Program Overview
The Contemporary Arts and Music (PGDip) at Oxford Brookes University is a MA programme in Arts & Design over 12 months, delivered On-campus. This programme equips graduates with advanced knowledge and practical skills for professional and academic careers in the field.
Students gain a rigorous grounding in both the theoretical foundations and applied dimensions of arts & design. The programme combines coursework, research components, and practical projects that develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and specialist expertise relevant to industry and research needs.
Graduates of the Contemporary Arts and Music (PGDip) programme are well-prepared for careers in academia, industry, government, and the private sector across United Kingdom and internationally. The programme provides an internationally recognised qualification within the Bologna higher education framework.
Key Program Features
- Duration: 12 months
- Language of instruction: English
- Study mode: On-campus
- English requirement: IELTS 6
- Tuition: GBP 12,870 (Tuition (Year)) — International students; GBP 5,310 (Tuition (Year)) — EU/EEA students
- Location: Oxford, United Kingdom
Career Opportunities
Graduates of the Contemporary Arts and Music (PGDip) programme are prepared for diverse careers in arts & design:
- Creative Director
- Graphic / UX Designer
- Art Director
- Curator
- Visual Artist
- Media Producer
Program Curriculum
Course Structure
- Creative Strategies is shared by all four MA courses. This module explores methodologies and strategies for generating contemporary and cross-art-form work, sonic art and musical composition, social sculpture and related expanded art practices. You are encouraged to become aware of your working process as a creative practitioner and to understand the influence that certain methodologies and strategies have on the kind of work that you do. Through individual and collaborative practice-based work, staff-led seminars and feedback discussions, attention is focused on how we generate practice-based work. Strategies that encompass the intuitive, spontaneous, interventionist, discursive and analytical are used, individually or in collaboration with others.
- Research and Development provides the opportunity to identify an area of interest as a starting point for investigation and speculation. You will develop project proposals through deliberate, rigorous and sustained research and exploration. The module emphasises practical research processes relevant to your own concerns.
- Contemporary Practice in Art and Music enables you to develop a deeper understanding of your practice through an engagement with exploratory processes. Through a series of workshops and exercises you will be introduced to new possibilities for generating, creating and thinking about contemporary work. Throughout the module, regular group feedback sessions on your emerging ideas enable you to realise how your work communicates your concerns to an audience. By the end of the module you will have developed a body of practical research for presentation. You will also reflect upon this through seminar feedback sessions and by articulating, in a written self-evaluation, the concerns in your evolving practice.
Admission Requirements
Academic Requirements
The general entry requirements are:
- A good honours degree, i.e. an upper second or first, in any subject
- An internationally recognised qualification equivalent to a good British honours degree.
Applicants without a first degree, but with extensive experience may also be considered and individual courses may have additional entry requirements to these. Please contact the Admissions Tutor to discuss this.
International applications
- Preparation courses for International and EU students
We offer a range of courses to help you to meet the entry requirements for this course and also familiarise you with university life. You may also be able to apply for one student visa to cover both courses.
- Take our Pre-Master\'s course to help you to meet both the English language and academic entry requirements for your master\'s course.
- If you need to improve your English language, we have pre-sessional English language courses available to help you to meet the English language requirements of your chosen master\xc2\x92s.
If you are studying outside the UK, for more details about your specific country entry requirements, translated information, local contacts and programmes within your country, please have a look at our country pages.
How to apply
You apply for this course through UCAS Postgraduate.
Through UCAS Postgraduate, you should use the UKPASS portal to make your application, which will then be forwarded directly to our Admissions Office. You should send supporting documentation to us directly using the email addresses on the UKPASS application form.
Once we have received your UK Pass application we will contact you to set up an interview, in person, or by Skype if you are not near Oxford.
At this point we will discuss further why you want to do this programme and will request to see previous practice.
If you are not an arts practitioner we will need to hear about other work and experience, and understand how it equips you for this programme.
English Proficiency: IELTS 6 or equivalent.
Tuition & Financial Information
Tuition Fee
GBP 12,870 (Tuition (Year)) — International students; GBP 5,310 (Tuition (Year)) — EU/EEA students
Tuition fees: GBP 12,870 (Tuition (Year)) — International students; GBP 5,310 (Tuition (Year)) — EU/EEA students
IELTS requirement: 6
Financial Aid & Scholarships
Contact Oxford Brookes University directly for scholarship, grant, and financial aid information for this programme. Many European universities offer merit-based and need-based funding for international and domestic students.
About Oxford Brookes University
Oxford Brookes University
Oxford, United Kingdom
Oxford Brookes University is a distinguished institution of higher education committed to academic excellence, innovative research, and preparing students for leadership in their chosen fields....
University Profile- Start Date September 2026
- Language English
- Duration 12 months