Professional Arts Practice MA Distance Education
The MA programme is a unique distance education programme, centred around the development of your existing professional arts practice
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Viewing course details for 2025 year of entry
- Code
- PGW49A
- Attendance
- Part-time
- Start
- September 2025
- Fees
- £10,000 (UK)* £12,800 (INT)*
- Duration
- 18 months (over 3 terms)
- Study mode
- Online
- School / Department
- School of Arts
Why study Professional Arts Practice MA at Middlesex University?
Access to the programme is based on your prior professional experience and not on holding an UG degree. The course will suit any professional arts practitioner working across the fields of dance, theatre, music, and broader interdisciplinary arts practices.
This is a unique master's level degree focused on your own professional practice. Designed for emerging and established arts-based practitioners, teacher, writers, curators, choreographers and performers. The MA is taught by distance learning, delivered entirely online so accessible internationally.
The course has established links with the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD), and the Association for Somatic Movement and Dance Therapies UK and Eire.
Course highlights
- Gain recognition and academic credit for prior professional experiences*
- Globally recognised master's level qualification, access from anywhere in the world
- Centres you and your professional practice at the heart of your MA degree
- Develops your practice through research.
*Please note that, normally, credit towards a new qualification must have been gained no more than five years before the programme of study commences.
About your course
You will study in depth your own area of professional practice. Starting with engaging with theories and processes of reflection you will begin to identify key moments of learning in your professional experiences (module one). You will then consider an area within your practice that you identify as being of significant interest/having the potential for further development and engage with concepts of research design and frameworks for practice-as research (module two), to develop a proposal for an independent research project that you will undertake, guided by your supervisor in the third and final module of the MA. You will develop skills in reflective practice, research design, practice as research methodologies, analysis, reflective writing, communication through practice and theory.
Through online discussion groups, guidance from your Supervisor and your module handbook, you are encouraged to position your professional knowledges through reflecting on your prior experiences and learning, culminating in a submission of a portfolio giving context to your practice.
RPL - alongside this module, you will also be guided through making a claim of 80 additional credits that will be awarded to you as a Recognition of Prior Learning.
In this module you will choose an area of your practice to research in depth and explore any existing work related to your chosen subject. This is a chance for you to explore your own work and to look at the work of other practitioners and researchers and explore new paths for your practice.
By the end of this module you will have produced a detailed research proposal that relates to your own industry practice. You will have accessed key sources, gained preliminary investigative experience and critical analytical skills that will further enhance the final phase of this course, as well as your career.
In this final module you will carry out the research proposed in the previous module and critically review the implications it has on your chosen area of industry practice. This is a chance for you to explore your chosen subject in greater depth; collect, analyse and evaluate data; articulate your research within an academic framework and through dissemination to your field of practice.
As part of this module you will complete a critical review, give an oral presentation, and produce a professional artefact. The oral presentation and the artefact allow you to find ways other than the written word through which to articulate your research.
On completing this module you will be able to demonstrate a high level of knowledge and skills in your chosen area of industry practice, with transferable skills in reflective study, research and critical analysis.
To find out more about this course, please download the specification for the Professional Arts Practice MA (PDF) .
Register your interest
Sign up now to receive more information about studying at Middlesex University London.
Teaching
You'll be taught by an experienced teaching team with a wide range of expertise and professional experience.
Distance learning, online via zoom, blogs and one-to-one supervisions.
This course will be taught online.
One assessment point at the end of each module (x3 modules in total).
Assessments methods are multi-modal – practice-based, written, and presentation.
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North London campus
Our north London campus is 23 minutes away by underground train, travelling from London Kings Cross.
Learn moreCareers
How will MA Professional Arts Practice support your career?
- Development of existing professional practice
- Advancement/promotion in this field, access to entry onto higher level qualification (PhD/DProf)
Entry requirements
Qualifications
- Demonstrable prior professional experience in an arts related field
- No undergraduate degree is required where professional experience is held
Additional requirement
Access to internet.
Qualifications
- Demonstrable prior professional experience in an arts related field
- No undergraduate degree is required where professional experience is held
Additional requirement
Access to internet.
Application online plus interview for selected candidates to ascertain prior professional experience and interest in area of arts-based research.
Fees and funding
The fee structure for this programme is unique, given that it only runs part-time (over 18-months) and utilises prior learning to award you credits. The total amount you pay for the whole course (as well as a breakdown of what you pay per module) is listed below. Please note, that unlike many PG courses, there is no ‘dissertation’ module on this course, so information found on the generic postgraduate funding page and elsewhere across the University’s website may not be relevant. Please always refer to this page and programme documentation for the latest fee information.
The fees refer to students commencing in 2025/26:
UK students1
The total tuition fee for the course is £10,000.
£100 per taught credit (100 credits in total)
Year 1 of study (2 terms: Sept - May)
ACI4001 10 credits
ACI4002 30 credits
(80 credits RPL are claimed in this period but do not incur fees)
Year 2 of study (1 term: Sept - Dec)
ACI4003 60 credits
International students2
The total tuition fee for the course is £12,800.
£128 per taught credit (100 credits in total)
Year 1 of study (2 terms: Sept - May)
ACI4001 10 credits
ACI4002 30 credits
(80 credits RPL are claimed in this period but do not incur fees)
Year 2 of study (1 term: Sept - Dec)
ACI4003 60 credits
For more information and to answer your frequently asked questions, please visit our postgraduate funding page.
Fees disclaimers
1. UK fees: The university reserves the right to increase undergraduate tuition fees in line with changes to legislation, regulation and any government guidance or decisions. The tuition fees for part-time UK study are subject to annual review and we reserve the right to increase the fees each academic year by no more than the level of inflation.
2. International fees: Tuition fees are subject to annual review and we reserve the right to increase the fees each academic year by no more than the level of inflation.
Any annual increase in tuition fees as provided for above will be notified to students at the earliest opportunity in advance of the academic year to which any applicable inflationary rise may apply.
Fees and funding
The fee structure for this programme is unique, given that it only runs part-time (over 18-months) and utilises prior learning to award you credits. The total amount you pay for the whole course (as well as a breakdown of what you pay per module) is listed below. Please note, that unlike many PG courses, there is no ‘dissertation’ module on this course, so information found on the generic postgraduate funding page and elsewhere across the University’s website may not be relevant. Please always refer to this page and programme documentation for the latest fee information.
The fees refer to students commencing in 2024/25:
UK students1
The total tuition fee for the course is £9,800.
£100 per taught credit (100 credits in total)
Year 1 of study (2 terms: Sept - May)
ACI4001 10 credits
ACI4002 30 credits
(80 credits RPL are claimed in this period but do not incur fees)
Year 2 of study (1 term: Sept - Dec)
ACI4003 60 credits
International students2
The total tuition fee for the course is £12,600.
£128 per taught credit (100 credits in total)
Year 1 of study (2 terms: Sept - May)
ACI4001 10 credits
ACI4002 30 credits
(80 credits RPL are claimed in this period but do not incur fees)
Year 2 of study (1 term: Sept - Dec)
ACI4003 60 credits
For more information and to answer your frequently asked questions, please visit our postgraduate funding page.
Fees disclaimers
1. UK fees: The university reserves the right to increase undergraduate tuition fees in line with changes to legislation, regulation and any government guidance or decisions. The tuition fees for part-time UK study are subject to annual review and we reserve the right to increase the fees each academic year by no more than the level of inflation.
2. International fees: Tuition fees are subject to annual review and we reserve the right to increase the fees each academic year by no more than the level of inflation.
Any annual increase in tuition fees as provided for above will be notified to students at the earliest opportunity in advance of the academic year to which any applicable inflationary rise may apply.
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