The MA in Fine Art: Contemporary Art Practices program encourages students to challenge and explore contemporary art practices in and across the Fine Art field, working in a variety of methods and approaches that may range from an in-depth investigation of a research area within a specific art discipline to exploring issues of interest in an interdisciplinary manner; emphasis is placed upon pushing forward critical discourses in a challenging and provocative way, indicating relations to key discourses within the contemporary arena, as well as building upon a personal visual language that is both informed of current trends and innovative.
The program, therefore, respects, encourages and promotes critical theory as well as in depth understanding of material, concept and subject matter regarding the practices of fine art making. Furthermore it offers a close relation with the professional industry and provides opportunities for collaboration on real life local and international projects.
The program is anchored in the wide area of Fine Art, allowing each individual student to indicate and follow a specific research area of personal interest within and across the various art disciplines, building upon and demonstrating a strong personal vocabulary and contextualization of the core research area. It provides a strong practical and theoretical platform through an intrinsically study path of key lessons that respond to a demanding and high academic level.
The students are, therefore, introduced and ‘guided to’ contemporary methods, techniques, approaches and practices of the fine art field through systematic exploration and work development primarily in the art studio through the courses of Studio Practice 1, 2. These fundamental courses will enable students to locate practical areas of study, to experiment and resolve problems relating their medium, materials, concepts and methods through ongoing practice, group and one to one tutorials, critiques, exhibition visits as well as local and international project initiations. In addition, the students will be presented with a series of talks and presentations by renowned artists, theorists, curators, art historians, thinkers and cultural producers in order to become engaged in contemporary disputes, subjects and art processes.
Conceptual and theoretical issues will be relatively brought up, studied and tackled at the Art in Context - Aesthetics and Critical Theory unit as well as in the unit of Contemporary Art – Cultural and Contextual Concepts both of which are, primarily engaged with the systematic study of core notions, concepts and disputes of and around critical theory, philosophy, the art history, aesthetics and relative studies.
To assist students in building research and strong methodological skills needed for such a demanding course, the program offers the unit of Research methods that will introduce and provide students with all necessary and relevant competencies and tools in order to encourage and engage them into the culture of research.
The program is strongly engaged in this very interrelation of contemporary cultural debates to contemporary art practices and for this very reason the students will be further exposed to critical and current disputes as reflected in the art processes, applications, mediums and materials through the courses of Visual Processes and Applications; a course that examines critical positions, histories and renderings/interpretations of the art object through praxis and theory. This approach is furthermore strengthened through the course of Creative Methods in Contemporary Art where various current subjects are brought in and studied through theory and studio, fostering critical approaches, practical experimentation, appropriate associations and concept development.
Students will be introduced to a variety of subjects and media through the art and design electives, such as Form and Concept, Design Applications and New Media that have been methodically structured to provide students with in-depth understanding of primal issues and crucial lines of enquiries in the Art and Design Field; in response to this idea, students will be introduced and consequently employ creative approaches to new media, working along the areas of the moving image, animation, sound and video, where they will be involved in originating issues relating art and design concepts and initiating creative and innovative solutions. In regards to applications and technology, the program will be providing students with all necessary equipment, studios and technical support.
Furthermore, core concepts of the Fine Art field such as Space and Body will be re-visited, through the electives of Experimental Spaces and Space and Display where students will enrich and extend their understanding into the concepts and ideas of the fundamental notion of Space and into modes of display, working in close relation to the idea of the body. Experimental work will not only be encouraged through installations, performances and situations but through alternative possibilities of displaying and exhibiting that cross over conventional boundaries and traditional academic areas, touching upon non-conventional spaces/cyberspaces/web spaces that could eventually relocate and restructure current cultural agencies.
It is in this respect that the program has developed the course of Curatorial Practice that offers students the chance to undertake an artist led curatorial project where awareness of past and current exhibition models and approaches will be developed, experimental curatorial methods will be encouraged as well as a set of networks and relations will be pushed forward within the wider art market, locally and internationally.
The program places great importance on innovative research that expands relations and opportunities towards the formation of resourceful relationships with other cultural agents and universities. It is under this scope that particular emphasis will be placed in looking at how artists, art producers and art mediators as well as the art body itself has taken an affirmative shift towards major sociopolitical themes; it is, thus, important to examine how Cypriot artists and cultural producers have dealt with current and relative subjects. This research-area fosters a current tendency towards bringing about, as well as re-assessing and re-structuring the connections, affiliations and relations of the Cypriot cultural production with our wider Middle East and Mediterranean area. A major objective and aspiration of this program will be to create tighter cultural bridges with our neighborhood areas and strengthen at the same time ingenious positions and claims towards the major art centers. It is a strong belief that such practices will result in achieving an effective and closer interconnection of cultural foundations and universities in the area of innovation, as well as promote artists’ mobility, cultural interaction and fertile exchange of cultural ideas and products.
The program aspires to bring together students from diverse backgrounds that will have the opportunity to interact and develop skills and profound understanding of the creative areas of a rapidly growing interdisciplinary culture.
Committing to a balanced input of theory and practice, the program fosters professional initiative, self-motivation and ambition, desire for positive social change, cultural responsibility and a profound drive to original and creative cultural activity, products and ideas.
The vision of the MA program is to strengthen, develop and promote a contemporary visual perception, identity and approach that goes beyond the conventional boundaries and traditional art practices; it wishes to promote and foster the idea of the artist as a creative and informed individual who works in an open, fluid contemporary, transcultural art map, where critical awareness of current themes is as vital as an in-depth understanding and decisive positioning towards the current debates and themes within the global contemporary art context. The program highlights its tendency and aspiration to build bridges within and across other cultural foundations and universities, to promote cultural exchange and innovation and become a vital centre itself that both, inspires and promotes creative individuality and artistic excellence.
The language of instruction is English.
The specific goals of the program are:
Upon successful completion of this program, the students should be able to:
Alongside a continued professional art practice graduates from the MA Fine Arts course will be able to pursue opportunities in art education, curatorial practices, art counseling and other areas within the local and international creative industries. These may include involvement in theatre, television and advertising. Graduates can also pursue opportunities to initiate artist led, community based projects.
The student must successfully complete 42 ECTS, from the following list of modules:
| No. | Code | Name | ECTS | Hours / week |
| 1 | MFA501 | STUDIO PRACTICE I | 15 | 9 |
| 2 | MFA502 | ART IN CONTEXT: VISUAL PROCESSES ANDAPPLICATIONS | 4 | 3 |
| 3 | MFA503 | RESEARCH METHODS | 4 | 3 |
| 4 | MFA505 | STUDIO PRACTICE II | 15 | 9 |
| 5 | MFA506 | CONTEXTUAL CONCEPTS: CREATIVE METHODS IN CONTEMPORARY ART | 4 | 3 |
Electives Courses Modules
The student must successfully complete 18 ECTS, from the following list of modules:
| No. | Code | Name | ECTS | Hours / week |
| 1 | MFA508 | CURATORIAL PRACTICES | 5 | 3 |
| 2 | MID511 | NEW MEDIA | 6 | 0 + 3 |
| 3 | MID512 | FORM AND CONCEPT | 7 | 0 + 4 |
| 4 | MID513 | DESIGN APPLICATIONS | 6 | 0 + 3 |
| 5 | MID514 | SPACE AND DISPLAY | 7 | 0 + 4 |
| 6 | MID515 | EXPERIMENTAL SPACES | 7 | 0 + 4 |
Masters Dissertation Modules
The student must successfully complete 30 ECTS, from the following list of modules:
| No. | Code | Name | ECTS | Hours / week |
| 1 | MFA517 | THESIS | 30 | 3 |
To successfully complete the program the student must complete a total of 90 ECTS; (5) required courses, (3) elective courses and an MA Thesis.
The Program is based on the ECTS credit accumulation mode of study. Students can be awarded the Master in Fine Art upon completion of 90 credits. From these credits, 42 are allocated for mandatory courses, 18 are allocated for elective courses and 30 are allocated for the dissertation.
Preparatory work for the Thesis begins through module MFA 503: Research Methods where students are asked to present their visual based research and a written proposal for approval. This requires a proposal for a research plan or line of inquiry relevant to the studio practice. Theoretical and practical issues and ideas will be developed and enhanced through the required modules MFA 502: Art in Context: Visual Processes and Applications and MFA 506: Contextual Concepts: Creative Methods in Contemporary Art. Additional in depth investigation and specialization into relevant disputes of contemporary practice, will be undertaken through the study path of the elective courses. The final body of work developed in the studio practice will be exhibited within an appropriate framework that will comprise the degree show/exhibition.
| Module Group | ECTS |
| Required Courses | 42 |
| Electives Courses | 18 |
| Masters Dissertation | 30 |
| TOTAL | 90 |
Candidates for a master degree must submit a recognized bachelor degree or qualification deemed to be equivalent to degree level as well as the official transcripts (grade reports) of their first-degree studies. In addition, there could be special requirements for various master programs.
Frederick University academic year consists of the fall and spring semesters. The calendar is arranged so that students may start classes either during the last week of September or the first week of February. Candidates may submit an application for admission in any of the semesters. Due to the fact that formalities for the issue of an entry visa take at least 6 weeks, candidates are urged to file an application at least 8 weeks prior to the expected date of enrolment. Students are expected to be on campus prior to the beginning of the intended semester/session. In response to arising need, courses could be provided within the summer period.
Candidates who are nationals of EU countries can enter Cyprus as visitors. On arrival at Frederick University they must submit to the Admission Office the following:
Furthermore, they must pay the registration fee, the semester tuition fees, and register for subjects. Next they must apply to the Migration Department for a temporary residence permit. The application to the Migration Department must be supported by evidence that they have paid their tuition fees for the semester, have enough funds for their initial living expenses and have obtained local health insurance coverage.
B. Applicants from non EU countries
International Students from non EU countries need to have a valid student visa in order to be allowed to enter Cyprus. The issue of an entry visa takes about 6 weeks from the date of the submission of the application. It is therefore recommended that candidates submit their application at least 8 weeks before the beginning of the semester. Cyprus Migration Department requirements in respect of the issue of a student visa, which from time to time may be modified, are available to candidates in a separate document.
Applicants are requested to contact the Office of Admissions to receive information and guidance regarding the proper documentation and formalities to be followed.
Personal interviews are not normally required as part of the admission process; however, Frederick University reserves the right to request an interview before making a final decision on accepting an applicant.
A good knowledge of the English language is required for all programs of Frederick University taught in English.
English Placement Test
Students whose native language is not English will have to take the Frederick University English Placement Test (FUEPT). Students who are qualified for exemption from the English Language Courses should apply to the Center of Languages with the necessary documentation. Further details regarding the policies and requirements for exemption can be obtained from the Admissions Office and the Center of Languages.
Students who are not competent in the English language are required to take special English classes to improve their skills and, when necessary, they will take reduced load for that semester. Students who may need a more vigorous preparation will take an intensive course in English before enrolling in a regular program. Intensive courses commence at the beginning of the fall and the spring semesters.
FULL PROGRAM TUITION FEES :
| DISCOUNTED FEES - €/ECTS | FOR FULL TIME STUDY (60 ECTS)- € |
| 100.00 | 9000 |
| On campus students | Euro |
| Application Fee | €35 payable once |
| Registration Fee | €25 per registration |
| Student Activity Fee | €20 per semester |
| Technology Fee | €20 per semester |
| Late Registration Fee | €25 |
| Transcript Fee | €5 per additional copy |
| Incomplete Make-up | €25 |
| Graduation Application Fee | €55 |
| Exam Waiver Fee | €25 |
| Second Examination Fee | €80 |
| Transfer Credit Evaluation | €40 |
| Distance Learning students | Euro |
| Application Fee | €35 payable once |
| Semester Registration & Technology Fee | €100 per semester |
Contact Person: Ferederick
Phone: +35722394394
Email: info@frederick.ac.cy
