MA Contemporary Art Theory & MA Research Architecture

We are open for applications to the MA in Contemporary Art Theory and MA in Research Architecture for entry in September 2025. Scholarships deadline: March 31, 2025.  

The MA Contemporary Art Theory is for those passionately drawn to contemporary art, and those who desire to reshape or contribute to its theoretical understanding today. Through thematically organised core and elective modules it explores a range of theoretical and political perspectives that have helped shape contemporary art and visual culture – and our relation towards them. Our programme draws on and responds to the shifting fields of performance studies, art history, continental philosophy, ecology, feminist theory, queer theory, postcolonial/decolonial thought, and cultural studies. All teaching is research-led and delivered by a team of staff who are leaders in our field. We host internationally renowned artists, philosophers, activists, curators and filmmakers—including our award-winning alumni!—to share their research with our community in our termly thematically organised Public Programmes. Recent themes have included “Race and/as Technology,” “Terminal Tourism,” and “Volatility Cultures.” 

Further information and details of how to apply here, or email the Programme Leader Professor Simon O’Sullivan s.o’sullivan [​at​] gold.ac.uk.

The MA Research Architecture is for graduates from a range of disciplines who want to examine how space and the built environment engage with questions of contemporary culture, politics, law, media, ecology, and justice. It focuses on the ways that spatial practice can become a form of research. You’ll join a diverse group of students to work collaboratively on a five-week real-time investigation as well as on a year-long individual research project; benefiting from peer-to-peer learning alongside the practical and intellectual guidance of our teaching staff. Studio work will be combined with theoretical reflections in either the Research Architecture or Forensic Architecture studio stream of the MA. Lectures, seminars, and technical workshops equip you with grounding in critical spatial practices and related areas of inquiry, while the theoretical module provides thorough coverage of the historical, philosophical, and technological aspects of the intersection of space, power, and conflict in light of changing geopolitical conditions.  

Further information and details of how to apply here, or email the Programme Leader Professor Susan Schuppli s.schuppli [​at​] gold.ac.uk 

Information about the Centre for Research Architecture: here. 

For applicants who may benefit from a bridging programme between their previous experience and postgraduate study, we offer a Graduate Diploma in Contemporary Art History 

Further information and details of how to apply here, or email the Programme Leader Dr Alice Andrews a.andrews [​at​] gold.ac.uk .

Scholarships
For 2025–26 we offer one full-time Home student and one part-time first year Home student scholarship (tuition fees only) for the MA Contemporary Art Theory. 

Each year the Forensic Architecture agency offers a full-time MA Research Architecture scholarship that covers tuition plus a monthly stipend for a Home or International student. Please note your interest in any of these scholarships in your application.  

Scholarships deadline: March 31, 2025.