Master of Fine Arts in Textiles

at Manchester Metropolitan University United Kingdom

In the contemporary art world, as the boundaries between fine art practices are crossed, so too are the distinctions between artist, theorist and curator. This distinctive course challenges these boundaries, offering students the opportunity to develop and expand fine art practice through a deep engagement with art historical knowledge and theoretical ideas. The course also offers a curating pathway, allowing students to explore exhibition-making in its own right and as a form of artistic practice.

This course rethinks the use, practice and industry of Textiles within the 21st century. It is responsive to an emerging global landscape that requires, sustainable, design-led, innovative positions to be adopted from which to anticipate and forecast our Textile futures.

Manchester and the School of Art have been at the forefront of textiles innovation since the late 19th Century and this course is built on that rich heritage, offering students the opportunity to challenge and innovate in equal measure.

As a student, you will develop innovative study hubs of interdisciplinary expertise, which will both rethink and regenerate textiles within its expanded field (including Textile Craft, Innovation and Digital specialisms). You will address the future paradigms of environmental and social change, new materiality, and the development of 4.0 Textile Industry. Hybrid creative learning environments such as the Manchester Met Digital Lab and specialist Textile facilities support advanced digital learning and making, electronics, 3D printing and multi-media material making practices to be explored.

You will develop individual specialised projects which will become beacons within the expanded field of design. Learning is creative, innovative and interdisciplinary and teaching features design workshops, guest lectures, design events, reading groups, live industry projects and study trips.

On our MSc Artificial Intelligence course, you’ll be taught by academics who are experts in the area, many of whom are currently conducting research into the subject as part of our Centre for Advanced Computational Science research group. This ensures that our curriculum is based on research-informed content at the leading edge of this fast-paced field.

This course will build on your existing computing knowledge. We aim to equip you with the fundamental principles of AI to be able to critically evaluate the theories, techniques, tools and systems used in the field. And the interdisciplinary applications, allowing you to specialize in this exciting, developing area.

You’ll also complete an in-depth master's project with the support of our academic and technical team. By the time you complete our postgraduate degree in AI, you’ll be well placed to succeed in this high-growth industry and ready to tackle the challenges facing businesses.

A taught postgraduate course that conducts research into how global cultural and economic forces influence contemporary cities. The design, functioning and future of urban situations is explored in written, drawn and modelled work that builds on the legacy of twentieth-century urban theory and is directed towards the development of sustainable cities.

Placement options

Strengthen your skillset by spending time in industry on a placement year, applying the skills you’ve learned throughout your academic studies in a practical, real-world environment. It’s an excellent opportunity to develop a professional career development plan and gain transferable workplace skills that can boost your employability.

Following completion of the taught elements of your MSc course, you can gain additional practice credits by working for a minimum of 36 weeks and a maximum of 42 weeks in an industrial setting, relevant to your course.

It’s your responsibility to search and apply for advertised placement opportunities, but you’ll be supported by academic staff and the University’s Careers and Employability Service to find a placement that is suited to you and your career ambitions. However, not all students can be guaranteed a placement.

All placements are approved and monitored in accordance with the University’s Institutional Code of Practice for Placement and Work?Based Learning. For international students, this includes additional checks on study visas to ensure the appropriate visa status.

Over the course of our Biomedical Science degree, you’ll gain an in-depth understanding of the biological principles that relate to the workings of the human body, as well as the characteristics and diagnosis of disease leading to possible therapeutic interventions.

After gaining a solid grounding in the principles of biomedical science, you’ll move on to specialist topics, acquiring the in-depth understanding and advanced techniques vital for professional practice. That means you’ll study a range of areas, from cell and molecular biology, physiological systems and research skills, to blood science, cellular science, and techniques and applications in biomedical science, to name but a few.

In your final year, you’ll get the chance to develop your own particular interests with a major project. With our excellent facilities and close links with local hospitals, by the time you graduate you’ll be ready for the next stage of your career.

The global trend in the manipulation of nutrient intake to enhance performance and the health of exercising individuals has grown exponentially. Matching the physiological demands with relevant dietary needs is a fast-growing area of sport nutrition. All of these factors are creating a demand for dynamic, innovative nutrition graduates.

We’ve designed our sport and exercise nutrition course to address the increasing awareness of the impact of nutrition on sport and exercise performance and the growing need for employment in the area.

You’ll examine the complex relationships between diet, health, physical wellbeing and performance whilst also gaining experience in the skills required to work in the field of sport and exercise, such as providing specialist advice on healthy eating, conducting dietary surveys and being an advocate of change.

Our sport and exercise nutrition degree also provides the option of spending an extra year working in a partner organisation on placement.

Placement options

If you choose the sandwich year degree route, you will spend year 3 of your studies on a placement in industry.  Placement learning is a key element of the course as it allows you to apply university-based knowledge, skills and understanding to the real world of work.

The Combined Honours program offers you an opportunity to study two subjects at degree level.

English:
English is a well-established humanities discipline, which explores the role of the written word in defining and transforming human experience. The modern discipline of English is rooted in the study of literature and the language in which it is written. Students of English can expect to study all major periods and forms of literature and to learn how to analyse literary texts by drawing on disciplines such as history, sociology and politics. The study of English develops strong critical thinking and communication skills, attributes that are highly valued in humanities graduates by employers. The English department has access to a community of internationally renowned writers and critics through the Manchester Writing School, one of the most successful of its kind in the UK. The Creative Director is Carol Ann Duffy DBE (Poet Laureate 2009-2019). You will develop the necessary skills in critical thinking and communication that are of value to graduates entering a wide array of career paths.

Spanish:
Proficiency in modern languages will give you the competitive edge in the global jobs market. In both the private and public sectors, there is demand for professionals with strong language skills who can work in culturally diverse environments. Studying Spanish at Manchester Met will give you the opportunity to learn from native speakers. Our languages department have created their own multicultural community, including British, exchange and international students, along with foreign language assistants, allowing you to be absorbed into the everyday use of your chosen language.

We have been providing professional language courses for more than 30 years and our staff are nationally, and in many cases internationally, recognised experts in their field. Our strong local, national and global links will help to enhance your study and future employment opportunities.

Placement options
If you take Spanish as a major or equal subject you will spend your third year in Spain or Latin America and we will assist you in choosing from a wide choice of partner universities where you can study.

MFA Fine Art provides a stimulating environment in which you will be guided to develop your creative aspirations, reach a critical maturity, and gain the self-confidence and skills that will enable you to work as a successful artist.

The course is studio practice-driven and relies on experimentation and critical reflection supported by individualized mentoring, lectures, seminars and group critiques. It emphasizes the articulation of ideas, development of working methods and the realisation of independent work. Seminars are structured to investigate a broad range of themes relevant to the practicing artist and provide a rich diet of inspiration.

From the written word to the silver screen, this joint honours course explores the middle ground between two of the world’s most important storytelling forms.

It is a fascinating combination of English literature, with its centuries-old roots, and the relative modernity of cinematic studies. Taught by staff that are internationally renowned writers and critics in a friendly, supportive and intellectually challenging environment, you'll study English literature in all its major forms - prose, poetry and drama - and cinema, in its large and small screen incarnations.

The film modules are grounded in close textual interpretation and the analysis of style, genre, historical context, and the politics of representation. As such, you’ll focus on key film genres, key directors, numerous film movements and national cinemas. With the sheer power, reach, longevity and endurance of American filmmaking over the last 120 years, much of the study of film focuses on 'Hollywood' style cinema, but you’ll also look at less commercial film-making from around the globe, challenging and pushing the medium to its limits.

You may have opportunities to study abroad and, if you wish, to do your third year as a placement - in Britain or abroad. And in your final year, you'll get a chance to explore your interests in depth with a substantial piece of project work that presents a thesis, building on the knowledge and skills you've been developing over previous years.

Our lively department is staffed by internationally renowned writers and critics, and there's a strong research culture, creating a learning environment that is both supportive and intellectually challenging. Manchester is a creative hub, with one of the biggest creative sectors in the UK, and along with our extensive cultural links both in the city and further afield, you’ll be ideally placed to begin building a creative network for the future.

The BA (Hons) Fashion program has an excellent reputation for producing fashion graduates who are employed for their creativity, originality, versatility, and professional skills.

The program focuses on contemporary fashion design and encourages students to be creative and experimental while challenging the conventions of fashion and textile design practices.

Students follow an arts-based studio practice model through which they develop concepts and ideas using in-depth research processes and experimentation, learning how to design and make original fashion outcomes with a focus on contemporary craftsmanship. Students learn essential skills for designing and making, including the opportunity to develop a textile specialism such as knit, print or embroidery.

Students are encouraged to develop a personal design philosophy, leading to a final collection and design portfolio in their final year, with consideration of sustainable design practice. There is also opportunity to collaborate with industry partners through live briefs, and to work with other art and design students both within the university and with international partners in the award-winning cross-disciplinary Unit X.

Photography offers an exciting range of career paths and specialisms and this course provides the perfect starting point for them.

You will have the opportunity to discover and push the boundaries of current practices and approaches. You’ll discover how photography can be used to tell powerful stories and communicate your personal interests within cultural and industry contexts. You will also have an opportunity to explore a wide range of different subject areas such as fashion, documentary, editorial and commercial photography. Throughout the course you will have the chance to experiment in a purpose-built studio, darkroom and digital facilities.

As a Photography student you will be part of the broad, dynamic creative community at the School of Digital Arts. As such, you will have units and classes taught across all our courses, with the chance to collaborate on projects with animators, sound designers, games developers and a range of other media-focused students. It’s an approach designed to mirror the cross-disciplinary practices you’ll find in the professional world, while giving you the chance to explore the creative directions that interest you most. Matching that professional approach, our purpose-built school provides professional-standard tools – a brand new creative playground for producing photographic work at the cutting edge of emerging digital technologies. It’s a school and a course designed to give you the vital industry and artist networking, technical and creative skills to prepare you for a career in the photographic and related industries.

Manchester offers a fantastic backdrop for it all. Studying here puts the country’s second-largest media and creative sector on your doorstep, with a globally recognised photographic industry and a substantial animation, film and digital/tech sector. At MediaCityUK, there’s a mix of national broadcasters and independent operators, while the city is home to a wide range of major media businesses. Manchester has a dynamic artistic and cultural scene that houses some of the best public and independent museums and galleries in the UK . So, whatever path you want to pursue in photography – or in the wider media, arts and digital tech industries – Manchester offers all sorts of opportunities for building a network, gaining experience and making a great start in your career.