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Situated practice is a key development in arts and humanities, where expertise comes not from a focus on a pre-defined discipline or subject (for example art, architecture or design) but from a creative and critical position that operates beyond these categories. This pioneering programme leads students into making work that is situated physically and engages with contemporary social, cultural and political conditions.
Key information
Please note
Unless otherwise indicated, the information on this page relates to September 2019 entry. The information for September 2020 entry will be launching in the online Graduate Prospectus shortly. Applications for most postgraduate taught programmes will open 1 November 2019.
Programme starts
September 2019
Modes and duration
Full-time students study for 37.5 hours per week during term time. Typically, lectures and seminars occur on two days per week. Part-time and Flexible students normally attend half this amount.
Application dates
Tuition fees (2019/20)
Note on fees:
The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Fees for subsequent years may increase or otherwise vary. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website.
Full-time: This fee is for the whole programme and is charged in Year 1. It’s payable in 3 equal instalments (31 Oct, 07 Feb, 02 May). No fees are charged in Year 2.
Part-time: This fee is for half the programme and is charged in Year 1. It’s payable in 3 equal instalments (31 Oct, 07 Feb, 02 May). The second half is charged in Year 2 and is subject to an inflationary increase (3-5%). This fee is payable in 3 equal instalments (31 Oct, 07 Feb, 02 May). No fees will be charged in Year 3.
Note: PG Loan payments do not align with the tuition fee instalments.
Fees for flexible, modular study are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session.
Entry requirements
A minimum of a second-class UK degree in an appropriate subject or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. A design/creative portfolio is also expected. Applicants will be asked to submit a portfolio of their design work once their completed application has been received, and should not send or upload work until it has been requested.
English language requirements
If your education has not been conducted in the English language, you will be expected to demonstrate evidence of an adequate level of English proficiency.
The English language level for this programme is: Standard
Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.
International students
Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.
International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below.
Select your country:
About this degree
This MA programme has broadly two goals:
- to provide a high-quality stand-alone qualification which trains critical, innovative and transdisciplinary practitioners in the making of projects which address the specific concerns of particular sites, and develop modes of research response and propositional transformation appropriate for those sites
- to provide high-quality practice-led research training to enable students to carry out future doctoral and action research in the field.
Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits.
The programme consists of three core modules (75 credits), one optional module (15 credits), and the 'Major Project' exhibition module (90 credits).
Compulsory modules
- Situated Practice: Research Methods (15 credits)
- Mediated Environments (30 credits)
- Critical Spatial Practice: Site Writing (30 credits)
- Situated Practice: Major Projects (90 credits)
Optional modules
- The Open Work (15 Credits)
Alternatively students may choose one optional module from across UCL, with agreement of the Programme Director and relevant department.
Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability is subject to change.
Dissertation/research project
This module is based around the preparation of an original piece of situated practice, first in the form of a live intervention on site, then documented through an artist’s book, and finally remade in an exhibition format.
Fieldwork
There will be one field trip (optional) annually as part of the programme. Students will also conduct their own original spatial research into a specific site of their own choosing for their Major Project.
Teaching and learning
Tutorials and seminars are the leading teaching methods, together with lectures, group-working, writing workshops, research seminars, film screenings, and reviews of student work by Bartlett School of Architecture staff and visiting researchers. There are building and gallery visits in London and further afield, and an annual field trip (optional). Modules use these advanced-level teaching approaches to encourage innovative student-led work.
Additional costs
The maximum fieldwork cost to the student is £500.
Funding
Information on funding opportunities may be found on UCL's main Scholarships and Funding page
The Bartlett has offered some funding to Master's students in recent years. Please see The Bartlett Masters Scholarships for current funding and scholarship details.
Scholarships relevant to this department are displayed below.
Bartlett Masters Scholarship
- Note:
- Deadline is 26 April (4pm GMT)
- Value:
- £10,000 (1 year)
- Eligibility:
- UK, EU, Overseas
- Criteria:
- Based on financial need
Brown Family Bursary
- Note:
- Now closed for 2019/20
- Value:
- £15,000 (1 year)
- Eligibility:
- UK
- Criteria:
- Based on both academic merit and financial need
For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.
Careers
Situated practice is internationally understood as encompassing activity and research in curatorship, public engagement, event design, creative regeneration, participation design and activism, site-writing, situated film and video-making, information design and new media work, communication design and publishing, online environment design and civic media, and management of associated institutes.
Employability
The combination of networks, knowledge and technical expertise makes graduates of The Bartlett some of the most sought after in the world. Graduates of this programme will leave with the skills and expertise that relate to a rapidly expanding and evolving sector in industry, including a strong understanding of appropriate methodologies in art and design practice-led research. In addition, students will develop site-related ‘situated practice’ projects. These may vary from physical installations, to digital interventions and to site writings and will establish the foundation for their final thesis in the field.
Why study this degree at UCL?
Situated practice is a rapidly growing and highly active post-disciplinary domain; a popular example would be the 2016 winner of the Turner Prize, a street regeneration project in Liverpool by the artist and architect collective Assemble in collaboration with local residents.
Situated Practice MA graduates will be uniquely educated and highly equipped to pioneer new forms of hybrid practice between art and architecture in domains of urban design, spatial design, event design, critical and theoretical writing, performance, and craft.
Located within The Bartlett School of Architecture, the programme will examine the fertile territories where the discipline of architecture cross-pollinates with the other creative arts. The neighbourhood of Hackney Wick, where the programme will be located, is home to the greatest concentration of artists in the UK.
Department: Bartlett School of Architecture
Application and next steps
Applications
Students are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.
There is an application processing fee for this programme of £75 for online applications and £100 for paper applications. Further information can be found at: www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/graduate/taught/application.
Who can apply?
The programme is suited to those who aspire to work toward understanding and enlivening the environment we live in. We accept people with multiple aims, whether you wish to gain core skills for a research degree, are in employment seeking continuing professional development or looking toward an academic career.
Application deadlines
- All applicants
- 26 July 2019
For more information see our Applications page.
Apply nowWhat are we looking for?
We invite applications from candidates with a passionate interest in new forms of situated practice, innovative forms of research dissemination, and new architectures of exhibition and installation. With a clearly trans-disciplinary ethos, we are looking to recruit candidates from diverse backgrounds and previous experience in the fields of art, architecture, curatorship, public engagement, event design, creative regeneration, participation design, performance, ethnography, activism, writing, filmmaking, information design and publishing.
Page last modified on 18 October 2019