Challenge and expand your creative thinking through making in the context of social and cultural concerns. Develop the skills to become a contemporary jeweller/metalwork creator.
Engage in the material world through critical thinking and making.
Create jewellery and objects by exploring factors which have meaning to others.
Develop skills and knowledge in studios alongside other postgraduate students.
Challenge your professional aspirations by thinking conceptually and using materials innovatively.

On this international course you’ll have the opportunity to develop your interests and ideas in a challenging and supportive environment – with an emphasis on personal research and making practices. Our staff are specialist researchers and practitioners with diverse experiences. They’ll encourage you to expand your creative practice and develop your own independent approach.

Live projects

By interacting with regional, national and international organisations in the jewellery and metalwork field, you’ll explore the world of professional practice beyond the postgraduate studio. We’ve got established links with organisations such as the Sheffield Assay Office and Sheffield Museums Trust – so you can work on live projects, masterclasses and work-in-progress exhibitions.

Field trips

You’ll be able to take part in study trips and visits to exhibitions, workshops, practitioners’ studios, conferences and debates.

Networking opportunities

You’ll be part of a vibrant interdisciplinary postgraduate environment, with extensive links to international networks in jewellery, metalwork, craft and design. You’ll also have opportunities to learn from colleagues working in the industry – and the broader Hallam academic research community – through the Art, Design and Media Research Centre (ADMRC).

We’re members of Creative UK, which means our art and design students are also members until they graduate. With 10,000 members in its network, Creative UK represents, champions and supports the UK’s creative industries, advocating on the issues that matter the most to creative communities.    

All our courses are designed around a set of key principles based on engaging you with the world, collaborating with others, challenging you to think in new ways, and providing you with a supportive environment in which you can thrive.

Our MA Jewellery and Metalwork course draws on a range of diverse discourses, so you can develop and nurture your own individual creativity.

You learn through

• immersive learning alongside peers in a studio/workshop environment
• practice-based research
• project work
• individual and group tutorials
• lectures and seminars
• constructive critical debates
• exhibitions of work in progress

During the initial modules, you’ll learn how research is embedded within creative design and material-making practices – informed by appropriate theories, methods and contexts. You’ll then follow your own personal practice with support from our specialist staff. With them, you’ll build upon traditional craft skills and digital technologies to make sense of our rapidly changing world.

Take a look at the department's Instagram to see what innovations and creations our students have been working on. 

This course prepares you for a career in

• independent jewellery and metalwork design/making
• research and product development
• company-employed design
• exhibition curation/administration
• postgraduate study at PhD level
• education
• retail/marketing
• design research
• academia
• social enterprise

Previous graduates of this course have gone on to establish their own creative enterprises, gain PhD scholarships and work for international design companies or consultancies.

 

Normally an undergraduate degree at 2:2 or above, in a related field.

If English is not your first language, you will need an IELTS score of 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in all skills, or equivalent

Important notice:

The structure of this course is periodically reviewed and enhanced to provide the best possible learning experience for our students and ensure ongoing compliance with any professional, statutory and regulatory body standards. Module structure, content, delivery and assessment may change, but we expect the focus of the course and the learning outcomes to remain as described above. Following any changes, updated module information will be published on this page.

Final Year Compulsory modules
Module	Credits	Assessment
Critical Making - Jewellery And Metalwork	60	Coursework
Ma Jewellery & Metalwork Project	60	Coursework
Material Research, Theory And Practice	60	Coursework