Creative Arts in Australia

What you can expect from postgraduate study in Creative arts

What you're in for
This is, so far as academia is concerned, one of the newer fields of study and, like other young fields, it is still finding its feet. The cultures of two powerful and long-established social institutions — the university and the world of the arts — have mixed, but sometimes uneasily. At postgraduate level there are big differences in the extent to which the various institutions demand that students both perform/practise an art or craft and analyse/comment on it. Entry requirements vary accordingly, from those defined in terms of academic qualifications to those which use performance/practice track record as the sole criterion. The quality of programs in this field is highly variable and, for many graduates, work is difficult to find. For these reasons, those contemplating further study in this field are urged to shop with particular care. If you are interested in undertaking a research degree (along with quite a high proportion of the field’s postgraduates), you probably know already which institutions have established research programs, both in the field generally and in your area in particular. Still, it is a good idea to check out potential supervisors and the level of support that postgraduate researchers receive in the department or school you are considering. This is also a field where it helps to workshop your concepts with like-minded people so you could consider where you are going to find a critical mass of research students. For information about what graduates of various institutions think of their programs and about careers and career prospects, see details below. Depending on your particular bent you might find specialisations of interest in fields like communications, or education and training.
Who does postgraduate courses in Creative arts?
Number of students: 4,831
Percent of students over 25 years: 47%
Percent of students with a prior degree: 86%
Percent of students with Non-English speaking backgrounds: 21%
Number of international students: 817
Percent studying part-time: 53%
Percent studying externally: 8%
Percent women: 62%
Graduates view of the course experience
Teaching quality: 3 stars
Development of generic skills: 1 star
Overall satisfaction: 1 star
Your prospects
According to the national Course Experience Questionnaire survey, those completing postgraduate programs in this field are not very satisfied overall but they do rate their teachers well. They have more difficulty finding work than any other group of graduates and the work available is poorly paid.
What salary can I expect?
Graduate starting salary: $53,181
Will I get a job?
Percentage of people looking for job who did not find full-time work four months after graduation: 26%
Where graduates go when they get jobs
Public sector: 17%
Private sector: 33%
Private practice: 2%
Overseas: 17%
Do institutions differ in how they teach Creative arts?
Yes. The following 43 institutions all provide Creative arts courses. Click on the University name to see how their Creative arts courses rate and compare.
Adelaide Central School of Art
Australian Catholic University
Australian Film Television and Radio School
Australian Institute of Music
Australian National University
Central Queensland University
Charles Sturt University
Curtin University of Technology
Deakin University
Edith Cowan University
Flinders University
Griffith University
James Cook University
La Trobe University
Macquarie University
Monash University
Murdoch University
National Art School
National Institute of Dramatic Art
Open Universities Australia
Queensland University of Technology
Raffles KvB
RMIT University
Southern Cross University
Swinburne University of Technology
University of Adelaide
University of Canberra
University of Melbourne
University of New England
University of New South Wales
University of Newcastle
University of Queensland
University of South Australia
University of Southern Queensland
University of Sydney
University of Tasmania
University of Technology, Sydney
University of the Sunshine Coast
University of Western Australia
University of Western Sydney
University of Wollongong
Victoria University
Wesley Institute