Art - Fine Art - Clare Street

You will undertake four 10-credit taught modules looking at key concerns relating to Research, Collaboration, Communication, and Context. One 50-credit practice-based project module and one 30-credit self-directed final research realisation and presentation module will allow you to develop a sustainable practice upon graduation. A residency programme forms the heart of the MFA and will offer you the opportunity to test your practice and transferable skills within ‘real world’ situations. The MFA is designed to significantly enhance your career prospects.



Our MFA stands out in its recognition and value. Apply now and advance your practice within a dynamic environment here at Limerick School of Art and Design.



Structure

The MFA programme is designed to be completed over 16 months on a full-time basis, with a part-time option also available. You will undertake taught modules, practical seminars, group critiques, and individual tutorials over two days each academic week. The remaining three days are dedicated to practice-based, self-directed study.



In semesters one and two, you will complete the Navigating Practice module. This module is focused on developing a major practice-based project that is completed over the summer. You will be assigned a personal supervisor to guide your progress.



At the one year point, students may choose to take a 90 credit MA in Fine Art exit award, or continue for one semester to complete the 120 credit Master of Fine Art (MFA).



This final semester centres on reflection, culminating in the realization and presentation of your MFA work through the 30-credit module, Towards a Sustainable Practice. In this module, you will create a written document that examines your art practice conceptually, theoretically, and methodologically. This module offers you the support to fully contextualise your practice in a comprehensive and professional way.



Why Choose the MFA or MAFA in Fine Art?

Our MFA and MAFA in Fine Art is a programme where creativity thrives.



Practice-Based Revolution: Hands-on creation takes centre stage, breaking free from conventions to embrace the avant-garde. Your art becomes a beacon of innovation, whether through brushstrokes, camera lenses, or lines of code.



Infrastructures and Connectivity: Spanning disciplines and traversing realms, our program links you to cultural hubs both in Limerick and internationally, film studios, and design spaces. Science, technology, and social sciences expand your artistic network.



Crafting Your Artistic Identity: Celebrating individuality, our programme guides you to discover your artistic lexicon, whether it resonates in galleries, film sets, or digital spaces. You can take advantage of real-world creative experiences through residencies, exhibitions, funding opportunities, and partnerships.



Disseminating Brilliance: You will be invited to seize opportunities using research, writing, collaboration, and project management skills so that you can broadcast your creations on gallery walls, digital realms, and social spaces, amplifying your voice through research papers, installations, and performances.

Semester 1



Research Methodologies Credits: 10

The research methodologies that enable you to undertake postgraduate artistic research.

Ecologies of Practice Credits: 10

The networks and structures that enable your practice to exist.

Navigating Practice Credits: 50



The planning, negotiating, researching, realising, and reflecting on a body of work. This happens through 3 consecutive stages: Negotiation, Residency and Realisation.



Semester 2



Navigating Practice Credits: 50



The planning, negotiating, researching, realising, and reflecting on a body of work. This happens through 3 consecutive stages: Negotiation, Residency and Realisation.



Critical Cartographies Credits: 10

Critical examination of your practice through different conceptual and philosophical frames.



Narrating & Circulating Practice Credits: 10

The way you present work and the means to go about it.



Summer

Navigating Practice Credits: 50



The planning, negotiating, researching, realising, and reflecting on a body of work. This happens through 3 consecutive stages: Negotiation, Residency and Realisation.



Semester 3

Towards a Sustainable Practice (For MFA students only) Credits: 30



Present your resolved research and reflect on the sustainability of your future professional career.

Any primary degree with a minimum award of Second-Class Honours Grade 2. Recognition of prior experiential learning (RPL) from applicants will also be considered for places based on relevant professional and life experience.



You will be required to attend an interview in person, or online together with members of the program team and prepare a short statement of intent that outlines your reasons for embarking on this course of study.

Contact TUS Limerick School of Art & Design for application form - email: lsadgraduatestudies@tus.ie

16 Months Full Time

Career Opportunities



This is a practical Master of Fine Art (MAFA) aimed at preparing you for your professional life post-graduation. It will enable you to continue to make artwork, to exhibit, to develop a practice network and importantly to sustain an art making practice that relates to your personal goals.



Art practice post-graduation can appear daunting. This MAFA is designed to make it less so and to empower you to develop the infrastructures you need. You will be able to navigate the precarity to find sustainability finding/creating networks, collaboration and mechanisms of dissemination specific to your work.



The Master of Fine Art equips you with the following tools/skills;



Studio based research methods

Development of artistic language

Interdisciplinary collaboration

Independent Learning

Siting practice within creative industries

Siting practice in local/national/international economy & society

Studio/Post Studio Practice

Critical thinking

Dissemination

Realisation and Presentation of Artworks

Peer Learning

Collaboration with peers

Deal with precariat



Further Study

Upon successful completion of this programme, graduates have the opportunity to complete Level 9/10 programmes here at TUS or elsewhere.