Art and Ecology (MA, MFA)

Course details

Graduates of Art and Ecology programmes will be able to:

• Critically evaluate their work and that of their peers, informed by contemporary fine art practice and ecological principles.
• Demonstrate communicative abilities in visual, materials, performative and verbal modes.
• Display intellectual capabilities of the philosophical and cultural concerns of artistic production and ecological issues relevant to contemporary fine art.
• (MFA graduates) Implement an interdisciplinary collaborative project relevant to ecological/environmental concerns in the Burren or globally, or both.

Students are allocated an individual studio space on campus, to which they have access "24/7" for the duration of the programme.

Key facts

Entry requirements

Applicants should normally have a Bachelor's degree with first or upper second-class honours in Fine Art; or a Bachelor's degree with a major in Fine Art, with a GPA of 3.50 or above, or evidence of equivalent achievement. In the case of an outstanding portfolio, a Bachelor's Degree with a lower second class/2.2 hons/GPA 3.0 may be accepted. All eligible applicants are interviewed either in person or by phone.

Course outline

Studio Research (10 ECTS core modules): these allow students to pusue their artistic interests in the studio alongside students of the MFA/PDip in Studio Art, with support from the faculty and visiting artists.

Studio Methodologies (10 ECTS core modules): these taught studio courses consider the methods and methodologies of Art & Ecology with reference to historical examples.

Theory and Art & Ecology (5 ECTS core modules): these 5 ECTS seminar-style courses consider the theoretical bases for Art & Ecology, emhasising the subject's context

Environmental Studies (5 ECTS core modules): these engage with ecology. The first module looks at scientific approaches to ecology. Led by an environmental scientist, the second module focuses on the local, and includes guided field trips to provide experience of the Burren environment, a microcosm of environmental and ecological issues. The third module, a distance-learning one, looks at global environmental issues.