The M.A. in Creative Expression course provides an opportunity for recently graduated students from BA Hons courses in the arts as well as professional already working in the industry to advance and further develop their approach to their practice as well as their outlook on their chosen art form.

BA hons courses already prepare students well in the understanding and application of their artistic discipline as well as its scope in the industry. Students leave the BA hons with the skills and knowledge needed to enter the industry. This Master’s course aims to provide students with the opportunity to explore the creative process in a more holistic way, by broadening their conceptual framework and extending their operational field within an interdisciplinary dimension.

The Master’s aims to help students build themselves as individual artists, while giving them the tools to make an impact within the ever-changing commercial and academic landscape by becoming more versatile thinkers.

The Master’s focuses on five main areas: the creative process, social community, commercial and culture.

Self Development:

Most students graduating with a B.A.(Hons) are still in the process of discovering who they are as individuals, artists, citizens, and members of a community and therefore unable to really communicate this. They might have acquired the skills, tools, and techniques to create visual work, but not the self-awareness to know what they want to communicate, or the ability to communicate that through their chosen art form. The Master's course aims to provide students with the avenue and opportunity to discover this.

With the input of individuals from outside the artistic sphere (Lecturers in Philosophy, Cultural Theory, Semiotics, Sociology etc), students are guided through projects within which they will be encouraged to discover who they are, the multiple identities they inhabit, their values, their stories, what they want to say, and to communicate this through design.

The Creative Process:

The creative process is different for every artist although there are methods and research tools which open avenues of thinking and developing ideas which benefit everyone. Unfortunately, the terms 'Research', and 'Practice' are often seen as separate activities. This Master's will instil a research and practice attitude in students that will benefit whatever project they will face.

This process, while often individualistic, should also be one of communication, sharing, and teamwork. The course was designed in a way to enhance a Community of Practitioners.

Social/Community:

MCAST aims to be a "College for the Community", keeping in contact with the world outside the college walls. Students are required to seek out and communicate with entities from outside the college, specifically NGOs, charities, local communities, or other non-profit organisations; particularly organisations that work with traditionally underserved or marginalised communities within Malta and Gozo.

Students need to determine a need with these partners and develop a project in collaboration with them. Working for entities that might not conform to traditional corporate structures and whose values and mission might orient them towards social justice and community development, with different visions and methods of operating, requires students to be adaptable in the way they communicate, build their ideas, and complete their projects.

Commercial:

It is always MCAST's goal to prepare students for the workplace. Within the Creative field, this might mean employment within an existing company, but could also mean starting one's own company, or working as a freelancer. While students graduating with a B.A.(Hons) from MCAST are provided with the skillsets required to work under pressure while following a brief, training in the tools and skills required to administer a business are often not acquired within the B.A.(Hons) degree. The Master's degree offers to bridge the gap between the current knowledge that students have, or may have acquired in their professional practice, to empower them to explore other working arrangements that will provide the best value for the student's life. Sessions on the business side of the creative arts will include topics covering intellectual property and copyright laws, accounting, taxation, and VAT obligations as well as marketing, advertising, multimedia opportunities and other topics aimed at aiding the development (both start and growth) of a creative art related business. A focus is made on the Maltese and EU realities.

Culture:

The Master's encourages each student to explore themes and topics from the point of view of various areas of study. Students receive input by individuals from different areas ranging from physics, to cultural theorists. Students should no longer only be able to create according to a brief, but be able to conceptualise a theme and develop their product to communicate it, borrowing and adapting from other art forms and areas as necessary. Students will appreciate how culture affects their work, and how their work affects and fits within culture by acquiring a better understanding of how culture is created. Students will move from coming up with a concept to the execution of that concept through their chosen art form into a project. The adaptation of different art forms and an understanding of what limits each level of the creation of culture is what elevates the work of the students to new levels.

Students graduating with the Master's in Creative Expression will re/enter the working world with a wider understanding of themselves as creators, the creative process, how different art forms and academic fields communicate and can contribute to each other in an interdisciplinary way, and how all this feeds into their personal artistic work. Graduates of the Master's will understand the social impact their art has, and have a new set of skills which will make their voice within society louder and more effective.

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Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Mqf level 6 at 180 ECTS credits or more with second class low division or higher in a creative arts subject with 30 or more practical ECTS.

Applicants will be required to show evidence of knowledge, skills and competences in the area of artistic practice that they want to focus on through a portfolio or showreel. Applicants will be called for an interview.

A letter of intent including initial Master’s Dissertation proposal ideas.

Applicants found eligible as per above, will also be asked to successfully complete a Master’s Programme Suitability Interview

In the absence of above entry requirements, applicants aged 27 years and over, can submit an application under the Maturity Clause…. but must present a recognised full qualification in the area of Creative Media Production, together with clear evidence of a minimum of five (5) years (full time) direct and relevant professional experience.

A well-structured and properly documented Portfolio to evidence this professional experience, skills and abilities in the area, is required…duly endorsed by Professional References

Applicants under Maturity Clause, will be asked to sit for a combined Maturity and Master’s Suitability Interview.

Further important information can be found under the respective Admissions FAQ https://mcast.edu.mt/maturity-clause/.

This Master’s Programme MAY be available as Full-Time delivery, if this same programme will be taking off for an International Cohort. Fees apply as will be guided by MG2i (MCAST Gateway to Industry). Information about this Master’s Programme being offered on a Part-Time delivery mode, can be found on the MG2i Website promoting such programmes – https://mg2imalta.com/.