MA Arts, Festival and Cultural Management

You will study the following modules:

• Strategy and Sustainability within Cultural Organisations (20 credits): This module will support students to critically reflect on economic, social, and environmental sustainability in the arts and cultural sectors and develop strategic knowledge, skills and competencies to contribute to a more sustainable future.
• Contemporary Debates in Cultural Policy (20 credits): This module will provide students with a critical understanding of key cultural policy debates that impact the work of managers in the cultural and creative industries. They will look at policy in a critical manner and assessments include a short article as well as a longer essay examining the function of policy in regards to the cultural sector.
• Designing Qualitative Research (20 credits): This module will prepare students to undertake a postgraduate research project by developing their knowledge and understanding of qualitative research methodologies and methods. Students will interrogate their own assumptions of knowledge production and research, and the assessment (a Lit Review and Research Proposal) can be used as a mechanism to prepare for the dissertation project
• Fundraising, Finance and Development (20 credits): This module will equip students with a critical understanding of the principles and practices of fundraising, development and financial management. The assessments invite students to examine financial support mechanisms (eg, completing a funding application or designing a sponsorship pack) as well as financial literacy exam. This module marks our course as quite unique in this regard.
• Planning and Marketing Cultural Projects (20 credits): This module will provide students with a critical understanding of the principal skills, techniques and practices necessary to manage and evaluate arts and cultural projects. This modules looks at the practical realities of managing and evaluating cultural projects and learning occurs around hypothetical projects that the students plan in groups.(Note: if you can prove you have already undertaken significant experience within this study, you can opt to take another 20 credit module from the School of Arts, Social Sciences and Management)
• Managing Relationships in the Arts and Cultural Sector (20 credits): This module will provide students with a critical understanding of the principles and practices of managing relationships in arts and cultural organisations and will support students to become reflective practitioners, confident in their ability to employ and adapt theory in relation to the organisational contexts in which they may work. Students will attend field trips and hear from experts in the field who will talk about their practical realities as cultural managers. This is the module that also houses the ‘industry-based experience’ element

Progressing to an MA?

• Dissertation Project (60 credits): For the MA you will also complete a dissertation project. Through undertaking a self-directed project that suits your strengths, interests and career aspirations, you will have the opportunity to undertake a substantial piece of work that will develop your academic rigour, professional skills, independence and self-direction. This can be a 12,000-word research dissertation; or a Business-planning document (eg a Feasibility study) along with a 5,000-word critical reflective essay; or a Cultural Project with associated portfolio of evidence and 5,000-word reflective essay.