MA Photography
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Duration
One year
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Cost
£7,500
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Course leader
Manuel Gross
Challenge your own practice with support and insight from a dedicated staff team at one of the UK's historic arts schools. Discover the right questions you need to unlock your next stage as a practicing artist or arts professional.
Overview
Teaching staff
Course information
Whether you have a degree in Fine Art, Photography, Art & Design or Media or are turning to this field from previous degree-level work outside the creative arts, we are looking for students who have a passion for our world, a hunger for critical enquiry and an ambition to communicate with power and subtlety through photography.
Seminars and tutorials will challenge and support you to broaden and develop your practice. Advanced practical workshops such as digital production, video and sound, alternative processes and lighting techniques will develop your professional skills and employability.
The course will utilise online and campus learning, to combine the convenience of working from a place of your choice, with the natural and transformative experience of working with and around other people.
Applicants should have an personal understanding of their particular discipline and be able to demonstrate their ability to sustain research at MA level.
Applicants should be (or about to become) graduates. Preference will be given to good honours graduates although exceptional applicants from a non-academic background will also be considered.
Professional makers, designers, photographers, craftspeople and fine artists who wish to reposition their practice may also qualify.
- Applicants should submit a short proposal of up to 500 words, detailing why they are applying to the programme of study, supported by a portfolio of current practice, which will form the basis of discussion within the interview.
Course outline
The initial part of the programme is about engaging in a phase of research and development, immersing yourself in an independent, critically informed approach. You will lay the foundation for a self-driven creative exploration, where your contributions through your projects and thoughts are pivotal to the learning process.
Throughout this module, you'll build upon your previous research, starting experimentation to advance a photographic project that enriches the visual discourse with the previously developed theoretical framework—understanding your project as research driven by practice.
This concluding module within the MA curriculum is the culmination of your postgraduate studies, offering a platform to articulate the fundamental techniques, research methodologies, concepts, and skills acquired throughout the program. Your self-determined research trajectory and ongoing photographic practice primarily guide this module.
How you will work
Craft distinctiveness
Cultivate a distinctive, contemporary photographic perspective. Enrol in the Master's in Photography programme to develop your personal style and shape your professional trajectory as a photographer and artist.
Enhance your understanding of photography across disciplines.
Academic insight
Receive instruction from academic practitioners renowned in their respective fields, who have showcased their work through national and international publications and exhibitions, actively engaging in practice-oriented research.
Education at a personal scale
Through tutorials, our faculty will guide you to develop a sophisticated approach to shaping and communicating your ideas. We will help you develop the skills to ensure they land with impact and engage with new audiences in the world around them – and give you the confidence to exhibit & publish work that is uniquely yours.
Collaboration
Alongside developing your individual practice you can participate in activities alongside peers enrolled in other MA art programs, fostering collaboration and interdisciplinary learning opportunities.
Community
We all require a supportive peer network to maintain motivation, find inspiration, and enhance productivity.
From day one at HCA, you'll receive guidance to cultivate a professional network that will benefit you throughout your professional journey.
Flexibility
Our MA offers a dynamic blend of online, on-campus, and on-location learning, providing flexibility to tailor your studies.
Whether you prefer the convenience of online learning, the interactive experience of on-campus classes, or the hands-on exploration of on-location work, exploring our campus workshops, our program has something to offer you. With the freedom to tailor your studies, you'll be able to advance towards your professional goals.
Interdisciplinary facilities and learning
You will have access to all the technical resources and facilities, including our printmaking studio, 3D workshop, audio-visual store, photography darkrooms, editing suites, and more.
Our technical demonstrators are active designers, makers or performers in their own right;- sharing their passion for their disciplines with our students and passing on their knowledge and expertise.
Apply now
You can apply for this course at any point in the year. To do so, simply download the form via the button below, complete it and email it to registry@hca.ac.uk. If you would like to set up an informal chat with the course leader Manuel Gross, you can contact him directly at m.gross@hca.ac.uk.
Download application formFAQs
You may be eligible for a Postgraduate Masters Loan.
Postgraduate Loans are available from Student Finance England as a contribution towards course and living costs. If you are studying over two academic years, the loan will be paid equally across 2 years (MA Contemporary Crafts). Each year’s amount will be paid in three instalments 33%, 33% and 34% directly to you.
Students must be aged under 60 years old at the start of the academic year to be eligible.
You should be able to apply for a Postgraduate Loan from the end of June 2022. For more information about Postgraduate Master Loans, please visit www.gov.uk/masters-loan
You can find more information on course fees and funding via the link below.
You will be assessed through practical projects including a Master's Project (in Stage 3 of the MA) and through written projects.
Open Evenings are a great opportunity to visit the campus, meet the teaching staff and get to know other students joining the course.
Postgraduate Open Events are informal in nature. They feature a campus tour from the course leader, followed by time in the studio space.
We publish a list of dates for the upcoming year in October.
We encourage applications from students from diverse range of qualifications and life experience.
We will take into consideration the knowledge and skills that you have developed inside and outside the classroom, as well as your previous qualifications.
All applicants will interview with the course leader. The interview is an opportunity to demonstrate your passion and potential, and your reason for applying as well assessing whether this programme is appropriate to your interests and aspirations.
If you have any questions, you can arrange an informal chat with our admissions team by contacting registry@hca.ac.uk.
After applying, the admissions team will contact you to arrange an interview date.
They will also include guidance on what to include in a portfolio - which you will bring to discuss at the interview.
Portfolios are an opportunity to showcase what interests you, and what you would want to explore further on this course - and a jumping off point for discussion at interview.
There is an internal progression bursary that reduces tuition fees to £6,600 for HCA graduates.
To qualify, you need to have completed an undergraduate course at HCA within the last two academic years.
If you want to check if you are eligible, you can email our Registry team at reigistry@hca.ac.uk.
