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Postgraduate

MRes Art: Theory and Philosophy

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Image courtesy of UAL,
College
Central Saint Martins
Start date
September 2024
Course length
Two years (60 weeks)
Extended full-time

MRes Art: Theory and Philosophy promotes dialogue between practitioners and theorists about art discourse today.

Applying for more than 1 course

You can apply for more than 1 postgraduate course at UAL but we recommend that you apply for no more than 3. Find out more in the Apply Now section.

Suited to artists and writers, this pathway explores art and the philosophy of art from a contemporary perspective, embracing major ideas and debates of the past and present. The MRes Art course is part of the Art programme.

Why choose this course at Central Saint Martins

  • Exchange of ideas: You will benefit from productive exchanges and development of ideas between MA Fine Art practitioners and MRes Art historians, theorists and philosophers.
  • Professional world of research and debate: You will be introduced to the professional world of research and debate, supported by lectures and seminars from visiting scholars and philosophers.
  • Comprehensive academic skills: You will gain skills in close textual analysis, comprehension, reconstruction and interpretation of philosophical arguments, while building expertise in critical analysis and reflection.
  • Post-studies success: Our graduates are well placed to progress to MPhil or PhD research or go on to a professional future in academic institutions, the arts and publishing.

Open days

There are currently no open days scheduled for this course, please check back at a later date.

Scholarships, bursaries and awards

Stay up to date

Follow this course for news and events on Twitter: @mresphilosophy

Course overview

MRes Art is made up of three specialist pathways: Theory and Philosophy; Moving Image; and Exhibition Studies. MRes Art uses research and writing to develop modes of questioning, speculative thinking and critical evaluation. Drawing upon a wealth of scholarly expertise from the staff team, visiting lecturers and practitioners, the course considers the relationship of contemporary art research to wider aesthetic, cultural and socio-political issues.

There are opportunities for students on each pathway to come together for shared taught components both on campus and on-line. You will also be encouraged to develop student-led activities. In the past, our students have collaborated on research events and publications, as well as the Tate Exchange programme at Tate Modern.

The Theory and Philosophy pathway is for artists and writers who want to study philosophy and art from a contemporary perspective. You will investigate how radical innovations in philosophy today can facilitate not just an understanding of art, but also how they can shape developments in contemporary culture and art practice.

This pathway has a uniquely informed dynamic of teaching and group dialogue. This is assisted by the staff team’s research practice which is engaged in the areas of both art and philosophy. The theories that the curriculum draws upon are at the forefront of thinking today. These include continental philosophy, the Marxist intellectual tradition and phenomenology. You will also study relevant theories for the plurality of art today within its socio-political context. These include theories of aesthetics, psychoanalysis, gender, race, linguistics, performance, affect, neuroscience, cybernetics, the algorithmic condition and the Anthropocene. 

MRes Art: Theory and Philosophy responds to the radical transformation that thinking has undergone in recent years. As a consequence of this, approaches to writing theory have also changed, by adopting more fluid, less didactic models of practice. The purpose of this pathway is to enhance your thinking, writing and, if relevant, art practice in light of ongoing transformations in philosophy, theory and knowledge. 

We are committed to developing ethical art practices. To achieve this, we are working to embed UAL's Principles for Climate, Social and Racial Justice into the course.

Course units

MRes Art: Theory and Philosophy is dedicated to creative and flexible ways in which its ideas can merge with your own interests. Alongside an intensive program of seminars which deepen your knowledge, the pathway also supports your own developing lines of enquiry and research, especially towards the end of the first year and throughout the second year of the course. 

The curriculum will advance your research abilities and knowledge in both theoretical and art-related fields. Enabling an understanding of key issues and debates informing art discourse and practice today, the curriculum incorporates a wide range of practices – writing, publishing, group discussions, tutorials, gallery visits and public symposia – as integral to your studies. 

Unit 1: Innovations: Art, Writing, Philosophy

Responding to the question posed by the title of their 1991 book What Is Philosophy? Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari declare that "Philosophy is the art of forming, inventing, and fabricating concepts." By this, the authors infer that philosophy not only invents new ideas, theories and forms of cognition but, equally, that it opens up new realms of perception and subjective experience. The teaching on the pathway, as well as the writing and research it supports, takes up the consequent challenge of these innovations for art and cultural and social discourses. It affirms the innovations created by philosophical thought and its difference from traditional, categorial assumptions of knowledge.

Unit 1 will enable you to absorb and understand the seminal advances and speculative thinking developed by philosophy. It conceptually maps the legacies of continental philosophy for thinking, writing and art today. This opens up new possibilities for thinking and writing, as well as advances ways by which to interpret and contribute to developments in art, culture and the social today.

Unit 2: Methodologies and Methods I

Unit 2 is an opportunity for all the students in the MRes Art course to study together. The unit has two distinct components: methodologies and methods. Methodologies aims to make you aware of a range of methodological approaches that have shaped debates in your field of study. These include, but are not limited to, structuralism, Marxism, psychoanalysis, feminism, postcolonial and decolonial studies. Methods aims to equip you with essential research skills.

Unit 3: Methodologies and Methods II

Following on from Unit 2, this unit deepens your understanding of specific artistic and discursive methods. You will examine how they operate in specific texts, debates and events by relating them to the pathways’ respective subject areas. Seminars and workshops are integral to the unit, in which methods of research and writing are collectively tested.

Unit 4: Individual Research Project

Unit 4 has two parts. Part one continues the seminar series in Unit 1 concerned with philosophical innovations and their relevance for thinking and writing. Additionally, you will also focus on developing your research project proposal. This involves reading and viewing, the formulation of appropriate research questions and methods. You will also produce a literature review.

In part two, you will lead presentations about your research. You will discuss progress, challenges and findings and issues of form, audience and dissemination. At the end of Unit 4 you will be assessed through presentation of your realised research project in the agreed forms. 

Important note concerning academic progression through your course: 

If you are required to retake a unit you will need to cease further study on the course until you have passed the unit concerned. Once you have successfully passed this unit, you will be able to proceed onto the next unit. Retaking a unit might require you to take time out of study, which could affect other things such as student loans or the visa status for international students. 

Mode of study

MRes Art is offered in extended full-time mode which runs for 60 weeks over two academic years. You will be expected to commit 30 hours per week to study, which includes teaching time and independent study.  

The course has been designed in this way to enable you to pursue studies, while also undertaking part-time employment, internships or care responsibilities.  

Credit and award requirements

The course is credit-rated at 180 credits. 

On successfully completing the course, you will gain a Master of Research (MRes degree). 

Under the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications, an MRes is Level 7. All units must be passed in order to achieve the MRes but the classification of the award is derived from the marks for the third and fourth units. 

If you are unable to continue on the course, a Postgraduate Certificate (PG Cert) will normally be offered following the successful completion of 60 credits.  

Learning and teaching methods

The learning and teaching methods devised for this course include: 

  • Briefing materials, written guidance and meetings
  • Inductions and workshops 
  • Lectures and guest speakers 
  • Project proposal document for individual programme of study (Year 2) 
  • Collaborative project opportunities 
  • Personal and group tutorials 
  • Seminars 
  • Symposia 
  • Presentations and discussion forums 
  • Recommended reading, exhibition viewing and visits 
  • Independent study 
  • Self-critical and peer evaluation 
  • Assessment feedback 

Meet Course Leader Christopher Kul-Want and students

Graduate Showcase

Explore work by our recent students on the UAL Showcase

Facilities

Events archive

View the MRes Art: Theory and Philosophy lecture archive

Research projects

View examples of MRes Art: Theory and Philosophy research projects

Staff

Pathway Leader, Moving Image: Duncan White
Associate Lecturer: Paul O'Kane
Associate Lecturer: Dr Maria Walsh
Associate Lecturer: Alex Fletcher

Fees and funding

Home fee

£6,665 per year

This fee is correct for 2024/25 entry and is subject to change for 2025/26 entry.

Tuition fees may increase in future years for new and continuing students on courses lasting more than one year. For this course, you can pay tuition fees in instalments.

Home fees are currently charged to UK nationals and UK residents who meet the rules. However, the rules are complex. Find out more about our tuition fees and determining your fee status.

International fee

£16,130 per year

This fee is correct for 2024/25 entry and is subject to change for 2025/26 entry.

Tuition fees may increase in future years for new and continuing students on courses lasting more than one year. For this course, you can pay tuition fees in instalments.

Students from countries outside of the UK will generally be charged international fees. The rules are complex so read more about tuition fees and determining your fee status.

Scholarship search

Entry requirements

The standard entry requirements for this course are as follows: 

  • An honours degree  
  • Or an equivalent EU/international qualification. 

AP(E)L – Accreditation of Prior (Experiential) Learning

Exceptionally applicants who do not meet these course entry requirements may still be considered. The course team will consider each application that demonstrates additional strengths and alternative evidence. This might, for example, be demonstrated by: 

  • Related academic or work experience 
  • The quality of the personal statement 
  • A strong academic or other professional reference 

Or a combination of these factors. 

Each application will be considered on its own merit but we cannot guarantee an offer in each case. 

English language requirements 

IELTS level 7.0 or above, with at least 6.0 in reading, writing, listening and speaking (please check our main English language requirements webpage). 

Selection criteria

We select applicants according to potential and current ability in the following areas:

  • Evidence of skills and experience appropriate to the proposed field of enquiry
  • Effective communication of the intentions and issues in the proposal
  • The level of contextual awareness
  • Awareness of the range and nature of challenges implied.

The interview: for those applicants selected following submission of the form, indicative 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/work is situated
  • Appropriate communication skills
  • A preparedness to participate collaboratively in debate and presentation.

What we are looking for

We are seeking imaginative, resourceful individuals who are committed to exploring art discourses.

Apply now

Application deadline

Deadline

Round 1:

13 December 2023 at 1pm (UK time)

Round 2:

3 April 2024 at 1pm (UK time)

Decision outcome

Round 1:

End of March 2024

Round 2:

End of June 2024

Round 1
Round 2
Deadline
13 December 2023 at 1pm (UK time)
3 April 2024 at 1pm (UK time)
Decision outcome
End of March 2024
End of June 2024

All applications received by 3 April will be treated equally. If there are places available after this date, the course will remain open to applications until places have been filled.

Read more about deadlines

Apply now

Application deadline

Deadline

Round 1:

13 December 2023 at 1pm (UK time)

Round 2:

3 April 2024 at 1pm (UK time)

Decision outcome

Round 1:

End of March 2024

Round 2:

End of June 2024

Round 1
Round 2
Deadline
13 December 2023 at 1pm (UK time)
3 April 2024 at 1pm (UK time)
Decision outcome
End of March 2024
End of June 2024

All applications received by 3 April will be treated equally. If there are places available after this date, the course will remain open to applications until places have been filled.

Read more about deadlines

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How to apply

Follow this step-by-step guide to apply for this course

Step 1: Initial application

You will need to submit an initial application including your personal statement and CV.

Personal statement advice

Your personal statement should be maximum 500 words and include:

  • your reasons for choosing the course
  • your current creative practice and how this course will help you achieve your future plans
  • any relevant education and experience, especially if you do not have any formal academic qualifications.

Visit our personal statement page for more advice.

CV advice

Please provide a CV detailing your education, qualifications and any relevant work or voluntary experience. If you have any web projects or other media that you would like to share, please include links in your CV. If English is not your first language, please also include your most recent English language test score.

Study proposal advice

Please provide a summary of your study proposal (800 - 1000 words).

It should:

  • describe what you are interested in undertaking and developing for your major project, including overall aims, objectives and rationale
  • explain your proposed approach and the methods for structuring your project and ideas
  • highlight any problems you may encounter and how you hope to solve them
  • indicate any key texts and sources
  • include examples of previous written work and/or documentary material that is relevant to your research interests.

Please note, your proposal serves to inform your application and we understand that your ideas will inevitably develop and change throughout your studies.

Step 2: Interview

You may be invited to an interview following our review of your application. All interviews are held online and last 15 to 20 minutes.

For top tips, see our Interview advice.

You also need to know

Communicating with you

Once you have submitted your initial application, we will email you with your login details for our Applicant portal.

Requests for supplementary documents like qualifications and English language tests will be made through the applicant portal. You can also use it to ask questions regarding your application. Visit our After you apply page for more information.

Applying to more than 1 course

You can apply for more than 1 postgraduate course at UAL but we recommend that you apply for no more than 3 courses. You need to tailor your application, supporting documents and portfolio to each course, so applying for many different courses could risk the overall quality of your application. If you receive offers for multiple courses, you'll only be able to accept 1 offer. UAL doesn't accept repeat applications to the same course in the same academic year.

Visas and immigration history check

All non-UK nationals must complete an immigration history check. Your application may be considered by our course teams before this check takes place. This means that we may request your portfolio and/or video task before we identify any issues arising from your immigration history check. Sometimes your history may mean that we are not able to continue considering your application. Visit our Immigration and visas advice page for more information.

External student transfer policy

UAL accepts transfers from other institutions on a case-by-case basis. Read our Student transfer policy for more information.

Alternative offers

If your application is really strong, but we believe your strengths and skillset are better suited to a different course, we may make you an alternative offer. This means you will be offered a place on a different course or at a different UAL College.

Deferring your place

We do not accept any deferral requests for our postgraduate courses. This means that you must apply in the year that you plan to start your course and you will not be able to defer your place to start at a later date.

Application deadlines

For postgraduate courses at UAL there are 2 equal consideration deadlines to ensure fairness for all our applicants. If you apply ahead of either of these deadlines, your application will be considered on an equal basis with all other applications in that round. If there are places available after the second deadline, the course will remain open to applications until places have been filled.

Careers

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.

Recent MRes Art: Theory and Philosophy alumni activity demonstrates the breadth of student activity within the subject:

  • Jordan Silver who has gained a funded doctoral place in the Dept. of Art History, Film and Visual Studies, Birmingham University. He will also be undertaking a curatorial internship at the Museé d’Orsay, Paris during the summer
  • Lukas Slothuus has gained a funded doctoral place in the Dept. of Philosophy, Edinburgh University to research into contemporary modes of political resistance
  • Constanza Nunez-Melgar Molinari has gained a doctoral place at Kings College, London University to research into the philosopher Georges Bataille and ideas of heterology
  • Adonia Bouchehri completed a Masters in philosophy in the Dept. of Philosophy, Kingston University (2015), currently preparing a doctoral application
  • Niina Keks, runs Reclectic Emporium a design company specialising in furniture and photography
  • Kimberly Shen currently works for the Arts Council of Singapore
  • Nathalie Czarnecki has created 'Miguel, I am Sofia', a contemporary cabaret telling the story of a Spanish boy's journey towards becoming a woman