February
Distance education
TBC (INT) *
Overview
This 18 month distance education programme is a unique opportunity to extend your academic or professional diploma, professional certificate, higher national diploma, foundation degree or practice-based experience to BA Honours level while carrying on your professional activities.
Why study BA Professional Practice, Arts and Creative Industries (specialisation) at Middlesex University?
Our BAPP, Arts and Creative Industries (specialisation) course could benefit you if you are a practitioner in the creative and cultural industries, dance, musical theatre, music, performing arts, design, fine art, media and communication. We will enable you to develop your professional practice through engagement with a range of learning activities, culminating in a major practice-based project referred to as the professional inquiry.
The programme is delivered using a university virtual learning environment, online social networking tools, and campus sessions. This blended approach allows you to access individual support and to interact with other students in the BAPP, Arts and Creative Industries (specialisation) network during your studies.
Course highlights
- Study is focused on developing professional practice by examining and exploring the issues that are important to you through professional inquiry
- Your learning is developed through social networking web tools and supported through campus sessions
- Academic advisers will facilitate your learning and support your development throughout the programme.
- As a student of this course you'll receive a free electronic textbook for every module.
Find out more
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Course content
What will you study on the BA Professional Practice, Arts and Creative Industries (specialisation)?
This course is delivered using campus sessions and online social networking tools, with individual academic advisers provided for students on the course. You will be expected to have regular access to the web and email for the distance-learning elements of the programme.
The content of the course is mainly based on the exploration and understanding of professional practice with the introduction of relevant knowledge and skills to facilitate professional inquiry. Current practice-based experience is essential and all applicants are expected to show that they will be engaged in practice either full time, part time, paid or voluntary, or through professional engagements.
You will be assigned tasks that involve: creating blogs and wikis; reflective reports; written reports; audio-visual resources, professional artefacts, inquiry projects, and oral presentations. Students will engage in reflection upon their practice, and be expected to communicate with other students and other professionals about their studies, work and ideas. The focus is on the establishing practice of the student rather than content 'owned' or 'held' by the University. The programme introduces higher education capabilities and skills and develops professional practice. This builds in complexity, leading to a major project based upon and designed to benefit professional practice.
Modules
The programme consists of three modules:
- Establishing Professional Practice (30 credits) - Compulsory
- Principles of Professional Inquiry (30 credits) - Compulsory
- Professional Inquiry (60 credits) – Compulsory
Themes in the programme include:
- Establishing and developing reflexive practice
- Application of communication technologies
- Professional networking
- Professional ethics, inquiry planning and tools
- Carrying out a professional inquiry in the workplace or in practice
Teaching
How is the BA Professional Practice, Arts and Creative Industries (specialisation) taught?
The course gives prominence to a number of core themes, which are realised through assignments and interaction between the learning community of students and tutors.
You can find out about our learning and teaching activities by accessing our tutor and student blogs. Below are links to our tutors' blogs and from these you can access our students' blogs (they appear as followers).
Assessment
Assessments are based on a range of stated criteria, but we value an overall commitment by you to engage in meaningful dialogue on the issues and topics covered in the programme.
Entry requirements
Fees and funding
Careers
How can the BA Professional Practice, Arts and Creative Industries (specialisation) support your career?
This course will help you develop your professional practice by:
- Enhancing existing professional practice and career progression through personal development and self managed learning
- Consolidating and expanding professional networks
- Building confidence in managing professional experience to create a pathway for further study
- Converting an academic or professional diploma, foundation degree or practice-based experience into a recognised honours degree
Facilities
We are experienced in professional practice and our staff are dedicated to creating a lively and useful environment for independent learning.
Middlesex University has a large collection of resources covering work based learning and subject-based areas. We strongly encourage our learners to visit the library in person or online when working at a distance to make use of the valuable resources available there.
Campus life
Student profiles
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Anthony Gifford
Anthony Gifford is a Dance Captain on the Royal Caribbean International. With over four years’ experience of working on cruise lines he is in charge of maintaining high quality Broadway style production shows, ensuring that the Entertainment team deliver an excellent vacation experience to all guests aboard.
Anthony started his training at the Northern Ballet School where he achieved an NVQ Level 6 National Diploma in Professional Dance. His college then recommended Middlesex University’s Professional Practice degree as a way for Anthony to extend his diploma to a BA Honours degree whilst developing his professional practice and exploring issues that were important to him and his workplace through professional inquiry.
Anthony took his college’s advice and embarked on the programme, graduating from Middlesex University with a BA Hons Professional Practice in Dance in January 2016.
Reflecting on the impact and changes the programme had on his professional skills and role Anthony says “The programme changed the way I reflected upon my professional career, and was a way to channel my focus not only on the practical side of my job but my career as a whole and my professional life. A lot of people are shocked that I manage to juggle full-time work and part-time study all whilst being abroad and in the middle of an ocean but undertaking the programme has allowed me to develop my leadership skills and given me a solid foundation of organisational behaviour, emotional understanding and time management deadlines.”
As part of his research project Anthony chose to explore the impact cruise ship life had on the behaviour of its workers, specifically dancers, which helped him to understand the team he was working with better.
Discussing the impact that the qualification had on his organisation Anthony says “The qualification has given me the skills that are hard to develop when doing just a practical course, giving me the edge over people in my team. Skills such as; leadership, reflection, formal writing, communication, time management, emotional understanding and research ability has helped me develop and manage my team better, which in turn provides the company with an unstoppable workforce.
"My superiors are very impressed and it again gives me the advantage that I am a lot more qualified than the majority of their workforce, demonstrating aforementioned skills in my day to day work which is not common.”
His advice for students starting out on the programme is to never give in.
“I still reflect on the work I did with BA Professional Practice and the enlightenment that I feel even after graduating. It opens your eyes to the industry and allows you to model your own career, focus your research cleverly on something that you're passionate about as it makes the added work ten times easier.”