MA Contemporary Photography and Theory at Central Saint Martins
The MA Contemporary Photography and Theory course at Central Saint Martins allows students to establish their unique practice within the varied field of photography.
Course details
School: Central Saint Martins
Course: MA Fine Art: Digital
Type: Postgraduate
Location: London, UK
Course dates: September 2027, with a duration of two years (60 weeks), extended full-time
Application deadline: 17 February 2027
Course overview
MA Contemporary Photography and Theory is not committed to one notion of what photography is. Instead, it aims to provide you with the tools to locate your own practice within a broad range of contemporary art forms.
You will nurture your practice by working with reference to a number of disciplines, including performance, installation, new media, fashion and site-specific work.
You will explore the philosophy of the visual image as a melting pot of political, aesthetic and social concepts. Situating photography at the core of contemporary visual art, the course integrates theory and practice.
You’ll also research photography as a universal language of contemporary cultures. These encompass the arts, the sciences and the construction of personal identities.
The course will provide you with the tools to work in fields related to artistic production and the creative industries.
The course aims to overcome the distinction between theory and practice and to offer an experience of deep integration of making and thinking.
New media and post-internet approaches are emphasised as the language of contemporary art practice. Core activities of the course are the making, presentation and contextualisation of your work.
What will I learn during this course?
MA Contemporary Photography and Theory begins from a fluid and interdisciplinary understanding of photography, situating it in relation to fine art and through an engagement with contemporary philosophy and theory.
The course is located in photography’s ‘expanded field’, wherein traditional, medium-bound notions of what constitutes a photograph find themselves challenged by other forms of making, including film and video, installation, sculpture and assemblage, performance and painting.
Taking photography as a starting point – but not an end – this course understands the practice of image-making as central to the condition of contemporary society.
What are the requirements?
Students will need to have an honours degree or an equivalent EU/international qualification
English language requirements also include IELTS level 6.5 or above, with at least 5.5 in reading, writing, listening and speaking (please check our main English language requirements webpage).
What facilities and resources are available?
Students on this course have term-time access to a range of open technical facilities, including:
- loan store
- digital fabrication bureau
- digital labs
- digital print
- casting
- paint/surface
- photography studios
- 3D capture lab
This course also has term-time access to specialist facilities, including:
- digital media lab
- printmaking
- publications
- 3D make
- 3D make digital
What career prospects can I expect upon graduating?
Postgraduate study will prepare you for work by enhancing your communication skills, cultivating your ability to problem solve and think creatively, and nurturing your ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
Many of our graduates have pursued careers as artists. Others have gone on to enter into related fields, continued their studies and pursued teaching.
Who teaches this course?
Flora Dunster, course leader.
