Digital Arts & Humanities

Course Outline
Our MA in Digital Arts & Humanities encourages a multidisciplinary approach to the digital arts and humanities in a creative and scholarly atmosphere. Digital Humanities (DH) is a field that explores how the digital can enable innovation, but also, how technology is changing what it means for us to be human beings. Students and scholars working in the digital humanities utilise digital tools and methods to explore the arts and humanities, actively participating in building and experimenting in order to investigate society and culture.

In this course we ask the following questions:

How do new technologies impact our lives?

How do we as human beings imagine, develop and build digital tools to make our lives better?

How do we use computers to study the arts and humanities?

We introduce you to the use of digital tools and methods in arts and humanities research, combining theory and practice. You will learn how information and communications technology (ICT) can be used to capture humanities data sources to frame research questions, collaborate on research using social networking tools, and present results, both in print and online.

The MA in Digital Arts & Humanities is a one-year full-time MA. Our delivery methods incorporate blended learning and face-to-face teaching in discussion-based seminars. Blended learning incorporates online forums and social networking tools and some modules will be offered wholly or partly as workshops.

Modules (total 90 credits)

Part I (60 credits)

DH6003 Digital Humanities Institute (5 credits)
DH6013 Getting Started with Graduate Research and Generic Skills (5 credits)
DH6032 Communities of Practice in Digital Scholarship (10 credits)
DH6033 Conceptual Introduction to Digital Arts and Humanities (10 credits)
DH6034 Humanities and New Technologies: Tools and Methodologies (10 credits)

plus 20 credits from the following elective modules:

CS6102 Graphics for Interactive Media (5 credits)
CS6103 Audio and Sound Engineering (5 credits)
CS6104 Digital Video Capture and Packaging (5 credits)
CS6117 Audio Processing (5 credits)
DH6006 Teaching and Learning in Digital Humanities (5 credits)
DH6007 Models, Simulations and Games (5 credits)
DH6012 Contemporary Practices in Publishing and Editing (5 credits)
DH6014 Digital Skills for Research Postgraduates in the Humanities and Social Science (5 credits)
DH6018 History and Theory of Digital Arts (5 credits)
DH6026 Principles of Game Design (5 credits)
HA6026 Global Galleries: History, Theory and Practice (10 credits)
MU6031 Sound Studies and Musicology (5 credits)

Part II (30 credits)

DH6035 Digital Arts & Humanities Dissertation (30 credits). A dissertation of 12,000-15,000 words plus a digital artefact must be submitted by a specified date.

Postgraduate Certificate in Digital Arts & Humanities (NFQ Level 9, Minor Award): Students who pass at least 30 credits of taught modules (including DH6033) may opt to exit the programme and be awarded a Postgraduate Certificate in Digital Arts & Humanities.

Postgraduate Diploma in Digital Arts & Humanities (NFQ Level 9, Major Award): Students who pass modules to the value of 60 credits in Part I may opt to exit the programme and be awarded a Postgraduate Diploma in Digital Arts & Humanities.

The entry requirement is a Second Class Honours Grade I in a primary honours degree (NFQ, Level 8) or equivalent in any discipline.

Candidates who hold a Second Class Honours Grade II in a primary honours degree (NFQ, Level 8) will also be considered under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) subject to the approval of the programme selection committee.

Students intending to take this course will need to be proficient users of common word processing software, and basic internet tools, have a basic grasp of spreadsheet and database software, and be willing, and keen to develop advanced user skills in those areas, and explore new technologies. Where specific tools are used in the field, skills development is built into the relevant modules to raise students’ skills from those of the average MA entrant to best international norms in the Digital Arts & Humanities. The course team has significant experience in this area.

Students must submit a supplementary statement (c.750 words) indicating their potential research interests in the field, and how they envisage the use of digital tools might contribute to their research interests.

Closing Date
Rolling deadline. Open until all places have been filled. Early application is advised.

1 year full-time.

Start Date 9 September 2024

Skills and Careers Information
This course produces digitally-literate, interdisciplinary graduates who will be able to fill a variety of roles in the ‘knowledge economy’. Our graduates have gone on to pursue careers in a variety of settings, including IT, education, heritage, journalism, technical writing, publishing, galleries, design, and academia.