Who we are

Read our Our Story and Our Centre Directors - Past & Present for deeper understanding our heritage and check out our Staff Profiles. The Centre for Cultural & Media Policy Studies brings together experts who provide a focus for teaching and research in cultural management, cultural and media policy, media and communications, culture and development, creative and social enterprise, digital cultures and research dedicated to the creative and media industries. Our distinctive approach is to engage with the practical realities of developing, building and working in the cultural, creative and media industries in the UK and beyond while having critical oversight of the ethical, ideological, strategic, conceptual and theoretical questions which lie behind practice, industry, professionalism, work and value. This approach is shaped by an ongoing commitment to preparing students for careers in the culture, media and communication industries and contributing new knowledge to a variety of disciplinary fields from the arts and humanities to the social sciences. The Centre is run by a multi-disciplinary team supported by a range of early career researchers, distinguished practitioners and visiting experts. The Centre has awarded over 1500 degrees with some students going on to PhDs at Warwick. Its alumni network is truly global and well connected across a wide range of public, private and third sector organisations. The expertise at the Centre is regularly called upon for research and consultancy work.

Our research

The interdisciplinary environment we have fostered informs our research and consultancy in the fields of cultural policy, media and cultural studies, communications, digital culture and research of the creative industries. Our researchers have been successful in securing funding from with a variety of Councils and institutions including the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the British Academy, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), and the Arts Council England (ACE). Our colleagues take leading roles in university research centres and Global Research Priorities and leading roles in external consultancy (e.g. City of Culture 2021, UK Department of Digital Media, Culture and Sport, Contemporary Visual Arts Network) as well as research and publishing in cultural and media policy that has impact (e.g. UK Centre for Cultural Value, Museums Association).

Founding members of the Centre have helped define the field of cultural policy studies, notably through the International Journal of Cultural Policy and the International Conference on Cultural Policy Research (ICCPR). In recent years, we have extended and redefined the research of culture and creativity through our interdisciplinary research and publications, through the Journal of Law, Social Justice and Global Development and contributions to journals as diverse as European Journal of Cultural Studies, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, Cultural Trends, Celebrity Studies, Emotion, Space and Society and many more. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework 90% of our unit's research outputs were rated as world-leading in terms of originality, significance and rigour 4* or judged internationally excellent 3*. Find out more about Centre members and their research interests.

Studying with us

The Centre offers opportunities for undergraduate and postgraduate study. The BA Media and Creative Industries (launched in 2020) offers an industry focused approach to media and creativity. Students may register for a research degree, leading to the award of PhD in Media and Communication / PhD in Cultural Policy Studies / Phd in Creative Industries, or for a taught Masters programme. Four taught Masters programmes are offered in International Cultural Policy and Management , Creative and Media Enterprises, Global Media and Communication and Arts, Enterprise and Development.

An international environment

The Centre forms part of an international network that connects with researchers, cultural managers and creative organisations and businesses in many parts of the world. Students joining the Centre are able to access this network, making valuable contacts for their studies and careers. We currently teach students from the UK, Austria, Bosnia, Brazil, Canada Chile, China, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Romania, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, and the USA.

A unique student experience

Teaching in the Centre is based on a ‘Warwick model’ of small class sizes, close contact between students and staff, an integrated, coherent curriculum and individualised attention to student needs and aspirations. Unlike many Undergraduate and Postgraduate courses in these fields at other UK universities our courses feature a coherent curriculum designed to fit professional as well as academic criteria. We do not run large lectures. Core modules are taught in classes of 25-35; classes for option modules are sometimes smaller. This is vital to enriching the student experience and ensuring critical and creative thinking at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. We seek to enhance the student experience through pastoral care, bespoke learning and tailored professional development. We are also pro-active in the development of new approaches to teaching and learning such as the Open Space Learning, Restorative Justice in HE Network , Illuminations, a WIHEA funded project, and the Wellbeing Pedagogies Learning Circle and engagement with Warwick Wellbeing Strategy. Find out more about our distinctive approach to teaching and learning.

Our partnerships

Public engagement is a key development of our approach to research and our teaching. Our research seeks to inform policy and to engage with industry and a wide range of practitioners, stakeholders and communities across a number of sectors. Recent partnerships that demonstrate our engagement with environmental issues have been with the UK Environment Agency, local governments and stakeholders in the water, agriculture and natural resources sectors, The Responsible Media Forum and Green Film Shooting in Germany. In the cultural sectors we have had collaborations and partnerships with The Finnish Film Institute, Spon Spun Festival, Albany Theatre, Coventry Artspace, BAFTA, European Centre for Creative Economy (Dortmund), European Partnership on Cultural and Creative Spillovers (Arts Council England, Arts Council Ireland, Creative England, European Cultural Foundation), Museums Association and the Public Monuments and Sculpture Association. Our entrepreneurial activity includes partnerships with Warwick Arts Centre, 1 Mill Street, Warwick in London and BIMA London (British Interactive Media Association), Leading Creative Talent, and the Korea Cultural Tourism Institute as examples.

Our students participate in projects to address real cultural, strategic, and commercial challenges for collaborative partners including the BBC, Common Story, GfK NOP Media, Exient Games, Association for Independent Music, Compton Verney, Royal Shakespeare Company, Belgrade Theatre, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Sampad South Asian Arts, Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Warwick Arts Centre, All3Media, AAR and the Four Seasons Group.

Staff contribute to projects on aesthetic practice, digital innovation, heritage management, arts impact and the management of media and creativity through commissioned research, collaborative projects, industry seminars, conferences and workshops and by creating partnerships and networks with key institutions and agencies both nationally and internationally. Our research pages detail some recent projects researchers have been engaged in.

We collaborate with other Warwick units including Theatre and Performance Studies, Film and Television, Sociology, the Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies, Warwick Business School and the Institute for Advanced Teaching and Learning.