The programme offered by Cardiff School of Art and Design
is one of the longest established Masters programmes in
Ceramics in the UK. Over four hundred graduates (with nearly
a third from countries outside the UK) having successfully
completed the one and two-year full-time and two-year part
time routes. Many of these are now todayís leading
practitioners, researchers and academics in the field of
ceramics.
Who is the Programme
for?
The MA Ceramics programme is for individuals seeking significantly
to extend and develop their practice as artists, designers
or makers through the medium of ceramics or deepen their
knowledge and understandings of the subject as future researchers
or academics.
What previous experience do students have?
Students pursuing this programme normally have a BA Hons
degree in the visual arts and are intending to build directly
upon their undergraduate studies or are looking to use
the opportunities offered by the programme to rethink their
position and change direction. More typical is the graduate
with a number of years professional experience, in areas
related or unrelated to ceramics, perhaps as teachers in
mid-career and occasionally post-career. All will have
reflected on their experiences to date and have decided
to deepen their engagement with practice or research in
the discipline.
What do students do following graduation?
A very high percentage practice professionally: many exhibiting
work developed through their MA studies and links established
with galleries and other agencies or organisations associated
with the visual arts. Some establish their own studios
and others base themselves in co-operative studios. A steadily
increasing number are pursuing research degrees (M.Phil/
PhD), either within the School or in other institutions
and establish themselves as researchers or teachers and
it is interesting to note the number of other courses in
the UK, which have Cardiff graduates on their staff.
What is the Programme
about?
It is about enabling each student to identify their true
interests and concerns as artists, designers or makers
and to develop appropriate methods to explore their ideas
and articulate or express them effectively in imaginative
or innovative ways, through the medium of ceramics. It
also engages students with the key theories and contemporary
debates, thus fostering their understandings of the ways
in which these influence the development, expression and
communication of their ideas, which will impact upon the
success of their future practice as artists, makers or
academics.
How is the programme arranged?
From the outset the programme is arranged in ways, which
enable students to learn and develop by identifying and
then focussing progressively on their particular interests
and ambitions, under close tutorial supervision. A key
part of this process is the development of methods and
strategies for the conceptualisation and expression of
ideas, while exploiting the unique material and visual
properties of the medium of ceramics.
An overarching series of lectures and seminars provide
students with a grounding in research methods and engages
them with key contemporary debates. Workshops designed
to introduce students to new material and processes or
to strengthen existing knowledge and experience, are run
through the year. As the course progresses, group tutorials
further enrich studentsí experience. The balance
of study time is normally theory 25%, and practice 75 %.
In which ways may Cardiff's
MA Program be different to others?
Ceramics is a medium used by artists, designers and makers,
each of whom may occupy very different positions and frequently
have opposing priorities and values to each other. Therefore
it would inappropriate to approach the subject in ways,
which attempt to generalise and impose artificial, common
values or criteria. This understanding is reflected in
the ways students are taught and supervised by a team of
highly experienced staff, dedicated to postgraduate study
and research in Ceramics.
The Schoolís MA Ceramic's Programme is the only
one of the three originally established in the UK, where
it is possible to progress from undergraduate (BA (Hons)
to postgraduate studies (MA) and through to research degrees
(M.Phil and PhD) and then post doctoral research, within
a single centre. As a result, MA Ceramics students have
access to an exceptionally wide range of knowledge and
expertise and well-equipped workshops and specialist facilities,
supported by highly experienced technical staff. All students
have individual studio workspaces.
Awards for tuition fees and living expenses
Students undertaking either the full-time or part-time
routes of this programme and who are normally resident
in the UK and the EU, are eligible to apply to The Arts
and Humanities Research Board for an award to fund their
tuition fees. UK students may also receive living expenses
for the duration of the program. The closing date for applications
is the beginning of May, although students must have a
place on the program, confirmed early in the preceding
March.
Full details and conditions of AHRBís Professional
Preparation Masters scheme can be found on www.ahrb.ac.uk/apply/
The MA Ceramic's
Programme Team
- Peter Castle/Programme Director
- Michael Hose
- Dr Jeffrey Jones
- Dr Natasha Mayo
- Babette Martini
NB. Other permanent staff in the centre will also contribute
when and where appropriate – see Centre staff for
details
Application Forms & Further Details:
Peter Castle
Programme Director/MA Ceramics
Cardiff School of Art and Design
Howard Gardens
Cardiff
CF24 0SP
E-mail: pcastle@uwic.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 29 2041 6615
|
