Why choose the School of Arts and Creative Industries
Learn from specialist tutors able to take your existing skills to the next level within advertising design; animation; graphic design; fashion; illustration; interior design or architecture; photography; motion graphics; and more.
Work in a vibrant, creative studio space with industry-standard facilities, equipment and software.
In the Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey 2025, the University of Bedfordshire ranks in the UK top 10 for skills development; we rank UK 29th overall.
About the course
Spanning a range of art and design disciplines, this Master’s is taught by specialist tutors able to develop your practice and take your existing skills to the next level within the areas of advertising design; animation; graphic design; fashion; fine art; illustration; interior design or interior architecture; photography; motion graphics; and interactive design. It prepares you to exhibit or realise your work in a number of professional environments including galleries, museums and public, community, commercial or industry settings.
For further course information, contact Rebecca Meanley at rebecca.meanley@beds.ac.uk
Facilities and specialist equipment
Our Alexon building offers a lively studio space with:
- image-processing software
- moving image software
- high-definition photographic equipment and dark room
- 3D workshop with a laser cutter; vacuum former; and a variety of drills, saws and other tools
- print room offering a range of printing options including large-format fine art printing (up to A0); textile printing; risograph printing; and extensive screen-printing equipment
- high-quality photo screen-printing
- vinyl cutter
- Access to a 3D printer and CNC machine
Industry links
You may work on live briefs for companies such as Bedford Creative Arts, London Luton Airport, Luton Town FC, Luton Culture Trust, Departure Lounge Gallery, MK Gallery, Kirk and Kirk Eyewear, and Penguin Books as well as taking part in collaborative projects with leading art and design practitioners.
Student experience
Work the way you would in the creative industry, collaborating in teams across disciplines in a studio environment in a way that develops wider creative thinking.
Gain experience by working on live briefs; submit for national competitions and deliver cross-discipline projects while building a research and practice portfolio.
Take part in course visits to artist studios, external lectures and exhibitions, either locally or farther afield, and expand your professional knowledge and skills at talks and workshops with visiting speakers.
Attend our weekly ‘World of Work’ guest talks from a wide range of creative-industry professionals, who share their insight into paths to employment and establishing yourself as an independent creative.
Take on freelance commissions with the support and advice of the University’s Careers and Employability Service.
Given our proximity to London, benefit from frequent, industry-relevant field trips to the capital (Tate Modern, the Royal Academy and Gagosian) as well as local arts and culture venues such as The Culture Trust, The Hat Factory, Wardown Park Museum and Stockwood Discovery Centre.
Support for postgraduates include one-on-one tutorials with your personal tutor as well as professional and academic support.
Course Leader - Rebecca Meanley
Rebecca Meanley received her Masters in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art in 2003, having previously studied at Nottingham Trent University and Glasgow School of Art. Rebecca is an artist living and working in London, exhibiting internationally. She is Senior Lecturer in Visual Art Practice part-time in the School of Art and Design at the University of Bedfordshire. Her primary practice is abstract painting; writing is a symbiotic practice and photography is used as a continual archival process in the studio.
Course Leader - Rebecca Meanley
Rebecca Meanley received her Masters in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art in 2003, having previously studied at Nottingham Trent University and Glasgow School of Art. Rebecca is an artist living and working in London, exhibiting internationally. She is Senior Lecturer in Visual Art Practice part-time in the School of Art and Design at the University of Bedfordshire. Her primary practice is abstract painting; writing is a symbiotic practice and photography is used as a continual archival process in the studio.
Course Leader - Rebecca Meanley
Rebecca Meanley received her Masters in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art in 2003, having previously studied at Nottingham Trent University and Glasgow School of Art. Rebecca is an artist living and working in London, exhibiting internationally. She is Senior Lecturer in Visual Art Practice part-time in the School of Art and Design at the University of Bedfordshire. Her primary practice is abstract painting; writing is a symbiotic practice and photography is used as a continual archival process in the studio.
What will you study?
Year 1
Context and ideas - Explore how art and design shape culture and society. Exploring materials and methods - Try out different tools, techniques, and materials in creative projects. Thinking through making - Turn your ideas into visual art using various media. Making images - Learn how to create still and moving images in studio and outdoor settings.
Year 2
Developing professional practice - Build a portfolio that reflects your creative work and industry awareness. Collaborative enterprise - Work independently and with others in real-world creative settings. Context and meaning – Explore global ideas and theories behind visual culture. Art and design: developing materials and methods - Strengthen your studio practice using focused creative techniques.
Year 3
Art and design: final major project - Create a personal body of work for public exhibition. Creative futures - Prepare for your career after graduation. Critical and creative contexts - Explore current ideas and debates in art and design.
How will you be assessed?
A range of appropriate assessments will enable you to grow in confidence and demonstrate your acquisition. You should provided you have engaged in the course be able to meet the demands of formal summative assessment in your stride. The requirements for assessment range through the types listed below.
Since self-directed practical projects are at the heart of learning activities they will logically be the subject of assessment. Formative and summative assessments of practical assignments are seen as an important method of ensuring your understanding developing relevant cognitive and practical skills and of ensuring personal creative development and progress.
Continuous appraisal by both peer review and your tutors is a feature of the course and although there are no end-point examinations summative assessment is carried out in relation the work that you produce as part of the course. This will predominantly be based on an accumulation of the work that is done as a result of a research enquiry that is initiated and developed by you engaging in a range of activities as part of its production.
The following are examples of the various assessment methods used:
- Coursework to include examples of creative practice in an appropriate medium associated research material notebooks research reports essays contextual writing.
- Assessments based on individual presentations.
- Portfolio reviews are a key means of assessing but they are also important for collating work for presentation in a professional context such as an interview.
- Essays and reports feature in developing your writing skills helping you to express ideas in a variety of ways and styles and to develop academic writing skills that are of particular benefit in producing a contextual rationale for your major project.
Careers
This course will equip you with the skills required to establish your creative practice at a professional level working as an independent artist or designer.
Enter into small and large art and design enterprises including museums; galleries; advertising agencies; design agencies; and other businesses and institutions with internal design departments.
Entry Requirements
Entry Requirements
Entry Requirements
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard fee for a taught Master's degree for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £10,000 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees and living costs. Visit www.gov.uk/postgraduate-loan
Alternatively if you have any questions around fees and funding, please email admission@beds.ac.uk
International 2024/25
The full-time standard fee for a taught Master's degree for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £16,900
If you have any questions around fees and funding, please email international@beds.ac.uk
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard fee for a taught Master's degree for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £10,000 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees and living costs. Visit www.gov.uk/postgraduate-loan
Alternatively if you have any questions around fees and funding, please email admission@beds.ac.uk
International 2024/25
The full-time standard fee for a taught Master's degree for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £16,900
If you have any questions around fees and funding, please email international@beds.ac.uk
Fees for this course
UK
The full-time standard fee for a taught Master's degree for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £10,000 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees and living costs. Visit www.gov.uk/postgraduate-loan
Alternatively if you have any questions around fees and funding, please email admission@beds.ac.uk
International 2024/25
The full-time standard fee for a taught Master's degree for the Academic Year 2025/26 is £16,900
If you have any questions around fees and funding, please email international@beds.ac.uk
