Culture, Policy and Management Pathways Programme  MA

Overview

This Culture Policy and Management course is for individuals who are keen to make a difference to the arts, heritage and creative industries by developing the appropriate skills and knowledge to inform policy and practice.

The MA has been developed in close consultation with key cultural institutions and professionals to shape a curriculum that responds to the demands of the sector.

It allows you to negotiate a course of study to support your own specific career aspirations, within one of three pathways of study.

Course Fees:

  • Full-time EU: £7,500
  • Part-time EU: £4,000
  • Full-time Non EU: £12,000

Start Date:

24 September 2012

How to Apply

Entry Requirements

You will need, as a minimum:

  • a good second class Honours Degree or equivalent
  • an understanding of your country's cultural policy and have some relevant experience - this could be as a volunteer.

Other Suitable Qualifications

We understand that many of you will have experience of subsequent professional practice. Special consideration is given to applications from mature students without the required formal qualifications and those wishing to make a career change.

INTO Postgraduate Preparation Programmes

If you do not qualify for direct entry, our partner INTO City University London offers academic preparation programmes which focus on the skills you need. Successful completion of the Graduate Diploma in Social Sciences and the Arts at INTO City University London means guaranteed progression to this degree.

English Requirements

If your first language is not English, you will need to achieve one of the following English language test scores:

  • IELTS, a minimum of 7.0 in the Writing sub-category and 6.5 in the other sub-categories
TOEFL, 100 Internet-based, 250 Computer-based, 600 Paper-based
  • Cambridge Proficiency grade C or above.
  • Evidence that the medium of instruction for their first degree was in English

Your English test should have been taken in the last two years.

INTO English Language Programmes

If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter this course, our partner, INTO City University London offers a range of English language courses. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability for entry to this degree.

Please click the links below for more information.


Visa Requirements

The way that you apply may vary depending on the length of your course at City, there are different rules for:

  • Students on courses of more than 6 months
  • Students on courses of less than 6 months
  • Students on a pre-sessional English Language course

For more information see our main Visa page.

When and Where

Start Date:
24 September 2012
Duration:
One year full-time, two years part-time, or over a maximum of four years by arrangement. You can also take individual modules for continuing professional development.

Course Content

This MA allows you to follow a course of study to support your own specific career aspirations. 

You can focus on your own area of interest in your coursework and research, such as visual arts, performance arts or heritage.

Choose from the following three pathways:

  • A taught pathway, consisting of eight taught modules (2 core and 6 electives) and a dissertation
  • A placement pathway, consisting of six taught modules (2 core and 4 electives), a placement in a cultural institution and a dissertation
  • A research pathway, consisting of four taught modules (3 core and 1 elective) and a research project in an area of study of particular importance to your career.

Industry involvement

The curriculum is supported by an advisory group that includes senior figures from Arts Council England, the Barbican, the Independent Theatre Council, the Museums Association, Shakespeare's Globe and the V&A.

Our tutors have many years of experience in the sector, and our eminent professorial and professional associates give participants access to the latest ideas and developments:    

  • Robert Hewison is a writer, curator and cultural consultant    
  • John Holden is Head of Culture at the think tank, Demos    
  • Kate Oakley is a policy analyst and commentator whose main focus is on the creative economy    
  • David Powell is a consultant on cultural regeneration and cultural economics 
  • Ziauddin Sardar is one of the world's foremost Muslim intellectuals and author of over 40 books
  • Sara Selwood is a cultural analyst whose work focuses on the relationship between policy, funding and the public's consumption of the arts and museums 
  • Tim Joss is Honorary Senior Visiting Fellow. He has been Director of the Rayne Foundation since 2005.

Course Structure

Core modules

Elective modules

Teaching and Assessment

Study Abroad

Students on all pathways who are nationals of a European Economic Area member state or associated country can choose to spend three months of the course studying culture, policy and management at one of our partner universities:

  • Arhus University, Arhus, Denmark
  • Estonian Academy of Music, Tallin, Estonia
  • Sibelius Academy, Helsinki, Finland
  • Hochschule fur Musik, Hamburg, Germany
  • Groningen University, Netherlands
  • University of Barcelona, Spain

This is a wonderful opportunity to experience and compare the cultural life and culture, policy and management issues of a second country, enabling you to establish European links that can offer you social and professional advantages in future years. All the students who have taken part in this scheme have reported on the value of the experience. They have made friends, have studied a different subject or the same subject form a different perspective, or have undertaken research for their course work at City University.

Above all, they have gained an alternative perspective, an enlarged set of contacts and a better knowledge of working across borders and boundaries. Many eventually work with funding agencies, with international agencies, with the British Council or with arts organisations that want to develop international links.

Funds from the European Union's SOCRATES scheme are available to assist with the additional costs of study in another country, and City University's Centre for Language Studies provides short courses in some European languages to help prepare you for your time away.

If you would like to spend your three months studying in a different country or at a different institution to those listed above, we have an extensive network of partners in countries as diverse as the US and Canada, the Czech Republic, Italy, Poland and western Russia. These partners are outside the SOCRATES/ERASMUS scheme and are not part of a funded programme, but provide the opportunity for you to experience exactly the country or course of your choice.

Sample Course Materials

Sample reading list

Arnold, M. Kdihjl, Culture and Anarchy, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press

Chong, D. Keccel, Arts management, London, Routledge

Eagleton, T. Kecccl, The idea of culture, Oxford, Blackwell

Fees

  • Full-time EU: £7,500
  • Part-time EU: £4,000
  • Full-time Non EU: £12,000

Please note that, for part-time courses, the tuition fee is likely to increase by a small percentage in subsequent years.

Funding

For up-to-date information about tuition fees, living costs and financial support, visit Undergraduate Fees and Finance or Postgraduate Fees and Finance.

Bursaries

1. The Printroom Bursary

The Centre for Cultural Policy and Management is pleased to offer for the third year running the Printroom Bursary.

The bursary is made up of a £3,000 award and a work experience internship at the Printroom Gallery London.  The Internship will run for an amount of time to be discussed with the bursary holder between October 2012 and June 2013.

This award is for an MA (UK/EU) student who has been made an offer of a place on the MA Culture, Policy and Management programme.

To apply for the Scholarship students must submit a separate statement of up to 800 words which addresses the following:

  • How the experience of working as an assistant at the Printroom will advance your career in art gallery management and curation
  • How your previous education and experience will be of benefit to the Printroom.
Please write your name and student number on the written statement.

Shortlisted candidates are expected to visit the Printroom to become familiar with the Printroom Gallery. Please note travel expenses cannot be refunded.

The deadline for applications is Thursday 31 May 2012.  

To indicate your interest in applying for the Printroom Bursary send an email with your attached statement to cpm@city.ac.uk.  Please title your message 'Printroom Bursary'.

2. MA CPM /AHRC-funded scholarships

The Centre for Cultural Policy and Management at City University London is also pleased to announce that it will be able to award AHRC-funded scholarships to four Masters students in 2012-13.

The scholarships will take the form of full tuition-fee waivers and will be awarded to UK/EU students on the MA in Culture, Policy and Management (2012-13) either full time (over one year) or part time (two years).

To be considered for the scholarship, you must:

  • hold either a conditional or unconditional offer of a place on the MA in Culture, Policy and Management
  • submit a statement of no more than 500 words which makes the case for you to be awarded a scholarship. This statement should not replicate the personal statement made on your course application form.

We will be seeking individuals who demonstrate how participation in this MA builds on or develops their educational and/or employment career so far and how they believe that it will contribute to their career aspirations.

To indicate your interest in applying for this scholarship please send an email with your attached statement to cpm@city.ac.uk by 17.00 on Thursday 31 May 2012.  Please title your message 'CPM scholarship'.

Placements

The placement pathway of the MA includes a work placement which gives you the opportunity to work alongside professionals in the cultural sector. This module comprises two parts: part one is the preparation for the placement; part two is the placement itself.

With guidance from the module leader, each participant draws up an individual plan for the placement based on their own investigations and consideration of the placement offers made by cultural organisations. This helps you to find an appropriate host organisation which fulfils your aims and objectives. For your placement, you will carry out a programme of work, or a project, supervised by a host at the organisation. During the placement you will be visited by your module leader.

By participating in the working life of an organisation, you are expected to develop your own areas of interest, try out new skills and learn the value of effective networking. The placement lasts for 10 weeks, between April and June. The majority of work placements are based in London and embrace all cultural forms. These may range from large national organisations such as English National Opera and the Barbican Centre, to smaller ones such as Shakespeare's Globe, The Tricycle Theatre and the Wigmore Hall. Other types of cultural organisation, including funding and advocacy bodies, are also used when this is appropriate for the participant.

2009/10 placement hosts said the following:

• The Theatre Royal Stratford East said of the placement student: "She was very competent, whether working as part of a team or on her own. She handled pressure and multi-tasking brilliantly. Her background in terms of her course was incredibly valuable when thinking about how an engagement project like Open Stage would work, and could relate the aims of the project to cultural policy."

• The Akram Khan Company said the placement student "has been so helpful and initiated such important projects for us, such as a sponsorship leaflet and the renewal of our website, that we have decided to employ her until October 2010 to give her time to see these projects through".

• The Poetry Society said the CPM student "really got us to think about the way in which we plan and manage projects, encouraging us to take a step back from what we are doing and take more time with our planning. We also talked a great deal about the overall vision of the Poetry Society and about ways in which we can convey this to the public. It has been incredibly helpful having her here".

• The British Library said their placement student was "certainly one of the best interns we have ever had in our team. We are eternally grateful for the hard work and dedication she put into her work and for making her stay in our team a very pleasant one on all fronts. We were sad to see her go!"

 

Career Prospects

Former students have careers in positions as diverse as senior posts in the British Council and Arts Council England, chief executives of major theatre companies, directors of major galleries and museums, as well as in posts in opera companies and orchestras.

Many retain links with the department and some provide work placements and mentoring to current students. Some have gone on to create and run cultural management courses in Australia, Finland, Hong Kong, New York and the UK. You will be encouraged to form networks amongst your peers at City University, which will support you throughout your career.

Find out more about City University London

Application Deadline

31 May 2012 (for applicant whose first language is not English) or 30 June 2012

MA Cultural Policy and Management Pathways

You can apply either in hard copy by post or online. Please follow the instructions below carefully.

  1. One application form
  2. Two references, one of which should be from an academic referee. Either supply your referees' details on the online application form, or (if applying in hard copy) post the references to us with your application or arrange for your referees to forward them to us no later than two weeks after your application is submitted.
  3. Degree certificate and transcript (translated into English where necessary)
  4. Evidence of English proficiency, if English is not your first language.

Admissions criteria

The MA Programme attracts a very high number and standard of applications. To ensure that you have the best opportunity to gain a place please ensure that you apply as early as possible. When making an application you should note the following:

  • Each application is carefully assessed against the entry requirements and so it is important that you include all the required information with your application (for example, degree certificates, certificates of language proficiency levels and references etc). The processing of your application may be delayed if you do not include these.
  • As a part of your application you are asked to provide a personal statement. It is important that you use this opportunity to demonstrate clearly why you wish to undertake the MA in Culture, Policy and Management at City University and, importantly, that you have an understanding of the Cultural sector of your own country.
  • Our expectation is that all applicants will have a passion for the arts, and to provide details of their experience in the arts either as a performer, audience member, or organizer.

Interviews

Please note that on occasion we will arrange to interview an applicant either in person, or for overseas students, via Skype. The interview would be led by an academic member of staff and the purpose of the interview is to provide you with an opportunity to discuss your application in further detail and for the tutor to obtain further clarification or information. Those wishing to undertake the Placement or Leadership Mode should note that it is our policy to interview all candidates.

Selection process

The deadline for international students whose first language is not English is 31 May 2012.The deadline for all other applications is 30 June 2012.

Application forms 

Apply online for the taught mode:

Apply online for the placement mode:

Apply online for the research mode:

Return address

Please return all application material, marked "Applications 2012", to: Admissions, Cultural Policy and Management, City University, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB, UK.