MA, PG Cert, PG Dip Art, Health and Wellbeing

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Introduction

Push your art practice and creativity beyond existing boundaries, towards ethical, practical, and inclusive approaches addressing global health and wellbeing challenges, and make a positive contribution to society, healthcare, and planet through ethical and systemic creative interventions.

Julia Johnson

“I worked in mental health contexts with people who have experienced mental health issues, to use therapeutic photography to convey and communicate their experiences, and those images were used to assess the value of that experience for each participant.”

Julia Johnson

Senior Lecturer and Course Leader, BA (Hons) Photography

Meet Julia

In a world that needs people to stay well, recover faster, manage long-term conditions, and experience a better quality of life, art professionals have never played such a central role - tackling physical, mental and social wellbeing as well as considering all forms of human productivity, strengthening local relationships, and building strong communities through art-based interventions and creative approaches that are connected, shared, and intelligent.

Study MA Art, Health, and Wellbeing at ARU, and develop the theoretical, practical, and leadership skills, understanding and knowledge that are critical to creating dynamic and inclusive forms of participatory research and practice, community engagement and resilience building, and creative urban culture.

You’ll gain a broad understanding of ethical and future health from the perspective of art and will tackle mental, physical, emotional, and social wellbeing issues in a global context by rethinking existing places, environments, and communities including reducing individual loneliness and isolation, increasing prosocial behaviours, reducing aggression and discrimination, and improving social consciousness.

ARU has been ranked in the top 20% of universities in the world for Good Health and Wellbeing in the 2023 Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings.

Course options

Course options

Key facts

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Entry Requirements

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Fees and Paying for University

Facilities and showcase

Industry-standard equipment

All our students have access to:

  • the full Adobe Creative suite
  • Apple iMacs
  • wide-format printers and scanners
  • vintage printmaking presses
  • letterpress machine
  • a 3D workshop
  • photography equipment, including digital cameras and lighting kits.

Our team of technical officers will be on hand to offer training and support.

Futures Lab and workshop equipment

Our new digital workshop includes a variety of computer aided manufacturing machines, helping you learn up to date manufacturing and design processes as well as supporting many traditional techniques. These technologies include:

  • 3D printers and scanners - FDM printers; material-specific extruders; SLA Formlabs printers; SLS Formlabs Fuse1; structured light 3D scanners
  • 2D printing and cutting machines - laser cutters; Roland BN20 vinyl printer & cutter; Gerber substrate cutter; Mimaki TX300P sublimation printer.

Take a closer look

Our Creative Showcase shines a spotlight on what makes ARU creative and cultural – our spaces, places and people. Find out more about our community, the difference we make, the stories we tell, and the things that inspire us.

Meanwhile, Present is an exhibition that you curate for yourself. Explore the work of our graduating students in this eye-catching virtual degree show.

Alternatively, take a guided tour and meet our students.

Careers

Our MA Art, Health, and Wellbeing will help you achieve a career within the public, private, and third sector in roles such as:

  • Health and Social Care Researcher
  • Psycho-Social Interventionist (physical/digital)
  • Culture and Community Innovator
  • UX/UI Artist/Researcher
  • Health and Wellbeing Strategist
  • Social Service Artist/Designer
  • Health and Wellbeing Experience Artist/Designer
  • Wellbeing Consultant
  • Creative Health Specialist
  • Health Policy Advisor
  • Wellbeing Artist.

All of our modules integrate professional practice, and you’ll be introduced to different aspects of the creative industry by the teaching team and external guests. This will help you develop an appreciation and awareness of the changing role of creatives and artists, and the increasing responsibilities within potential career paths. Your awareness of current practices and responsibilities will develop at an early stage of your studies, particularly in the Care Ethics and Care Practices modules.

You’ll also use the Personal Development Planning (PDP) tool to record, map and review your employability skills and experience across the course, and engage with employability and career development supported by academic and technical staff as well as the ARU Employability Service and ARU Enterprise and Innovation. These in-house centres provide:

  • daily drop-in sessions
  • careers advice and guidance
  • workshops covering job search, making applications, and designing CVs
  • interview preparation
  • Job Fairs, employability events and presentations from employers
  • job opportunities, internships, and work placements.

Graduation doesn’t have to be the end of your time with us. You could choose to continue your academic career with a PhD programme at ARU. Take advantage of our Alumni Scholarship and save £400 on your fees.

Apply now for MA, PG Cert, PG Dip Art, Health and Wellbeing

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Do you have a question that we haven't answered so far? Talk to our application experts. You can also ask our Student Ambassadors about life at ARU.

We're here Monday-Thursday 9am-5pm (please note we close at 3.30pm on the first and third Thursday of the month for staff training), and Friday 9am-4.30pm.

Watch video

60 Second Seminar

Dr Idrees Rasouli considers how our use of creativity has changed.

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Benefits of postgraduate study

Improve your employability, progress in your career, and take on an intellectual challenge with our flexible postgraduate degrees.

Postgraduate study at ARU

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