Master of Arts in Fine Art

The degree provides advanced training in the field of study, including techniques of research, data analysis, and scholarly presentation appropriate to the discipline. The degree will equip the learner with knowledge and the skills necessary either for employment in a related field (including teaching and research positions) or for further independent research toward the degree of PhD.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

The institution conducts RPL in terms of the policy and guidelines of the institution to recognise other forms of formal, informal and non-formal learning and experience.

In cases where learners do not comply with the formal admission requirements, the institution applies its RPL policy.

Entry requirements

The minimum entry requirement for this qualification is

• Bachelor of Arts Honours in Fine Art, NQF Level 8.
• Postgraduate Diploma in Fine Art, NQF Level 8.

1. Identify and understand at an advanced level the main trends, themes and debates within the field;
2. Identify, debate and apply at an advanced level the main theoretical approaches developing in related knowledge areas;
3. Apply relevant methodological approaches and key research techniques;
4. Conduct advanced literature searches to inform reviews of specialised literature in the field;
5. Prepare professional papers for peer review;
6. Where relevant, apply cross-disciplinary knowledge to respond to practical problems facing societies in transition in Africa generally and South Africa in particular;
7. Prepare and present research proposals and to act as a research and policy consultant in relevant fields.

The following associated assessment criteria apply across all Exit Level Outcomes

• Conduct independent research in the discipline (or inter-disciplinary field);
• Apply in-depth and specialised disciplinary knowledge and research skills to specific empirical cases and topics;
• Demonstrate an awareness of the limitations of the research and an ability to make claims with appropriate conditions;
• Draw on discipline-based knowledge to identify appropriate cases to devise hypothesis creating and answering comparisons;
• Analyse and critique communications of an academic and popular nature;
• Prepare research reports and literature studies to established academic standards required for publication in professional journals and effectively present research in readable form to lay audiences;
• Appreciate the ethical issues associated with research and knowledge production in the discipline;
• Understand the processes whereby knowledge in the specific field of Humanities is constructed.

Integrated Assessment

The integration of skills learnt is assessed using a supervised dissertation not exceeding 50,000 words. The dissertation must demonstrate competence in the following areas, all of which are assessed in the examination of the dissertation:

• Adequate research problem formulation and development;
• Familiarity with and integration of the relevant and specialised literature that informs the research question;
• Application of relevant theoretical approaches and key research techniques at an advanced level;
• Systematic and sustained discussion and argumentation and integration of findings;
• Ability to address the normative issues that might attend the study;
• Appreciation of the methodological limitation of the study;
• Use of the publication and style conventions of the discipline.

The dissertation is subject to external examination.

The dissertation submitted by the learner doesn't have to constitute a distinct contribution to knowledge in the subject nor that the research project(s) undertaken necessarily be original.