Fine Art - MA
Currently viewing course to start in 2025/26 Entry.
Our MA Fine Art Master’s course embraces art practice, in whatever form it takes (drawing, painting, sculpture, print, photography, installation, lens-based media, performance, participatory, interdisciplinary and expanded practice) and in whichever circumstance it occurs. It is conceptual at heart, pursuing strong ideas and challenges of art in real life....
- Level Postgraduate Taught
- Study mode Full Time/Part Time
- Award MA
- Start date September 2025
- Fees View course fees
- Subject
- Location Margaret Street
This course is:
Open to International Students
Overview
Our MA Fine Art Master’s course embraces art practice, in whatever form it takes (drawing, painting, sculpture, print, photography, installation, lens-based media, performance, participatory, interdisciplinary and expanded practice) and in whichever circumstance it occurs.
It is conceptual at heart, pursuing strong ideas and challenges of art in real life. The artist Joseph Beuys, working in Social Sculpture, famously said: "Each and every man has the most precious building in the world in his head, feelings and free will. And the French poet Baudelaire said: the best form of art criticism is another work of art."
We agree and so art is considered in relationship to philosophy, art history and theory, contemporary discourse and global contexts, establishing critical frameworks in which artists make work. We also have strong links with art galleries and artists communities, including Eastside Projects led by Gavin Wade and Céline Cordorelli.
What's covered in this course?
This expansive programme offers you a specialist education in Fine Art with both core practice modules and optional modules, that change to reflect contemporary ways of practising. These have included: Philosophy and Aesthetics; Social Practices in the Visual Arts; Creative Publishing; Technical Methods; Small Arts Business Set up; Models and Methods of Curatorial Practice and Photography as Research. These help develop and frame your practice whilst also introducing you to contemporary contexts and debates.
It will enable you to take risks, be imaginative and self reflexive in the development of your work. It builds your confidence, enhances your critical and analytical skills and prepares you for a career in the creative sector.
Numerous alumni have gone on to be successful in a wide range of sectors of Education, Culture Industries and public and private sector arts organisations. You will be encouraged to personalise your learning preparing you for life as a professional artist or PhD researcher. Collaboration and personal development are strongly encouraged alongside attention to pastoral care.
You will be located at Birmingham School of Art (Margaret Street Campus), an impressive Grade 1 listed purpose built resource, with a specialist team of friendly, experienced and dedicated technicians.
The MA Fine Art course created a challenging and stimulating environment which allowed me to re-evaluate and contextualise my practice. The course helped me to acquire the knowledge, skills and experience needed to realise my potential ambitions and to find my unique voice as an artist. The programme is run with professionalism at its core and has prepared me well for the future.
Samira Nejad, MA Fine Art
Why Choose Us?
- Birmingham School of Art is an internationally recognised centre of excellence for art-based learning and research.
- The MA Fine Art programme has a significant international reputation with alumni in over 20 countries worldwide, with strong exhibition profiles and working in a range of institutions and organisations.
- Each year the MA Fine Art course participates in an Inter-Institutional Symposium with a select number of other MA Fine Art courses throughout the UK.
- You will be supported by a highly professional staff team, doctoral researchers, technical demonstrators and artists in residence in a caring and supportive environment.
- We have good external links with internationally recognised galleries (Ikon, BMAG, Tate) and organisations in the creative industries (ELIA) and the wider community. Our graduates have shown work in renowned galleries (including Tate Modern) and at prestigious events (such as the Venice Biennale).
- A high number of graduates have been awarded fully funded Arts and Humanities Research Council and Birmingham City University Scholarships for PHD study.
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OPEN DAY
Join us for an on-campus Open Day where you'll be able to learn about this course in detail, chat to students, explore our campus and tour accommodation.
Next Event: 24 November 2024
Entry Requirements
Essential requirements
Essential Requirements
BA (Hons) Degree in Fine Art or Art and Design, or other Arts-based Degree course, related subject. The minimum academic qualification required is a 2:2 award. Those with equivalent prior professional or life experience will also be considered. |
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Applicants will also need a good portfolio. |
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IELTS 6.0 overall with 5.5 minimum in all bands or its equivalent. |
If you have a qualification that is not listed, please contact us.
Fees & How to Apply
UK students
Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study. The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament. View fees for continuing students.
Award: MA
Starting: Sep 2025
- Mode
- Duration
- Fees
- Full Time
- 1 year
- £9,190 in 2025/26
- Full Time
- 18 months (including Professional Placement - see below*)
- £10,110 in 2025/26
- Part Time
- 2 years
- Show fees
- £1022 per 20 credits
- Year 1 - 120 credits
- Year 2 - 60 credits
Fees for Part-time students
This course can be studied on a Part-time study basis. The cost per year of study is based on credit requirements for that year.
International students
Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study. The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament. View fees for continuing students.
Award: MA
Starting: Sep 2025
- Mode
- Duration
- Fees
- Full Time
- 1 year
- £18,600 in 2025/26
- Full Time
- 18 months (including Professional Placement - see below*)
- £20,460 in 2025/26
*Professional Placement option
The Professional Placement version of the course is optional and is offered as an alternative to the standard version of the course.
This will allow you to complete a credit bearing, 20 week Professional Placement as an integral part of your Master’s Degree. The purpose of the Professional Placement is to improve your employability skills which will, through the placement experience, allow you to evidence your professional skills, attitudes and behaviours at the point of entry to the postgraduate job market. Furthermore, by completing the Professional Placement, you will be able to develop and enhance your understanding of the professional work environment, relevant to your chosen field of study, and reflect critically on your own professional skills development within the workplace.
You will be responsible for finding and securing your own placement. The University, however, will draw on its extensive network of local, regional and national employers to support you in finding a suitable placement to complement your chosen area of study. You will also benefit from support sessions delivered by Careers+ as well as advice and guidance from your School.
Placements will only be confirmed following a competitive, employer-led selection process, therefore the University will not be able to guarantee placements for students who have registered for the ‘with Professional Placement’ course. All students who do not find a suitable placement or do not pass the competitive selection process will be automatically transferred back to the standard, non-placement version of the course.
Portfolio guidance
If you receive an offer to study this course, you will be required to submit a portfolio. We ask that this is submitted within four weeks of receiving your offer.
Please see our portfolio guidance page for tips on putting your portfolio together.
Portfolio guidance
If you receive an offer to study this course, you will be required to submit a portfolio. We ask that this is submitted within four weeks of receiving your offer.
Please see our portfolio guidance page for tips on putting your portfolio together.
Personal statement
You’ll need to submit a personal statement as part of your application for this course. This will need to highlight your passion for postgraduate study – and your chosen course – as well as your personal skills and experience, academic success, and any other factors that will support your application for further study.
If you are applying for a stand alone module, please include the title of the module you want to study in your Personal Statement.
Not sure what to include? We’re here to help – take a look at our top tips for writing personal statements and download our free postgraduate personal statement guide for further advice and examples from real students.
Course in Depth
Modules
In order to complete this course you must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 160 credits):
This module is self-directed by you and allows you to develop your individual and/or collaborative practice in whatever form it takes in relationship to the development of your theoretical and/or contextual research. In the first instance it is anticipated that you will reorientate your practice and that this will be moved forward through practical experimentation and research towards the creation of a developmental platform. There is also an opportunity to acquire new practical skills in alternative media and/or related disciplines where relevant.
This module is self-directed by you and allows you to further develop and consolidate your individual and/or collaborative practice in whatever form it takes in relationship to the development of your theoretical and/or contextual research. This module further deepens and enhances the orientation, practical experimentation and research within the creation of a developmental platform. Practical skills in alternative media and/or related disciplines where relevant will be further enhanced.
The purpose of the module is to enable you to undertake a sustained, in-depth and theoretically informed research project exploring an area that is of personal interest to you. It is important that we can support you appropriately, so you will be guided towards choosing a research topic which is relevant to your discipline and in which your lecturers have expertise. The outcome may take the form of a written dissertation or a practical outcome with accompanying reflective, critical and contextual material. The main consideration when choosing your topic is that it must be relevant to your programme and you should consider the relevance of this topic to your future academic or professional development.
This module is largely self-directed with tutorial/ supervisory support and offers you the opportunity to develop your study towards higher degree research and/ or professional practice and engagement in the workplace.
In order to complete this course you must successfully complete at least 20 credits from the following indicative list of OPTIONAL modules.
The module examines a range of works of art and craft, designed objects, ethnic artefacts and architecture from periods embracing the early modern to contemporary, considered in the light of socio-historical contexts, intellectual discourses, theoretical models and methodological approaches. Students are thus introduced to different historical periods, products of art and design from within those periods, the cultural politics and technological developments that have helped shape them, and research questions and methodologies that can be brought to bear on them. Weekly meetings present independent topics, not necessarily in chronological order, but selected so as to demonstrate the wide diversity of objects from visual culture for potential study and the range of approaches that can be applied to them. Students are encouraged to reflect on and evaluate their own practice, to locate their approach in the field and develop a clear rationale for their approach.
This module, Contemporary Philosophy & Aesthetics explores how Fine Art is made and understood conceptually. How thinking in Fine Art works. This may inform research into practice via the meeting of philosophy, visual culture and social contexts within Fine Art practices. We may look at exhibitions artists and cultural discourses. For example: texts, films, music, fashion and events. It sets the stage for developing your own critical knowledge of the complexities underlying modern and contemporary life and in so doing, building your concepts and language, in your own practices.
The purpose of this module is to introduce you to contemporary curatorial thinking. Throughout the module, you will encounter a range of concepts, themes, approaches and methodologies relevant to your discipline including the role of the curator and exhibition making; the museum and gallery as context and framework; the role of the artist-curator-artist, curating for new media and technologies and curating global exhibitions. You will be supported to develop skills in confidently articulating your knowledge in verbal and written forms.
This module attends to both historical and contemporary models of practice in relationship to the emergence of queer theory. We will explore a range of art practices and queer methods that critique or subvert dominant modes of representation and operation. Focus is given to the following areas: Introduction to queer theory, Art beyond representation, Queer Speech, Queer horror, Education and transgression, Queering the Archive; Care; Queer reading.
The module examines art as a social practice, its relationship with our present time and links to historical works and contexts. You will be introduced to key examples and debates within Social Practice with focus given to the following areas: Activism, Antagonism, Participation, Collaboration, Community, Environmentalism, Relational Aesthetics, Socially Engaged Practice, Dialogical Art & Institutional Critique.
This module provides you with an insight into entrepreneurship and small business start-up within the arts and related sectors. Its focus is an exploration of the practicalities of starting-up a creative business. It also covers the nature of the creative industries as a whole as well as the significance of entrepreneurship within the arts and society as a whole.
The acts of photographing and researching are intrinsically linked. They are both activities concerned with expansion and contraction. If we imagine a photograph as a means to isolate a sphere of reality (with all of the caveats this statement demands) that are rendered, most often, in fractions of seconds. Then we could think in a similar way about research. An effort to know more and more about less and less.
The module will be based on a specific workshop process (e.g. for example in the print room this might be etching, screen-print or lithography etc.), technical method (e.g. for example this might be around casting techniques, film and video making, 3D modelling etc.) or material (e.g. for example this might be an investigation into the material properties of clay, stone, a textiles material, etc.). You will independently identify and investigate your chosen line of enquiry to enable you to engage in practical hands on experience of a fabrication/production process.
This module provides a grounding in arts and transcultural communication, using artistic practices and discursive frameworks to highlight and examine issues related to communication. Communication, but also translation and interpretation intended from a linguistic, visual, cultural, artistic and curatorial perspective, are crucial when working internationally (and locally) with different communities. This module is for those students who aim at working and researching in a transcultural global environment more critically and effectively.
This module will explore publishing as a dynamic contemporary art form, a vehicle for the dissemination of ideas and an exploration of radical formats for bringing your art to a wider public. You will be introduced to artist-made books, self-publishing, digital publishing and other non-gallery modes of sharing and communicating art.
This module creates a trans-disciplinary space in order to explore art’s capacity to change the way we perceive our relationship to ecologies, whether they are environmental, social or psychological. Situated in the emerging field of the environmental humanities, the module will consider the history and theory of artworks associated with earth art, environmental art, and eco art from the 1960s to the present day. You will be introduced to a range of case studies and encouraged to unearth different strategies and methodologies in the environmental arts, from projects that pursue concrete political objectives to artworks that adopt eco-poetic approaches.
The module is an opportunity to learn and critically reflect on the skills of collaboration by enabling you to create a research-informed interdisciplinary project with students from complementary disciplines, or with academic staff.
Core modules are guaranteed to run. Optional modules will vary from year to year and the published list is indicative only.
Download course specification
Download nowCourse structure
The course comprises of five modules, taken over a one year full-time or two-year part-time route.
Learning strategies include:
- Independent learning
- One to one tutorial support
- Group tutorials
- Taught staff led seminars
- Student led seminars
- School of Art Public Talks Series
- Lectures and conferences
- Library research/resources
- Field trips (where appropriate)
Classroom activities and projects
The staff team is highly professional with extensive expertise within their individual specialist subjects and fields of research. As an MA Fine Art student, you will also have access to visiting professionals working in the art world.
Teaching throughout this course reflects the dynamic and current interests of the year group. Alongside this, students are supported in the independent investigation within their artmaking, in relation to a critical, theoretical and contextual frame.
You will be involved in group tutorials and student-led seminars that invite you to present your research and practical work for the group to consider and critically evaluate. The intention here is to share your ideas with other people who become ‘critical friends’ to help you think through your work in new ways.
Throughout the course, students are encouraged to make public exhibitions and events, and seek opportunities to test and to showcase work. There is a fantastic opportunity to show your work by contributing to an Interim Show and the Masters Final Exhibition. Our students have a reputation for being ambitious and year on year, our shows are exciting and thought provoking. As a result of the final shows numerous students have gone on to establish their profiles internationally.
Student stories
Grace Williams
Grace is an artist and lecturer, currently based at De Montfort University. After her graduation from the MA Fine Art course she became the Gertrude Aston Bowater award holder for practice-led PhD research working toward the thesis 'The Supernatural Sex: Women, Magick & Mediumship: Assembling a Field of Fascination in Contemporary Art'.
Traversing photography, film and installation her work explores the performance and sexual politics of the female body within the fields of Mediumship (channeling conduits) Magick (Occult, black magic), Magic (vanishing women) and pre-narrative cinema; with a specific focus on the materialising mediums within the Thomas Glendenning Hamilton photographic archive, for which she received the T.G Hamilton research Grant from the University of Manitoba, Canada.
Images: Escamotage / After Cecil Beaton
Ning-Hsin Chang (Losa Cola)
Losa is a sculptor, installation artist and poet. Her work is concerned with the experience of women in Taiwan and the expectation of traditional gender roles that she works to subvert in a nuanced way through the creation of anthropomorphic post-human creatures and partial body parts. Her work uses a range of material but most commonly involves the use of clay, wax, fabric, text and sound.
Images: Strange Attractors (2016) / Untitled Creature (2016)
Employability
Enhancing employability skills
As you study this course you will develop a set of transferrable skills such as creative problem solving, communication and presentation skills, adaptability and flexibility, independence and teamwork, and good time management.
You will also learn technical and digital skills in a range of workshop practices linked to your individual development.
Links to Industry
Birmingham School of Art has a wide array of links with partner organisations regionally, nationally and internationally. These partnerships will provide work experience opportunities for you, and contribute to your learning and teaching activities.
Regional - Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Ikon Gallery, Eastside Projects, Coventry Biennial, Midlands Art Centre, New Gallery Walsall, Mead Gallery, VIVID, Capsule, Grand Union, Stryx, Hippodrome, the REP, the new Library of Birmingham, Primary and Secondary Schools across the region.
National - Arts Council England, Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool etc.
Placements
Placements are one of the possible ways of fulfilling your Research in Practice module. There is scope for placements with a number of organisations in the city and beyond, however it is your responsibility to plan and organise your placement with the organisation you wish to work with.
Placements can last for a few weeks or for a longer period of time. They provide you with a great opportunity to gain insight into how an organisation works and your reflection on their activities can be useful to them as you develop your research. You will also find that this is a great way to meet and network with people in the creative industries. Our members of staff are able to guide and support you through this process.
MA Fine Art with Professional Placement
The Professional Placement version of the course is optional and is offered as an alternative to the standard version of the course.
This will allow you to complete a credit bearing, 20 week Professional Placement as an integral part of your Master’s Degree.
You will be responsible for finding and securing your own placement. The University, however, will draw on its extensive network of local, regional and national employers to support you in finding a suitable placement to complement your chosen area of study.
Our alumni
Hannah Honeywill
Hannah employs objects that already exist, in particular furniture, as it has a history and functionality. Her research has been heavily influenced by the ideas and concepts within queer theory. It is the play, history, silliness and the absurdity of queer methodologies that is present in her artwork.
She was selected for New Art West Midlands, 2016 and shortlisted for the Broomhill National Sculpture Prize, 2016. In 2015 her artwork was long-listed for the Aesthetica Art Prize and she won the Next Wave Prize in Birmingham in 2014. Her work was selected for the Art Laguna Prize in Venice in 2012 and the Threadneedle Prize in London in 2011.
Recent exhibitions have included:
- Barber Institute Residency 2016-2017
- Wellcome Trust Arts Grant 2015 -2016
- Pete Lloyd Lewis Studio Award 2015-2016
Feng Ru Lee - Winner of the prestigious Taipei Prize in 2000
Feng-Ru Lee’s practice is rooted in her Far-East Asian Cultural background her work crosses a range of different media and often-incorporates video, two dimensional works, performance and installation. Toying with ideas of mass production and genetic engineering, Lee’s practice is often seen as both a critique and an attempt to understand the seemingly controversial issues involved in the state of the contemporary human condition. Lee explores ideas that centre on the status of the transition/ migration between cultures and humanity, whilst also addressing notions of the materialisation of objects and beings. Subjects, such as Eastern philosophy and Western science that seem immediately differential, hold intrinsically deep and thought provoking issues for both the artist and viewer. Lee has exhibited throughout the UK, Taiwan and internationally including the USA, Middle East, Japan, and across Europe. In 2001 she represented Taipei, Taiwan in an artist residency programme between Taipei and Jerusalem. Lee has also completed residencies in Berlin and recently at the New Art Gallery Walsall.
Recent exhibitions have included:
- Venice Biennale, 2015
- Flux Fest at VIVID, Birmingham,
- Jam: Cultural Congestions in Contemporary Asian Art at South Hills Park
- Shift Time - The Festival of Ideas in Shrewsbury
- Solo Exhibition at Entrance Gallery in Prague, Czech Republic.
International
Birmingham City University is a vibrant and multicultural university in the heart of a modern and diverse city. We welcome many international students every year – there are currently students from more than 80 countries among our student community.
The University is conveniently placed, with Birmingham International Airport nearby and first-rate transport connections to London and the rest of the UK.
Our international pages contain a wealth of information for international students who are considering applying to study here, including:
- Details of the entry requirements for our courses
- Some of the good reasons why you should study here
- How to improve your language skills before starting your studies
- Information relevant to applicants from your country
- Where to find financial support for your studies.
Our international students
The Art Based Master’s Programme is an international community of aspiring researchers and professionals and the programme attracts candidates from all over the world including: Africa, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Italy, India, Iran, Israel, Japan, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Romania, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and the USA.
This diversity provides you with an opportunity to study with people from diverse social, cultural and ethnic backgrounds and who bring a wealth of experience to the programme. This gives the ABM programme a dynamic energy that enriches everyone’s educational experience.
Facilities & Staff
Our Facilities
We are constantly investing in our estate and are currently in the process of spending over £400 million on new learning facilities.
Birmingham School of Art (an impressive purpose built Grade 1 listed example of Venetian Gothic architecture) was the first major renovation project undertaken by the university (£5.5m refurbishment). The School provides an incredible resource for the production of art and its associated fields of study. The building has a range of facilities available including studios, workshops, specialist art and design library, bookable spaces and lecture/seminar rooms.
Our staff
Mona Casey
Course Leader: MA Fine Art
Mona Casey is MA Fine Art Course Director and International Lead. She is also module leader for the MA programme Models and Methods of Curatorial Practice. Mona was born in Ireland and currently lives in the UK, where she works as a curator, artist and researcher.
More about MonaJennifer Wright
Senior Lecturer in Fine Art
Jennifer Wright is an artist and Senior Lecturer, teaching on B.A. (Hons.) and M.A. Fine Art programmes at Birmingham City University but also visiting and examining other Fine Art course in England and Holland. Originally trained as a painter, Jennifer has exhibited both in the UK and internationally since graduating from the M.A. Fine Art...
More about JenniferFranziska Schenk
Senior Lecturer in Fine Art
Franziska is an artist, researcher and educator whose practice has been located at the interface of Art, Science and Ecology for more than two decades. Notably, she has collaborated with scientists from the emerging fields of biomimetics and bio-photonics to introduce latest nature-inspired ‘smart’ materials and methodologies into Fine Art. Drawing...
More about Franziska