Graduate Diploma in Fine Arts

at Massey University - Wellington Campus New Zealand

The Postgraduate Diploma in Fine Arts gives you the opportunity for advanced study in contemporary art. It is the entry point into fine arts postgraduate study at Massey University.

The programme combines theoretical inquiry with studio-based practice. It focuses on identifying, exploring and developing research methods that are relevant to current art practices and enquiry.

The Graduate Diploma in Screen Arts is an opportunity for people who have already completed a degree to add an additional subject area to their learning.

You’ll be studying with other students in courses at 200 level and above across the majors offered in the Bachelor of Screen Arts with Honours. These are:

• Animation
• Factual Production
• Film Production
• Game Development
• Immersive Media
• Media Technology
• Visual Effects

Working in a production focussed environment, you’ll respond to briefs that combine creative studio practice, storytelling, professional practice and portfolio development, using industry-standard production facilities, studios and labs.

The Bachelor of Design with Honours (Integrated Design), you’ll select courses from two or more of the other seven majors in the Bachelor of Design with Honours. You’ll push your study beyond traditional design boundaries.

Choose courses to form a unique programme of study, in consultation with the qualification leader. You can choose courses from the following disciplines:

• concept design
• fashion design
• industrial design
• photography
• spatial design
• textile design
• visual communication design (including graphic design, illustration, advertising and branding, interaction design and more).

The Master of Fine Arts (MFA) has a strong collective philosophy. By bringing together students from design and fine arts, the MFA fosters intense conversations and exploration. Embed yourself in a rich dialogue about your creative practice in Massey’s transdisciplinary Master of Fine Arts (Fine Arts) qualification, for artists and designers.

For designers and artists
Choose whether you want to graduate with an MFA in design, in fine arts or without endorsement if you believe your work cannot be framed in terms of either discipline.
We have had students join the qualification whose undergraduate training is in fashion design, photography, textile design, industrial design, graphic design, fine arts and even music.

The world is undergoing a radical shift in how people communicate, work and share ideas. More people can share more ideas in more ways than ever before - photos, video, animations, tweets, graphics and experiences. We can connect with people across countries, languages and cultures. People can interact with governments and corporations in new ways, while they are using the same tools to try to influence us.

Visual communication design (VCD) offers huge scope and flexibility. At Massey, we teach a diverse range of media, like print, web and video, and give you the chance to try all of them. Within VCD you can explore and specialise in print, typographic and editorial design, information and graphic design, web, interaction and service design, and illustration and branding. You’ll learn to solve complex design problems. You’ll follow your interests and aspirations by developing a higher level of expertise in a specific area.

Specialise in Game Development for your Bachelor of Screen Arts with Honours at Massey

Encompassing a broad range of disciplines, including game design, art, audio, coding, and production. Game development is a field that truly embraces interactive screen media.

You will develop skills in critical thinking, logic, design, 3D modelling and texturing, animation, and team-based production while building fun, engaging, and challenging worlds, experiences, and adventures.

You’ll be ideating, designing, and developing games. Using industry-standard software and real time engines and techniques, you'll will work through game design, art and aesthetics and programming to create unique and original experiences for desktop, console and mobile platforms.

Textile design has many possibilities including fashion, interior, or gallery outcomes. Develop skills in colour, styling, texture, pattern, and surface application. You can specialise in print, dye, knit, weave, mixed media and non-woven textiles, going beyond traditional fabrics.

We prepare you for the rapidly evolving world of work and business. We’ll help you develop your own research and design approaches and push the boundaries of current textile practice. Skilled innovators will always have the edge.

Massey provides an intellectual and creative environment, encouraging critical debate. You'll be positioned to make your own choices about the design and manufacture of your own textiles. That could include questions like sustainability values and ethical production. We train you to create opportunities, identify new concepts, and take part in the global industry.

Textile design research at Massey has particular strengths in:

• Adding value to New Zealand wool products
• Developing innovative ways to use textile waste, and
• Sustainability.

Industrial design is about designing better and smarter products used in daily life. It includes practical design and study of the manufacture and use of products, equipment, and furniture.

The Bachelor of Design with Honours (Industrial Design) encourages innovative thinking and creative application of new technologies. You’ll learn how to meet social, cultural, economic, and environmental needs of people of today and the future.

You'll learn to arrive at design solutions and show them by using many materials and techniques to create models and prototypes with a professional level of finish.

Your learning is studio-project based. You'll research and design a diverse range of items from tools to kitchenware, jewellery to sporting goods, furniture to agricultural equipment. 

More than just the design of buildings, spatial design is all about how people experience spaces. It intersects with the more traditional design fields of architecture, landscape design, interior design, urban design and environmental design.

People inhabit the world in many ways, but we all have spaces where we live, work, play, relax, perform, gather, learn, heal, and celebrate. The design of spaces affects how you feel, how you act, and how you interact with others: Does the layout of your local hospital make you feel reassured or stressed? Do you find you want to linger in some cafes but not in others? Does an office space make it easy and natural for people to get together? Do the views on a walk surprise and delight you because someone has thought carefully about the experience?

Spatial design can improve the standard and quality of our lives, enrich our culture and national identity, and contribute to business success. In spatial design studio courses, you'll learn to design for a host of spaces: private, public, retail, event, work, game, furnishing, experience, display, interface and performance. You learn to use the latest technologies and approaches to design spaces at the required scale, from the big picture (eg urban planning) to the fine detail of construction and materials.

With Massey’s Master of Emergency Management, you’ll learn to become a leader in managing emergencies effectively at operational and strategic levels.

Emergency management focuses on organising communities to respond to disasters. It also examines how to survive them, rebuild social structures and infrastructure, and sustain and preserve life.