Course summary

The Fine Art MPhil PhD offers supervision in a wide range of contemporary art practices, in Fine Art, Digital Cultures and Art History. The internationally significant research profile of our staff and our excellent facilities, have created a stimulating environment for you to undertake your practical or theoretical research. We offer the expertise to support you in producing work that makes an important contribution to your field of practice, including: painting sculpture digital cultures digital and time-based art drawing performance photography printmaking installation video We are strongly committed to supporting your work through practice-led research. You will be encouraged to take advantage of the specific research and practice expertise of our fine art staff. We also have a fantastic range of resources and opportunities for interdisciplinary and collaborative research across the University. Review our fine art academic staff research interests to ensure your research proposal is compatible with our expertise. Newcastle is one of the best cities in the UK in which to study contemporary visual art. Its diverse and lively arts scene goes hand-in-hand with our long and distinguished history in the research, practice and teaching of fine art. Delivery The Fine Art MPhil can be practice-led or theoretical, with a final text submission of 40,000 words, or an equivalent combination of studio practice and text. You are expected to complete your submission within two years full-time or four years part time. The Fine Art PhD can be practice-led or solely text based. The final submission for a practice-led PhD is a combination of an exhibition of creative work made over the period of study and a thesis. The thesis would typically be 30,000 words, which constitutes approximately 30% of the degree. A text based PhD is submitted as a thesis of 80,000 - 100,000 words. The submission is expected to take place between three or four years of study full time, or six years part time. For both research degrees you will be supported by a supervisory team, comprising at least two members of staff with expertise in your area. Your supervisory team can include expertise from across a wide range of disciplines within the School. Being part of the School of Arts and Cultures means that you will have the opportunity to engage and collaborate with a broad range of theorists and practitioners from disciplines. Interdisciplinary and cross-media activity is core to much of the research within the School. You will benefit from the resources and training available through, for example, the Institute for Creative Arts Practice and the expertise of Culture Lab. This is a multi-user digital media facility that supports interdisciplinary research at the interface of art, digital cultures, humanities and science. Fine art staff will encourage and support you to present at national and international conferences. You will also be able to maintain and develop your professional career through exhibiting, networking and other activities. You will be encouraged to attend and make presentations at our regular fine art postgraduate seminars. These sessions aim to enhance research skills and encourage intellectual and practical exchange between you and our academic staff and visiting artists. You can also engage with research across the University to increase your awareness of cross-disciplinary potential and impact potential of your own research. Facilities We provide well-resourced workshops and student studios, from the open-plan first year studios designed for project work to purpose-built painting, sculpture, printmaking and digital media studios, all with full technical support. You will have 24 hour access to your studio space. Our facilities also include designated gallery spaces, seminar rooms, and a large lecture theatre. We are based in the same building as the Hatton Gallery, one of the largest exhibition spaces in North East England.