Syllabus
While focusing on the physical act of making, the Craft MA also covers the theory of craft, allowing practitioners to conceptualise and contextualise their practice with deeper insight. The history, theory and traditions of craft form a core component in every module, and are delivered through lectures, presentations and studio discussion groups.
Craft Practice
This module provides a reflective and productive environment for you to create new and innovative approaches to combine theory, concept and practice through your own craft work. Together with your supervisors, you will formulate a written proposal to guide you towards your own working practice, while undertaking a set project to explore and identify audience and context.
Craft in Context
The Craft in Context module exposes you to contemporary craft debates, allowing you to explore and critically reflect on the process, context and definition of craft as a creative pursuit and investigative methodology. You will investigate how craft practice can relate to and affect cultural and social issues such as the environment, health and wellbeing, the economy, sustainability, ethics and education. You will test and challenge the value of your ideas within a wider social context.
Research Skills and Training
This module offers a broad-based introduction to research and introduces its relationship to your practice. The module seeks to place your own practice and academic work in context. A series of seminar/workshop sessions will introduce you to the range of key research methods and help you develop your own research plans.
Creative Enquiry
Through this practice-based module you will develop a personal portfolio of research – digital or conventional – to inform the creation of artefacts and/or products relevant to your own creative practice. You will be introduced to a range of creative research methods – notational, physiological and improvisational – which will critically challenge and further develop your current practice.
Masters project
The masters project represents the synthesis and culmination of the modules taken on the programme. You will undertake a rigorous investigation into your personally defined area of craft practice, with the final body of work realised through three-dimensional artefacts, objects or other related forms.
Your work will be defined and structured through the personal research statement and plan, which you will develop together with a member of staff. This process of informed individual authorship and ownership enables you, as a creative practitioner, to move forward and pioneer distinctive territories of expertise and insight.
Options
You will be able to choose from a range of modules from across our arts and humanities courses. Options include:
- Sustainable Design Presents
- Political Economy of Globalisation
- Professional Entrepreneurial Development
- Fine Art: Mentoring
- Historical and Critical Studies Dissertation
- Professional Entrepreneurial Development
- Professional Experience with Industrial Placement
Making sure that what you learn with us is relevant, up to date and what employers are looking for is our priority, so courses are reviewed and enhanced on an ongoing basis. When you have applied to us, you’ll be told about any new developments through our applicant portal.
Staff profile
Patrick Letschka
Course leader
Patrick Letschka is a designer and crafts practitioner with a focus on design and making in wood. He has a background in patternmaking and wood carving and employs drawing and moving image as methods of visual research. Patrick has collaborated with leading craftspeople and is particularly interested in the making of objects that function within ritual.
Read Patrick’s full academic profile
Philippa Lyon
Tutor
Philippa Lyon's main research focus is on a range of drawing practices, including in art and design education and health contexts.
She has a particular interest in manual drawing that takes place within clinical settings, in the pedagogy of drawing in higher education, the uses of drawing within visual methodologies and approaches to arts/health research. She has a background in literary criticism and literature teaching.
Read Philippa's full academic profile
Student views
Louise Bell, graduate
Following her MA, Louise Bell was chosen to be part of the Crafts Council's 2019 Hothouse programme. Here she explains her experience of studying the Craft MA at Brighton:
"I chose Brighton for my Masters because I was attracted to the syllabus. Making work was a priority, however I also had a desire to look into the way that craft and ceramics in particular can relate to emotional and social issues.
"The course was very special and I felt very privileged to be there. I learnt something new every day: ways to improve my technical skills, how to be an artist and a researcher, new directions and inspirations.
"We worked quite a bit as a whole group. We were taught in a very interactive way. We went to Munich as part of the International Craft and Trades Fair and took part in a group residency at the Ditchling Museum of Art and Craft.
"The year encapsulated what education should be about - learning from others, challenging yourself and having a good time!"
Zahra Priddle, graduate
Opportunities are created for our Craft students to work with students in other discipline areas who have shared interests. Here, graduate Zahra Priddle talks about a shared project with Occupational Therapy students:
"I found the opportunity to collaborate with the Occupational Therapy students an interesting and stimulating experience. The aim of the project was to consider how the impact of craft-making could potentially affect well-being.
"The brief provided a platform to develop a short project that could benefit a particular group or community. Our focus was a group of young adults of 12+ who had suffered trauma, mental health problems and low self esteem and based on research into how origami contributed to positive well-being.
"We designed a short craft project that was based on floating paper wish lanterns used in the East to ‘wish away’ negative feelings and worries. Our project was both biodegradable and easily transportable, requiring minimal tools and using edible, biodegradable rice paper."