MA Jewellery

Overview

Our MA Jewellery programme encourages the development of an individual and distinctive jewellery practice through engagement with contemporary approaches to materials, and its relation to body and form.

Pursuing exploration through a diverse range of material expressions, you will be encouraged to challenge preconceptions about materials and status within the world of jewellery, fashion and craft. The programme is uniquely placed to offer a rich cross-disciplinary practice; you will have access to our spacious and well-equipped metal and jewellery studios, as well as ceramics, glass and resistant materials workshops, and our superbly equipped Fab Lab.

MA Jewellery graduate Petra Cerna's work showcases responsible design with a positive social impact. Here, she designed a sound-producing necklace for pregnancy that can be heard by the baby inside the womb. When the baby is born, the necklace can also be used to soothe and calm them, and to support bonding.

You will have the opportunity to critically engage with current debates within the subject area, and be encouraged to consider what it means to be a craftsperson in the 21st century. Key issues include sustainability, material life cycles, added value and approaches to the creative industries, museum and gallery interpretation and curation.

Want to find out more about MA Jewellery?

Click the button below to book an informal online chat with Postgraduate Course Leader, <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/people/tom-milnes" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. Tom Milnes</a>.

BOOK AN INFORMAL CHAT

Radius 50mi exhibition of jewellery at Ocean Studios, including work by Arts University Plymouth staff and graduates. Co-curated by lecturer Rachel Darbourne.

The programme addresses histories, technologies, contexts, material qualities, conceptual and narrative developments. Current issues around craft are explored such as the rise of digital tools and technologies, hybrid practices, sustainability and globalisation. You are encouraged to consider these issues through testing, making, re-making, evaluating and positioning your critically engaged practice. This programme encourages entrepreneurial creativity through self-initiated and independent approaches to making, whilst considering the subject at its extreme edges in relation to process, technique, application, potential customer use and audience.

The Sleight of Hand exhibition at MIRROR, in collaboration with the Association of Contemporary Jewellery, showcased 29 makers and 54 pieces from ACJ members as far afield as Vienna and Australia, as well as jewellers working in all corners of the UK. The makers presented a wide range of techniques, from traditional to contemporary, whilst utilising unusual materials (including plastics, paper, resin, glass, found objects and various metals).

Entry Requirements

MA applicants are normally expected to have an undergraduate degree at 2:2 or above. However, the strength of your creative practice and other forms of experience will be taken into account at the interview stage and we encourage you to start a conversation with us.

Alumni Discount

Arts University Plymouth graduates are offered a discount of 15% on Masters programme fees, regardless of when they studied with us previously. The discount applies if you studied on one of our pre-degree, foundation or undergraduate programmes.

What should my portfolio include?

Your portfolio should give us an indication of the work that you have made, organised or been involved in. For our postgraduate arts, craft and design courses, we expect to see examples of work you have created. For our MA by Research and MA Museum Studies courses, we don't expect you to have traditional artworks; instead you can share examples of projects you have worked on, classroom experiences you have created, and so on. Please ensure that your portfolio includes descriptions, website links and visuals if they are available.