MA Museum Studies
MA Museum Studies offers a unique opportunity to reimagine the role of the museum within contemporary socio-political debates, working with The Box, Plymouth’s award-winning museum, art collection, gallery and archive, and a range of regional and national museums and collections including Tate St Ives, Tate Britain Archives, and RAMM Exeter.
Through this programme you will propose a project that engages ideas of the contemporary museum using methods including socially engaged practice, community building and creative education as a productive and mobilising force in a rapidly transforming museum sector.
<ul><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Award: MA Museum Studies<br /></p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Work with: The Box, Plymouth, Tate St Ives, Tate Britain Archives, RAMM Exeter<br /></p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Project methods: socially engaged practice, community building, creative education</p></li></ul>
<p dir="ltr">The museum as a cultural form will be reimagined and explored through debates around:</p><ul><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Decolonisation<br /></p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">The repatriation of objects<br /></p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Distributed digital archives<br /></p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">The educational role of museums<br /></p></li><li dir="ltr"><p dir="ltr">Diversifying collections and audiences</p></li></ul>
A group of visitors look around the Another Crossing exhibition at The Box Plymouth, organised in collaboration with Arts University Plymouth and Fuller Craft in 2022.
<p>Build on the context of Plymouth, a city forging a new identity leaving behind its colonial past to become a contemporary centre of art and culture, leading a significant reevaluation of its heritage through projects such as Mayflower 400 (2020), Another Crossing: Artists Revisit the Mayflower Voyage (2022) and British Art Show 9 (2022–23).</p>
<p dir="ltr">You’ll have support to pursue your own research directions through the university’s interdisciplinary art, design and media facilities and our specialist library.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Your work will include examining the complex process of design, museum curatorship and interpretation; interrogating theories of exhibition and display, audiences and museology; and initiating projects focused on the practical, pedagogical and theoretical questions underpinning museum education and outreach.<br /></p>
The Box, Plymouth's award-winning museum, art gallery and archive, with a 2022 European Museum of the Year Special Commendation, located a short two minute walk from our main Tavistock Place campus.
<p dir="ltr">Offered within the context of a specialist arts university, projects are realised through your formal and critical investigation of the components and conventions of exhibition display.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Situated in a city and region with rich naval and cultural heritage, this course is focused on the future of the museum, seeking innovative ideas and formats for reaching broad audiences in new ways.</p>
<p dir="ltr">You will be prepared to enter the workplace with the skills and knowledge to play a wide range of roles, from leading practical workshops to art management that link collections and the public.<br /></p>
<p>Career opportunities include: Museum Educators, Curators, Cultural Programme Managers, Art Critics, Museum Outreach Coordinators, Heritage and Public Arts Professionals, or alternatively specialise further in postgraduate research.</p>
<p>It offers a unique opportunity to reimagine the role of the museum within contemporary socio-political debates.</p>
<p>You will work with The Box, Plymouth and museums and collections including Tate St Ives, Tate Britain Archives, and RAMM Exeter.</p>
<p>You’ll explore debates around decolonisation, the repatriation of objects, distributed digital archives, the educational role of museums, and diversifying collections and audiences.</p>
<p>You will propose a project that engages ideas of the contemporary museum using socially engaged practice, community building and creative education.</p>
<p>You’ll build on Plymouth’s context and its reevaluation of heritage through Mayflower 400 (2020), Another Crossing: Artists Revisit the Mayflower Voyage (2022) and British Art Show 9 (2022–23).</p>
<p>Your work will include design, museum curatorship and interpretation; theories of exhibition and display, audiences and museology; and projects focused on museum education and outreach.</p>
<p>Arts University Plymouth graduates are offered a <strong>discount of 15% on Masters programme fees</strong>, regardless of when they studied with us previously. The discount applies if you studied on one of our pre-degree, foundation or undergraduate programmes.</p>
<p>MA applicants are normally expected to have an undergraduate degree at 2:2 or above. However, the strength of your creative practice and other forms of experience will be taken into account at the interview stage and we encourage you to start a conversation with us.</p>
<p>Your portfolio should give us an indication of the work that you have made, organised or been involved in. For our postgraduate arts, craft and design courses, we expect to see examples of work you have created. </p>
<p>For our MA Museum Studies course, we don't expect you to have traditional artworks; instead you can share examples of projects you have worked on, classroom experiences you have created, and so on. Please ensure that your portfolio includes descriptions, website links and visuals if they are available.</p>
<p>The best deadline to submit your MA application by is <strong>1 July</strong>, however please be reassured that we can take late applications until the start of the course if places are still available.</p>
<ul><li><strong>Email: </strong><a href="mailto:admissions@aup.ac.uk">admissions@aup.ac.uk</a></li><li><strong>Tel:</strong> +44 (0)1752 203434</li></ul>
<p>If you'd like to speak about Postgraduate study, you can <a href="https://calendar.google.com/calendar/appointments/AcZssZ04mw0_Je9BjyEo_V5CwiIJJ3fT4ImT30b-BbY=?gv=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">book an informal online chat</a> with a member of our academic team:<br /></p><ul><li>Associate Professor <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/people/stephanie-owens" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stephanie Owens</a>, our Dean of Arts, Design and Media</li><li><a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/people/rebecca-dodman" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Becky Dodman Wainwright</a>, Co-Course Leader for Postgraduate Studies</li><li><a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/people/jason-hirons" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jason Hirons</a>, Co-Course Leader for Postgraduate Studies</li></ul>
<p><strong>Click the button below to book an informal discussion with a member of our academic team.</strong></p>
