Master of Research - Art: Moving Image
- 2 years
- Duration
- 17,440 GBP/year
- Price
- September
- Start
- June
- Deadline
- Master
- Degree
- Campus
- Format
- London / United Kingdom
- Location
Program description
The MRes Art: Moving Image pathway at Central Saint Martins focuses on the theoretical and historical study of artists’ moving image, closely associated with LUX and the British Artists’ Film and Video Study Collection. It explores intersections with photography, performance, and literature, encouraging new approaches to critical discourse within an inclusive environment.
The curriculum develops in-depth knowledge of this fast-growing field through physical and online sessions, gallery visits, festivals, and expert talks. Students engage with urgent contemporary debates in dialogue with historical precedents and globalised moving image ecologies, while also having opportunities for shared taught components and student-led collaborative projects, such as archival research with decolonising perspectives.
Program structure
- Unit 1: Framing Artists' Moving Image
This unit establishes knowledge of key thinkers and debates in artists' moving image through seminars and lectures, structured into four thematic parts: modern primitives, materialisms, the expanded field, and the ethnographic turn.
- Unit 2: Methodologies and Methods I
Unit 2 brings together all MRes Art students to study foundational categories and approaches that define key positions across the humanities, social sciences, and arts. It maps various schools of thought, methodologies, and concepts to help you shape and define your research topics and aims.
- Unit 3: Methodologies and Methods II
Building on Unit 2, this unit deepens your understanding of specific artistic and discursive methods by examining how they operate in texts, debates, and events relevant to your pathway. Through seminars and workshops, you will collectively test methods of research and writing, strengthening your analytical and critical skills.
- Unit 4: Individual Research Project
Unit 4 consists of two parts: in part one, you will examine key interdisciplinary texts—from architecture to feminism—addressing artists' moving image, supported by weekly seminars, set reading, and a screening programme with the British Artists’ Film and Video Study Collection and a group project with LUX. In part two, you focus on completing your final dissertation project, engaging in seminar sessions and peer support within a research community, culminating in the presentation of your realised research project for assessment.
Price
Tuition fee:
- 17,440 GBP per year*
*Tuition fees may increase in future years for new and continuing students on courses lasting more than one year. For this course, you can pay tuition fees in instalments.
You may need to cover additional costs which are not included in your tuition fees, such as materials and equipment specific to your course.
Requirements for applicants
The standard entry requirements for this course are as follows:
- An honours degree Or an equivalent EU/international qualification.
Exceptionally applicants who do not meet these course entry requirements may still be considered. The course team will consider each application that demonstrates additional strengths and alternative evidence. This might, for example, be demonstrated by:
- Related academic or work experience
- The quality of the personal statement
- A strong academic or other professional reference
Or a combination of these factors.
Each application will be considered on its own merit but we cannot guarantee an offer in each case.
English language requirements
- IELTS level 7.0 or above, with at least 6.0 in reading, writing, listening and speaking
About the university

The University of the Arts London (UAL) produces and encourages the creativity essential for a better future. Its colleges have been at the forefront of innovative education since 1842, creating work with a lasting impact on people and the planet, driven by curiosity, imagination, and purpose.
London is fundamental to UAL's identity, providing a vital context where the university connects and exchanges ideas with individuals from all walks of life. Globally, its creative network influences education, culture, business, and society.
Through innovative research and creative instruction, UAL's faculty and staff bring fresh perspectives to education. The university enables students to build the careers they desire by working with them at every level - from pre-degree to postgraduate, and from short courses to online learning.
UAL's colleges
Ranked second in the world for art and design, UAL comprises six distinct colleges:
- Camberwell College of Arts
- Central Saint Martins
- Chelsea College of Arts
- London College of Communication
- London College of Fashion
- Wimbledon College of Arts
Together, they form a community of creatives, innovators, trailblazers, and storytellers, united in their mission to reimagine the future.
Courses in the visual arts, animation, screen, communication, fashion, media, and performance are available at the undergraduate and graduate levels.