Visual Practice MA

Follow a chosen visual practice discipline, from Contemporary Fine Art, Photography, Glass, or Ceramics. Re-evaluate, experiment and test new ideas, while collaborating with peers to extend your contemporary practice. Grow your practice in a creatively stimulating environment and establish yourself as a creative professional.

Register your interest

Overview

This Masters will enable you to develop your personal visual practice and follow your own interests and aspirations. You'll follow a chosen pathway for the duration of your MA study, with the option to be awarded with one of the following:

MA Visual Practice: Contemporary Fine Art
MA Visual Practice: Photography
MA Visual Practice: Glass
MA Visual Practice: Ceramics

We do not have a ‘house style’, instead you'll be encouraged and supported to uncover your own focus through independent creativity. You’ll improve your technical ability through expert support, using our excellent facilities, and will develop academic skills in research and communication.

You'll work alongside a diverse range of established artists, theorists, writers, curators, and specialist technicians to develop your practice and professional career, and you'll meet, share practice, and collaborate with staff and peers from a variety of disciplines as part of the MA Visual Practice community.

Why us?

Complete personal development projects focused on your practice – allowing you to push the boundaries of creativity and prepare you for a future in employment, enterprise or further study
We will support you to acquire advanced and versatile analytical, critical and production skills, underpinned by relevant understanding of professional contexts and requirements, so enhancing your ability to succeed in your creative career after you graduate
You'll be taught by research-active artists, creatives and academics immersed in their field, with extensive knowledge of theory and practice. All exhibit nationally and internationally and are well networked in their subject areas across the globe

The University has been awarded 5-star Clean Green Ceramics Sustainability Certification, making Sunderland the only university in the UK to be awarded Clean Green Certification for ceramics.
Apply for the Robson Art & Design Masters award, a £1,000 cash scholarship designed to support students studying MA Visual Practice or MA Design

Our student work

Join our creative community: @SunderlandCreative #WeAreCreative

Course structure

Compared to an undergraduate course, you'll find that this Masters requires a higher level of independent working.

We use a wide variety of teaching and learning methods and you'll have high levels of contact with tutors who give regular feedback and support. Our aim is to provide a stimulating and supportive learning environment where emerging ideas and strategies can be tested and debated with reference to appropriate professional contexts and challenges. The teaching emphasis will therefore be on encouraging self-reliance, sustainability and personal creative responsibility through lectures, seminars, workshops and peer reviews, supported by group and individual tutorials. This is supported by a range of guest speakers from diverse academic and creative industry backgrounds.

Part-time students will study alongside full-time students in the daytime.

Core modules

Experiment and Reflect (60 credits)

Re-evaluate, experiment and test new ideas to extend your contemporary practice. Benefit from a survey of critical concepts and frameworks in contemporary visual practice and be encouraged to consider how these relate to your own perspective of practice.

Developing your Creative and Professional Practice (60 credits)

Build on your established practice and current interests, concerns and ideas, developing your personal project or body of work. This may take the form of an extension of existing ideas and approaches or the development of a new direction. Learn from and participate in a series of ‘Creative Lives’ talks given on a weekly basis, which will give an overview of current professional practice from professionals from different areas of the creative arts sector, including curators, cultural producers, designers and digital entrepreneurs as well as freelance artists.

Resolve and Exhibit (60 credits)

Bring your visual practice up to a professional level of resolve and present it in an appropriate professional form (group exhibition). You will also be supported to produce a final Reflective Report as either:

A final evaluation report that contextualises your practice with reference to appropriate professional contexts, issues and debates, with an overview of your professional development to date and aims/objectives for future work, or:
An extended academic essay exploring a particular aspect of contemporary visual practice that is of interest to you or of relevance to your own practice and that will enhance your ability to advance to further study (research).

Some modules have prerequisites. Read more about what this means in our Help and Advice article.

Facilities

You'll work in excellently equipped studios, giving you access to many events and exhibitions as well as visiting professionals (including artists, designers and makers). You'll have access to workshops in printmaking, 3D printing, digital photography, digital sewing and embroidery, woodwork, metalwork and casting as well as support in the development of film and sound. You'll also have access to FabLab on City Campus.

The University of Sunderland’s Glass and Ceramics area is based at National Glass Centre which provides the infrastructure, creative environment and support for independent creativity in these areas. Fine Art facilities are based at the Priestman Building on City Campus, where you’ll be allocated your own workspace. Photography students will be working in the Northern Centre of Photography at the Sir Tom Cowie Campus, with opportunities to meet and learn from many visiting international photographic practitioners.

Entry requirements

We don’t currently display entry requirements for United States. Please contact the Student Admin team on studentadmin@sunderland.ac.uk or 0191 515 3154.

We usually require applicants to hold an honours degree in an art or design discipline. We may also consider applicants who have relevant experience and who can demonstrate their suitability for the course.

Please prepare a portfolio of artwork that shows your interests and what you have done so far. We are not looking for perfection as we appreciate you may be still developing your practice.

Your portfolio should be a PowerPoint presentation (preferable for applicants interested in the photography route), ZIP file, or links to websites or videos and can include:

A variety of art and design work - we would like to see a range of styles and techniques
Work completed in or outside of your studies
Photographic works
Ideas in sketchbooks/scrapbooks
Photographs of 3D work in any medium
Work in progress

We suggest between 10-20 slides/images would be sufficient.

If English is not your first language, please see our English language requirements.

Is your qualification not displaying here? For international qualifications, search our full list of international entry requirements for this course.

Fees and finance

Full-time fees are:

£9,500 if you are from the UK/Europe
£17,000 if you are an international student

Part-time fees are £500 per 10 credits. Please note that part-time courses are not available to international students who require a Student visa to study in the UK.

Take a look at the scholarships and bursaries that may be available to you.

This information was correct at the time of publication.

A photography student taking a photograph of another student who is standing still in a studio

Career ready

On completing this course, you'll be equipped for roles throughout the creative industries. The course is focused on developing your own perspective of professional practice. Key issues will include: how to develop and sustain your individual creative practice; disseminating your work; identifying, reaching and developing your audiences; ethical practice and how to foster successful partnerships and modes of collaboration in both arts and non-arts sectors. You'll develop your own personal creative projects and career plans throughout.

Career opportunities

Many recent Sunderland graduates are now working as independent self-employed artists and are successful practitioners around the world, while some have moved on to teaching in schools and lecturing positions at universities. Others have chosen to move into other areas, including jewellery, architecture, interior design, engineering, photography, painting and sculpture.

During the course we'll encourage you to gain creative industry experience which will enhance your skills, build up a valuable network of contacts and boost your employability. This experience can take the form of working on live commissions, entering competitions and exhibiting work in public exhibitions. We also have the Digital Incubator Unit which can offer assistance for you to start your own business or freelance practice.

Creative industry links

The University has close links with arts organisations including Arts Council England, the BALTIC, Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, Centre of Ceramic Art (CoCA) York, National Association for Ceramics in Higher Education (NACHE), Equal Arts, The Biscuit Factory, Tyne and Wear Museums Service and Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA).

We also have international links in USA, China, Czech Republic and Australia.

For Photography, international perspectives and professional opportunities are offered through the affiliate organisation NEPN.

Sunderland Culture

Sunderland Culture is a collaboration between the University, council and the city’s key cultural organisations. This partnership brings big-name creatives in contemporary visual arts, glass, ceramics and performance to the city; showcases exciting local talent; and gives our students unique experiences including exceptional career-enhancing opportunities.

Related courses

Contact

Contact the Student Helpline for further information about studying at the University of Sunderland:

0191 515 3000

student.helpline@sunderland.ac.uk

View Programme Specifications for the Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries.

Page last updated: 20 March 2025

We aim to provide clear, accurate and timely information to prospective and current students. We continuously review and enhance course content in consultation with our students and the information provided on our website is the latest available. If you have received an offer from us to start a course, we will communicate any important changes to you in writing. We will always seek to ensure that our prospective students are fully aware of the basis on which they are accepting an offer.