Study Contemporary Art Practice MFA at Royal College of Art in the UK, School of Arts & Humanities

Contemporary Art Practice MFA

UK

6

What will I learn?

Join our vibrant community of high-performing, ambitious and exploratory artistsDevelop your artwork within a critical and supportive context, addressing social, cultural and ethical issuesExperiment with modes of making and examine speculative futures through your art and world-buildingAdvance your studio practice through a one-year MA or a two-year MFAChallenge your thinking. Uncover new ways of responding to the world by blending theory with making. Create contemporary artworks using various media, including installation, moving image, performance, and emerging technologies.We’ve designed this programme to help you explore the artist’s multifaceted role as a creative and socially engaged practitioner. Through individual tutorials, group critiques and collaborative events, you’ll contribute to discussions about the role of art practice in contemporary socio-political debates. And you’ll be encouraged to redefine and position your art practice.

Which department am I in?

School of Arts & Humanities

Study options

Full Time (2 Years)

Tuition fees
£39,300.00 (US$ 50,753) per year
Cost of living - Estimated annual costs lower range: £15,200 Estimated annual costs upper range: £35,688

This is a fixed fee
Application deadline

02/06/2027

Start date

September 2027

Venue

Royal College of Art- Battersea Campus

1 Hester Road,

London,

Greater London,

SW11 4AY, London, United Kingdom

Entry requirements

For international students

Candidates are selected entirely on merit and applications are welcomed from all over the world. The selection process considers creativity, imagination and innovation as demonstrated in your portfolio, as well as your potential to benefit from the programme and to achieve high Master's standards overall.Candidates are generally expected to have a good BA degree from a fine art course. You should be able to demonstrate an original and critical approach to fine art as well as an ability to engage with current theories of art and culture that inform their practice.Portfolio requirementsWe invite you to submit a curated selection of your recent practice. The examples can be in any media or form reflecting the multi-disciplinary nature of the Contemporary Art Practice Master's programmes.All works may have a consistent form (e.g. a selection of photographic works) or be different. Video or sound work should be edited extracts no longer than five minutes each. Alongside the examples of your work, we would like you to describe how your work is situated within, or engages with, the histories/futures, theories and production of contemporary art.Let us know what thinkers, writers and artists interest you and speculate upon why this is so. We would like to hear about your opinions and thoughts on global, social and political issues; in what way does your work and practice engage with crucial concerns – either personal and/or global?Introduce us to your work and speculate on how your artworks address this or respond to it; this could be through the use of different processes, material choices, technologies, sites, interventions with groups or publics, critical writing, performance and the performative.We are committed to decolonising the institutions of art and education; our current students work with a range of ideas regarding class, race, gender (feminism and trans) and disability.Personal statementPlease provide a 300-word written personal statement that addresses the following points:Introduce yourself, your interests and your motivations for applying to the Royal College of Art, and to this programme in particular.Briefly summarise any educational background and professional experience to date that will support your application.Tell us what you want to do in the future.Video requirements

*There may be different IELTS requirements depending on your chosen course.

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