MRes Arts Welcome Guide

Preparing for your course

We're delighted that you've chosen to join our creative community at Arts University Bournemouth. We can't wait to see what you'll create.

Welcome to the MRes Arts course

This welcome pack is designed to give you an idea of what to expect during the first weeks of your course. Please take the time to read it carefully and take particular note of the pre-course preparation. We hope that you'll enjoy a happy and productive time with us, and we look forward to meeting you.

A message from your Course Team

It gives us great pleasure to congratulate you on gaining your place on the MRes Arts (Master of Research). We look forward to welcoming you to Arts University Bournemouth when you arrive.

Be prepared for an exciting, challenging and stimulating year ahead, where you'll be developing your own research project by engaging with the varied expertise across the University.

We will do our best to support you and your studies while you are with us. We encourage you to be creative in your research and take part in discussions and debates within and beyond your area of study. You will, therefore, be instrumental in shaping your experience of the course and we are very much looking forward to your contribution.

– Dr. Willem de Bruijn, Course Leader and Dr. Emma Shercliff, Course Tutor

Before you join us

There's no Summer Project, but we encourage you to read and explore texts as well as visit exhibitions and events relevant to your research proposal. This will prepare you with an awareness of current themes in contemporary culture. Writing will form an important part of your studies, so it'd be good practice to develop a writing habit, for example by keeping a blog or a reflective journal.

The Library here at AUB is well-resourced and its staff will support you in assembling a list of key texts relevant to your research. The list below contains some general references indicative of research in and across the creative arts and design. All of these are available from the Library at AUB.

Bruno, G. (2007). Atlas of emotion: journeys in art, architecture and film. London: Verso.
Carter, P. (2004). Material thinking: the theory and practice of creative research. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press.
Gray, C. and Malins, J. (2004). Visualizing research: a guide to the research process in art and design. Aldershot: Ashgate.
Mäkelä, M. and Routarinne, S. (eds) (2006). The art of research: research practices in art and design. Helsinki: University of Art and Design Helsinki.
Smith, H. (2009). Practice-led research, research-led practice in the creative arts. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Taussig, M. (2011). I swear I saw this: drawing in fieldwork notebooks, namely my own. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Walliman, N. (2020). Your research project: designing, planning and getting started. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.