There is no necessity to do an MA coursein order to pursue a serious art career. I know many who graduated from my BA that are now successful and seemed to have no need for further, further education!
There are however, bonuses to taking that step, some of which I realized in advance of my application to the RCA and others that became apparent during my two years there.The most obvious being that you are allowed the extra period to
treat your study and practise as your primary concern, with fewer external and financial pressures.Studio space is better and larger than on BA courses in general and you are encouraged to think of the course as your top priority. Efforts are made to allow you to do this and should money problems threaten to interfere, there are sometimes funds available, or jobs offered you in or connected to the college that afford the least interruption to your schedule and train of thought.
The other students are arguably more likely to become professional artists in the future and the dialogue and discussion reflects this; in many ways feeling one stage further. The standard of work is higher and as a result, the competition more fierce. In some ways this can be a spur. There is a drop-off rate afterwards that I believe to be partly a result of the negative side of this.
Nonetheless, you begin to understand the importance of placing yourself among, if not against, the most talented and ambitious. You learn how and how not to conduct yourself and your career under these circumstances and under pressure. The lecturers are more likely to be practising artists (which does not in any way make them better at teaching, but is interesting and gives you another angle).
There are visits and talks from other artists and people in other fields, broadening your scope and allowing an interchange of ideas in a wider realm. You have access to excellent libraries and the colleges can facilitate access to otherwise out-of-bounds collections, archives etc. Inter-departmental movement and experimentation is also encouraged, therefore you can use the resources of film, digital media, photography and so on relatively freely and at vastly less cost.
The MA colleges are generally better funded, better equipped and more organized.
There was an overall feeling that you were being respected in your field and deserved to remain so. They provided the wherewithal and encouraged the students but you were expected to be self-sufficient and criticism was, in many ways, on a higher level.
The core ideas of your art were no longer in question. The students were treated as responsible adults and discourse on equal terms. You were made to feel that you had something potentially within your grasp that you could to take if you were up to the challenge. Lastly and importantly (and again partially as aversion therapy in order to know what to steel yourself to) you gain knowledge of the workings of the business side of the art world and some insight into the vast machine that it is.
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