The MA examines the relationship between art practice, culture and pedagogy and enables students to develop an innovative approach to educational research across sites for education, such as art colleges, schools, galleries and alternative spaces for art education. Previously known as the MA Art and Design in Education, the programme’s alumni go on to be key influencers in the expanded field of art education. We are therefore looking for students with strong practical and theoretical interests in shaping art education for the 21st century.

About this degree

You will learn about art education and its social and cultural impact through both practice and theory. Key issues addressed throughout the programme include access and inclusion, globalisation, embodiment, discourses of creativity, the ‘educational turn' in curation, socially engaged practice, alternative educational models and digital technologies. The programme fosters a supportive and critically engaged community in which you will gain experience of conducting research into different contexts and possibilities for art education using appropriate methodologies.

Who this course is for

This programme is for anyone interested in the intersection of art and education with experience in both teaching and art practice. We invite applications from early years, primary and secondary school teachers, university and college lecturers, curators and freelance arts educators working in formal and informal educational contexts (local communities, galleries, hospitals, museums, prisons, etc.). We also invite applications from practising artists working or planning to work in galleries, schools, universities and other educational sites.

What this course will give you

Art education at the IOE - the leading institution for education worldwide (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2021, for the eighth year in a row) - has a long and distinguished history which can be traced back to the work of pioneering art educator Marion Richardson (1892-1946).

The foundation of your career

Recent graduate destinations include:

Head of Family Learning at the Royal Academy of Arts
Freelance Artist educator at South London Gallery and Wellcome Collection
Schools and Education Coordinator, Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art
Education Project Assistant at Whitechapel Gallery
Education Officer at The Roche Court Educational Trust
Educator for Family Programmes at Skirball Cultural Centre in Los Angeles
Research Assistant, UCL Institute of Education
Community and Access at Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Employability

MA students develop confidence in articulating an educational philosophy and have a strong record of success in obtaining leadership roles in arts organisations and education.

Alumni are currently working as lecturers in further and higher education, heads of arts faculties in secondary schools, freelance artist educators in galleries and museums as well as careers advisers for the arts. Many students use the course to explore new areas of critical and creative inquiry which has led to the establishment of alternative models outside of formal education or the development of socially engaged art practices. Graduates have been very successful entering PhD programmes.