Master of Fine Arts

at Massey University - Wellington Campus New Zealand

The Master of Fine Arts (MFA) has a strong collective philosophy. By bringing together students from design and fine arts, the MFA fosters intense conversations and exploration. Embed yourself in a rich dialogue about your creative practice in Massey’s transdisciplinary MFA qualification for artists and designers.

For designers and artists
Choose whether you want to graduate with an MFA in design, in fine arts or without endorsement if you believe your work cannot be framed in terms of either discipline.
We have had students join the qualification whose undergraduate training is in fashion design, photography, textile design, industrial design, graphic design, fine arts and even music.

When you study photography at Massey, you’ll be taught by award-winning photographers and designers. You’ll learn alongside other aspiring photographers in a challenging yet supportive environment.

Join the ranks of Massey photography graduates whose careers span the range from fine art to commercial, photojournalism to fashion photography.

Use state of the art digital suites and printers with technical support and explore alternative and historical wet-based photographic processes.

The Bachelor of Design with Honours (Integrated Design), you’ll select courses from two or more of the other seven majors in the Bachelor of Design with Honours. You’ll push your study beyond traditional design boundaries.

Choose courses to form a unique programme of study, in consultation with the qualification leader. You can choose courses from the following disciplines:

• concept design
• fashion design
• industrial design
• photography
• spatial design
• textile design
• visual communication design (including graphic design, illustration, advertising and branding, interaction design and more).

It’s a flexible program of study with lots of choices. You’ll be introduced to the basics of art and design:

• Creative thinking
• Visual communication
• Specialist skills
• Critical awareness.
• No portfolio is required, just passion.

The Diploma in Visual Arts is made up of eight courses from the first year of our Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Design programs.
You’ll study with art and design degree students in a range of studio and lecture-based courses. These exciting courses cover everything from critical and contextual studies to social media, painting, and digital fabrication.

The Postgraduate Diploma in Design is an opportunity for you to upskill in creative practice, modern spatial design technology, and theory.

In the Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honours – BFA (Hons) – you’ll spend two-thirds of your time in the studio, experiencing different approaches to making art, and developing your own unique practice.

The qualification isn’t media-specific so you can focus on the methods and ideas of contemporary art production, and make bodies of new work that are responsive to a variety of contexts. Work, learn, and collaborate alongside students across disciplines and year levels. You can work across a range of media, such as:

• Sculpture
• Painting
• Drawing
• Performance
• Installation
• Moving Image
• Photography
• Printmaking
• Site-Responsive Work
• Curatorial Activities
• Art Writing.

The BFA (Hons) will stretch you, ground you in art theory and immerse you in art-making, with the support of some of New Zealand’s most notable fine artists.

The Graduate Diploma in Screen Arts is an opportunity for people who have already completed a degree to add an additional subject area to their learning.

You’ll be studying with other students in courses at 200 level and above across the majors offered in the Bachelor of Screen Arts with Honours. These are:

• Animation
• Factual Production
• Film Production
• Game Development
• Immersive Media
• Media Technology
• Visual Effects

Working in a production focussed environment, you’ll respond to briefs that combine creative studio practice, storytelling, professional practice and portfolio development, using industry-standard production facilities, studios and labs.

The Master of Management (Communication) focuses on key skills that will increase your business knowledge, to help move your career in a new direction.

Perhaps you do not have previous communication experience, but have found yourself a manager of communications staff. Or you may be looking at moving into a management role in a communications area. The Master of Management (Communication) will give you the in-depth knowledge and skills for these roles.

The strategic management of communication channels within an organisation is a growing discipline. It can be very demanding, requiring an ability to multi-task and constantly re-prioritise.

The Master of Management is a professional, relevant and contemporary qualification.

It has a unique core of courses that focus on key business skills like communication, leading and working in teams, and current issues in business.

Explore and develop fashion design concepts, garments, accessories or systems that respond to the times. Consider the global impact of the multi-billion dollar fashion industry and explore how fashion can have a more sustainable future.

You’ll learn skills in idea generation, fashion communication, patternmaking, construction, materials, historail and contemporary fashion analysis, and critical thinking.

Degree-level study of fashion design teaches innovative and creative design of apparel, skills in producing patterns and prototype garments, knowledge of textile materials, market and trend analysis. This qualification will help you develop the ability to position fashion products in the marketplace.

Specialise in Media Technology for your Bachelor of Screen Arts with Honours at Massey
Creativity in new technology development can provide innovative and profitable opportunities for software and hardware solutions across a wide range of industries. In this major, you will be at the forefront of creating and developing new technology with exciting concepts and ideas across a range of platforms and applications.

You will gain and apply practical skills in software and hardware production with a view to developing innovative products for the screen and creative technology sector. You will gain an understanding of prototyping and testing systems and how to develop ideas through to producing final projects such as:

• online distribution
• lighting systems
• game controllers
• performance capture and virtual production
• production workflow solutions
• custom audio systems
• interactive and kinetic set design
• media exhibition.