Art in Science MA

Why study this course with LJMU?
The MA Art in Science programme brings artists and scientists together to work at the intersection of disciplines. It provides exciting opportunities for artists and scientists to collaborate across the visual arts and the world of scientific inquiry, and facilitates discussions and interactions between subjects that have traditionally been studied in isolation in Higher Education. This provides opportunities for innovation and critical creativity, and encourages students to produce art-science research that may have a real world benefit to society.

About this course
The MA Art in Science programme explores the rich and complex intersection of disciplines through meaningful collaboration between artists and scientists.

Art and science are often seen as two different entities with very separate ideas of what constitutes research. Increasingly, collaborations between artists and scientists are a feature of our cultural landscape. Traditionally this relationship has been perceived as art in the service of science, whereby artists use their skills to visually interpret or communicate complex scientific ideas, objects or forms. However, a hybrid form of research has emerged over the last 30 years where artists and scientists are interested in the creative possibilities and speculative futures of the intersection of these two cultures.

The MA Art in Science programme is an exciting opportunity for artists and scientists to explore the boundaries of art and science, and encourages students to consider, adopt and implement a range of interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary or transdisciplinary methods, to refine, extend, develop and critically reflect upon their own practice, enhancing the skills that they bring with them to the programme and those that they develop during their studies.


• Enrol on an innovative programme, collaboratively developed with academic experts across a number of disciplines that include: Art and Design, Sports Science, Microbiology, Forensics, Public Health, Astrophysics, and Botany.



• Explore the relationship between art and science, including the historical and theoretical connections between art and science as cultures and practices, and understand how these ideas translate into contemporary experiences.



• Develop real world skills and decide which areas of art and science you wish to investigate as you progress through the programme.



• Design and deliver art-science practice-based or practice-led research projects in unexpected forms.



• Enjoy access to a number of different established art and science research centres across Liverpool John Moores University.



• Take advantage of the generous Michael Pugh Thomas and Julia Carter Preston Legacy £1000 scholarships offered to postgraduate applicants.



• Apply for postgraduate Susan Cotton travel funding to expand your research and cultural experience.



• This programme is also available in part-time study mode.



Learning takes place predominantly through workshops lectures, seminars, reading groups and studio crits. You will study themes related to art-science interactions; studio/lab practice at the boundaries of disciplines; visualising the unseen and objectivity/subjectivity; ethics of display of human remains; anatomical and medical art; arts in health and graphic medicine; bioart, biohacking and bioethics; transhumanism and digital bodies; working with humans in research, and art-science public engagement.

You will be able to access a number of different research centres and cultural institutions across Liverpool to support your learning experience, including the World Museum Liverpool, Liverpool Medical Institution, Astrophysics Research Institute, Research Institute for Sports and Exercise Sciences, Public Health Institute, Forensic Research Institute, and Institute of Art and Technology.