Course Director: Dr. Jamie Larkin

Teaching:

The core modules are taught through a combination of lectures, workshops, seminars and student-led presentations. The course is designed to facilitate participation and critical self-reflection. You will engage in discussions and debates about development policies and strategies, and learn how to solve the problems faced by enterprise start-ups and projects in the development field. Depending upon your selection of optional modules you will also have the opportunity to apply your learning in a professional context.

The MA in Arts, Enterprise and Development enhances your research, writing and communication skills through report and evaluation writing. You will learn professional methods for the analysis of enterprises and undertake case studies on particular countries, cities and projects. Field trips and practical projects will enable you to experience regional arts and cultural venues and organisations with your fellow students. Throughout the degree, you will also be guided and supported through personal tutorials so that your postgraduate study at the Centre will equip you with the professional skills you need for your chosen career path.

Contact Hours:

Typical contact hours range between 6 to 10 hours each week for core teaching – this excludes additional workshops, research seminars and guest speaker sessions.

Class Sizes:

There are between 25 to 30 students on each of the four taught Master's courses.

Assessment

• All coursework (course-based written assessment only).
• Written assignments come in a variety of forms: essays, case studies, evaluations, reports, proposals, portfolios and business plans.
• Group presentations and tasks, team building exercises, and creative and practical projects.
• Major Project represents a significant body of research and writing on a topic of your choice supervised by an experienced researcher.

Core Modules:

There are three subject-based core modules and one skills core module (Research Design). The subject-based modules offer an overview of the discourses of arts, culture and development, the nature of artistic production and the function of enterprise in global and local contexts.

As a student on the MA in Arts, Enterprise and Development you will complete four core modules:

Culture and Global Sustainable Development

examines the global policy frameworks for culture, arts and development: the ideas, aspirations, ethics and policy strategies for using the arts, culture and creative industries within human, social and urban development.

Creativity, Community and Enterprise

explores instances of arts and cultural enterprise within local contexts. It will look at cases and examples and ask practical questions on creativity, leadership, management and running an enterprise.

Project Management for Cultural Enterprise

gives you skills-based knowledge on how to plan, organise and implement your creative ideas, producing something tangible and something aiming for social impact.

Research Design

This is the Common Centre skills-based Core module. This module aims to prepare you for your Major Project (see below.) It will equip you with a broad understanding of relevant research methods from which to select an appropriate approach for your own project. It will introduce you to ethical dimensions of research. It will equip you to write an effective proposal (including research questions, rationale, explanation and justification of research methods, identifying relevant literature and data sources). By the end of the module you should be ready to submit your proposal and equipped with a broad understanding of research methods in the cultural, creative and media industries field.

The final part of this Masters course is the 'Major Project'. The Major Project is the culmination of your learning and where you establish your expertise in a specific area by conducting your own major research project, supervised by a scholar in the field. You may want to work in a large international organisation, local government or community, or you may be an artist or entrepreneur who wants to devise your own business or organisation. To find out more please click here.

Optional Modules:

In addition to your four core modules, you will be able to determine the appropriate balance between applied and theoretical work by completing one optional module from a list available to all taught Masters students within the Centre.

Previously the suite of modules from which to choose have included:

• Developing Audiences for Cultural Organisations
• Cultural Entrepreneurship
• Sustainable Creativity for the Cultural Industries
• Understanding Cultural Work
• The Global Audience

If you would like to view the full list of optional modules, please visit this page.

* The modules mentioned above and on our optional modules page may be subject to change. Please read our terms and conditions for more detailed information.

The course is designed for students seeking a role in the field of development such as working for a NGO or a third sector organisation as well as those looking for careers and entrepreneurial roles in the cultural and creative industries. Past students have taken up roles such as executives, account managers, creative directors and production managers in a wide range of organisations including; public and community arts organisations, large and small scale development aid agencies, the United Nations and registered charities.

The course is also an excellent platform for PhD study if you are considering a research career in academia or industry. To find out more about PhD study at the Centre, please visit this page.

We maintain close links with Centre alumni who regularly notify us of job opportunities and work closely with advisors in the University Careers Centre who also offer specialist workshops and advice sessions.