MA Arts Management
Queen's University Belfast
Key Information
Campus location
Belfast, United Kingdom
Languages
English
Study format
On-Campus
Duration
1 - 2 year
Pace
Full time, Part time
Tuition fees
GBP 19,100 / per year *
Application deadline
Request info
Earliest start date
Request info
* International fee
Introduction
Our aim is to provide MA Arts Management students with:
- Advanced understanding of the subject of Arts Management.
- Advanced knowledge and understanding of the most up-to-date theories and discourses in Arts Management and how these are influencing practice.
- Knowledge of international trends in cultural policy and how they are affecting, and affected by, the practice of Arts Management.
- Essential practical skills relating to Arts Management, particularly strategic planning, financial management, business planning, and engaging audiences.
- A sophisticated level of critical and divergent thinking and expression.
- Skills appropriate to self-directed study and independent research.
- Awareness of different research methodologies and their application to the work of arts managers.
- Further developed wider intellectual and transferable skills, consistent with creative thought and independent learning.
Arts Management Highlights
Industry Links
We connect directly with a range of theatre companies, festivals, venues, local and central government bodies, and arts development agencies to ensure that students are meeting, hearing from, and working with, professionals and policymakers. Through these industry links students are supported to connect theory to practice and practice to theory to assist them in their future careers in an increasingly diverse field of work.
World-Class Facilities
Queen’s has a fantastic reputation for its study programs and facilities in drama, film, creative writing and literature, music and sonic arts, and media and broadcast production. Students have access to a packed program of events, seminars, and screenings, as well as state-of-the-art facilities: from the film studio, the Queen’s Film Theatre, the Brian Friel Theatre, the Sonic Arts Research Centre, the Seamus Heaney Centre, and the Naughton Gallery.
Student Experience
Belfast and Northern Ireland are home to a wide range of arts and cultural organizations leading in areas of community engagement. Guest speakers and industry professionals are a feature of the program. Lecturers work closely with students to ensure that their involvement with the modules and assessments on the Programme connects directly with their personal learning needs. We provide a welcoming environment for both local and international students. Students are supported and encouraged to socialize and attend local arts events together. We take intercultural education very seriously in the MA in Arts Management and believe that students on the MA can learn from one another as well as from their tutors and lecturers on the course. Students have a unique opportunity to meet and work with artists studying on other MA pathways in the School.
Career Opportunities
This MA in Arts Management will be of benefit to careers within the arts sector, in academia, and in areas of public policy. It will also provide a strong foundation for individuals looking to start their own cultural initiatives.
Employment after the Course
Former students have secured work in a range of arts and cultural organizations, ranging from theatre companies, and venues, to digital publishing companies. In addition, a number have been employed within industry development agencies, and local government arts offices or have established/further developed their own independent companies. Students regularly go on to develop Ph.D. studies in Northern Ireland and abroad.
Additional Awards Gained
There are no specific additional course costs associated with this program. Applicants should ensure they have funds to cover occasional expenses for cultural visits as well as allowances for photocopying/printing.
Graduate Plus/Future Ready Award for extra-curricular skills
In addition to your degree programme, at Queen's you can have the opportunity to gain wider life, academic and employability skills. For example, placements, voluntary work, clubs, societies, sports, and lots more. So not only do you graduate with a degree recognized by a world-leading university, you'll have practical national and international experience plus wider exposure to life overall. We call this Graduate Plus/Future Ready Award. It's what makes studying at Queen's University Belfast special.
Gallery
Curriculum
Course Structure
Core Modules
The MA consists of six core compulsory taught modules and an independent research module :
- SCA7001: Engaging Audiences
- SCA7002: Cultural Policy: International Perspectives
- SCA 7003: Contemporary Issues in Arts and Cultural Industries Management
- SCA 7004: Essential Skills in Arts and Cultural Industries Management
- SCA7005: Professional Development and Work Placement
- SCA7006: Research in arts and cultural industries management
The independent research module.
Course Details
This MA is suitable for a range of participants. Early and mid-career arts managers, who wish to develop their practice and understanding of the background, theories, and principles of arts and cultural management, will find this degree invaluable. While there is a focus on the publicly subsidized arts sector, the MA serves as a strong and valuable route for graduates who are interested in creating their own cultural ventures for self-employment and who are hoping to work across disciplines in the creative and cultural industries, heritage, and other cultural fields. Additionally, it has proven of value for creative practitioners/artists to advance their management and business development skills.
Students completing the course in full will undertake an independent research project to fulfill the requirements of a Master's qualification. Students completing the taught component will graduate with a Postgraduate Diploma in Arts Management.
Training Modules
- SCA 7001: Engaging Audiences, 2nd semester, year 2 for part-time students
- SCA 7002: Cultural policy: international perspectives, 1st semester, year 2 for part-time students
- SCA 7003: Contemporary issues in Arts and Cultural Industries Management, 1st semester, year 1 for part-time students
- SCA 7004: Essential Skills in Arts and Cultural Industries Management, 2nd semester, year 1 for part-time students*
* Students will be required to complete a pre-requisite online independent study short course in MS Excel in advance of this module. This is supplied through QUB with no additional costs. - SCA 7005: Professional Development and Work Placement, full-year module (mostly 2nd semester), year 1 for part-time students.
- SCA 7006: Research in arts and cultural industries management, 1st semester, year 2 for part-time students
- SCA8001 Arts Management Dissertation/Research Project, Semester 3 (Summer)
a. Academic Dissertation
Devise and complete an original written academic dissertation on a pre-approved topic related to arts & cultural industries management and cultural policy.
Students completing their dissertation may choose a number of forms including but not confined to:
- Critical literature review
- Qualitative/quantitative research project involving fieldwork (interviews, case studies, focus groups, surveys)
- Ethnography/autoethnography
- Policy Review (engaging in policy analysis within or across a range of fields).
Topics will be approved based on viability, clarity, relevance to the field of arts & cultural industries management and cultural policy research.
b. Consultancy Research Project
Devise, conduct & report on a research project in response to a consultancy brief devised in advance with independent arts & cultural businesses and pre-approved by academic staff.
Students develop and conduct research, liaise with client organizations, and report their findings and recommendations to a defined brief and timescale (and budget if appropriate).
Examples of this might include:
- Project evaluation
- Archival work
- Historic analysis & review
- Strategic or management review relating to planning, programming, income generation
- Market research
- Participant/audience research
- Work-based project planning & delivery
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning will involve a mixture of lectures & small group seminars. Blended learning options will combine online and in-person with significant independent study required. Taught components will be in part delivered with Industry guest speakers (professional arts managers, artists, and cultural policymakers ), study visits, and online discussion forums and interactive tools.
Assessment
Assessments associated with the course are outlined below:
- Essays
- Practical assignments (group work, case study analysis, etc.)
- Presentations (digital and in-person, group and individual)
- Independent Research Project (assessed by written dissertation or written research report + presentation)
Admissions
Program Tuition Fee
Scholarships and Funding
How do I fund my study?
The Department for the Economy will provide a tuition fee loan of up to £6,500 per NI / EU student for postgraduate study.
A postgraduate loans system in the UK offers government-backed student loans of up to £11,836 for taught and research Master's courses in all subject areas. Criteria, eligibility, repayment, and application information are available on the UK government website.
International Scholarships
Accreditations
English Language Requirements
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