Master of Fine Arts in Digital Arts

Master of Fine Arts in Digital Arts

Course Title

Master of Fine Arts in Digital Arts

MQF Level

7

Duration and Credits

4 Semesters

120 ECTS

Mode of Study

Full-time Evening

Information for International applicants

Applicants must be in possession of:

Refer to the list of country-specific qualifications

  1. a Bachelorҳ degree obtained with at least Second Class (Honours) or with placement in Category II from this or another university, together with a substantial portfolio of recent works or
  2. a professional qualification/qualifications and/or experience deemed by Senate, on the recommendation of the Board, to satisfy in part the admission requirements to the Course, provided that applicants may be required to complete a preparatory theoretical programme as specified below, together with a substantial portfolio of recent works.

All applicants who are not in possession of a first degree in Art shall be interviewed and evaluated by an interviewing board. Applicants shall be asked to provide evidence of their professional experience in Art by means of a portfolio.

All applicants may be required to follow a preparatory programme as specified by the Board.

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Applications for our February and October intakes have been officially open since the third week in November. You can submit your application online. The deadlines for submission of applications vary according to the intake and courses. We encourage all international applicants to submit their applications as soon as possible. This is especially important if you require a visa to travel and eventually stay in Malta.

You can compare your national qualifications to the local requirements by visiting our qualifications comparability webpage. Access more information about our admission process and English language requirements.

The University of Malta has student accommodation on campus called Campus Hub. Campus Hub is just a 2-minute walk from the main campus. For more information, visit the accommodation website.

Our dedicated team at the student recruitment office is here to support you every step of the way. From the moment you start your application to the moment when you receive your decision letter, we're here to assist you. If you have any questions or need further information, don't hesitate to reach out to us. You can contact us at info@um.edu.mt, and our team will be more than happy to help.

After you receive an offer from us, our International Office will assist you with visas, accommodation and other related issues.

The programme is a practice-oriented, postgraduate award in digital art practice and theory. It is an umbrella programme that seeks to develop a learning environment in which historical traditions and new practices confront and influence each other within a contextual, cultural and theoretical framework. The programme seeks to offer a comprehensive approach to image-making that not only encourages innovation through practice-based research methodology, but also endeavours to provide you with creative, artistic, intellectual and theoretical foundation to build your contributions to this dynamic field. The theoretical input fosters an analytical and creative exploration of established and emerging forms of visual art, moving image and visual communication practices and their relevant areas of specialisation, while the practical modules include the application of essential techniques for contemporary creative practice within a variety of digital media. The programme is taught through a mixture of lectures, studio workshops, tutorials, student-led seminars and group presentations.

The influence of technology and scientific innovation is profoundly changing the way we create and interact with images and our artistic expression in general. The cross-disciplinary employment of the digital medium as tool for creative expression and communication is a relatively new and exciting field of research that covers the convergence of technology with established and new practices in the fine art, video, film, performance, games, design and online art fields of discipline.

The MFA Digital Arts programme is a practice-oriented, postgraduate award in digital art practice and theory. It is an umbrella programme that seeks to develop a learning environment in which historical traditions and new practices confront and influence each other within a contextual, cultural and theoretical framework. The programme seeks to offer a comprehensive approach to image-making that not only encourages innovation by through a practice-based research methodology, but also endeavours to provide you with the creative, artistic, intellectual and theoretical foundation upon which they can build your contributions to this dynamic field.

Through a combination of practical and theoretical modules, the course encourages the development of critical and original approaches to contemporary creative production and enables you to actively investigate the influence of new digital technologies in relation to creativity and communication. The programme provides a framework within which you are prepared for further academic research as well as integration into the various industries requiring digital creativity.

The programme recognises the importance of theoretical foundations for the formation of responsible digital media creatives in today's information age. It acknowledges the fundamentals of design, film, media, and the visual arts through providing extensive contextual, historical and critical modules while encouraging experimentation and innovation. The theoretical input fosters an analytical and creative exploration of established and emerging forms of visual art, moving image and visual communication practices and their relevant areas of specialisation, while the practical modules include the application of essential techniques for contemporary creative practice within a variety of digital media.

'Making' is central to the research process encouraged throughout the MFA programme. The development of skills is coupled with a solid foundation in traditional and new media theory, and a historical understanding of the discipline's ongoing development. The course explores the interdependence of culture, creative practice and technology, and the ethics and representation of digital culture and new media.

As a student of the MFA Digital Arts programme, you will realise a final project and a contextual dissertation which, apart from having a specific research focus, also explores the relationships between the project itself and the roles of the artist/designer within the contemporary digital art and moving image world. Location, site-specificity, audience reception and interaction with the project realised are also considered of paramount importance as the project is ultimately presented in the public domain or other appropriate context.

Final projects are created through an ongoing reflective process of experimentation connecting evolving artistic concepts and techniques. The interdisciplinary nature and the level and depth of the course prepares you to fuse theoretical knowledge with the use of contemporary technologies to conceive, develop, produce, and present innovative artworks and provides you with the opportunity to conceptually and technically refine your work in preparation for professional artistic practice. Skills attained will allow you to significantly contribute to the development of content in a variety of fields and to become eligible for gainful employment in areas with a focus on creative digital media production, such as in the video and contemporary arts fields, the graphic design industry as well as in more generalised fields which increasingly draw upon the creation of new media talent such as those of the audio-visual, serious gaming, mobile services, social software, and IT.

Programme of Studies

As a student of the MFA Digital Arts Programme will realise a project that is presented in the public domain or other appropriate context, together with a contextual thesis which together explore the evolving roles of the visual creative within contemporary cultural production, focusing on your relationship to digital art and the moving image as well as giving value to issues of location, sitespecificity and audience reception and interaction.

The programme aims to give you the opportunities to demonstrate a significant creative and contextual practice related to appropriate debates in the contemporary, the social and the historical. It helps you to demonstrate creative ambition through the production of an advanced project and contextual thesis.

The programme is intended to develop strategies, skills and creative networks to facilitate professional practice and employability.

Teaching and Learning Methods

The programme is taught through a mixture of lectures, studio workshops, tutorials, student led seminars and group presentations.

 
Semester 1
 
Compulsory Units (All students must register for this/these unit/s)
 
DGA5010 Research Methods in Art and Design 5 ECTS    
DGA5011 Initiating a Digital Art Project 5 ECTS    
DGA5012 20th Century Art and Design 5 ECTS    
DGA5013 Art and Critical Theory 5 ECTS    
DGA5015 Professional Practice 5 ECTS    
DGA5017 Reflective Writing 5 ECTS    

 
 
Semester 2
 
Compulsory Units (All students must register for this/these unit/s)
 
DGA5014 Perception and Consumption of Art 5 ECTS    
DGA5016 Art Practice and the Production of Culture 5 ECTS    
DGA5301 Drawing and Colour Workshops 5 ECTS    
DGA5302 Digital Imaging, Photography and Illustration 5 ECTS    
DGA5304 Digital Animation and Graphics 5 ECTS    
DGA5305 Graphic Narrative and Storytelling 5 ECTS    

 

 
Year   (This/these unit/s start/s in Semester 1 and continue/s in Semester 2)
 
Compulsory Units (All students must register for this/these unit/s)
 
DGA5907 Project, Dissertation and Exhibition 60 ECTS    

 

This programme of study is governed by the General Regulations for University Postgraduate Awards, 2021 and by the Bye-Laws for the degree of Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) in Digital Arts under the auspices of the Faculty of Media and Knowledge Sciences.

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

  • Present and document an MFA Project and Exhibition that significantly demonstrates relevant professional work in the context of contemporary debates in Digital Art and Design.
  • Introduce key aspects of postgraduate research, including research methods and tools, media and technology application, and ethical and legal questioning.
  • Review the current understanding of human visual perception from a Cognitive Neuroscience perspective.
  • Write reflectively through the recording and reviewing of your work, with scope for close and comparative analysis and evaluation.
  • Assess digital understanding for the completion of a mixed media production.
  • Work in digital imaging, photography and illustration in a cross-disciplinary manner.

Non EU Applicants:

Total Tuition Fees: Eur 21,600
Fee per academic year: Eur 10,800

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As a holder of the MFA in Digital Arts, you will be able to enter a career, locally and abroad, as a studio artist, art leadership/ministries/lecturer, illustrator, museum or gallery curator/manager, studio potter, photographer, studio art technician and as an art director.

As a successful graduate, you will be able to further your studies by gaining a doctorate degree.

Humanities Stream

 

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