MRes Art allows you address a specialist area of fine art research and to explore the relationships between your chosen specialism and the broader fine art community in the context of our Postgraduate Art Programme.

Synergies in our Postgraduate Art Programme - incorporating MA Fine Art, MA Art and Science, MA Photography, MRes Art: Exhibition Studies, MRes Art: Moving Image, and MRes Art: Theory and Philosophy - create a dynamic context for exploring practices and issues within contemporary culture.

In its extended full-time mode MRes Art gives you the flexibility to access London's richly varied opportunities for work and study while maximising your personal and professional development.

MRes Art prepares you to work particularly in the academic and research contexts of professional environments, to undertake PhD study, or pursue independent research. The course benefits from links with relevant professional and academic organisations in London and internationally and from the varied expertise of its research staff.

The three pathways provide a focus for your study while also enabling you to explore shared ground and questions of disciplinary territories and boundaries.

MRes Art: Theory and Philosophy offers a close reading of relevant texts as well as detailed discussion to promote your understanding and knowledge of major debates and approaches within Continental philosophy and aesthetics, the Marxist intellectual tradition, and psychoanalytic theory concerning art. Key issues include philosophy's relevance for the theorisation of art, politics, philosophy and art, philosophical approaches to contemporary art, and philosophy and art in a globalised context.

MRes Art: Theory and Philosophy supports and is shaped by:

• Productive exchanges and development of ideas between MA Fine Art practitioners and MRes historians, theorists and philosophers
• Leadership of a forum in the college for debate with practitioners and researchers of other subject perspectives (issues of aesthetics, for example) that have common interest and importance
• Expansion of the theory and philosophy of art at CSM at PhD level (research in this area is already established and developing through a reading group in the philosophy of art organised by staff from fine art and research with PhD students' participation)

MRes Art: Theory and Philosophy lasts 60 weeks structured as two consecutive periods of 30 weeks each (i.e. two academic years) in its 'extended full-time mode.'

MRes Art: Theory and Philosophy is credit rated at 180 credits, and comprises four units. Unit 1 (40 credits) and Unit 2 (20 credits) run concurrently and last 15 weeks. Unit 3 (40 credits) follows after the completion of Units 1 and 2 and runs for a further 15 weeks to the end of year one. Unit 4 (80 credits) runs for 45 weeks, concurrently with Unit 3 to the end of year one, and then continuing to the end of year two.

All four units must be passed in order to achieve the MRes but the classification of the award of MRes is derived from the marks for units 3 and 4 only.

In year one we expect you to commit an average of 40 hours per week. In year two your study is predominantly self-managed but we expect you to commit an average of 20 hours per week. Across the two years, therefore, you're expected to commit an average of 30 hours per week.

Course rationale

The triangular relationship between art, critical theory and philosophy has in recent years become a vital transformative influence on artists and writers. There's a clear receptivity within art practice and discourse towards philosophy and, in turn, a keener engagement by philosophers with art in terms of both theory and practice. Among the indications of this are the frequency with which philosophers are now speaking at London's art venues such as the ICA, Tate and the Whitechapel Art Gallery, and a significant number of recent publications in the area.

Enlarging on these developments, MRes Art: Theory and Philosophy offers a unique context in which to carry out research in this field. Adopting an exploratory approach to research, the course probes the relationship between art, theory and philosophy in order to understand how the disciplines might interact with one another. It asks how these areas can inform each other's aims and aspirations in the context of social issues including subjectivity, psychological experience, politics and community.

At the core is the challenging notion, bequeathed by the Enlightenment not just to philosophy but also to thinking and theoretical writing, that art is not an object of knowledge but an agent of experience. For European philosophers writing in the wake of its legacy this thesis has entailed a completely new orientation towards the nature of aesthetic experience affecting not just approaches to art but the concept of subjectivity itself. Taking up this key legacy, MRes Art: Theory and Philosophy investigates a range of theoretical and philosophical ideas, approaches and positions.

Course outline

Embracing current debates shaping art criticism, art history and theory, aesthetics and philosophy, MRes Art: Theory and Philosophy investigates the relationships between these disciplines. Of particular importance is the relationship of both modern and contemporary art to Continental philosophy, the Marxist intellectual tradition, psychoanalysis, and feminist theory. In examining what modern and postmodern philosophers have said about art, the course asks how their ideas relate historically and conceptually.

MRes Art: Theory and Philosophy aims to lead UK scholarship in the field through its academic activities (conferences, symposia and publications), serving as a platform for students to develop their interest and research towards MPhil and PhD study and facilitating research by its staff. A strong discursive component locates you in the professional world of research and debate, and this is supported by lectures from visiting scholars and philosophers. In pursuing the relationship between art, theory and philosophy the course aims to advance both art practice as a form of thinking and thinking as a form of practice, with the aim of producing qualified researchers, practitioners and writers who will contribute to art, visual studies and philosophy in a contemporary context.

The first year offers teaching in research skills while engaging you in the specialist subject of your pathway. At the same time you'll prepare for a personally directed programme of study - your research project. In the second year you'll pursue and realise your project. Your progress is supported through tutorials and critical discussions, and monitored through written assignments and presentations. Your realised project is the principal assessed work leading to the MRes qualification.

Unit 1 - Critical Perspectives

Unit 1 runs concurrently with Unit 2 and equips you to understand what philosophy and theory has said about art in the period from the Enlightenment to the present. Embracing primarily Continental philosophy and aesthetics, the Marxist intellectual tradition and psychoanalytic theory it builds your appreciation of the major issues and debates arising from philosophy and aesthetics particularly since Kant, while locating these issues within contemporary perspectives of art and theory.

Key areas of focus include Kant's concept of judgement; Hegel and the 'end of art'; metaphysics (Nietzsche); psychoanalytic ideas about the unconscious, fantasy, sublimation, desire and jouissance (Freud, Lacan, Kristeva, Zizek); feminist theory and philosophy (Kofman, Irigaray, Silverman); writing or écriture (Barthes, Derrida, Cixous); history and time (Heidegger, Adorno, Benjamin, Foucault and Rancière); singularity, multiplicity and the Event (Badiou and Deleuze).

The unit develops your ability to evaluate and progress your ideas about the theory and philosophy of art and encourages articulacy in critical discussion and writing.

Unit 2 - Thinking as Practice (Research Methodologies 1)

This unit, common to all courses within our Postgraduate Art Programme, helps you engage with the postgraduate and research community at CSM.

Unit 2 introduces the fundamental research skills that enable you to make informed decisions about appropriate methods to use in your chosen area of study and your professional future. The unit examines specific research skills and different kinds of research. Skills and knowledge areas covered include interviewing, literature search and review, archival skills, software for use in research and e-resources, feasibility studies, data analysis, referencing, citation and bibliographic conventions, and ethics. Seminars and workshops emphasise participation and the building of core research skills through practical exercises and small group projects.

Lectures ask how arts research and discourse is developed, shared and understood. The focus is on methods of learning, thinking, evaluation and interpretation as both practice based and theoretical forms of enquiry. The diversity of research activity at CSM provides a broad range of models and examples, with particular attention given to the place of practice in research projects.

Unit 2 is assessed by workshop assignments.

Unit 3 - Critical Practices (Research Methodologies 2)

Building on the introduction to research provided by Unit 2, Unit 3 - which is common to all three MRes Art pathways - increases your focus on in-depth understanding of research methods and how they're applied within the arts and humanities.

The unit aims to demonstrate the dynamic ways in which conceptual and theoretical frameworks can be developed through the application of research methodologies.

You're expected to relate your learning in this unit to preparation for your research project in the parallel part of Unit 4. Tutorial and workshop support helps you do this.

Unit 4 - Independent Research Project (IRP)

Unit 4 has two parts. Part One is undertaken in parallel with Unit 3 in year one. Part Two is devoted to independent study and the development and completion of your research project in year two.

Part One

Part One focuses on developing your research project proposal. It involves directed reading or viewing, the formulation of specific research questions and methods, and the production of a literature review (annotated bibliography) that forms part of your draft research project proposal. Your proposal's development is supported through increasingly student-directed seminars and group (as well as personal) tutorials, plus written guidance on the required contents of the proposal document. You'll explore issues of purpose, validity and feasibility in methodological and resource terms, negotiating external links, exchanges and access arrangements as required.

At the end of the year (weeks 28-30) draft project proposals, including the literature review, are presented for interim assessment, and you receive written feedback confirming your plans and /or advising revisions.

The second part, year two, begins with a group event (symposium) that also invites students of the previous and following cohorts, plus staff and peers from the other MRes pathways, to debate and feed back on project proposals and work in progress.

Part Two

All projects, including a commitment to the forms of your submission and appropriate ongoing supervision/tutorial arrangements, are agreed at the outset of year two.

A symposium shared across the MRes pathways presents and discusses all project proposals.

A student-directed group event involving invited professionals takes place early in the spring term (prior to the PhD applications point). This event builds your professional skills and provides a discussion forum challenging you to recognise and debate key questions arising from your research project work to date.

Throughout the second year you lead interim presentations about your research, in person and online, discussing progress, challenges and findings, and issues of form, audience and dissemination.

A third event at the end of year two presents and disseminates the project outcomes with the aim of making visible potential contributions to new research in the subject and generating publication.

At the end of Unit 4 you're assessed through presentation of your realised research project in the agreed forms, the project proposal document, and a report describing and evaluating changes and progress. Your marks for Units 3 and 4 determine the classification of your MRes award.

Our Postgraduate Art Programme offers valuable opportunities to build transferable professional knowledge and skills. The exchange of perspectives with others through shared units, reading groups and debates helps establish stimulating and productive networks.

The focus on proposing and developing a major independent programme of study is supported by a shared professional practice lecture series featuring guest speakers plus opportunities to attend symposia and critique work in progress across subject areas. The Postgraduate Art Programme has wide-ranging links with professional organisations, collections and galleries in London and beyond, and includes opportunities for interaction and networking according to your personal career direction.

MRes Art: Theory and Philosophy gives you an advanced knowledge of research methods and familiarises you with the important features, issues and problems of philosophical aesthetics. You'll gain skills in close textual analysis, comprehension, reconstruction and interpretation of philosophical arguments, while building expertise in critical analysis and reflection. The location of the MRes within our postgraduate environment enhances your ability to relate philosophical analysis to art and cultural practices. In addition to further MPhil or PhD research, we envisage a range of professional futures for MRes Art: Theory and Philosophy graduates in academic institutions, the arts, and publishing.

Selection to MRes Art: Theory and Philosophy is determined by the quality of your application (including a written indicative independent project proposal and supporting material). You'll also need to meet the minimum entry requirements as indicated below, but please note that these qualifications alone won't be sufficient to secure entry to the course.

Minimum entry requirements

We consider applicants who have already achieved an educational level equivalent to an Honours degree. You can demonstrate this educational level by:

• Having an Honours degree or an equivalent academic qualification
• Having a professional qualification recognised as equivalent to an Honours degree
• Prior experiential learning, the outcome of which can be shown to be equivalent to formal qualifications otherwise required
• A combination of formal qualifications and experiential learning that, taken together, can be shown to be equivalent to formal qualifications otherwise required

English language requirement

All classes are conducted in English. If English is not your first language, we strongly recommend you send us an English language test score together with your application to prove your level of proficiency. If you have booked a test or are awaiting your results, please clearly indicate this on your application form. When you have received your test score, please send it to us immediately. The standard English language requirement for entry is IELTS 6.5 with a minimum of 5.5 in any one paper, or equivalent. For further information visit the Language Centre website.
 
Applicants who will need a Tier 4 General Student Visa should check the External English Tests page which provides important information about UK Border Agency (UKBA) requirements. 

What we look for

We're seeking imaginative, resourceful individuals who are committed to exploring theory and philosophy.

Student selection criteria

Your application, indicative independent project proposal and supporting material will be assessed for:

• Evidence of skills and experience appropriate to the proposed field of enquiry
• Effective communication of the intentions, purposes and issues in the proposal
• The level of contextual awareness and expression of perspective in the project proposal
• The potential for realisation of the stated objectives within the timeframe of the course and envisaged resources
• Awareness of the range and nature of challenges implied

Applicants may be selected for interview following submission of the application form, indicative independent project proposal and supporting work. The interview is used to evaluate the extent to which a candidate demonstrates:

• The capacity for independent research
• Appropriate background knowledge and critical abilities
• Awareness of the cultural and social context within which their interests and work are situated
• Appropriate communication skills
• A readiness to participate collaboratively in debate and presentation

Home/EU and International applicants

Download your MRes Art: Theory and Philosophy application pack:

• MRes Art: Theory and Philosophy application pack - international [Word, 0.5mb]  
• MRes Art: Theory and Philosophy application pack - home/EU [Word, 0.5mb]

The application form contains detailed information on the application process.

Your application must include:

• A completed application form
• Copies of your latest qualifications certificates
• An initial project proposal. This is an initial outline proposal of your intentions for the course. A template is provided to help structure this (1,000-1,200 words)
• Two references - at least one should be academic or professional
• 3-5 examples of previous written work and/or documentary material relevant to your research interests, accompanied by a short introductory contextual statement (200-400 words)

Please ensure your application is complete. If you're sending references separately, please state this clearly. We recommend you send your application by recorded mail. Due to the large number of applications we get, we cannot send confirmation that your application has been received.

Further information for International applicants

Our website includes all the information you need to successfully apply. However, if you still have unanswered questions about the admissions process, please contact us. Email: international@csm.arts.ac.uk

The University has a dedicated team to help prepare you for your studies. For help on visa requirements, housing, tuition fees and language requirements visit the University's International section.

The Language Centre offers international students quality language training from qualified and experienced teachers. The Pre-sessional Academic English Programme is available to all international (non-EU) students who have been offered a place on a full time course at the University of the Arts. For further information visit the Language Centre website.

We also offer a number of short courses that enable students to improve their portfolios and English skills before applying to their chosen course. For further information visit our Short Course section.

Home/EU applicants please send your completed application to: Student Administration, MRes Art: Theory and Philosophy, Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design, University of the Arts London, Granary Building, 1 Granary Square, London N1C 4AA.

International applicants please send your completed application to: International Office, MRes Art: Theory and Philosophy, Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design, University of the Arts London, Granary Building, 1 Granary Square, London N1C 4AA.

When to apply

Applications should be submitted from 1 January to 30 June. Places are limited, however, so we advise you to submit your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment. 

Application and interview advice

Your initial project proposal (1,000-1,200 words) should fit the template provided.

References and interviews help determine whether your personal and professional aspirations are compatible with the aims and outcomes of the course. The interview also gives you an opportunity to demonstrate an objective, critical and reflective relationship to your work.

MRes Art: Theory and Philosophy welcomes discussion with potential applicants about the appropriateness of their initial proposals. We encourage applicants to use every opportunity to make contact with us before applying.

Deferred entry

Entry can only be deferred in exceptional circumstances. Please contact us before submitting your application if you're considering applying for deferred entry.

What happens next?

We read and consider all application forms and personal references. Please note we give particular attention to your initial project proposal and references.

Subject to your meeting the entry requirements and consideration of your application form, preliminary selection is based on your project proposal and documentation of work and supporting information. You may then be invited to attend an interview. For candidates applying for external funding, interviews will be scheduled prior to funding body deadlines.

Can't attend the interview?

If you're a home/EU or international applicant unable to attend for interview, the MRes Art: Theory and Philosophy pathway leader would hope to discuss your application by telephone.

In the case of applicants unable to attend for interview and unable to discuss their application by telephone, a decision regarding the offer of a place on the course will be made on the basis of a review of the application materials. We keep notes about decisions made following the initial application review and the interview process.

Selection is by two members of staff (normally the pathway leader and one other), and offers of places are made on the basis of our selection criteria. Applicants are informed of the decision via either the School Office or the International Office.

Applicants are informed of the decision via either the Student Administration or the International Office.

Open days

Open days are a great opportunity to meet staff and students and to find out at first hand about courses, teaching and student life. Visit the open day section for dates to book your session. Bookings can only be made online, not by phone or email.