Course Overviews

MA Art, Culture & Curation 2-years (part-time) Programme Specification This Master’s degree is ideal for those specialising in textiles, costume, fashion, photography, fine art, or emerging technologies. It allows you to apply advanced research skills to your area of interest, exploring art, design, or cultural history.

Course Details

This Master’s degree is a direct response to the growing need for knowledge and skill-based application in the arts, heritage, museums, collection, curation and cultural sectors. This exciting Master’s course offers you the opportunity to study a combination of art history, design history and cultural studies with a view to creating your own specialist focus and curatorial opportunities. The programme equips you with knowledge, practical experience, and technical skills to pursue careers in curation, heritage, teaching, academia, journalism, creative production, and the museum and gallery sectors. You'll develop expertise in curating, project management, event organisation, and marketing, with hands-on opportunities like The Northern Art Gala—showcasing postgraduate work in leading museums and galleries across the Tees Valley. You’ll also contribute to PAD | Perspectives in Art and Design, the school’s online journal, and engage with current trends through programming, presenting, and writing for art and research events, including international conferences. This innovative course emphasises interdisciplinary collaboration, advanced research methods, and contemporary curatorial practices, including artist-as-curator approaches and explorations of digital and post-internet contexts. Your studies will be enriched through lectures, seminars, live briefs, tutorials, and professional curatorial opportunities. Join a vibrant postgraduate community and gain the tools to excel in curating and creative programming while shaping the future of art and design practice.
Creative UK
HPool Art Gallery
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Discover our Master's degrees
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Discover our Master's degrees

Step into a world where creative ambition meets expert guidance. Our Master’s programmes at The Northern School of Art give you the freedom to shape your practice, collaborate across disciplines, and access professional-level resources in a supportive environment. Whether you’re exploring MA Art, Culture & Curation, MA Directors & Theatre Making, MA Arts Practice or MA Design Practice you’ll emerge ready to lead and to innovate. Watch our video to see real student journeys, and begin your own.

Ready to take the next step? Explore our Master’s courses and apply today.

Master's Degree Focus

Modules of study will include:
EXTEND: ART, DESIGN & CULTURE IN CONTEXT (60 CREDITS) focuses on art, design and cultural history, theories, and practices as the central theme of academic interest through the production of a research paper for publication in PAD | Perspectives in Art and Design (The Northern School of Art’s academic journal). The findings from the research were disseminated through the delivery of a conference presentation at The Northern School of Art Postgraduate Research Conference. Through advanced research methods, an interdisciplinary approach to the exploration of theoretical, critical, and historical contexts is formalised. Placing inclusion and diversity at the forefront of the academic discipline, this module intends to broaden knowledge and understanding of global art, design, and culture through intersectional approaches.

SPECIALISE: CONTEMPORARY CURATING (60 CREDITS) provides the opportunity to curate a collection, exhibition, archive, or programme of events that reflect specialist curatorial interests to make a considered contribution to knowledge within the field. Students will work towards an external viewing, by means of an exhibition, collection, or enterprise appropriate to their research investigation, supported by a community of academics, industry professionals and your peer network. This module centres the coalescence between theory and practice which informs the two-part structure of the module. Through Part 1: Theories & Methods in Curating, students identify the ways in which curation has been interpreted through historical, contemporary and theoretical contexts through seminars and workshops on research methodologies and theoretical frameworks appropriate to specialist curatorial pathways. Through Part 2: The Curator’s Toolbelt, students explore practical and technical skills required for curating for a public audience while simultaneously focusing on developing and refining their online professional presence as a specialist curatorial practitioner to prepare for entry into the sector.

RESOLVE: DISSERTATION (60 CREDITS) is the final module and is a significant and substantial learning activity evidenced through the production of a 12,000-word Dissertation. Through the production of Study Journal 3 Resolve, students produced a research proposal and time plan to inform and support the production of the Dissertation. The purpose of the Dissertation and supporting Study Journal is to provide the opportunity to demonstrate ‘mastery’ of the skills of analysis, synthesis, evaluation, argumentation and data collection and handling by applying them to a specific topic within the field of art, design, heritage, and culture. Other skills are emphasised, such as advanced writing qualities, professional presentation for publication, understanding and formulating specialist research methodologies, ethical issues, and accurate academic referencing. While this is largely an independent project, students will be supported by a personal supervisor who will provide advice and guidance on how to prepare, produce and improve their dissertation.

GUEST SPEAKERS

Recent guest speakers from our MA Art, Culture & Creation degree include:
• Emily Ward, Curator & Collection Specialist

• Angela List-Evans (Alumni), Collections Manager at Land of Iron, Skinningrove

• Chloe Leeson (Alumni), Senior Learning and Engagement Offcer at Middlesbrough Museums

• Liam Slevin, Anna Byrne & Will Hughes, The Auxiliary

• Yasmine Hayat, Specialist in Persian, Arabic and Miniaturist Painting

• Dr Yusen Yu, Lecturer in Islamic Iranian Art History, University of St. Andrews Scotland

• Sara Makari-Aghdam, Curator, Writer and Researcher

• Pann Lim, Kinetic Studios, Singapore

• Dr Tosh Warwick, Heritage Consultant, Historian, Research Associate at the University of Sheeld and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (FRHistS)

• Dr Rosemary Stubbs, Specialist in Women and Work in 1970s Britain, explored through feminist art practices

• Dr Robyn Ollett, Specialist in the New Queer Gothic

• Dr Louise Logan Smith, Specialist in museum theory, disability theory and Victorian and Neo-Victorian Literature

• Lily McGonigal, Researcher at Hunger Magazine/RANKIN and Writer. Specialist in the History of Scent and Perfume

INDUSTRY LINKS

The Northern School of Art enjoys a unique geographical position and is closely located to many galleries, museums and National Trust properties such as:
• Bowes Museum
• Dorman Museum
• The National Museum of the Royal Navy
• The Museum of Hartlepool
• Pineapple Black
• Kirkleatham Museum
• Preston Park Museum and Grounds
• National Trust UK
• Pink Collar Gallery

Numerous important heritage properties are on our doorstep which allows us access to important collections, artifacts, art works and objects.

APPLY NOW FOR A MASTER'S DEGREE

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Application Advice

Application Form

MA Art, Culture & Curation Application Information

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS & REFERENCES
Applicants must have one of the following:
• Degree at 2:1 or above (If still studying, you should be projected to achieve this grade)
• Degree at 2:2 or above (If still studying, you should be projected to achieve this grade); or
• Experiential learning in lieu of a degree to be assessed by interviewing panel; Applicants holding other qualifications may also be considered provided that they have appropriate relevant professional experience.

At least one written reference is required to support your application, but it is usual to supply two where possible.

One of your references must be relatively recent and preferably from a previous or current academic tutor.

We also accept references from previous or current employers as well as other creative practitioners.
FINANCE
You can find out more information about fees and finance here.

*As of 2022 school alumni are eligible for a 20% discount on MA course fees.
COURSE PROPOSAL GUIDE & INTERVIEWS
Applicants who meet the entry requirements will be required to submit a proposal outlining their intentions for MA study. This will be explored further if invited to an interview. The faculty staff will evaluate the proposal to determine its feasibility in the context of the resources required and the availability of specialist staff to support their chosen area of study.

MA Art, Culture & Curation
Your proposal should be a maximum of 500 words (with supporting imagery if applicable). This does not need to be detailed but should include:
• A title
• Your reasons for applying to study MA Art, Culture & Curation at The Northern School of Art
• A description of your current practice
• The proposed direction of your MA study (including potential research ideas/themes)