Master of Arts - Curating and Collections
- 1,5 years
- Duration
- 30,890 GBP
- Price
- September
- Start
- June
- Deadline
- Master
- Degree
- Campus
- Format
- London / United Kingdom
- Location
Program description
The MA Curating and Collections programme at Chelsea College of Arts combines practical and theoretical curating with a special focus on archives and collections. You'll learn through contextual studies and hands-on work, handling objects, curating displays, and developing public programming within an ethical and equitable framework, with access to UAL's extensive collections.
The course benefits from strong links with UAL research centres and industry, bridging academic learning with real-world application to prepare you for a successful career in curating and collections management.
Program structure
- Unit 1: Introduction - Global curatorial practices, histories and collections
This introductory unit familiarises you with the course, college, and university while broadening your understanding of key global curatorial issues. You will develop skills for a sustained curatorial practice, explore approaches to reinterpreting objects, and examine how curators collaborate with living artists, supported by theoretical sessions, collection studies, and site visits.
The curriculum integrates considerations of sustainability, equity, social justice, and decolonial and feminist perspectives, with academic and language support to enhance your writing and presentation skills.
- Unit 2: Production - Curating, contexts, collaboration
In Unit 2, you will work in Curatorial Research Labs with peers, using UAL's physical and digital collections to devise a research and curatorial development plan through a step‑by‑step process. Professional Practice sessions will build your industry knowledge, covering curatorial working practices, equity, inclusivity, and transferable skills in project development, writing, fundraising, and communications.
Working in groups, you will curate interventions using archival sources and engage with industry partnerships to inform a proposal for your self‑directed practice in Unit 3.
- Unit 3: Synthesis - Self-directing your practice
In this final self-directed unit, you will work off‑campus with an Advisor to identify an appropriate organisation, collection, or network as the site for your project. You will develop your final project through in‑depth research, a work experience opportunity, a proposal, or critical reflection, focusing on honing your communication and presentation skills, culminating in a presentation at the Curators’ Assembly at Chelsea College of Arts.
Price
Tuition fee:
- 30,890 GBP per education*
*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 minimum entry requirements for this course are:
- BA (Hons) degree in a related subject or equivalent academic qualifications
- Statement about your interests
- Curatorial project proposal
Entry to this course will also be determined by the quality of your application, looking primarily at your Statement About Your Interests and Curatorial Project Proposal.
Applicants who do not meet these course entry requirements may still be considered in exceptional cases.
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 Statement About Your Interests and Curatorial Project Proposal
- 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 6.5 or above, with at least 5.5 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.
