About

The Contemporary Art Practice MA is designed to prepare you for continuous artistic, professional and academic development. We will support you to develop research methods and personal goals tailored to your creative practice and professional ambitions. You’ll be introduced to emerging trends in contemporary practice including presentation, installation, curatorial and representational issues, and learn how to develop research methods to inform your creative decisions.

You will be encouraged to ask questions and take a personal and critical position in the globalised creative world, equipped with the skills to produce and exhibit your work, to embrace change in the fast-evolving creative industries and challenge artistic conventions.

Teaching takes place in our creative studio environment with support from a highly skilled team of technicians, and you will have access to a range of workshops to experiment and innovate with materials and processes. Our exhibiting artists and research-active academics have interdisciplinary expertise in drawing, painting, sculpture, analogue and digital photography, digital media, printmaking, public art, installation and relational practice. You will build important professional practice skills throughout the course with opportunities to curate and exhibit your work. Develop a dialogue around your work by participating in discussion groups and seminars and be part of a dynamic cohort of visual arts students, from BA to PhD.

Key features

You can exit the course with a Postgraduate Diploma or Postgraduate Certificate award depending on the credits you have successfully achieved.
Through bold experimentation we will encourage you to forge your own path in the globalised creative world.
Benefit from collaborative learning in studio groups alongside personalised teaching experiences.
We’re committed to preparing you for life after university through initiatives designed to support you in reaching your creative career goals and demystify routes to success for artists and writers. Explore our Creative Employability support at De Montfort University in this short video.
Our team of exhibiting artists and research-active academics will ensure that your teaching is informed by current research and the latest technologies.
Our partnerships with the city’s creative and cultural centres, including Phoenix Cinema and Art Centre, Curve, Embrace Arts and Leicester Print Workshop offer opportunities to promote your work and provide access to professionals in the creative industries.
Our award-winning  Vijay Patel building has been designed to provide the space and facilities where all of  our art and design students can develop their ideas and flourish.
You will be supported by a highly skilled team of technicians with access to a range of workshops including metal, wood, plaster, resin and other processes, as well as CAD facilities, photographic darkrooms, studios and editing suites.

Talk to our course team

If you would like to find out more about how this course can help you achieve your career ambitions, send a message to our course team [Dr Carina Brand] and [Dr Isabella Streffen] who would be happy to chat to you. Alternatively, you can register for our next postgraduate event or call our course enquirers team on +44 (0)116 2 50 60 70 / WhatsApp: 0797 0655 800.

Award-winning student work

Scholarships:

DMU offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships and bursaries to help you realise your academic ambitions.

International Scholarships

Find out about available scholarships and country specific fee discounts for international students.

Requirements

Entry Requirements

Typical entry requirements

You should have the equivalent or above of a 2:2 UK bachelor’s honours degree in Fine Art or a related subject.

If you have other professional qualifications or industry experience we will consider your application on an individual basis.

Interview and portfolio

Applicants with relevant qualifications should submit a digital portfolio of work and an artist statement (please see our Contemporary Art Practice application portfolio advice for full details).

Non-standard applicants will be invited to attend an online interview with a portfolio

English language requirements

If English is not your first language an IELTS score of 6.0 overall with 5.5 in each band (or equivalent) when you start the course is essential.

English language tuition, delivered by our British Council-accredited Centre for English Language Learning, is available both before and throughout the course if you need it.

Career

Careers and employability

We want to help you develop skills that are based on real-world experience. Our Careers Team, are on hand to support you with finding placements, volunteering opportunities, CV writing skills, research opportunities and much more.

DMU students are encouraged to pursue their entrepreneurial spirit and the Enterprise Team can help you explore your business idea, business growth, the option of freelancing or being self-employed. There are lots of events, workshops, one-to-one consultation opportunities and enterprise competitions that you can get involved in to progress in your chosen career path.

DMU Global

Our innovative international experience programme DMU Global aims to enrich studies, broaden cultural horizons and develop key skills valued by employers.

Through DMU Global, we offer an exciting mix of overseas, on-campus and online international experiences, including the opportunity to study or work abroad for up to a year.

Previously, students have explored historical and contemporary Danish design first-hand in Copenhagen and examined the city’s art, artists and museums in Berlin to gain a broader design perspective. DMU Global trips have also taken students further afield to India and New York.

Graduate careers

The course will prepare you with the professional skills, flexibility and independence needed to adapt to the changing pressures and opportunities in contemporary art practice. Many of our graduates pursue careers as practicing artists, or in other closely related areas of contemporary art practice such as curation, public and community art, education, and cultural journalism. Others have used the transferable skills gained on the course in a diverse range of industries in the wider creative sector.

Fee Information

Tuition Fee

22,324 / per year