Creative Practice

Master of Arts

Course Details

Course Code	SG_GCREA_M09
Level	9
Duration	1.5 years
Credits	90
Method of Delivery	Blended
Campus Locations	Sligo
Mode of Delivery	Full Time

Apply Now How to Apply

Apply Now How to Apply

Course Overview

Unlock Your Creative Potential
Are you a writer fascinated by performance? A designer captivated by sound? An architect drawn to visual storytelling? A performer dreaming in sculptural form?

At ATU Sligo’s MA in Creative Practice, the magic happens where disciplines meet. Writers, performers, designers, artists, and architects collaborate, challenge, and inspire each other, forging bold new creative directions.

With expert supervision and 60 credits dedicated to your creative practice, you’ll develop pioneering work in your field while drawing inspiration from cross-disciplinary conversations. Our students showcase their work to public audiences, turning Sligo into their creative laboratory.

Learn from leading industry professionals and engage with internationally acclaimed artists, designers, and performers—including past guest speakers like Aideen Barry, Richard Malone, and Celine Muldoon.

Set in Ireland’s culturally rich northwest, this MA is for practitioners ready to push their craft further while discovering unexpected creative dialogues. Your practice deepens. Your creative thinking expands.

Choose Your Pathway
Specialisms include:

Creative Writing, Playwriting & Screenwriting
Drama & Performance, Directing & Production
Film & Digital Media, Theatre & Performance Design
Interior Architecture
Fine Art, Design & Craft
Cultural & Creative Industries, Interdisciplinary Practice
English Literary Studies & more

You can complete your 90-credit MA in a minimum of 15 months (full-time) or take up to 5 years (part-time). You’ll undertake a blend of taught modules (30 credits) and supervised research (60 credits), choosing between:

Research-Led: A written dissertation (of up to 25,000 words) or a mixed dissertation (minimum 15,000 words) plus research artefacts.
Practice-Led: A combination of practice (60%) and written analysis (from 5,000 – 9,000 words).

Who Is This For?
Our MA is designed for those with an Honours Degree (2:2 minimum) in a cognate area who want to push creative boundaries, refine their practice, and innovate within the arts and creative industries.

Why Study at Yeats Academy?

Customisable Study: Shape your MA through research or practice.
Industry Connections: Work alongside creative professionals.
A Creative Hub: Study in Ireland’s ‘Creative West’, a region rich in artistic heritage.
Flexible Learning: Study full-time or part-time, with Friday on-campus sessions.

Ready to take the next step? Apply now and join a community of artists, thinkers, and innovators shaping the future of creative industries.

Course Details

Year 1

Semester	Module Details	Credits	Mandatory / Elective
1	Introduction to Dissertation This module prepares for advanced enquiry to inform a specific area of creative practice, or within an interdisciplinary framework, anticipating the dissertation that the student will conduct in the second and third semesters of the Masters programme. During this module the student develops their research thinking and writing, refines their research questions, aims and objectives, produces a preliminary literature review, and designs their research proposal. Concurrent modules expose students to a range of practice-based, traditional and cross-disciplinary approaches to research. The intent expressed in the student's dissertation proposal at the conclusion of the module determines whether they will choose to complete the Masters of Arts through Creative Practice or the Masters of Arts through Research. Learning Outcomes 1. Propose anoriginal research and/or creative process in response to aligned research question(s), aims and objectives. 2. Contextualise proposed research and/or creative practices in relation to extant theory and practice 3. Identify, source and manage literature to inform a preliminary literature review. 4. Selectsuitableresearch methodologies and/or creative processesinaccordance with ethical concerns 5. Planresearch and/or creative enquiry withingiven resource frameworks	10	Mandatory
1	Place, Space and Culture This module considers theories of space, place and place-making, and examines how people engage the material and social worlds of place. A range of frameworks of reading and knowing place are considered from geological, anthropological, performative, ecological, archaeological, and architectural perspectives. We investigate the social construction of place in terms of class, gender and sexuality and the impact of globalisation, modernity and postmodernity on concepts of place. We explore both the appropriation and loss of place, as well as 'placelessness' and the non-place. We consider place as change/event and as ecological relationship/interaction. We discuss ethnography as a way of looking and students will be introduced to strategies for encountering/documenting place, considering the importance of images, stories, objects, buildings, embodiments/perceptions and language in the interpretation/production of space in everyday lives. We will consider how spatial analyses can yield insight into inequalities and exclusions as well as offering the means for possible cultural or ecological interventions to reflect, challenge or transform place and identities. The ethical implications of interacting in spaces and looking will also be examined. Students will apply these studies and ethnographies to their own creative enquiries and practices. Learning Outcomes 1. Understandtheories of place and space in relation to aligned frameworks of reading and knowing space 2. Critically reflect on the experiential, material and representational dimensions of place and culture 3. Produce a piece of research that reflects understanding of theoretical concepts of place, space and culture 4. Develop a conceptual framework for ethnographic approaches to space and place 5. Apply ethnographic methodolgiesto a specific creative practice 6. Acknowledge and encompass ethical and practical issues in the design and implementation of a piece of place-related research 7. Interpret and communicate research processes and outcomes relating to place and space in a meaningful manner	10	Mandatory
1	Creative Practice Research Methods Aim: This module develops an understanding of the major critical issues in the field of creative practice as research and research for the arts and design. It introduces a range of methodologies appropriate to the production, documentation and analysis of performance, design, film, text, arts and literary practice. Content: Through an interdisciplinary approach, students will be placed in a creative and critically informed environment in which to evolve, critique and consolidate their individual practice and/or enquiry. The theatre/studio, akin to a laboratory, will be key to exploring the relationship between the creative enquiry and its critical investigatory purpose. This module will equip postgraduate practitioners and researchers with a broad introduction to constructing and designing research appropriate to their type of enquiry. Initially, students will survey divergent contemporary approaches to creative practice and research by way of analysis and engagement with critical theory, including issues of semiotics, phenomenology, ethnography, technology, gender and the body in performance. In the second half of the semester, students will work to define and engage with a particular creative research question/problem and explore their critical approaches with both supervisor and peer review support. Students will complete a final research paper/practical project that frames and supports their practice and/or research, including research documentation. Learning Outcomes 1. Demonstratein-depth knowledge and understanding ofmajor critical issues in the field of creative practice research appropriate to the production, documentation and analysis of performance, design, film, text, arts orliterary practice 2. Critically analyse and reflect upon the practitioners own work and other artists practices and contexts. 3. Source, collect,manage and reference data and literature appropriate to the learners area of enquiry 4. Demonstrate a critical understanding of the ethical and practical implications of research 5. Demonstrate the relationship between theory and methodology	10	Mandatory

Year 2

Semester	Module Details	Credits	Mandatory / Elective
1	Interdisciplinary Craft and Technique In this module learners work in a collaborative experimental environment where they challenge their thinking about making work in general and about their own practice in particular. Learners will explore the why, what, how, where of the work that they make and the why, what, how, where of their art in a broader context, demonstrating professionalism throughout the process to the final presentation for an audience. Learning Outcomes 1. explore arts interdisciplinarity within a range of contexts, with a range of artists, performers, and co-collaborators and participatein a range of public performances/presentations 2. demonstrate appropriate professional management skills for public presentation/exhibit/performance 3. developcollaborative and problem-solving skills necessary to interdisciplinary work 4. develop, enhance and informtheir ownarts practice 5. creatively generate and presentideas for an individual or collaborativeproject, performance, exploration or dissertation 6. critically analyse their own practice/performance, and that of others 7. Synthesise and evaluate thelearning in a portfolio of their work	10	Mandatory
1	Yeats Academy Creative Practice Specialisation Learners will choose ONE from a number of strands offered below: Theatre Design Acting Directing and performance Playwriting Screenwriting Performance Art/Live Art Photography and Digital Media Writing and English Literature Drama and Film Studies Writing and English Literary Studies Fine Art Creative Design Architecture Interior Architecture The course will support imaginative, experimental and interdisciplinary enquiry through a range of media and approaches. The course is structured so as to balance general and specific demands of various practices. Students will be encouraged to work collaboratively as well as be independent, self-directed critical thinkers. The emphasis of the course is on the student completing a large practice-based project. This culminates with the production of a final exhibition, film screening or project presentation with a thesis demonstrating appropriate critical contextualization of the practice based work. Learning Outcomes 1. Critically analysetheir work in a broader theoretical context 2. Documenttheir own creative specialisation pathway using written and oral skills 3. Test appropriate research methodologies for their creative practice 4. Interpretarchival materials in order to demonstrate knowledge and skills of specialisation 5. Plan, documentand reflect on their own creative process and practice 6. address ethical and practical concerns in the design of a pilot research project	05	Mandatory
2	Yeats Academy Creative Practice Dissertation Working alongside and building from the taught modules, this dissertation is concerned with advanced enquiry into a specific area of creative practice, or within an interdisciplinary framework. The individual practitioner/researcher is interested in interrogating and developing advancements in his/her chosen area. In consultation with their tutors, learners will plan, organise and deliver a successful practice-based dissertation. The dissertation may also take the form of an extended portfolio of creative work with a smaller accompanying written element. Learners will demonstrate how to develop practice-centred research thinking and writing in the first term. In the second term they will further develop skills in applied practice research and accompanying critical theory in their particular field, as well as refining their practice research question(s) in preparation for the final dissertation. Depending on the creative practice area, the dissertation assessment will depend on the learners' chosen product/artefact/realisation research-type dissertation with a 60/40 split where 60% is on the creative practice and 40% is contextualising the work in written reflective practice. 60/40 split will mean the written component will be up to 9,000 – 12,000 words with 60% as the practice or 40/60 split will mean the written component will be up to 15,000 words with 40% as the practice or Learners may also take the traditional research route where 100% of the dissertation is a written document of up to 25,000 words. Learning Outcomes 1. Produce an original body of work in practice 2. Demonstrate advanced critical research skills in relation to their selected practice 3. Communicate in written form by integrating, analysing and applying key texts and practices 4. Integrate theory and practice 5. Identify literature for review 6. Develop the capacity for self-directed learningand show the ability to manage a complex practice-based research project 7. Select and apply a suitable research methodology 8. Articulate resourcing requirements and plans within the given resource frameworks 9. Engage in a problem-based experiential learning with a progressively increasing degree of self-direction and autonomy in designing your own learning, and practical research opportunities.	45	Mandatory

Recommended Study Hours per week

Students can expect a total effort of 30 hours per week.

Examination and Assessment

Assessment is on-going throughout the year, however, there is a greater emphasis on the final module which is valued at more than half the overall credits for the MA, which sees the learner produce a substantial piece of practice, which is showcased at the end of the Summer in front of an audience of creative practitioners. Some of the rubric assessment for the practice includes knowledge breath, know-how, knowledge competence, and competence context.

On-Campus Attendance Requirement

Mandatory attendance all day on Fridays.
Note: Check programme Examination and Assessment requirements, as they may involve examinations to be taken on campus.

Download a prospectus

Postgraduate Prospectus Online, Flexible & Professional Development Prospectus

Entry Requirements

All candidates are required to submit a brief 300-word Statement of Intent that outlines their motivation for applying, their engagement with their intended Pathway Specialism, and a preliminary topic for thesis study (bullet points are sufficient).

All Candidates must also upload either:

A) a portfolio of selected work which should include relevant previous work (eg. artwork, drawings, photographs, film, podcast, or evidence of work in a cognate area).

B) a sample of writing up to 1,000 words (eg. prose, poetry, academic assignment, etc.)

Please note: You may be called to an interview. We may ask you for additional information about your work.

Fees

Total Fees EU: €6300

Candidates will be required to provide their own materials for study and research. There will be several short study trips to Irish and other European cities that students will be expected to participate in. For this, you should allow €500 plus spending money.

Total Fees Non-EU: €14000

Subject to approval by ATU Governing Body (March 2025).

Further information on fees

Careers

“Culture and creativity are the greatest assets of any society. It is our duty to do everything we can to unleash the full creative potential of our people.” Creative Ireland Programme 2017

Official statistics from the CSO indicate that a total of approximately 13,000 people were employed in Creative Sector in the West of Ireland in 2015. The industry consists of close to 5,000 companies, the large majority of which are small to micro in scale. The creative, cultural and craft enterprises in the western region have a value of €729 million. The results of the Economic & Social Impact Assessment: West of Ireland Creative Sector Report (May, 2018) suggest that employment in the overall creative sector has experienced healthy growth in recent years with more than half of all business less than five years old. It is predicted that this rate of growth will continue up to 2040. On this basis, employment in the creative sector of the west of Ireland could reach over 15,000 by the end of the decade. Our programmes are intended to support this growth and facilitate industry-led research that will promote the development of the creative industries from the region and beyond.

This course will support and encourage imaginative, experimental and interdisciplinary enquiry through a range of approaches that will enhance both your creative practice and your career opportunities.

Further Information

Who Should Apply?

This programme is suitable for anyone interested in Creative Practice in the Arts, Fine Arts, Writing and Literature, Screen Writing, Playwriting, Creative Design, Interior Design, Photography, Film Making, Theatre and Performance, Theatre Design.