Fine Art MFA
About this course
This course allows you to develop your artistic practice whilst engaging professionally with the rich and vibrant arts community in Nottingham, which is recognised as having one of the most active artist-led scenes outside London. You will critically engage with, interrogate, and resolve your own practice, as you develop an informed and established body of work.
With an emphasis on professional practice and audience engagement, you will widen your network with partners across the city, including Nottingham Contemporary and New Art Exchange.
This will prepare you for the rigours of contemporary practice as both an artist and researcher. Successful completion of this course will give you grounding to progress to PhD study, or our Professional Doctorate course.
Key features:
- Dedicate yourself to the studio, focusing and exploring your practice
- Work with the arts community in Nottingham to widen your practice and professional network
- Take part in a programme of professional practice, including career development planning and professional work experience
- Be supported by staff who are practicing artists in their own right.
- Participate in a School-wide Masters 20-credit Culture and Collaboration module
-
Choose between 20-credit modules Professional Pathways in the Arts or Advancing Research Design, the latter ideal for students thinking of progressing to PhD or Professional Doctorate study. -
There is an opportunity to go on study trips within the UK. You will also have the opportunity to study abroad with a partner institution, through the Turing Scheme. -
Benefit from working in a close-knit community; with just ten places available per cohort, the MFA offers great opportunities to forge strong working relationships with academic staff, technicians, and fellow students -
Benefit from our extensive links with festivals, arts organisations, and artists’ groups locally, nationally, and internationally, including our own Bonington Gallery
What you’ll study
On our MFA Fine Art course, you will be able to develop a specific focus to your practice and studies according to your individual needs and abilities while participating in critique, the exploration of relevant contexts and theories of art in order to engage critically with your practice.
Year One
Research and Development
(80 credit points)
This module starts with you focusing on the critical review of your practice. Studio practice and theoretical investigation will be integrated, and you’ll be supported and encouraged to engage in research and develop a reflective journal. A study trip will help to create a community in which you’ll work together and support each other.
With support from your tutor, you’ll create and develop a learning agreement that will outline your plans for the development of your self-directed practice. During the research and development of your practice, you’ll be encouraged and supported to create closer working relationships with organisations outside the University, focusing on professional practice and creating a basis for your future beyond this course. This stage of your studies is also a good time to engage in pushing the boundaries – taking risks, experimenting, exploring, and questioning.
Working with your tutors, and through discussion with your peers, you’ll be encouraged to evaluate the development of research, personal engagement and critical reflection that feed your practice. You’ll attend the Live Lecture programme organised by our Fine Art staff team. These will support you in the exploration of relevant research material and will provide additional feedback opportunities.
You’ll continue to develop your reflective journal, including all the material relevant to your work, providing detailed critical reflection of your journey. External exhibitions will provide you with an opportunity to engage in preparing your work for an audience, and to receive critical feedback.
You’ll also be asked to present your work to date in the form of an audio-visual presentation, and to submit your learning agreement, reflective document, and artwork for assessment. You’ll be asked to effectively articulate, critically analyse and reflect upon your progress through presentations of your work, and in your reflective document.
Culture and Collaboration
(20 credit points)
Advancing Research Design
(20 credit points)
or
Professional Pathways in the Arts
(20 credit points)
Year Two
Project Realisation and Presentation
(120 credit points)
During the first part of this module, you can choose from one of the following options:
- Intensify your professional engagement through activities such as work placements (in Nottingham, or abroad), international collaborations, or the development of a group exhibition.
- You’ll critically engage with your chosen activity at the start of the module, and integrate it into your reflective journal, which forms a useful resource when you come to write your reflective document, which is reviewed and assessed holistically together with your artwork at the end of each year-long module.
The course culminates in a presentation and celebration of your work, held at a venue outside of NTU and organised by you and fellow students as part of your professional practice.
We regularly review and update our course content based on student and employer feedback, ensuring that all of our courses remain current and relevant. This may result in changes to module content or module availability in future years.
Video Gallery
How you're taught
You'll spend most of your time in a creative studio environment. Teaching and learning experiences will include:
- independent studio practice
- feedback tutorials
- studio seminars
- individual and group presentations
- study visits
- self-directed research
- workshop inductions
- technical surgeries
- self and peer evaluations
- Live Lecture programme
Find out when our postgraduate term dates for the Nottingham School of Art & Design are. Please note that these are slightly different to other Schools within the University.
How you're assessed
Assessment is 100% by coursework and involves:
- presentation of your work in the form of an exhibition
- reflective document
- learning agreement
- documentation
- verbal presentation of your practice
Careers and employability
Professionalism is at the heart of this course, helping you to gain experience and make lasting connections with arts organisations outside of the University. The opportunity to undertake work placements and to engage in professional practice is embedded into the course, that also features a Professional Pathways in the Arts module, helping you to gain insight and knowledge in preparation for a career after graduation.
If you're thinking about progressing to further study, you'll have the option to undertake a module Advancing Research Design, to help prepare you for a Professional Doctorate or PhD.
Connections with industry
A key aim of this course is to develop your ongoing professional practice, through exhibiting and audience engagement. The course is outward-facing, embracing, and engaging with the creative art scene within Nottingham and the surrounding region. It will help you to widen your professional network and create a sustainable practice.
Live Lecture programme
You will also benefit from our Live Lecture programme. It welcomes national and international artists, creative practitioners and theorists including:
- Hetain Patel
- Michael Forbes
- Lindsay Seers
- Larry Acheampong
- Pil and Galia Kollectiv
- Lerato Shadi
- Jane Rendell
Nottingham Contemporary
In the first year of the MFA, you will have the opportunity to exhibit your work as part of Catalyst – a group show in The Space at Nottingham Contemporary.
BACKLIT gallery opportunities
BACKLIT provides opportunities for postgraduate students at NTU to gain professional studio practice and experience working within a community of artists in an independent studio complex. BACKLIT has provided studio and exhibition space for Masters students from Nottingham Trent University and involves them in critical sessions with established practitioners and critics from the arts.
"As an organisation it hosts artist from across the city providing studios, exhibition and project spaces. Nottingham has benefited from BACKLIT as a contemporary art space over the last five years since its establishment in 2008 by NTU graduate artists and is support by Nottingham City Council and Arts Council England."
Matthew Chesney, BACKLIT
Showcase
Explore our showcase ‘We Are Creatives’ - celebrating the work of the Nottingham School of Art & Design students. You will find a sneak peak of some of our students’ work and gain a real insight into what it’s like to be part of the NTU creative community at wearecreativesntu.art
YouFirst – working with our Employability Team
Our friendly, experienced careers consultants will work closely with you at every stage of your career planning, providing personal support and advice you won't find in a book or on the internet. You can benefit from this at any time during your studies and up to three years after completing your course.
Re:search Re:imagined
To us, research is about more than writing papers and proposing new ideas. By daring to think differently, we’re disrupting the research landscape and finding the answers to the questions that really matter. From electronic textiles to the history of lace, we’re inspiring the brightest minds to rise up and find solutions to some of the most significant global challenges facing society.
Find out more: ntu.ac.uk/research
Campus and facilities
For workshops and seminars, you will mainly be based in our Bonington and Waverley buildings on the City Campus – dedicated hubs for art and design students. Students will be given their own workspace within external studios at partner organisation BACKLIT, a short walk away from our City Campus.
You can view all of the facilities and equipment available to students in our Nottingham School of Art & Design Facilities Hub.
Boningtons Art Shop
Our specialist in-house art shop is based in the Bonington building. Run by experienced and friendly University staff, the shop stocks a wide variety of arts and crafts materials.
The shop responds to the requirements of our students, and the stock on offer grows each year to support the courses offered within the Nottingham School of Art & Design
Entry requirements
What are we looking for?
Please note that there are limited places available for this course.
- 2.1 honours degree in a related subject.
- Applicants with non-standard entry qualifications and / or relevant work experience will be considered on an individual basis.
Other requirements:
- a creative portfolio;
- interview.
NTU may admit a student with advanced standing beyond the beginning of a course, through an assessment of that student's prior learning, whether it is certificated or uncertificated. Our Recognition of Prior Learning and Credit Transfer Policy outlines the process and options available to these prospective students, such as recognising experiential learning or transferring to a similar course at another institution, otherwise known as credit transfer.
All prospective students who wish to apply via Recognition of Prior Learning should initially contact the central Admissions and Enquiries Team who will be able to support you through the process.
Getting in touch
If you need any more help or information, please contact us at Ask NTU or call on +44 (0)115 848 4200.
Getting in touch
If you need more help or information, get in touch through our enquiry form
What are we looking for?
- 2.1 honours degree in a related subject.
Other requirements:
International qualifications
We accept qualifications from all over the world – check yours here:
Postgraduate preparation courses (Pre-Masters)
If you don’t yet meet our entry requirements, we offer Pre-Masters courses through our partner Nottingham Trent International College (NTIC), based on our City Campus:
English language entry requirements
You can meet our language requirements by successfully completing our pre-sessional English course for an agreed length of time, or by submitting the required grade in one of our accepted English language tests, such as IELTS:
Would you like some advice on your study plans?
Our international teams are highly experienced in answering queries from students all over the world. We also have members of staff based in Vietnam, China, India and Nigeria and work with a worldwide network of education counsellors.
- Complete this simple form to keep in touch with the International Office.
Fees and funding
| Course | full-time |
|---|---|
| MFA Fine Art | £7,950 per year* |
* Fee amounts are per year and will increase each year in line with inflation, capped at no more than 5%.
Alumni Loyalty Scheme - 20% fee discount
We're happy to be able to offer a 20% fee discount to most current NTU students and recent NTU graduates.
See if you're eligible.
Getting in touch
For more advice and guidance, you can contact our Student Financial Support Service on
+44 (0)115 848 2494.
Find out more about our terms and conditions of study for this course.
Postgraduate loans
The government introduced a new postgraduate loans scheme for the 2016/17 academic year for Masters degrees. The loan will be a contribution towards the costs of study and it will be at the student's discretion to use the loan towards fees, maintenance costs or other costs.
Scholarships
We are offering a number of scholarships for Masters study.
Now/Black Fellows scholarship
We are offering a full bursary for up to 3 students, who have been offered a place on the MFA Fine Art full-time course for September 2025. You could gain a full tuition fee reduction and a £1,000 cash bursary for materials, at the start of the academic year. Visit our Now/Black Fellows page for details about eligibility and to find out more about the bursary.
| Course | full-time |
|---|---|
| MFA Fine Art | £16,100 per year* |
* Fee amounts are per year and will increase each year in line with inflation, capped at no more than 5%.
Alumni Loyalty Scheme - 20% fee discount
We're happy to be able to offer a 20% fee discount to most current NTU students and recent NTU graduates.
See if you're eligible.
International scholarships
You might be able to get a scholarship to help fund your studies. We award scholarships to international students who can demonstrate excellent achievement, passion and dedication to their studies.
Please take a look at our International students page for information about fees, scholarships for international students, visas and much more.
Getting in touch
For more advice and guidance, you can contact our Student Financial Support Service.
Tel: +44 (0)115 848 2494
How to apply
Ready to join us? Then apply as soon as you can. Just click the Apply button at the top of the page and follow the instructions for applying.
Application deadline
You can apply for this course throughout the year, but we'd recommend that applications should be received by the end of July for entry in September.
Writing your application
Be honest, thorough and persuasive in your application. Remember, we can only make a decision based on what you tell us. Make sure you include as much information as possible, including uploading evidence of results already achieve, as well as a personal statement.
Keeping up to date
After you've applied, we'll be sending you important emails throughout the application process - so check your emails regularly, including your junk mail folder.
You can get more information and advice about applying to NTU in our postgraduates' guide. Here you'll find advice about how to write a good personal statement and much more.
Getting in touch
If you need any more help or information, please contact us at Ask NTU or call on +44 (0)115 848 4200.
Apply online through our NTU applicant portal.
Application advice
Apply early so that you have enough time to prepare – processing times for Student visas can vary, for example. After you've applied, we'll be sending you important emails throughout the application process – so check your emails regularly, including your junk mail folder.
Writing your personal statement
Be honest, thorough, and persuasive – we can only make a decision about your application based on what you tell us:
Your portfolio
If your initial application is successful, you may be asked to upload a portfolio of your work and you may also be asked to attend an interview.
Would you like some advice on your study plans?
Our international teams are highly experienced in answering queries from students all over the world. We also have members of staff based in Vietnam, China, India and Nigeria and work with a worldwide network of education counsellors.
- Complete this simple form to keep in touch with the International Office.
The University's commitment to delivering the educational services advertised.
