Contemporary Arts and Music - 2012 entry
MA
/
PGDip
Overview
Kathy Hinde, Piano Migrations
Kathy Hinde, Piano Migrations
Kevin Quigley, The Magic of Rhythm, performance installation.
Kevin Quigley, An Echoing Bell, performance installation
The MA in Contemporary Arts and Music is one of four taught postgraduate courses for artists, composers and interdisciplinary practitioners offered by the School of Arts at Oxford Brookes University. The other three courses are:
- MA in Composition and Sonic Art
- MA in Contemporary Arts
- MA in Social Sculpture.
These interdisciplinary courses broaden awareness of expanded art practices and cross-disciplinary concerns. They question the boundaries of contemporary art practice and help to develop work which is relevant to contemporary life. A concern for location, context and audience is central. All projects culminate in a public presentation or performance. The courses are unique in their emphasis on creative strategies and innovative reflective practices that students often say have transformed not only their practice but their lives as well.
The MA in Contemporary Arts and Music offers a comprehensive introduction to practice-based research methodologies providing an excellent basis for doctoral research and ongoing independent practice. The course has been designed to allow artists and musicians/composers to develop their interests in a vibrant, interdisciplinary context. It encourages students to develop experimental approaches to their work and examines the conceptual and creative role of the artist and musician/composer in 21st century arts practice. Key elements include a focus of the role of site, context and location, together with an examination of the relationship between artist, art work and audience.
The School of Arts has a thriving culture of practice-based PhD research students, linked to our specialist research units. Seventy per cent of these research students began on our MA programmes.
A special feature of our four MA interdisciplinary arts courses is the MA feedback forum, in which students and staff meet to discuss creative practice in a supportive and stimulating environment. You have the opportunity to spend a semester at one of the following institutions: the Bauhaus University in Weimar; Piet Zwart Institute, Rotterdam; and the Vilnius Art Academy. You have 24-hour access, 7 days a week, to excellent studios and workshops. The courses are situated in the Richard Hamilton Building on our beautiful Headington Hill site, one and a half miles from Oxford city centre.
Core staff for the interdisciplinary arts courses
Subject Coordinator - Professor Shelley Sacks
MA in Social Sculpture - Professor Shelley Sacks, Dr Hildegard Kurt, Dr Wolfgang Zumdick
MA in Contemporary Arts; MA in Contemporary Arts and Music - Ray Lee, Reader in Art
MA Composition and Sonic Art - Dr Paul Whitty - Reader in Composition; Stephen Cornford - Early Research Fellow
See the Sonic Research Unit (SARU) and the Social Sculpture Research Unit (SSRU) websites for additional visiting staff and Research Associates.
Why Brookes?
- The School of Arts offers a unified hub for the arts in the Richard Hamilton Building, with state-of-the-art technical facilities and 24-hour studio access.
- Innovative cross-disciplinary and socially-engaged creative practices, including internationally-renowned programmes in sonic art and social sculpture.
- A stimulating environment where creative practitioners and writers about the arts and culture work closely together to form specialist research units and interdisciplinary research clusters in areas including the nineteenth century and modernism.
- Research and teaching programmes linked to some of Oxford’s leading cultural organisations such as Modern Art Oxford, Oxford Contemporary Music, and events such as the annual OXDOX International Documentary Film Festival.
- Opportunities for international study, with students recently visiting the United States, Europe and Australia.
In detail
CONTACT US
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arts-enquiry@brookes.ac.uk
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Course content
MA in Contemporary Arts and Music students take three compulsory modules - Creative Strategies, Research and Development, and Contemporary Practice in Arts and Music - and an appropriate Major Project.
PGDip students take one compulsory module - Creative Strategies, Research and Development, and Contemporary Practice in Arts and Music.
Modules may change from time to time; an indicative list is shown below.
Interdisciplinary modules
- Creative Strategies is shared by all four MA courses. This module explores methodologies and strategies for generating contemporary and cross-art-form work, sonic art and musical composition, social sculpture and related expanded art practices. You are encouraged to become aware of your working process as a creative practitioner and to understand the influence that certain methodologies and strategies have on the kind of work that you do. Through individual and collaborative practice-based work, staff-led seminars and feedback discussions, attention is focused on how we generate practice-based work. Strategies that encompass the intuitive, spontaneous, interventionist, discursive and analytical are used, individually or in collaboration with others.
- Research and Development provides the opportunity to identify an area of interest as a starting point for investigation and speculation. You will develop project proposals through deliberate, rigorous and sustained research and exploration. The module emphasises practical research processes relevant to your own concerns.
Specialist module:
- Contemporary Practice in Art and Music enables you to develop a deeper understanding of your practice through an engagement with exploratory processes. Through a series of workshops and exercises you will be introduced to new possibilities for generating, creating and thinking about contemporary work. Throughout the module, regular group feedback sessions on your emerging ideas enable you to realise how your work communicates your concerns to an audience. By the end of the module you will have developed a body of practical research for presentation. You will also reflect upon this through seminar feedback sessions and by articulating, in a written self-evaluation, the concerns in your evolving practice.
At the end of the course there is an annual degree festival of the MA work. The Major Project is the culmination of your course of study. You can take an active role in organising, marketing and running the festival, which in previous years has taken place at a variety of sites around Oxford, as well as well as exhibition spaces in the School of Arts.
Teaching, learning and assessment
Our teaching methods include:
- lectures and seminars
- team teaching in group seminars, involving research methodologies for practice-based research
- feedback from staff during group feedback sessions, in which staff provide constructive criticism and analysis of your work
- staff-led group discussions arising out of students' practical work presentations
- individual tutorials that address your research concerns
- introductions to creative strategies for generating and making practice-based work
- introductions to the technical facilities of the School of Arts
- induction sessions with subject librarians.
The learning methods include:
- regular forums where staff and students formulate and articulate responses to work
- creative practice presentations
- presentations of practical research
- the researching and writing of reports, assignments and evaluations
- private research and study
- presentations to peers and group feedback.
The assessment methods include:
- practical presentations of resolved artworks
- written self-evaluations for each creative project
- a written research portfolio
- written assignments and reports
- a final presentation of practical work as part of the MA exhibition/event.
Quality
Founded as Oxford's first art school in 1867, Oxford Brookes continues to enjoy a reputation for excellence and innovation across the arts, in both research and teacing. This course was successfully validated in 2000 and builds on the existing high-quality provision in the School of Arts.
"The range and scope of the associated practice and the strategies proposed for development of the ideas and their dissemination reflect the distinctive and exceptional nature of these set of MA programmes. The best work is very distinctive and in some cases groundbreaking encouraging the viewer to think, consider, reflect and make connections in a very wide range of social and cultural contexts."
External examiner, 2010
Career prospects
Combining the academic rigour of a traditional programme with practical and vocational components, arts students at Oxford Brookes are well placed for a variety of careers in the creative sector. Many master's students who have developed their practice at postgraduate level will continue as practising artists whilst others take up careers related to their knowledge, expertise or interests, for example within art galleries and museums; teaching further or higher education; new technologies; arts administration; conservation.
Specialist facilities
The MA in Contemporary Arts and Music is situated in the Richard Hamilton Building, which includes a large lecture theatre, a smaller lecture room, studios and installation rooms, music practice rooms and a research room for postgraduate students. Access to the Richard Hamilton Building is available 24 hours a day for all arts students.
The department also has access to the drama studio where performances and installations can take place. This provides a live performance venue with versatile sound, lighting and staging possibilities, including surround sound, projections and raised staging and seating.
Arts-related workshops and IT
Contemporary Arts and Music students have access to well-equipped workshops run by technical specialists in Artists’ Books, Printmaking, Photography, Video and a range of processes including casting, metalwork and woodwork. General internet, email and office software are available as well as workstations with more specialist programmes including Photoshop, Illustrator, Adobe Audition 3.0; Sibelius 6; Cubase Essential 4; Pure Data; Hyperprism; GRM Tools and Composers Desktop Project.
Field trips
You have the opportunity to spend a semester at the Bauhaus University in Weimar.
Free language courses for students - the Open Module
Free language courses are available to all full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students who are studying any course on our Headington (including Marston Road), Harcourt Hill or Wheatley Campuses, and can be taken as a credit on some courses.
Key facts
CONTACT US
+44 (0) 1865 484959
arts-enquiry@brookes.ac.uk
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Faculty
Faculty of Technology, Design and Environment
Department
Course length
Full-time: MA: 12 months, PGDip: 9 months
Part-time: MA: 24 months, PGDip: 18 months
Teaching location
Headington Campus, Headington Hill
Start date
September 2012
UKPASS code
P034616
Apply / Entry reqs
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+44 (0) 1865 484959
arts-enquiry@brookes.ac.uk
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Entry requirements
The general entry requirements are:
- A good honours degree, ie an upper second or first, in any subject
- An internationally recognised qualification equivalent to a good British honours degree.
Applicants without a first degree, but with extensive experience may also be considered and individual courses may have additional entry requirements to these. Please contact the Admissions Tutor to discuss this.
English language requirements
Please see the university's standard English language requirements.
English language requirements for visas
If you need a student visa to enter the UK you will need to meet the UK Border Agency's minimum language requirements as well as the university's requirements. Find out more about English language requirements.
Preparation courses for international and EU students
We offer a range of courses to help you meet the entry requirements for this course and also familiarise you with university life. You may also be able to apply for one student visa to cover both courses.
- Take our Pre-Master's course to help you to meet both the English language and academic entry requirements for your master's course
- Take our University English course to help you to meet the English language requirements of your master's course
How to apply
You apply for this course through UKPASS.
Conditions of acceptance
When you accept our offer you agree to the conditions of acceptance. You should therefore read those conditions before accepting the offer.
Credit transfer
Oxford Brookes operates the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS). All postgraduate single modules are equivalent to 10 ECTS credits, double modules to 20 ECTS credits, and treble modules to 30 ECTS credits. A full master's course will carry 90 ECTS credits. More about ECTS credits.
Fees / funding
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+44 (0) 1865 484959
arts-enquiry@brookes.ac.uk
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TUITION FEES
UK/EU
Full-time: £4,650
Part-time: £2,970
International
Full-time: £11,140
Fees (part-time and full-time) are for the academic year starting in 2012 only, unless otherwise stated. Fees increase annually by approximately 4%.
Questions about fees?
Contact Student Finance on:
+44 (0)1865 483088
finance-fees@brookes.ac.uk
Scholarships and funding
For general sources of financial support, see:
Oxford
CONTACT US
+44 (0) 1865 484959
arts-enquiry@brookes.ac.uk
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Why Oxford is a great place to study Contemporary Arts and Music
Oxford is home to the ancient colleges of the University of Oxford (along with their excellent museums and collections), the Ashmolean Museum and Modern Art Oxford (MAO), which is renowned for its exhibitions of international contemporary art. Oxford enjoys a wealth of musical heritage, with world class performances taking place in the city. The city has many theatres and mainstream cinemas plus 'arthouse' cinemas showing international and avant-garde films. It also hosts numerous festvivals and exhibitions each year, and there is a vibrant contemporary art scene. Oxford Contemporary Music (OCM) and Oxford Improvisers, who both organise local musical events, contribute to this stimulating environment as do the seminars and workshops delivered by artists, social sculpture practitioners, composers and sound artists and visiting ensembles. Oxford Brookes has well-established relationships with many arts and cultural organisations in the city.
Because Oxford is one of the world's great academic cities, it is a key centre of debate, with conferences, seminars and forums taking place across education, science, the arts and many other subjects.
In addition to our own excellent libraries and resource centres, our postgraduate students have access to the world-renowned Bodleian Library, the Bodleian Law Library and the Radcliffe Science Library.
Support
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arts-enquiry@brookes.ac.uk
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Support for students studying Contemporary Arts and Music
Representation
The MA programme has a course committee meeting every semesterwhich is responsible for the day-to-day running of the programme and academic planning, along with any changes to the programmes. The committee includes the course director, course tutors, the head of school and the subject librarian. The course committee also includes student representatives. The reps are also invited to attend the School Board meetings, which take place once a semester. An election for postgraduate student reps takes place at the beginning of Semester 1; reps normally serve for the duration of their time at the University. Student representation on the committee is important: it is the most effective way in which students can make their views known about the running of the course.
Personal tutor
Although MA students are not assigned a personal tutor, the course leader and module leaders are available to provide the support, assistance and advice that a personal tutor would offer at undergraduate level.
Course evaluation
Evaluation gives you the opportunity to voice your opinions directly to those who teach you, and to make sure that changes are discussed in the light of your learning experience. It is therefore an important vehicle for student representation within the University and you are urged to make every effort to take part in course evaluation.
At the end of each module you have the opportunity to make a formal written evaluation of the content and teaching of the course. Many tutors also conduct an informal feedback session.
Tutors are committed to producing a digest of student evaluations and copies are given to student representatives or are available from the course leader. Student feedback is taken seriously by staff and it often leads to changes in the way course elements are run. Staff undertake their own collective evaluation and student views are taken into account in their discussions.
You are given the opportunity to reflect on and evaluate the course at the end of your course. Your ideas and opinions are greatly valued, and you are urged most strongly to take a little time to fill out an evaluation form and if you wish to talk informally to a member of staff about your views on the course.
Counselling
You may always seek advice and help about your work on specific units from unit and seminar leaders. Further advice on matters such as the choice of a Dissertation or Independent Study topic and career possibilities may be sought from any member of teaching staff.
Student support co-ordinators and your tutors are able to help with personal problems, but teaching staff may also be able to help; and certainly need to know if you are facing difficulties.
How Brookes supports postgraduate students
Supporting your learning
From academic advisers and support co-ordinators to specialist subject librarians and other learning support staff, we want to ensure that you get the best out of your studies.
Personal support services
We want your time at Brookes to be as enjoyable and successful as possible. That's why we provide all the facilities you need to be relaxed, happy and healthy throughout your studies.
How Brookes supports postgraduate students
Supporting your learning
From academic advisers and support co-ordinators to specialist subject librarians and other learning support staff, we want to ensure that you get the best out of your studies.
Personal support services
We want your time at Brookes to be as enjoyable and successful as possible. That's why we provide all the facilities you need to be relaxed, happy and healthy throughout your studies.
Research
CONTACT US
+44 (0) 1865 484959
arts-enquiry@brookes.ac.uk
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Research excellence
The Interdisciplinary Arts programmes are taught by a team of research-active practitioners, recognised as leaders in their respective fields. In the most recent research assessment exercise (RAE) 88 per cent of our work was judged to be of international quality in terms of originality, significance and rigour. Our strong performance in the RAE has led to a 400 per cent increase in external research funding for the Arts at Brookes with awards from bodies including ACE, AHRC, the British Academy, the Leverhulme Foundation and the Wellcome Trust.
Research areas and clusters
RESEARCH CENTRES
Our research centres provide a focus for research and a bank of expertise across the arts. They enable us to foster relationships with outside agencies and other academic institutions as well as facilitating debate and promoting interdisciplinary research within the University.
INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH CLUSTERS
Interdisciplinary research clusters exist in the following areas:
- Arts Research Practice
- Agents of Change and Ecological Citizenship
- Social Sculpture Research Unit (SSRU)
RESEARCH AREAS IN FINE ART
Research degrees can be undertaking in the following areas:
- Collaborative practice
- Interdisciplinary and intermedia arts
- Live art
- Sound art
- Site specific installation
- Social sculpture
- Art, ecology and sustainability
- Connective practices
- Creative cultural action
- Art and activism
- Art and participation
- The artist’s body
- Performance art
- At theory
- Curatorial practice
