Master of Art in Art and Ecology University of Galway, Ireland

Graduate students develop key skills in producing work in studio and field-based contexts, investigate how social and earth ecologies coexist within the unique context of the Burren, and have the opportunity to participate in collaborative or community based initiatives. Students work with BCA’s core faculty team alongside environmental scientists and local community based organisations to develop critical enquiry through arts practice. Graduates produce a final exhibition of work engaging the dynamic between ecology and arts practice and demonstrating an embodiment of the social, cultural and theoretical concerns shaping the relationship between contemporary art and ecological thinking. 

The MFA (2 years, 4 semesters) provides an immersive education in the development of professional practice as an artist. As an MFA graduate you will produce a final exhibition, the quality of which will show that you have gained the knowledge and skills necessary to survive and thrive as a practicing artist. You will also develop your capabilities for critical enquiry in the field of Art & Ecology through a written dissertation, demonstrating your ability to evaluate your work through an informed grasp of the social, cultural and theoretical concerns shaping discourse on contemporary research and practice in the field. 

The MA (1 year, 3 semesters) provides a masters-level education in art appropriate to a diverse range of applications. As an MA graduate you will produce a final exhibition, the quality of which will demonstrate that you have acquired a masters-level in artistic practice. Whereas the MFA requires the completion of a written thesis, in the MA you will also complete modules in critical enquiry, in order to develop your ability to evaluate your work through an informed grasp of the social, cultural and theoretical concerns, and will be required to create an Artist Statement in conjunction with your final exhibition.