshops, but primarily demands individual investigation. Year two prioritises supervised individual research.

Careers

The programme aims to develop students' individual potential, and provide an excellent foundation for further doctoral research. The Graduate Degree Shows are attended by gallerists, curators and collectors providing a high-profile entrance to the professional art world. Recent graduates have established international careers as professional artists, receiving important commissions, gaining gallery representation, winning major prizes and residencies, as well as developing new artist-led initiatives. Others have taken on roles in related careers including curation, museum and gallery management and teaching worldwide. News and achievements of alumni including recent graduates are detailed on the news section of the Slade School website.

Top career destinations for this degree:
-Gallery Assistant, Tate Modern
-Studio Technician, White Dark Ltd
-Art Technician, The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts
-Artist, Self-Employed Filmmaker and Artist
-MA Neurosciences, King's College London

Employability
Professional development opportunities are actively encouraged with recent competitions including commissions to design a nine-storey mural and another to produce an artwork for the entrance to the UCL Grant Museum of Zoology.

Partnerships outside of UCL include one with Camden Arts Centre whilst the Slade is a founder member of the Junction: North London Cultural Consortium; all of which offers students the opportunity to experience working with galleries and other professional art bodies. In addition, there are several studio residency awards to help launch completing graduate students including the annual Red Mansion Art Prize of a residency in China.

Why study this degree at UCL?

The UCL Slade School of Fine Art is one of the UK's leading university departments for research in Fine Art, approaching the study and practice of art in an enquiring, investigative, experimental and research-minded way.

All academic staff are practising artists, actively involved in research as well as teaching, and have a broad and diverse range of interests and expertise. Students benefit from excellent studio space and facilities, including a large research centre in Woburn Square.

The UCL Slade School's central London location enables easy access to unparalleled learning resources including major galleries, museums, libraries, cultural institutions and theatres.

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The course is designed to enable you to strengthen your position as an artist with a move from undergraduate study or re-entry at postgraduate level characterised by an increased depth of research and increasingly sophisticated, critically reflexive, material practice.

The programme supports the development of your visual research process and enables a testing ground of methods, genres, concepts and contexts that challenge the boundaries and relationship between theory and practice.

Course content
The MA Fine Art is a broad, studio-based programme with an open and inclusive approach to fine art practice. The programme encourages both specialist and cross-disciplinary approaches enabling students to extend and deepen their knowledge and application of fine art practice.

The curriculum is structured on Practice as Research, through which specialist studio disciplines are developed within cultural, aesthetic and socio-political contexts supporting the creative exploration of ideas through practical skills, research methodologies, theoretical and analytical frameworks. This places individual practice at the centre of the programme. Studio-based modules run throughout the programme and maintain the dynamic interrelation between visual research, concepts and theory. Studio research can be developed within: painting, textiles, sculpture (including ceramics), printmaking and digital media.

Home Tuition Fees for 2017

1 Year full time taught including dissertation £5670.00.

Part time - 30 credit module fee £945.00. Dissertation fee £1890.00

There is an Alumni Discount of 10% for students applying within five years of completion of an undergraduate course at Chichester.

Overseas Fees for 2017 are £12,360.00

Our facilities
Over the past few years, we’ve redeveloped both of our campuses so that you have the best facilities available for your degree. We pride ourselves on the quality of the learning environment we can offer our students.

The Art department are situated in the dedicated artOne building comprising outstanding studio and workshop facilities. It is an exciting place to study, providing a dynamic and supportive learning environment for the production of original new art work.

The well-equipped workshops and studios provide environments for you to create experimental, inventive and ambitious work. The main studio space in the purpose built artOne building provides individual studio spaces for all students as well as bookable spaces for installation, performance and projection work. If you are doing studio practice modules, you will be allocated a personal studio base in which you can carry out your self-directed projects and art work.

All students also have access to workshop areas and technical support in the key disciplines of the Fine Art programmes. The workshops reflect the range of options across the various degree programmes. A distinctive aspect of the department is that of individualized working areas in the studio space.

Where this can take you
The course provides the opportunity to concentrate on a specific area of research.

Potential Careers

Professional artist
Art teacher, educator, or technician
Art administration and management in galleries and museums
Art therapy (with extra professional qualification) and art community work
Art journalism
Curator

Work placements
Recent students have worked on site-specific commissions, community arts projects, and work placements with local galleries and museums, residencies in schools, and even creating their own virtual gallery. The experience is invaluable in terms of working to time and budgetary constraints, and in dealing with the public.

Indicative modules
Distinctive features of the course:

Practice-based Fine Art research in Painting, Sculpture (including Ceramic), Textiles, Printmaking and/or New Media and technologies
Opportunities to work with nationally recognised arts researchers
Development of professional working practices
All students may leave with a fully functioning website for their own work (the emphasis being on the development of an existing site rather than building one from scratch)
Theory and Research Methodologies linked to practical studio work
Full time students offered studio space
Use of 'artOne' BA studio facilities for full and part time students in the summer period.
Optional modules:

The development of fully functioning websites for students' own work
Share in collaborative work through 'Practising Arts with New Technologies' module.

Teaching and Assessment
To gain an MA students need to complete four out of five modules plus the Independent Exhibition. This is an independent research project, and is largely practical, culminating in a professional context exhibition.

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

Overview

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

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

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

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

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

Careers

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

Modules

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

Assessment

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

Specialist facilities

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

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If you have a degree but little experience in the study of art history, archaeology, and anthropology, this programme will prepare you for postgraduate study in the field. Students choose from the full range of undergraduate modules offered in the School to build a unique programme tailored to their interests.

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