University of Southampton: Progressive degrees for arts and humanities postgraduates

University of Southampton, Faculty of Arts and Humanities

09 Oct 2019

Holding onto the principles of the arts and humanities while upskilling with modern theories and practices, is fundamental in the face of a changing future.

That’s why the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the University of Southampton is a diverse, globally facing and locally connected centre of excellence for research, teaching, outreach and enterprise.

Rethinking the past, enriching the now and connecting students to a successful future, the faculty has a broad selection of progressive degrees to harness your passions and professional aspirations in the arts and humanities, safeguarding your skills for the future worlds of work.

Reaching 1^st place in the UK for its music department, 3^rd place in the UK for its film studies and 4^th for philosophy disciplines in the 2020 Guardian Universities League Table, this faculty is a creative and academic force to be reckoned with.

Spanning two student-friendly towns, the Winchester School of Art (WSA) is based on the university’s Winchester Campus and the humanities subjects are based on the Avenue Campus in Southampton.

Where artistic talent is valued

Once the ancient capital of England, Winchester has an iconic cathedral, contemporary live music venues and a great selection of restaurants and shopping spots.

Home to an art school with a social heart, the Winchester Campus is ideal for students who require access to the Creative Services Centre.

University of Southampton

As you can see through the virtual open day tour, the campus centre supplies a a range of traditional and digital facilities including large scale printers, a flat-bed printer, a laser cutter, a 3D printer, a T-shirt printer and a Mimaki wallpaper printer, in addition to industrial sewing machines, multi-thread overlockers for woven and knitted fabrics and large hand screenprinting tables.

The school provides high-quality workshops with specialist technical staff and a photo-media area for photography and video, a large editing workshop, a gallery to display students’ latest creations and a specialist library to aid students with their creative pursuits.

In addition, there’s a dedicated Students’ Union on site, along with an art and design supplies shop and a campus café offering meals, snacks and drinks, all of which can be viewed through this virtual tour.

And with trains to London that take less than an hour, and Winchester station just a 10-minute walk from campus, what more could you want from your artistic studies in Winchester?

That’s why Mina O’neill-Bains from Canada enjoyed her time studying at the Winchester Campus.

“My highlights have definitely been living and studying in the gorgeous town of Winchester. The campus is beautifully situated in nature and located a short walk from the town centre. Walking through Winchester’s old streets and exploring the markets has been a highlight as well as excellent stress relief. And it feels like I am experiencing a bit of history as well as true British culture!”

Benefiting from her study programme’s contemporary framework, Mina also had the freedom to explore the different social and cultural implications that come with the development of the digital age.

“While looking at how the internet and mobile media are changing the way people communicate, I greatly enjoy being able to explore the viewpoints that different communities have on media communication and address the ethical debates that come as a result,” she notes.

Mina O’neill-Bains. University of Southampton

With postgraduate study programmes such as the MA Contemporary Curation, the MA Design Management, the MA Fashion Marketing & Branding, the MA Global Advertising & Branding, the MA Textile Design and the MA Fine Art available, the Winchester Campus is where a world of international creative talent unites.

Where humanities heighten graduate prospects

Boasting a £2.8m Archaeology building that has specialist bone, stone, ceramic and isotope sampling labs for the study of archaeological finds, as well as seminar and research rooms, the Avenue Campus at the University of Southampton is the place to study if you want to heighten your humanities career.

With a digital humanities room that offers video editing technology and its very own library that houses the Humanities course collection and a collection of 4,000 films in many modern languages for viewing on-site, Avenue Campus complements the old with the new.

At the Avenue Campus, you’ll be a short walk away from the main Highfield Campus and nestled next to the lush green spaces of Southampton Common. And through the virtual tour, you’ll also notice that the campus has private tennis courts, a picturesque courtyard and a popular student café.

Career-focused courses at the Avenue Campus include the MA Film & Cultural Management (1 year) degree, allowing you to examine the impact film has on society, and the MA International Music Management (1 year) programme, where you’ll develop an understanding of the global music business, from live performance to recorded music for streaming, advertising, video games, film and new media.

Benefiting from the faculty’s strong links to professional creative venues across the city, such as the Nuffield Theatre, John Hansard Gallery and Turner Sims Concert Hall, the faculty encourages you to learn key business skills through direct engagement with local venues and masterclasses from industry partners such as Sony and Universal.

Plus, with the chance to partner with award-winning student societies, including Wessex Film, SUSU TV and musical societies covering all forms and genres, professional development will flow naturally at Southampton.

As arts and humanities alumna, Li Tang from China affirms, “In Southampton, there are so many opportunities to improve yourself. In terms of studying, there are many excellent teaching and learning resources located within a great environment. I am also encouraged to explore what I’m interested in, from wonderful lectures about history and culture, to seminars and EAP courses.”

Another new route available is the MA Global Literary Industries Management (1 year) at the Highfield campus, with exclusive access to world-class curators, theatre directors and novelists, this degree explores the most significant and innovative developments in the literary industries, including new media, online and interactive publishing, gaming and narrative and literary tourism.

University of Southampton

Bringing together the specialisms of archaeology, English, film studies, history, modern languages and linguistics, music, philosophy and the Academic Centre for International Students (ACIS), at the Southampton Faculty of Arts and Humanities, there’s always something new to explore.

And always open to enquiries, you’re welcome to contact the university’s international office to determine where a degree could take you, or you can check out the new scholarships offered to international students who apply for Arts and Humanities PGT courses.

As Li adds, “You’ll get to experience a different life in the sea city of Southampton. It’s a brilliant location with great weather and all kinds of facilities, like museums, gyms and galleries. Come here and start a colourful journey.”

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