Bath Spa University

Whether you're looking to improve your career prospects with a postgraduate qualification or wish to explore a subject you feel passionately about for personal enjoyment, Bath Spa University promise you high quality master's courses and research supervision from committed staff, in a unique and supportive environment.

Why Bath Spa University?

Teaching-led research

Our research and scholarly activity is of direct benefit to students, underpinning the curriculum and improving the student experience.

A great range of courses

Bath Spa's wide range of postgraduate awards provide opportunities for advanced study that are both academically challenging and vocationally relevant. In addition there is a lively research environment at Bath Spa, with opportunities for supervised, original research leading to the degrees of MPhil and PhD.

Superb campuses

Visitors and students are often bowled over by our campuses. How many universities boast medieval buildings and their own parkland estate? There's a unique mix of the old and the new, with state-of-the-art modern facilities alongside historic buildings - providing an inspiring and safe study environment. Take a virtual tour and explore our stunning campuses.

Strong on environmental issues

Staff and students at Bath Spa share a strong environmental ethos - partly in response to our exceptionally beautiful campuses that we're looking after for future generations, but also to make sure that we minimise our impact on the environment. Bath Spa was the first university to gain the International Standard for Environmental Management (ISO14001) and has also achieved the Platinum Award under the national EcoCampus scheme.

Bath

A beautiful and unique city, with historic attractions, stunning architecture, and excellent shopping. There are 490,000 square metres of parkland in the city, over 130 bars and pubs and 412 places to eat! Bath also has a lively social scene, but is friendly, compact and a safe city. Third top city in the UK for safety and security - Complete University Guide 2009

Staff who care

Our staff care about their students. They are accessible, supportive and passionate about their subjects, and they put a lot of effort into developing dynamic approaches to teaching and assessment. They undertake what we call 'teaching-led research'. That means they're actively engaged in research and scholarship so that their professional and academic expertise is current, and often cutting edge - but the research is of direct benefit to you.

Small and friendly

With about 6,000 students Bath Spa is big enough to offer variety and diversity, yet small enough for a personal approach - there is space here to think, create and move forward. "Students like the 'small and friendly' atmosphere, which the university is anxious to retain" The Times Good University Guide 2010

Accessible to all

We have built our success on accessibility and equality of opportunity. The unique study and social environment we offer is a key factor in our distinctiveness - and in our popularity. Our students come from a range of backgrounds and cultures, from all parts of this country and from overseas, and with a variety of academic credentials.

International university

We welcome students from across the globe to study here, and we have links with many universities abroad and are members of important international organisations.

A long history of success

We can trace our history back over 150 years, to the original Bath School of Art, and our first trainee teachers trained here over 60 years ago. So while the University is modern and progressive, it builds on a long history of tradition and success in higher education.

Taught Postgraduate Courses

There are a variety of options for postgraduate study across our five Schools of study, leading to the awards of Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma, Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma and Master's degree (MA, MSc, MFA, MMus or MTeach).

School of Art and Design

• MA Curatorial Practice
• MA Design: Brand Development
• MA Design: Ceramics
• MA Design: Fashion and Textiles
• MA Design: Investigating Fashion Design
• MFA Fine Art
• MA Investigating Crafts

School of Education

• MA Education Studies
• MA International Education and Global Citizenship
• MA Specific Learning Difficulties/Dyslexia
• MA Professional Practice in Higher Education
• Initial Teacher Education (PGCE)
• Lifelong Learning Initial Teacher Training

School of Humanities and Cultural Industries

• MA Creative Writing
• MA Literature and Landscape
• MA Scriptwriting
• MA Writing for Young People
• MA Heritage Management
• MA Travel & Nature Writing
• MA Feature Filmmaking

School of Music and Performing Arts

• MMus Creative Sound and Media Technology
• MMus Experimental Music
• MMus Performance
• MMus Songwriting
• MA Performing Shakespeare
• MA Theatre for Young Audiences

School of Science, Society and Management

• Business and Management
• Business and Management (Marketing)
• Business and Management (Creating and Developing Your Business)
• Principles of Applied Neuropsychology
• Health Studies
• Biology
• Geography

Research Degrees

Bath Spa offers opportunities for supervised, original research leading to the degrees of MPhil and PhD. There is a lively research environment in which to study and Bath Spa has particular strengths in art and design, education, English, creative writing, history, study of religions, music, sociology, psychology and health studies.

Funding Opportunities

We have AHRC funded studentships covering tuition fees and student maintenance for our arts and humanities subjects: Fine Art, Fashion and Textiles, Investigating Fashion, Ceramics, Creative Writing, Writing for Young People, Scriptwriting, and Songwriting. In addition there are two studentships available for Literature and Landscape.

Student Profiles

Deborah Feiler, MFA Fine Art

"I chose to do the MFA in Fine Art as I wanted to devote time to focussing on the development of my work. I completed the programme part-time and liked the structure of the MFA at Bath Spa. I particularly valued the small size of the group and the ease of communication with staff. Postgraduate study takes financial investment and I felt that the programme respected this and provided "value for money". The nature of this course has given me the confidence and understanding of how to carry on developing my work. Since completing the course in 2009 I have made a successful application to join new studios in Bristol; been selected for two exhibitions; joint curated an exhibition; and have been invited to exhibit work in a show."

Nikita Lalwani, MA Creative Writing

"Being at Bath Spa was something invaluable and indefinable for me. I was worried that going on a creative writing course might be a bit like being in a slightly sick, 'show us your underwear' form of group therapy. I was very wrong. Instead I was thrust into the company of some of the most interesting writers around - the current spread of tutors in the department - who have managed to create a space where ideas really are exchanged rather than reduced to templates. I wrote more than half of my novel there and am indebted for the way in which being on the course made writing the centre of my life."

Nikita's debut novel, Gifted, was included in the long list for the 2007 Man Booker Prize, the shortlist of the Costa first novel award, and won the 2008 Desmond Elliott prize for sparkling new fiction. Nikita's novel was conceived on the MA course, and a first draft was her manuscript submission.

Chris Turpin, MMus Songwriting

Current MMus Songwriting student, Chris Turpin, is a songwriter and musician published by Kassner Music Publishing, home to Ray Davies amongst others. Chris' band, Kill It Kid, are signed to One Little Indian Records and their eponymous debut album has been released to universal critical acclaim in the music press. Labelled 'an outstanding British record' by Clash magazine and 'Impressive stuff' by the NME who awarded it9/10 and 8/10 respectively, Chris' songs blend delta blues and roots to striking effect, producing blistering, unapologetic rock 'n' roll one moment and a smoky film-noir ambience the next.

Contact Details

Bath Spa University
Newton St Loe
Bath
BA2 9BN

Tel: +44 (0)1225 875875
Email: enquiries@bathspa.ac.uk
Web: www.bathspa.ac.uk/study-with-us/postgraduate

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