A two-year, multidisciplinary programme: both of these fundamental facts are significant.  A two-year programme of study offers students an extraordinary opportunity to analyse their studio practice in depth, and to modify, develop and secure it accordingly.  The multidisciplinary context also ensures that such developments are protected against narrowly defined ambitions. 

MFA students learn from, and contribute to, the delivery of the programme curriculum, the experiences of their peers, and the wider art community based within the city of Glasgow.  Within this situation a premium is placed upon independence, originality, initiative and enterprise.

Students develop their own working practices in order to explore and advance their own specific interests and academic agendas.  Such interests usually take the form of a combination of formal, technical, thematic and theoretical concerns. Students are also encouraged to explore their practices in relation to wider cultural, theoretical and historical contexts by means of individual research activity.  Regular tutorial support from MFA core teaching team and a wide range of visiting lecturers (e.g. artists, critics, curators) allows students the opportunity to discuss their work with experts, and critical feedback is also available by means of regular group critiques. 

Students operating at postgraduate level are expected to demonstrate increasing levels of independence and 'ownership' in relation to their learning experience.  The overwhelming majority of MFA students are allocated their own private studio space, and this space serves as the focal point of their studies.  It is not only the place where work is produced, but it is also the place where professional working practices and operational discipline are learned.  In this focused environment of the studio, each MFA student learns how to organise and structure their working patterns in order to prepare themselves - both intellectually and practically - for the life of a practising artist.  

Many MFA students are also engaged in other initiatives throughout the city.  Such extracurricular activity contributes significantly to the learning experiences of the students involved, and makes an invaluable contribution to the ongoing cultural life of the MFA programme and the city at large.

How To Apply

Your application to the MFA must include the following -

• A completed Graduate School application form.
• A maximum of 20 images of your work and/or a DVD of maximum 10 minutes duration. The images should either be individual 72dpi Jpegs (approximately 500k each), or a PDF or a Powerpoint. You should also submit a slide list with your application that gives information on individual works, such as the titles, dates, materials etc.
• In addition to the application form and the images of your work, you should also submit a concise critical self-evaluation of your artwork and your reasons for wishing to join the programme at GSA. This text should be approximately 500 words in length.
• Two references, which can be from academic or other professionals.

The deadline for applying to the MFA programme for entry in September 2013 is 31/01/2013.