Contemporary Art Theory MA (eca)

Established in 2001, the Masters of Contemporary Art Theory (MA CAT) is a post-studio programme that supports the research and practices of artists and aspiring art professionals.

The MA CAT encourages practices that are speculative and reflective, developing artistic research on, and in, a range of media, sites and organisations.

The programme supports an applied knowledge of art now, grounding schooling in the practices of art and contemporary art theory as well as extra-disciplinary and intermedial approaches.

The taught curriculum consists of an innovative series of learning sprints designed to support the development of your artistic research and practice through:

• workshops
• practica
• partnerships with art organisations
• carefully scaffolded approaches to collaborative inquiry (‘problem-based learning’)
• peer-production (‘paragogy’).

You will create art projects designed to engage and develop emerging hypereconomies of contemporary art and its variety of media, technologies, images, artefacts, tactics, texts, cultural contexts and professional practices.

Our philosophy and values

A defining aspect of our theory programme is the emphasis we place upon speculative scepticism – not starting from the position of knowing what post-studio practice is; rather, being motivated by speculation on what it might be.

We generate a paragogic atmosphere that supports mutual cooperation; a dynamic, intellectually ambitious environment in which staff and students can learn together.

You will generate and embody an assemblage of practices, combining process of production, translation and consumption. Our students make this happen;

they often work on collaborative forms of practice and inquiry. The programme staff are therefore eager to support applicants based on their ability to work as part of a creative team as much as we are interested in their artistic and academic potential.

We attract students with very different backgrounds and experiences. This difference generates dissensus, diversity and a richness that is key to learning about, and expanding, the field of contemporary art.

The focus on building a supportive creative community through innovative forms of peer-generated knowledge (such as open learning and problem-based learning), on the rigorous and experimental combination of theory and practice and the international profile of the student body makes our master’s programme unique.

The CAT faculty and our partnership organisations regularly identify and examine what are (currently) accepted notions of artistic production as a means of encouraging our students to develop a highly ambitious research-practice.

To do this, academic staff aim to provide specialist support for students wishing to pursue research on and in established fields of contemporary art practices and theory, while fully engaging with the ever-changing context of emerging media and innovative forms of critical and organisational praxis.

What and how you will study

Artists think and act. Being contemporary means engaging with multiple perspectives and different ways of learning. Students of contemporary art theory conduct research in relation to a broad range of creative, cultural and historical contexts in ways that are speculative, writerly, philosophical, organisational, social and economic.

By engaging equally with the production of people and social relations, and the production of material objects, our students shift from seeing parts to seeing wholes, from being disempowered and reactive to actively creating their artworlds. For this to happen, our students do not simply learn how to see things from an artist’s viewpoint.

The MA CAT is an integrated curriculum specifically crafted to develop an understanding of multiple perspectives in ways that open different possibilities for our graduates from those offered by cookie-cutter MFA studio and curatorial programmes. This means focusing not only on what we teach, but on how we learn, and on the many different environments we learn in.

On the CAT programme, artistic learning and research is conducted in a wealth of settings: in galleries, biennale, residencies, art fairs, and - of course - through artistic and theoretical practice.

Artistic learning and research are exploded networks; our students learn how to pool and share resources to cultivate a climate in which all communities flourish.

These entry requirements are for the 2025/26 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2026/27 academic year will be published on 1 Oct 2025.

Normally a UK 2:1 honours degree or its international equivalent.

If you do not meet the academic entry requirements, we may still consider your application on the basis of relevant professional experience.

Students from China

This degree is Band C.

• Postgraduate entry requirements for students from China

International qualifications

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:

• Entry requirements by country

English language requirements

Regardless of your nationality or country of residence, you must demonstrate a level of English language competency which will enable you to succeed in your studies.

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

• IELTS Academic: total 6.5 with at least 6.0 in each component. We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
• TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 92 with at least 20 in each component. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
• C1 Advanced (CAE) / C2 Proficiency (CPE): total 176 with at least 169 in each component.
• Trinity ISE: ISE II with distinctions in all four components.
• PTE Academic: total 65 with at least 59 in each component. We do not accept PTE Academic Online.
• Oxford ELLT: 7 overall with at least 6 in each component.

Unless you are a national of a majority English speaking country, your English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start of the month in which the programme you are applying to study begins. If you are using an IELTS, PTE Academic, TOEFL, Trinity ISE, or Oxford ELLT test, it must be no more than two years old on the first of the month in which the programme begins, regardless of your nationality. (Revised 14 January 2025 to include Oxford ELLT.)

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration:

• UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries (non-MESC).

• Approved universities in non-MESC

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old at the beginning of your programme of study.

Find out more about our language requirements:

• English language requirements

The programme nurtures the creative, organisational and economic knowledge required for a career in today’s contemporary art world(s), enabling you to integrate a range of perspectives traversing the roles of artist, academic, art critic, producer and curator.

The Theory programme bridges the gap between undergraduate and doctoral research, preparing you to make an application to a PhD programme. The MA CAT will also support your creative and professional development as an art educator.

The programme is aimed both at aspiring arts professionals and professional artists who want to develop a research-practice by extending their practical, theoretical, organisational and economic engagement with contemporary art. It develops from a broad to a specialist understanding of the technical resources and validating contexts in which artists work today.

Professional Development

Our programme will help you develop a creative and organisational professional-practice, one that allows you to take control of the production and distribution of your work by effectively combining the roles of professional artist, theorist and programmer.

Our unique focus on artistic learning also means that you will graduate with a heightened awareness of the educational possibilities of contemporary art as a catalyst for social and political transformation.

Multidisciplinary development

Current professionals

If you are a professional artist/theorist/curator, the CAT programme will greatly expand and develop both your existing knowledge of contemporary art and your own practice, situating both in relation to emerging tendencies in cognate disciplines in the arts, humanities and social sciences such as materialist and cultural studies, educational research, geography, and social anthropology.

Aspiring professionals

If you are an aspiring art professional with a non-art background, the CAT programme scaffolds and supports your conversion to contemporary art from related undergraduate disciplines in the arts, humanities or social sciences. Dedicated to widening participation in the arts and demystifying artistic learning, the CAT programme is unique in offering this bridge to anyone seeking a way in to our discipline.

Researcher development

This programme will specifically prepare you to establish a scholarly and artistic research-practice, enabling you to embark on a professional career as a researcher within the broad field of contemporary art in both academic (PhD) and artworld settings.