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

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.

This course is open to International students.

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.

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

Book now

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.

Applicants will also need a good portfolio.

IELTS 6.0 overall with 5.5 minimum in all bands or its equivalent.

International Students

Entry requirements here

If you have a qualification that is not listed, please contact us.

Fees & How to Apply

Please select your student status to view fees and apply
  • UK Student
  • International Student

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
  • £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

Access to computer equipment

You will require use of a laptop, and most students do prefer to have their own. However, you can borrow a laptop from the university or use one of our shared computer rooms.

Printing

You will receive £5 print credit in each year of your course, available after enrolment.

Field trips

All essential field trips and associated travel costs will be included in your course fees.

Access to Microsoft Office 365

Every student at the University can download a free copy of Microsoft Office 365 to use whilst at university and for 18 months after graduation.

Key software

You will be able to download SPSS and Nvivo to your home computer to support with your studies and research.

Key subscriptions

Subscriptions to key journals and websites are available through our library.

Free Adobe Creative Cloud licence

Students studying on this course can request a free licence to install the entire suite of applications on up to two personal devices.

Basic materials for testing

We will provide some basic threads/yarns/printing materials for initial testing and experimentation.

DBS check

If you are required to undertake a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check for this course, the cost for your first DBS check is included in your fees.

Free student copy of Solidworks CAD Package

Students studying on this course will receive a free student copy of Solidworks CAD package.

Specialist equipment

This course requires specialist equipment. You will have access to the print room, library, studios and technical workshops at the School of Art.

Clothing and safety equipment (mandatory)

This course requires the purchase of clothing and/or safety equipment. You will require steel toe boots at an estimated cost of £20.

Media consumable items (mandatory)

This course requires the use of consumables, such as sketchpads, drawing materials, making tape etc, at an estimated cost of £50+.

Specialist equipment (mandatory)

This course requires you to purchase an external hard drive at a cost of £30+ dependant on size.

Excess printing (optional)

Once you have spent your £5 credit, additional printing on campus costs from 5p per sheet.

Personal stationery and study materials (optional)

Based on the past experience of our students, you might find it helpful to set aside about £30 for each year of your studies for your personal stationery and study materials.

Project materials (optional)

This course includes project work that requires you to develop and produce a portfolio. This could be digital, but if you choose to create a physical portfolio, you will be expected to provide the materials; costs will vary depending on the materials selected but we recommend you budget £100.

Personal equipment (optional)

Whilst not essential, it is advised you own a computer or laptop capable of running Adobe Creative Cloud.

Accommodation and living costs (optional)

The cost of accommodation and other living costs are not included within your course fees. More information on the cost of accommodation can be found in our accommodation pages.

*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):

In order to complete this course you must successfully complete at least 20 credits from the following indicative list of OPTIONAL modules.

Download course specification

Download now

Course 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:

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

Margaret Street exterior

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 Mona

Jennifer 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 Jennifer

Franziska 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