Prosthetic Effects MA

Launch your career in prosthetic effects with this unique course.

Key details

Location

Falmouth Campus

Course duration

1 year

Attendance

Full-time

Course overview

Working hand-in-hand with world-class partners Gorton Studio and Millennium FX, you’ll be at the cutting edge of prosthetics, pushing boundaries and gaining industry experience from day one.

You’ll grow and refine your skills in techniques such as mould making, sculpture, life casting and 3D printing, along with special effects makeup and gore, while developing a creative portfolio and a network of contacts.

You will:

Learn from the experts by working with world-class partners Gorton Studio and Millennium FX
Develop a varied portfolio situating your creative work in an industrial and contextual background that will help launch your career
Have access to professional-standard studios and resources
Benefit from our visiting lecture series, with guest speakers from a global industry

Gorton Studio logo

Course details

Throughout this one-year course, you’ll tackle a truly multi-disciplinary syllabus, designed to meet the needs of today’s highly competitive prosthetics and special effects industries.

You’ll be in charge of your own learning, developing your own direction and specialisms, while also gaining a working knowledge of industry practice.

From module information to course aims and assessment criteria, discover the full course details

MA Prosthetic Effects with Falmouth University and Gorton Studio

Find out what to expect from MA Prosthetic Effects at Falmouth, in partnership with Gorton Studio and Millennium FX.

Course content

You’ll expand your knowledge of key programs and fabrication techniques, experience studio-based working in academic and professional contexts, and develop a critically considered portfolio. Alongside this, you’ll be introduced to contemporary debates informing the prosthetic effects industry. Workshops in design, drawing, making, presentation and industry awareness underpin your learning in this practical and vocationally focused postgraduate course.

Modules

Contextual Studies: Extending your theoretical knowledge of key contextual concepts.

Building Blocks: Your grounding the fundamental skills and processes in Prosthetics Effects production.

Industrial Context: You will develop your professional portfolio and gain exposure to real life working studios.

Breaking the Mould: Experiment with your designs and fabrication techniques to test the limits of Prosthetic Effects.

PFX Production: Focus your studies on the production and creation of an industry quality body of work.

The modules above are those being studied by our students, or proposed new ones. Programme structures and modules can change as part of our curriculum enhancement and review processes. If a certain module is important to you, please discuss it with the Course Leader.

A student creating a clay model of an old woman

A person wearing a prosthetics orange mask with a hand and a paintbrush

A student working on a model of a clay head screaming

A sculpted head of an old woman with grey hair

A model of a gorilla's head with multiple eyes

Prosthetic Effects student and lecturer in the studio

A student standing over a line of models

How you'll learn

This is a practice-based course, so much of your journey will involve learning by doing, working with the state-of-the-art facilities offered by our partners Gorton Studio and Millennium FX. You’ll also gain a grounding in context, theory, programmes and pipelines through lectures, seminars, workshops and masterclasses.

How you'll be assessed

100% of your assessment will be coursework.

Assessment methods

Portfolios of practical work
Presentations
Verbal reports
Major practice project

Portrait photo of Neill Gorton in black and white

Photo By Hasan Bitirim03

Meet Prosthetic Effects Lecturer Neill Gorton

Neill Gorton is founder and co-director of Millennium FX, one of Europe's largest and most prolific prosthetics and creature fx companies. In a career spanning 35 years Neill has won numerous industry accolades including several BAFTA and Royal Television Society awards and has also been a jury member for both RTS and BAFTA awards.

Read about Neill's career

Staff

Working in television and film production, prosthetics, design and fabrication, the teams from both Gorton Studio and Falmouth University have extensive industry experience. We pride ourselves on our industry connections, which reach beyond the UK to some of the best prosthetics effects studios around the world. This connectivity provides essential networking opportunities for our students and graduates and helps inform and shape our curriculum.

Some members of staff only teach on specific modules, and your course might not feature every staff member who teaches on the course.

Dr Anna Misiak

MA Film & Television Course Leader

Former Fulbright Scholar at the University of Southern California, Anna Misiak holds a PhD from the ...

Dr Anna Misiak

Bradley Greenwood

Lecturer, Prosthetic Effects MA

Brad has contributed to many film and television projects as a designer, make-up effects artist, con...

Bradley Greenwood

Gorton Studio logo

Gorton Studio

Directed by internationally acclaimed prosthetics designer and teacher Neill Gorton, Gorton Studio is regarded as THE place to learn the craft.

Gorton Studio

Millennium FX logo

Millennium FX

Sister company of Gorton Studio, Millennium FX is Europe’s leading supplier of prosthetics, animatronics and special make-up FX.

Millennium FX

Mark Jenkin

Mark Jenkin becomes Falmouth’s first Distinguished Professor

Mark is a BAFTA award winning filmmaker who's worked at Falmouth University as an associate lecturer for over a decade - find out more about his new role.

Facilities

The multi-million-pound, industry-standard School of Film & Television offers professional facilities including:

Life drawing studio
Motion capture/immersive studio
Workshops with rapid prototyping, 3D printing, casting, milling, welding and other fabrication facilities
Twenty-seat computer suite with key software including Z-Brush, Maya, Adobe CC, and Substance Painter, amongst others
Access to Gorton Studio
Access to Millennium FX Studio
Cinema with Christie M-Series HD projection and 7.2 surround sound

Take a virtual tour

How to apply

Talk to us

To find out more about this course, how you'll learn or what funding is available, get in touch with our Course Advisors. Click below to submit a form and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

Request information

Apply now

Ready to apply for postgraduate study? You can apply online by clicking the button below.

Apply

We welcome applications from those with relevant equivalent Level 6 qualifications. Our typical applicants hold an undergraduate degree of 2:2 or above, or equivalent experience and a demonstrable interest in the subject.

We'll also welcome your application if you have formal or 'certified' learning (such as training courses not run by universities or colleges) and learning from work experience or self-study. This is called Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL), and should have been gained within the last five years, and equivalent to the learning outcomes of our minimum entry qualifications.

APL applicants using experience to apply should note there is a £200 application fee for entry with advanced standing or with exemption from specific modules or credit.

If English isn’t your first language, you'll need to demonstrate English language skills that are sufficiently developed for successful completion of your studies. We accept a range of recognised English language qualifications that are equivalent to the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic minimum score of 6.5 overall, with a minimum of 6.0 in Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening.

International applicants who require a student visa to study in the UK must take a recognised language test that is approved and vouched for by the University. Our Applicant Services Team can help with any questions you may have about study visas or suitable language tests.

Fees, costs & funding

Tuition fees

£10,900 per year – full-time UK (£250 acceptance fee payable. This is deducted from tuition fees.)

£19,900 per year – full-time EU/international (acceptance fee up to £1,000 payable, dependent on nationality. This is deducted from tuition fees.)

£10,900 per year – full-time UK (£250 acceptance fee payable. This is deducted from tuition fees.)

£19,900 per year – full-time EU/international (acceptance fee up to £1,000 payable, dependent on nationality. This is deducted from tuition fees.)

Tuition fees are set annually and are subject to review each year. The University may therefore raise tuition fees in the second or subsequent years of a course, in line with inflation and/or the maximum permitted by law or Government policy. Students will be notified of any changes as soon as possible.

The figures above don't include accommodation and living costs

Typical course costs

£200 - £300. Additional materials may also be required on particularly complex projects, at the discretion of the Course Leader.

Study visits are included in your fees.

If you need to bring equipment or materials with you, these will be outlined in your Welcome Letter.

Postgraduate funding

There are loans, awards, graduate discounts and alternative funding sources for postgraduate studies. Read about them on our Postgraduate Funding page.

Find out about funding

Ask a student

What better way to find out about life at Falmouth University than by asking our current students?

From course details and academic support, to the social scene and settling in, our students are ready and available to answer any questions you might have. Simply set up your account, send them a question and they'll get back to you within 24 hours.

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Request information

Do you have questions about the course or studying at Falmouth? Fill in our simple online form and we'll get in touch to support your application journey.

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