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Fine Art (Ceramics)

MA

Postgraduate degree

Award
MA Fine Art (Ceramics)
School/s
Bath School of Art, Film and Media
Campus or location
Locksbrook Campus
Course length
One year full-time.

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for our postgraduate courses vary. We're generally looking for a good honours degree or equivalent.

Some courses also require an interview or the submission of a portfolio of work.

Please contact our admissions team for more information: admissions@bathspa.ac.uk.

Develop your skills and knowledge through an innovative mix of material investigation, theory and research with our MA Fine Art (Ceramics).

  • Develop your practice to a professional level with exceptional support from our academic and technical support staff.
  • Work in permanent studio spaces and excellent workshop facilities, in a purpose-built, interdisciplinary environment.
  • Collaborate with other artists as part of an international art community and benefit from a series of lectures from visiting professionals.

MA Fine Art (Ceramics) at Bath Spa is designed to fully develop your individual creative potential as a ceramicist within a Fine Art context.

We encourage you to experiment and take risks before going on to establish your own strategy for practice. You’ll develop skills and knowledge through an exciting combination of practice, research and professional development.

You’ll work alongside Fine Art and Design peers specialising in Photography, Curatorial Practice, Visual Communication, Graphics, Illustration and Textiles, allowing you to contextualise your work in relation to current debates.

Our students have capitalised on many opportunities to collaborate with galleries and museums, artists and curators, businesses and educational institutions. We want you, too, to gain the experience necessary to professionalise your practice.

“Undertaking an MA in Ceramics at Bath Spa University revolutionised my ceramic practice. The challenging content of the course was tempered by the unwavering and constant support of the tutors and technicians.”

Steven Sales (Graduated 2018)

What you'll learn

Overview

Learn to adopt an interdisciplinary and material-led approach, based on experimentation, risk-taking and personal innovation.

MA Fine Art (Ceramics) at Bath Spa will challenge your assumptions about art production and encourage you to explore ways to progress within and to transform the field. It will also encourage you to build collaborative relationships with other artists and develop transferable skills.

You’ll identify your individual position as an artist and learn to promote and exhibit your work professionally. You’ll take a holistic approach, embedding theory, research, and historical and contemporary practice into your work.

Course structure

MA Fine Art (Ceramics) runs over one year and is divided into three trimesters.

Trimester one
Begin to take chances and challenge your creative processes. You’ll interrogate your existing knowledge and develop skills in an environment that encourages playfulness and artistic risk-taking. You can experiment freely in our wide variety of specialist facilities, open studio spaces, and technical workshops – where expert support is on-hand.

Trimester two
Building on the work in the first trimester, you’ll maintain an experimental approach, but start to narrow your focus. We’ll help you evaluate your initial studio developments and refine your working strategy. You’ll be encouraged to pay greater attention to the presentation of your practice and to test how finished works relate to each other in, as well as to the spaces of, exhibition sites.

Trimester three
You’ll work in the studio with increasing independence as you establish a professional practice. You’ll devise and complete your Master’s Project, working to a proposal which contextualises your work within your specialist discipline and leads to your final Degree Show.

Course modules

This course includes or offers the following modules. Please check the programme document for more information on which modules are core, required or optional.

  • Research Methods
  • Theory and Professional Context
  • Practice 1 (Fine Art)
  • Research Practice
  • Theory and Professional Practices
  • Practice 2 (Fine Art)
  • Masters Project
How will I be assessed?

Your progress is evaluated throughout the course and at the end of each trimester through a mixture of exhibitions, verbal/visual presentations, research folders/blogs and written assignments.

How will I be taught?

You’ll learn through lectures, talks, taught sessions, individual and group tutorials, and studio critiques and seminars. Visiting lecturers and seminars with external professionals and internationally renowned designers and artists will help you determine where your current practice sits within the industry.

Our collaborative structure also means that you’ll learn from each other – for instance, Ceramics students might engage in debates with Sculpture or Textiles students.

Technical Demonstrators, who manage our workshop facilities, provide teaching and support across a wide range of subject specialisms. Your learning is also supported by specialist librarians.

To find out more about how we teach and how you'll learn, please read our Learning and Teaching Delivery Statement.

See what we're making on Instagram: @mafabathspa


Online gallery of student work

Check out some of our student work from both the MA Fine Art and MA Design programmes at Bath Spa.

Visit the online gallery


Opportunities

Study abroad

Exchange potential is global with opportunities that have been established in partnership with, amongst others, Hauser and Wirth, CAL Arts, Xian Academy of Fine Arts and the Freelands Foundation.

Fieldwork

When permitted, Bath School of Art, Film and Media offers fieldwork opportunities throughout the academic year. Past trips have included the British Ceramics Biennial, Jerwood Makers Prize, Collect, Ceramic Art London, V&A Museum, Hauser and Wirth (Somerset) and Spike Island, Bristol.

Adobe Creative Campus

Develop a wealth of indispensable digital skills that you can take into your future career. One of only three Adobe Creative Campuses in the UK, we provide all Bath Spa students with access to the full Adobe Creative Suite, giving you the tools to communicate creatively, whatever your course or chosen professional field.   

Facilities and resources

Where the subject is taught

As a postgraduate Fine Art (Ceramics) student you’ll benefit from access to comprehensive digital workshops and specialist art and design facilities, including:

  • Our student service point at Locksbrook where you can purchase subsidised art and design materials, hire out equipment for free and collect Library resources
  • Access to our well-stocked Library at Newton Park
  • Specialist technical facilities across all of art and design
  • Access to studio space where you can work on projects and refine your practice and your research.

"Facilities are outstanding; bright modern studios and workshops where the technical staff provide support and tuition."

Janice Affleck (graduated 2020)

Locksbrook campus

Locksbrook Campus is a Grade II listed building designed by Nicholas Grimshaw in 1976. It has now been transformed into an innovative, open plan space, redesigned to meet 21st century environmental standards, with technical workshops surrounded by flexible studio spaces and large social areas.

Locksbrook has received both a RIBA South West Award 2021 and RIBA National Award 2021, recognising and celebrating what an amazingly inspirational space it is to come together to design, make, do, create and learn in.

Fees

2024 entry
Student Annual tuition fee
UK full time £9,520
International full time £17,760

Interested in applying?

What we look for in potential students

We're looking for energetic and self-motivated individuals who can work on their own but see the value in collaboration with others. You should enjoy asking questions and solving creative problems.

You'll have a degree or equivalent qualification in a subject related to Ceramics, or experience in the field. Ultimately, you’ll be selected on your potential to thrive on the course, as demonstrated by your portfolio, statement and interview. See our Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) web page to learn more.

How do I apply?

Ready to apply? Click the "apply now" button in the centre of this page.

Need more guidance? Head to our how to apply webpages.

Interview and portfolio guidance

With your application form you should provide images of recent work, either in an attachment or through a link to an online resource. These should be clearly marked with size, date and medium. You should also write a short statement outlining why you want to study for an MA at Bath School of Art, Flim and Media and what attracts you to the course. Find out more about submitting a portfolio.

We encourage you to come to Locksbrook, if possible, so that we can meet in person and show you the campus. At interview, you'd usually bring some examples of your work. We'll ask you about the artists you look at and exhibitions you've visited.

We'll discuss your work, how you hope to develop your ideas and the facilities you'll need. If it's not possible for you to attend in person, we offer online interviews, supported by a digital portfolio.

When to apply

Many of our postgraduate courses have a limited number of student spaces. To avoid the disappointment of the course being full, we recommend that you apply now.

Late applications (generally those made after 31 July) will only be considered if places remain on the course.

Need more information or still have questions? Contact us to discuss your situation.

Pathway Leader: Claire Loder
Email: c.loder@bathspa.ac.uk

Postgraduate Coordinator: Charlie Tweed
Email: c.tweed@bathspa.ac.uk  

Masthead image: Stacey Pamplin

Website feedback to web@bathspa.ac.uk