MA (Specialist Title) via Creative Practice

• Normally, you should have at least an upper second class (2.1) honours degree in a subject relevant to the creative discipline(s) you wish to study during this course. Relevant subjects include (but aren’t limited to) Animation, Illustration, Art and Design, Fine Art, Graphic Design, Media, Performance, Dance, Photography, Textiles and Surface Design, Fashion, and Creative Writing. If you have expertise in another creative discipline and wish to combine this with the one you studied at degree-level, we may be able to accommodate you, however, you’ll need to attend an interview and present a portfolio of evidence.
• If you don’t have this qualification but do have alternative qualifications or significant experience in a relevant field, then we’ll be happy to consider your application.
• As part of your personal statement, you’ll need to provide a proposal for study on the programme. This should outline the area(s) of creative practice you wish to specialise in and your intended outcomes.
• Along with your completed application form, you’ll need to provide a digital portfolio of your work, as relevant.
• We'll consider applications where appropriate work experience can be demonstrated in lieu of, or in addition to, the published academic qualifications in line with the University’s Recognition of Prior Experiential Learning (RPEL) procedures.
• You may be required to attend an interview and/or provide a portfolio of work.
• If English isn’t your first language, you’ll also need IELTS 6.0 with no less than 5.5 in any band (or equivalent). We also accept a range of other English language qualifications – please visit our English Language Requirements web page for more details.

Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.

The MA (Specialist Title) via Creative Practice offers named postgraduate routes for practice‐based areas including Art and Design, Media, Theatre and Performing Arts, and Creative Writing, as well as other associated disciplines. It's also an excellent option if you've graduated with a degree in a subject such as Live Events or Professional and Commercial Dance.

As a graduate of this MA, you’ll possess extensive skills in your field of creative practice and a unique body of work that demonstrates your abilities and style. The course will enable you to take charge of your personal and professional development and reflect on your progress as you work towards your goals.

What can I do with this qualification?

This is an industry‐focused, practice‐based MA that provides you with an opportunity to develop your creative practice as well as clear plans as to how you will use this to progress your career in the creative industries, or as the basis for doctoral study.

As a graduate of this MA, you'll be well prepared to seek contracted employment with creative and arts organisations or to work as a freelancer on a self-employed basis. You'll possess the knowledge needed to submit funding applications or business plans and to prepare and launch funded projects. How you use your skills will depend on your chosen area(s) of creative practice and your personal interests and ambitions. However, you can rest assured that you'll have the knowledge and skills to drive forward in your creative career.

You may also choose to continue your education. PGCE, MPhil and PhD degrees are available at the University of Bolton.

Alternative career options

Graduates can also use the qualification as a stepping-stone into a range of other careers. For some of these roles, both relevant experience and/or postgraduate study may be required. Some of these careers include:

• Education and teaching
• Arts and cultural leadership
• Social enterprise
• Community arts
• Policy management

Home students starting this course in the first year will be required to pay a Home fee of £8,496 for the academic year 2024/25.

Overseas students starting this course in the first year will be required to pay a Overseas fee of £15,950 for the academic year 2024/25.

Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2023-2024 academic year: EU nationals who meet residency requirements (have settled or pre-settled status) may be eligible for 'Home' fee status. If you do not meet these residency requirements, overseas fees will apply. Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland will be eligible for 'Home' fee status under the Common Travel Area arrangement. Please read the student finance for EU students web page on www.gov.uk for information.

The fees for a student's course of study will be set for the normal duration of that course subject only to inflationary increases – measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded in March each year to take effect for subsequent start dates.

Bursaries

Click here for more information on our Master's Bursaries.

A variety of teaching and learning strategies will be used to help you acquire and develop appropriate concepts, knowledge and skills. You can expect practice-based enquiry, self-directed study, lectures, seminars, tutorials, and presentations.

It’s important to realise that the time spent with a tutor during formally scheduled activities is only a small part of the learning time identified for a module. You’ll also be expected to spend a significant amount of time in guided independent study, such as general background reading, preparing for seminar activities and working on assignments. We are committed to supporting you throughout your learning journey, but as time progresses our guidance will become less structured and prescriptive. It‘s expected that you’ll demonstrate significant independence in your study, taking responsibility for the management of your own learning time and increasing in autonomy as you progress through the programme.

The assessment strategy is designed to help you achieve the overall aims of the programme, as well as the learning outcomes for individual modules. As well as being a way to assess your achievement, assessment also helps you to organise and develop your learning. Assessment feedback can help you develop your skills and an understanding of your strengths and weaknesses.

The types of assessment you’ll be required to complete fall into two general categories: formative and summative. You’ll have formative assessment to help you learn and develop your knowledge and skills and summative assessment on which you are graded. Formative assessment will take place via tutorial discussion, group workshops including peer and tutor review, and guidance on work in progress. Formative feedback will be provided via face-to-face via discussion, online or in written form. Summative assessments consist of both practical and theoretical work. These will include creative outputs, practical projects, presentations, and written assessments in the form of essays, portfolios, proposal documents and academic essays.

Modules

The modules listed below may be a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules shown as part of the course.

• The Arts and Cultural Landscape
• The Professional Practitioner
• Creative Practice 1
• Creative Practice 2
• Masters Project (Full Time)
• Masters Project (Part Time)
• Masters Dissertation (Full Time)
• Masters Dissertation (Part Time)

Assessment methods

Learning activities

Disclaimer

The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.