Program Requirements

The Master of Visual Arts requires completion of 96 units, which must consist of:

24 units from completion of the following introductory component:

6 units from completion of a foundation theory course from the following list:

ARTH6004 City Sites: studies in art and urbanity
ARTH6043 Modernism and Postmodernism in Art and Design: 1850-2000
ARTH6044 Art and Its Context: Materials Techniques Display
ARTH6050 Photography and Art
ARTH6052 Art of the Modern Print
ARTH6056 Art and Architecture of Southeast Asia: Tradition and Transformation
ARTH6059 Art and Architecture of Asia: Continuity and Change
ARTH6061 Postmodern Sublime
ARTH6080 Art and Visual Culture of the Long Eighteenth Century, 1660-1815
ARTH6081 Art of the European Courts, 1500-1815
ARTH6082 Art, War and Conflict
ARTH6093 Post-Colonial Discourses in Australian Art
ARTH6097 Victorian and Edwardian Art: Australia and Europe 1837-1914
ARTH6160 Cartographies: Art Exploration and Knowledge
ARTH6161 Contemporary Australian Art
ARTH6162 Cyberculture
ARTH6163 Memory
ARTH6164 Theories of the Object
ARTH6165 Theories of the Image
ARTH6167 Issues in Contemporary Craft and Design
ARTH6168 Renaissance and Baroque Art
ARTH6169 Introducing Asian Modernisms
ARTH6171 Costume, Fashion and Visual Culture
ARTH6598 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art
HIST6233 How the Camera Changed History: A century of photography and cinema

18 units from completion of foundation studio courses from the following list:

ARTV6000 Animation
ARTV6003 Video Art
ARTV8038 Practice-led Research Project
ARTV6057 Hands On: Material Language
ARTV6508 Painting: Materiality and Meaning
ARTV6801 Sculpture: Bricolage Through Collecting, Collating and Construction with Found Materials
ARTV8039 Practice-led Research Major Project

24 units from completion of studio courses on the following disciplinary courses list:

ARTV6003 Video Art
ARTV6006 Photography
ARTV6027 Professional Practices
ARTV6028 Professional Practices Internship
ARTV6100 Typography: Textual use in Visual Arts
ARTV6507 Painting: Open to Influence Studio Research
ARTV6508 Painting: Materiality and Meaning
ARTV6510 Painting: Critical Analysis and Reflection in the Studio
ARTV6802 Sculpture Advanced Construction through Fabrication
ARTV6803 Sculpture: Space and Negative to Positive Reproduction through mould making and surface replication
ARTV6804 Sculpture Replicating Through Casting and Finishing Bronze
ARTV6805 Sculpture Temporal Studies Making Time in Space: through chance and process approaches
ARTV6814 Sculpture: Advanced Methods Through Installation and Site Considerations
ARTV6921 Environment Studio 1
ARTV8038 Practice-led Research Project
ARTV8039 Practice-led Research Major Project
ARTV8040 Practice-led Research Extended Project
ARTV8054 Research
ARTV8300 Visual Arts Studio Masterclass
COMP6720 Art and Interaction in New Media
DESA6017 Multiples and Production: The Unique Offering
DESN6001 Digital Form and Fabrication
DESN6002 Foundations of Creative Code
DESN6003 Creative Data Visualisation: Representing Data in Visual and Material Form
DESN6004 Dynamic Design and Generative Systems
DESN6005 Form and Fabrication in Context
DESN6006 Front-End Web: Crafting Online Experience

24 units from completion of the following research component:

6 units from completion of ARTH8022 Points of View: Independent Creative Art and Media Practice

6 units from completion of a research training course from the following list:

ARTH8020 Arguing Objects
ARTH8021 Writing About Art and Creative Practice

12 units from completion of research project courses from the following list:

ARTV8038 Practice-led Research Project
ARTV8039 Practice-led Research Major Project

24 units from completion of elective courses offered by ANU

The following courses are repeatable for credit, up to a maximum of 36 units each, and if repeated must be repeated with a different topic each time. Each instance of a course may only be counted towards one list.

ARTV8038 Practice-led Research Project
ARTV8039 Practice-led Research Major Project
ARTV8040 Practice-led Research Extended Project

Unless otherwise stated, a course used to satisfy the requirements of one list may not be double counted towards satisfying the requirements of another list.

Study Options

Admission Requirements

A Bachelor degree or international equivalent with a minimum GPA of 5/7 and successful assessment of a portfolio of works.

Cognate disciplines

Animation, Architecture, Design, Digital Arts, Fine Arts, Media Arts, Visual Anthropology, Visual Arts.

English Language Requirements

All applicants must meet the University’s English Language Admission Requirements for Students.

Assessment of Qualifications

Unless otherwise indicated, ANU will accept all Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) qualifications or international equivalents that meet or exceed the published admission requirements of our programs, provided all other admission requirements are also met. Where an applicant has more than one completed tertiary qualification, ANU will base assessment on the qualification that best meets the admission requirements for the program. Find out more about the Australian Qualifications Framework: www.aqf.edu.au

ANU uses a 7-point Grade Point Average (GPA) scale. All qualifications submitted for admission at ANU will be converted to this common scale, which will determine if an applicant meets our published admission requirements. Find out more about how a 7-point GPA is calculated for Australian universities: www.uac.edu.au/future-applicants/admission-criteria/tertiary-qualifications

Unless otherwise indicated, where an applicant has more than one completed tertiary qualification, ANU will calculate the GPA for each qualification separately. ANU will base assessment on the best GPA of all completed tertiary qualifications of the same level or higher.

Applications for course credit

Applicants with a Bachelor Degree or Graduate Certificate in a cognate discipline may be eligible for up to 24 units (one semester) of credit. Applicants with a Graduate Diploma or Bachelor degree with Honours in a cognate discipline may be eligible for up to 48 units (one year) of credit.

Scholarships

ANU offers a wide range of scholarships to students to assist with the cost of their studies.

Eligibility to apply for ANU scholarships varies depending on the specifics of the scholarship and can be categorised by the type of student you are.  Specific scholarship application process information is included in the relevant scholarship listing.

For further information see the Scholarships website.

Employment Opportunities

A Master of Visual Arts will advance your career as a practising artist, teacher, or administrator, or open up opportunities for working in museums, galleries, the public sector, and private enterprise.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the skills and knowledge to:

1.    develop practice-led methodologies through investigation, analysis and synthesis of complex information to plan and execute substantial studio and/or screen-based creative research projects.
2.    generate and evaluate complex ideas and concepts at an abstract level using cognitive, technical and creative skills and relate them to their own creative works and to recent developments in the field.
3.    critically reflect upon and evaluate theoretical, conceptual and aesthetic aspects of creative practice and apply it in the production of creative works and/or professionally relevant projects.
4.    design and develop creative works, either individually or in collaboration, that communicate theoretical, aesthetic, conceptual and imaginative propositions to specialist and non-specialist audiences.

Further Information

Entry to the Master of Visual Arts requires a successful assessment of a portfolio of works and other supporting material. Before applying, applicants should consult the ANU School of Art website where the requirements are listed and supporting material submission information is detailed: http://soa.anu.edu.au/how-apply/postgraduate-coursework-applications

Interested in writing a thesis? Check out the advanced version of this degree.

Please be aware that any courses taken as part of the 24 units from completion of elective courses offered by ANU list will not count towards the advanced degree should you decide to transfer. This is because the advanced degree has no free electives, as they are in practice replaced by a 24 unit thesis.