Digital Media Arts MA

Course in brief

Our Digital Media Arts MA is taught both at the University of Brighton and at Lighthouse. The Lighthouse is a digital culture agency where a key part of its work is education and professional development (PPD). Through short technology labs and courses they help empower the digital artists and creative engineers of tomorrow.

We have developed the course in the context of Brighton’s status as one of the main centres of the media economy, adopting an interdisciplinary approach that allows you to use and develop your existing skills in an environment that encourages both innovation and high-quality production.

The course provides excellent training for artists, designers and arts professionals wishing to seek a career in the creative industries, offering expert education in the areas of interaction design, social media, programming, digital film, installation, public art and interactive art. You will learn core digital media production skills, explore a broad range of creative digital practices, and access the most up-to-date developments and critical debates in the discipline.

While our professional studio environment enables you to explore the full creative potential of digital media arts practices, we also encourage live project work so that you gain direct experience and develop valuable links to the digital media and wider cultural industries.

The course offers a suitable route and an appropriate academic grounding for PhD study, as has been evidenced by recent student progression on to PhD programs at the University of Sussex, Goldsmiths, Plymouth University and The University of Auckland in New Zealand.

Key facts

Location Grand Parade and Lighthouse, Brighton

Full-time 1 year
Part-time 2 years

Apply online

You can apply for 2016 and 2017: please check that you meet the entry requirements before you make your application.

Apply now for your place

Entry requirements

The entry requirements listed here are our typical offer for this course for students planning to start their course in 2016, and should be used as a general guide. We operate a flexible admissions policy – this means that different applicants may be made higher or lower offers for the same course, depending on their other achievements.

Degree and/or experience
Relevant honours degree or recognised equivalent qualification and minimum one-year arts or design practice outside full-time education. Non-graduates with appropriate experience are also considered. Mature practitioners who have been out of education for a while are particularly welcome.

For non-native speakers of English
IELTS 6.5 overall and 6.0 in writing.

International equivalencies

International equivalencies by country

Albania
Algeria
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Belarus
Belgium
Bermuda
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Bulgaria
Burma (Myanmar)
Cameroon
Canada
Chile
China
Colombia
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Ecuador
Egypt
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Guyana
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kosovo
Kuwait
Latvia
Lebanon
Liechtenstein
Libya
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Malaysia
Malawi
Malta
Mexico
Moldova
Montenegro
Morocco
Namibia
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nigeria
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Palestinian National Authority
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Romania
Russian Federation
Saudi Arabia
Serbia
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sri Lanka
Syria
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Tanzania
Thailand
Tunisia
Turkey
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United States
Uzbekistan
Venezuela
Vietnam
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe

We can help you meet our English language or academic entry requirements.

Visit our language institute

For English language preparation courses.

Visit our International College

For academic preparation courses.

Course in detail

Why study with us?

Interdisciplinary programme that crosses the traditional boundaries of art and design

Professional studio environment with the latest digital media technology

Based in Brighton with exposure to a wide range of new digital and new media activity, and with close proximity to London

Partnership with Lighthouse, an agency at the heart of Brighton's digital culture

Guest lectures from leading industry figures such as Roman Verostko, Paul Brown and William Latham

International links with industry and creative practitioners including ISEA International, ACM SIGGRAPH and Leonardo

Links with Brighton’s digital industry in the public and commercial sector including Blast Theory, Wired Sussex and Brighton Digital Festival

Alumni network of designers, developers, agency directors and academics

Access to a media centre, film and design archives, library materials and research facilities

Live project work that gives you direct experience and a chance to develop valuable links in the digital media and wider cultural industries

Areas of study

The course is designed to support your individual development and creativity as an artist and producer and is based around an essential core of practice-based learning, underpinned by a programme of theoretical lecture series, artist talks, seminars, workshops, tutorials and independent study.

You will learn core digital media production skills. Specialist workshops have included processing, motion graphics and sound art.

The course supports an interdisciplinary approach that enables you to develop existing skills and experiences in an environment that encourages both innovation and high quality production. Live project work in modules throughout the course will help you gain direct experience and develop valuable links in the digital media industries and wider cultural industries.

Modules will be relevant and up-to-date in this fast changing and evolving digital climate, allowing for flexibility to expand into new areas of development. Examples of theses areas include screen based web design, social media and interactive installations and also including using data analytics, coding, programming and hacking.

You will be taught by a diverse and experienced lecturing team, all of whom are creative practitioners.

The course offers a flexible mode of study for students, either as a part-time route (two years) or full time (one year).

Modules

Cultures of Media Authoring and Web Design
Virtual Culture and Network Practices
Practice based Research Methods
Beyond the Screen: Interactive Installations
Presenting a Body of Work
Critical Theory: Media Concepts Research Paper

There will be an increasing emphasis on engaging with script and code, which is particularly pertinent to practical modules as they include the building blocks of developments for creative design, and web applications. These include the following languages - CSS, Flash, Processing, Pure Data, ActionScript 2.0 and 3.0, Wordpress, PHP, HTML5, Javascript, jQuery. MFC, C, OpenGL, Java and Lingo.

We encourage students to create work through the use of open source data and engaging with hacker ethics, which are concerned primarily with sharing, openness and collaboration, rather than using commercial software.

Staff profile

Sue Gollifer

Sue Gollifer is the course leader for the Digital Media Arts MA, director ofISEA International, chair of the ACM SIGGRAPH Distinguished Artist Award, co-chair of Phoenix Brighton and a trustee of Lighthouse.

Sue works at the intersection of art and technology as a curator, organiser, professor, researcher, chair, board member and artist in her own right. A pioneer of early computer art, she has continuously explored the relationship between technology and the arts and in both her creative and academic work.

Student views

We surveyed a small group of students about their experiences on the MA course. Here is some of what they had to say:

"The course gave us an excellent opportunity to explore a wide range of creative technologies under the tutelage of established digital media artists."

"The course made me step out of my comfort zone and helped me to improve my skills in the field of digital media arts. It also helped me to approach challenges from a different point of view."

"The theory lectures and seminars helped me to think of myself as an artist, not just a commercial illustrator."

"I think Ben Sheehan is brilliant and really enjoyed his lessons – he is an amazing tutor and went out of his way to help us."

"I started the MA with quite low self-esteem and confidence, but now I feel totally confident in myself and able to embark on a career as an artist."

Student work

The Digital Media Arts MA at Brighton develops your production skills and unique artistic approach. Over the course, you will build a substantial body of digital artwork that will help you get ahead in the fast-moving and competitive new media industries.

You will create your art and design work using a range of digital technologies, producing screen-based work, interactive installations, social media interventions and soundscapes. All students produce work for the assessment show towards the end of the course.

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Careers and employability

The Digital Media Arts MA is a practical course that teaches a range of skills in digital development and design that you can apply outside of university. The course aims to empower digital artists and critical engineers of tomorrow, in exploring the creative thinking that is critical to working effectively with technology.

Graduates include:

Alex Peckham, lead technologist at Blast Theory - he is responsible for the technical delivery of all their projects, working alongside lead digital artists to create interactive art works of the highest standard
Carrina Westling, PhD candidate in digital media at University of Sussex and creative director of the Nimbus Group, a digital experience design agency
Jack Hughes, digital designer at School for Startups and freelance web designer/developer
Jamie Griffiths, digital artist, film director & performer working with imagery, sound and light for interactive installations and live art performances
Sebastien Seynaeve, designer and developer at The Patching Zone in Rotterdam, the Netherlands

Lee-Ann Sandford explores the work of six MA students whose projects featured in the 2014 graduate show.

Fees and funding

Your fees

UK/EU (full-time) 6,030 GBP

International (full-time) 14,400 GBP

The fees listed here are for full-time courses beginning in the academic year 2016–17. Further tuition fees are payable for each subsequent year of study and are subject to an annual increase of no more than 5% or RPI (whichever is the greater). The annual increase for UK/EU students, who are subject to regulated fees, will increase no more than the statutory maximum fee. Further details regarding tuition fees are available from the university’s student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf).

The tuition fee you have to pay depends on a number of factors including the kind of course you take, and whether you study full- or part-time. If you are studying part-time you will normally be charged on a pro rata basis depending on the number of modules you take.

What's included in the fee?

When costs such as health or DBS checks, field trips or use of specialist materials are incurred as a mandatory requirement of the course they are included in your tuition fee.

You may incur additional costs depending on the optional modules or activities you choose. The cost of optional activities is not included in your tuition fee and you will need to meet this cost in addition to your fees. Before you apply check with the school that provides your course using the contact details in the Find out more tab (at the end of this page) for advice about what is included and what optional costs you could face so you can budget accordingly.

See our finance pages for advice about funding and scholarships as well as further information about fees and advice on international and island fee paying status.

Location and living here

Location

About Brighton

Brighton has been called the happiest place in the UK, and it’s easy to see why. With five miles of pebble beach, more than 300 pubs and a packed festival calendar, Brighton is the ideal place to spend your student years.

Arts and culture: The Royal Pavilion is the most famous landmark in Brighton, opening its doors to around 400,000 tourists every year. Right next door is the Brighton Dome, the south coast’s premier multi-arts venue, and the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, which holds a diverse collection of decorative arts, textiles and archaeological artefacts.

Festivals: The Brighton Festival is now the largest arts festival in England and a major milestone in the international cultural calendar. Meanwhile, The Great Escape has been established as the UK’s leading event for new music, with over 300 bands playing 30 venues across the city over three days.

Nightlife: Aside from the many nightclubs that line the city’s seafront, student favourites include The Haunt, Concorde 2 and Patterns, which attract leading bands and DJs from around the world. If you don’t feel like dancing, you can take your pick from the many hundreds of pubs and bars that dot the city centre.

Shopping: The quirky North Laine district houses Brighton’s finest collection of boutique shops and independent cafes, while the narrow, winding streets of the South Lanes house collections of jewellery and antiques. Churchill Square is the city’s main shopping centre and serves all of your high street needs.

Sports: Brighton’s seaside location offers the perfect opportunity to try paddle boarding, kayaking and windsurfing. Further into the city, The Level has a skate park for skateboarders and BMX riders to practise their skills.

Campus where this course is taught

Grand Parade campus

Our Grand Parade campus is in the heart of Brighton, across the road from the Royal Pavilion and a five-minute walk from the beach. After your lectures you’ll be right in the city centre, close to all the best pubs, clubs, restaurants and cafes that Brighton has to offer.

The campus is home to a creative community of arts and humanities students, specialising in everything from fashion and textiles to politics and philosophy. It is also the location of the University of Brighton Gallery and Sallis Benney Theatre, which host events throughout the festival season and beyond.

The world-renowned University of Brighton Design Archives are in the basement of Grand Parade and offer extensive resources for the study of British design in the twentieth century. St Peters House, the campus library, is also nearby and houses a specialist collection of arts books and journals.

Accommodation

Brighton

Our Brighton halls of residence are located across the city in Grand Parade, Moulsecoomb, Varley Park and Falmer.

Our Grand Parade campus is in central Brighton and has one hall of residence, Phoenix Brewery, within walking distance. We have around 300 rooms available in Phoenix Brewery, which are all ensuite and self-catered.

Moulsecoomb is two miles from the city centre and also has one hall of residence, Moulsecoomb Place, on campus. All accommodation in Moulsecoomb Place is catered, offering breakfast and an evening meal during term time. There are more than 150 rooms available here, with six to eight rooms per flat.

Varley Park offers the biggest choice of student accommodation with ten halls of residence. The site is four miles from Brighton centre but within walking distance of Falmer train station. You can also catch a free bus service to Grand Parade, Moulsecoomb and Falmer campuses, which is operated by local bus service The Big Lemon.

Falmer campus has two halls of residence: Great Wilkins and Paddock Field. Great Wilkins offers 150+ self-catered single rooms and one-bed couples flats, while Paddock Field offers 450+ catered and self-catered single rooms only. All rooms in Falmer are en-suite.

Aside from halls, you have the option of Unihomes, which we let out to our students on behalf of private landlords. The rent covers all utilities and includes £5,000 of contents insurance for your personal belongings.

You can also choose to join the many students who live away from campus in private rented accommodation. We have a list of high-quality, university-endorsed private sector accommodation and can help you find housemates to move in with.

If you have any questions about accommodation in Brighton, our accommodation team will be happy to help. You can contact them by email at accommodation@brighton.ac.uk or by telephone on 01273 644100.

Paddock Field