Master of Arts - Art Therapy

The MA Art Therapy course is approved and accredited by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and recognised by the British Association of Art Therapists. It has been rated as intellectually stimulating by 100% of students in the Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey, 2023. Graduates of the programme are eligible to apply for professional registration as art therapists or art psychotherapists with the HCPC, provided the registration requirements are met, and may also apply for full membership of the British Association of Art Therapists.

The programme provides first-hand, practical experience of clinical art therapy practice, supporting the development of clinical reasoning and professional identity. Learning is integrated through Independent Scholarship, including examples such as the MA Art Therapy Exhibition and the annual environment sculpture project, Big Wood. The course emphasises the centrality of the image and the role of imagination in art therapy, offering supervised clinical practice, group work, studio practice, and a critical understanding of current theoretical ideas.

Students are assigned a personal tutor to monitor overall progress. The course requires engagement in a minimum of one hour per week of personal therapy throughout the training, conducted with an Art Psychotherapist, which is a requirement for professional registration (at the student’s own cost). This training equips graduates with the qualifications and experience needed to pursue professional registration as art therapists or art psychotherapists with the HCPC.