Fine Art MFA
Subject and course type
- Creative Arts
- Postgraduate
The Fine Art MFA at Kingston School of Art is a unique and dynamic programme for artists who want to develop both their personal practice and conceptual understanding.
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Take the next step on your creative journey
Take your artistic practice to the next level with a Fine Art MFA from Kingston School of Art.
This course supports emerging artists who want to develop their personal vision while engaging critically with contemporary art practice. Study contemporary fine art through theoretical and studio-based training, at our renowned, TEF Gold ranked school of art.
You will work across a range of media, taking advantage of the School's new cutting-edge workshop spaces located next to the dedicated MFA Fine Art studios.
Our world-class technical facilities within the Stanley Picker public gallery create an inspiring space to study and work. Join an engaging events programme and thrive on a campus shared by artists, designers and theorists alike.
Through a combination of studio-based learning, practical workshops and art theory modules, you’ll create meaningful artwork and prepare for a successful career in the art world.
Student work
Why choose this course
The MFA in Fine Art at Kingston School of Art offers a dynamic combination of studio-based practice and theoretical exploration. Students refine their artistic vision while engaging critically with contemporary social, political and cultural contexts. The programme offers an immersive experience, allowing students to develop their portfolio through practical research and critical engagement.
The course includes opportunities to collaborate with the renowned Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy (CRMEP) and access cutting-edge workshops, fostering creativity across a range of media.
This programme emphasises the development of a significant body of work, supported by individual tutorials, seminars and practical workshops. It encourages both independent and collaborative approaches to art-making and curatorial strategies. Through a robust schedule of lectures and studio seminars, students connect with a diverse network of artists, curators and thinkers.
Located just 20 minutes from central London, Kingston School of Art provides world-class facilities and links to leading cultural institutions, like the ICA and Chisenhale Gallery. The Fine Art MFA is led by accomplished staff and features esteemed guest speakers. Successful articles, such as Helen Cammock, Mark Leckey and Zoé Whitley, offer insights and rich exposure to contemporary art discourse and practice.
The Art School Experience
As part of Kingston School of Art, students on this course benefit from joining a creative community where we encourage collaborative working and critical practice.
Our workshops and studios are open to all disciplines, enabling students and staff to work together, share ideas and explore multi-disciplinary making.
Course content
This course will help you to enhance your research and analytical skills as an integral aspect of your studio practice.
Your own research is augmented by collaborative work, seminars and talks. Within a diverse cohort of students, you'll challenge one another's world views, towards an in depth understanding of cultural production.
You will amass a substantial body of work, develop and apply highly attuned analytical skills, practice innovative exhibition strategies and hone your confidence as an artist.
Typically, students must complete 120 credits at each level, totalling 240 credits by the end of the degree.
Please note: Optional modules only run if there is enough demand. If we have an insufficient number of students interested in an optional module, that module will not be offered for this course.
Year 1 modules
The teaching in the first year supports students to establish their studio practice and critical skills. Sessions with key professionals in contemporary art then assist students to develop the research and professional skills they need to sustain a career. This is followed by a period in which students (in dialogue with their peers) explore their strengthened individual practice and research through making and reflecting on modes for disseminating art.
Core module (plus the modules in option 1 OR option 2)
60 credits
This module will enable you to develop a body of artwork with reference to artworks, art historical, theoretical, inter-disciplinary and wider cultural contexts. The module integrates theory and practice to allow you to develop and apply individually-developed critical tools in order to make and analyse your own work and the work of your peers. You will become able to express your abilities to reflect and be critical through making, recording, documentation and evaluation of ideas from within your discipline and from the wider interdisciplinary environment. The Practice and Critique module introduces making, verbal and written communication skills to allow you to position your developing practice. This enables you to begin to understand the field of your practical research and your potential contribution to that field.
Option 1
60 credits
This module builds on the grounding work of the Practice and Critique Module by developing research skills alongside a range of professional skills. The module aims to provide you with comparative models of what research means in the context of a fine art practice alongside differing models of professional practice. To this end students will understand for example the difference between research-led practice and practice-based-research. You will be expected to understand how issues of funding, project management, institutional frameworks and organisation impact on the production and reception of artworks. You will learn the conceptual implications of these structures on your art as you further define the field of your research. The module will develop written, presentation, technical, artistic and communication skills as ways and means of expressing research. You will also begin to establish professional and organisational structures that are appropriate to your research and arts practice. These methods of organising and making your work public will enable you to successfully complete the course and sustain your research and art after graduating. The distinguishing feature of the larger credit version of this module (60 credits) is a fully costed project or exhibition proposal with documentation of current and past work.
Option 2
30 credits
This module builds on the grounding work of the Practice and Critique module by developing research skills alongside a range of professional skills. The module will provide you with comparative models of what research means in the context of a fine art practice alongside differing models of professional practice. To this end, students will understand, for example, the difference between research-led practice and practice-based-research. You will be expected to understand how issues of funding, institutional frameworks and organisation impact on the production and reception of artworks. You will learn the conceptual implications of these structures on your art as you further define the field of your research. The module will develop written, presentation, technical, artistic and communication skills as ways and means of expressing research. You will also begin to establish professional and organisational structures that are appropriate to your research and arts practice. These methods of organising and making your work public will enable you to successfully complete the course and sustain your research and art after graduating.
30 credits
Based on a study of artists' texts, art criticism, art history and philosophical writings on art, this module comprises a critical examination of the legacy and possibilities of modernist and avant-garde criticism in contemporary art theory. As well as introducing students to some of the major texts and ideas in these traditions of art theory and art criticism, the modules enables students to reflect critically on works of contemporary art in the light of their study.
Final year modules
In the second year of the MFA, you are given the time, teaching, support and discursive framework to consolidate your independent practice and research. You will work towards the completion of a final major exposition of work that signals a critical engagement with notions of dissemination and publication in the field of contemporary art. The final major exposition is the culmination of the technical, critical, professional and organisational skills learnt earlier in the course.
Core modules
60 credits
This module enables you to develop your practice with reference to individually-identified cultural and social contexts and begins to examine in more depth the relation of artworks to audience. You will be encouraged to apply developed critical tools in order to make and analyse your own work and the work of your peers. You will consider a wider interdisciplinary environment, working individually and collaboratively to investigate and disseminate your work inside and outside the studio. During the module you will be expected to present your work in the public arena and may work together or individually to test the most appropriate platform for the dissemination of your work. The Extended Practice module allows you time to focus on your strengthened individual positions through making and testing and reflection on appropriate modes for disseminating work.
60 credits
This module is the bringing together and culmination of the strands of learning from earlier modules. This includes but is not limited to a consolidation of your skills with regard to critique, professional frameworks and organisation, research and studio practice. Having tested strategies for disseminating work in the previous module this module focuses on the realisation of an ambitious project with an accompanying publication. It is expected that your final project and publication will fully realise and expresses the conceptual terrain that your current research and art has mapped out and take a form appropriate to the enquiry you are making. The publication will take a form pertinent to your art and research and is understood as a visual and written culmination of the thinking carried out in the previous modules. The Final Major Exposition module allows students enough time to achieve an ambitious final project and publication that signals a critical engagement with notions of dissemination and publication in the field of contemporary art.
Career opportunities
Prepare for a range of career paths
Graduates of Kingston University's Fine Art MFA are equipped with the skills necessary to succeed in the contemporary art world. The course provides a blend of studio-based practice, critical reflection and professional development, ensuring you are prepared for a range of career paths.
Many graduates go on to become independent artists, curators, educators or arts managers.
Gain a range of transferable skills
Through collaboration, research and public exhibitions, you’ll hone your ability to communicate your ideas effectively across diverse media and professional contexts.
The skills you develop will prepare you to navigate the complexities of the art world, from conceptual development to the logistics of exhibition curation and art production.
Benefit from real-world connections
Kingston’s strong industry connections, including partnerships with major galleries, museums and institutions in London, further enhance your prospects.
Teaching and assessment
The course employs a range of approaches to teaching and learning. Lectures, seminars, group critiques, individual tutorials, optional study visits, presentations, workshops and assessed expositions of work support the development of your practice and research.
When not attending timetabled sessions, you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study. This typically involves reading and analysing articles, regulations, policy documents and key texts, documenting individual projects, preparing coursework assignments and completing your PEDRs, etc.
Your independent learning is supported by a range of excellent facilities including online resources, the library and CANVAS, the University's online virtual learning platform.
At Kingston University, we know that postgraduate students have particular needs and therefore we have a range of support available to help you during your time here.
MFA Fine Art is a two-year, full-time course. The timetable is carefully designed to facilitate progression.
Your full attendance is expected in timetabled sessions and at all other times we expect you to be engaged in self-directed study within the university.
We would normally expect you to be in attendance 3-5 days per week. Key teaching days are Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Missing key sessions will inevitably affect your marks. Similarly, non-submission of work at assessment will impact on results.
Whilst we recognise the necessity for some students to take employment to support studies, we strongly advise that this should not exceed 16 hours per week or you will find it difficult to keep up.
A course is made up of modules, and each module is worth a number of credits. You must pass a given number of credits in order to achieve the award you registered on, for example 360 credits for a typical undergraduate course or 180 credits for a typical postgraduate course. The number of credits you need for your award is detailed in the programme specification which you can access from the link at the bottom of this page.
One credit equates to 10 hours of study. Therefore 180 credits across a year (typical for a postgraduate course) would equate to 1,800 notional hours. These hours are split into scheduled and guided. On this course, the percentage of that time that will be scheduled learning and teaching activities is shown below. The remainder is made up of guided independent study.
- 19% scheduled learning and teaching
The exact balance between scheduled learning and teaching and guided independent study will be informed by the modules you take.
Your course will primarily be delivered in person. It may include delivery of some activities online, either in real time or recorded.
Assessment typically comprises a presentation of practical work (e.g. exhibitions, performance) and supporting coursework (e.g. contextual written documents, research folders, evaluative reports, portfolios, presentations).
The approximate percentage for how you will be assessed on this course is as follows, though depends to some extent on the optional modules you choose:
Type of assessment
- Coursework: 100%
Please note: the above breakdowns are a guide calculated on core modules only. Depending on optional modules chosen, this breakdown may change.
We aim to provide feedback on assessments within 20 working days.
Ongoing feedback is provided at group and individual tutorials, module sessions and at tutorials with departmental professors and visiting artists and professionals. Summative feedback is given after each assessment point and we aim for your individual tutor to provide feedback within 20 working days of your work being assessed. These are occasions when the strengths and weaknesses of the work are highlighted and discussed in order to progress the work.
To give you an indication of class sizes, this course normally enrols 12 students and lecture sizes are normally 25-150. However this can vary by module and academic year.
Fees and funding
| Fee Category | Fee |
|---|---|
| Home (UK students) | MFA full time £12,400 |
| International | MFA full time £21,800 |
| Fee Category | Fee |
|---|---|
| Home (UK students) | MFA full time £11,900 |
| International | MFA full time £20,900 |
Funding support for postgraduate students
If you are a UK student living in England and under 60, you can apply for a loan to study for a postgraduate degree on the government's website.
Scholarships and bursaries
For students interested in studying Fine Art MFA at Kingston, there are several opportunities to seek funding support.
Kingston University offers a range of postgraduate scholarships, including:
This scholarship offers a 40% reduction in fees across a range of taught postgraduate courses. Learn more about eligibility criteria for Inspire the Future applicants.
If you are an international student, find out more about scholarships and bursaries.
We also offer discounts for Kingston University alumni.
And there are Progression Scholarships available for certain postgraduate courses. Review our range of funding opportunities for masters-level study.
Student work
Additional course costs
Some courses may require additional costs beyond tuition fees. When planning your studies, you’ll want to consider tuition fees, living costs and any extra costs that might relate to your area of study.
Your tuition fees include costs for teaching, assessment and university facilities. So your access to libraries, shared IT resources and various student support services are all covered. Accommodation and general living expenses are not covered by these fees.
Where applicable, additional expenses for your course may include:
Our libraries have an extensive collection of books and journals, as well as open-access computers and laptops available to rent. However, you may want to buy your own computer or personal copies of key textbooks. Textbooks may range from £50 to £250 per year. And a personal computer can range from £100 to £3,000 depending on your course requirements.
While most coursework is submitted online, some modules may require printed copies. You may want to allocate up to £100 per year for hard-copies of your coursework. It’s worth noting that 3D printing is never compulsory. So if you choose to use our 3D printers, you’ll need to pay for the material. This ranges from 3p per gram to 40p per gram.
Kingston University will pay for all compulsory field trips. Fees for optional trips can range from £30 to £350 per trip.
Your tuition fees don’t cover travel costs. To save on travel costs, you can use our free intersite bus service. This route links the campuses and halls of residence with local train stations - Surbiton, Kingston upon Thames, and Norbiton.
How to apply
Before you apply
Please read the entry criteria carefully to make sure you meet all requirements before applying.
How to apply online
Use the course selector drop down at the top of this page to choose your preferred course, start date and mode, then click 'Apply now'. You will be taken to our Online Student Information System (OSIS) where you will complete your application.
If you’re starting a new application, you’ll need to select ‘new user’ and set up a username and password. This will allow you to save and return to your application.
Application deadlines
We encourage you to apply as soon as possible. Applications will close when the course is full.
Information required to confirm your place
If English is not your first language, we will require proof of your proficiency to allow us to confirm your place on the course. This will generally be either an IELTS or TOEFL test certificate, which can be forwarded to us after you have submitted your application. If you do not hold a formal English language qualification, please indicate how you have acquired your proficiency in written and spoken English.
After you have applied
For courses that select on application alone, applicants should normally receive an initial decision or a request for more information within four to six weeks of receipt of their application. Our admissions team will notify you of the decision by email.
Learn more about the postgraduate application process in detail.
Course changes and regulations
The information on this page reflects the currently intended course structure and module details. To improve your student experience and the quality of your degree, we may review and change the material information of this course. Course changes explained.
Programme Specifications for the course are published ahead of each academic year.
Regulations governing this course can be found on our website.
