General entry requirements

Minimum requirements

2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in a related subject

English language requirements

You can find out more about our English language requirementsLink opens in a new window. This course requires the following:

• Band B
• IELTS overall score of 7.0, minimum component scores of two at 6.0/6.5 and the rest at 7.0 or above.

International qualifications

We welcome applications from students with other internationally recognised qualifications.

For more information, please visit the international entry requirements pageLink opens in a new window.

Additional requirements

There are no additional entry requirements for this course, however we may ask you to write a short essay, attend an interview, or respond to a set of questions to satisfy the course selection panel of your suitability for the course.

Core modules

Culture and Global Sustainable Development

This module 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- from local communities to the United Nations-level development programmes globally. 

We will explore the place of culture, art and creative enterprise specifically within the global discourses of Sustainable Development. We will assess how development projects have always had a ‘cultural’ dimension, whether this has been acknowledged or not. We use case studies to look at how global ideas and policies are interpreted "on the ground" — using business enterprise, arts curating and administration, project management and political protest.

Creativity, Community and Enterprise

This core module considers the practical potential for using creativity, the arts and culture in socially-based Development. In this module we will examine creative enterprise and local realities. How does enterprise work? What is creativity in practice? 

To do this, the module tackles questions around how enterprise and culture have been proposed as a solution to ‘development’ problems. What does this type of creativity offer that more established approaches to development do not? What can the creative economy do that the mainstream economy cannot?  

We will explore the opportunities of creative/arts and/or cultural models of development, whilst examining the limitations of these theories, policies and practices. The central purpose of this module then is to critically explore the tensions and contradictions in the use of economic models, models of business enterprise and entrepreneurialism for social, local and community development. You will be encouraged to develop both your theoretical knowledge and practical skills to understand the complexities involved with engaging the arts in community development problems. 

Project Management for Cultural Enterprise

In this module, the student group will engage in collaborative practical work and 'apply' the academic learning of the MA course to address a real-world development problem. The subject of this module is Project Management (PM) as an established range of methods and tools, but applied to a cultural event. The event will be situated either on the Warwick campus or the City of Coventry, and will offer students a practical opportunity to devise a PM methodology appropriate to the cultural industries (a creative process as well as experience), and learn the skills required to apply their methodology. The cultural event will be developed in dialogue with a tutor(s), who will open the module with a series of coordinated lectures and seminars on PM and the challenges of cultural enterprise.

Research Design

This module aims to prepare you for your Major Project, which is a substantial piece of independent research on a topic of your choice. The module 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 provide you with the skills 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 have a broad understanding of research methods in the cultural, creative and media industries.

Plus the following:

Major Project

The Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies is an interdisciplinary centre for teaching and research in the fields of cultural and media policy and the creative industries. The commitment to interdisciplinarity is reflected in our Major Projects, where you will be encouraged to draw on approaches from across the humanities and social sciences in producing your work. Successful projects can emerge from creative engagement with scholarly debates, from the design and analysis of original empirical work, or from some combination of these. This openness of approach is also reflected in how Major Project research can be represented.

Optional modules

Optional modules can vary from year to year. Example optional modules may include:

• Cultural Entrepreneurship
• Developing Audiences for Cultural Organisations
• Marketing and Markets
• Media, Policy and Markets
• Managing Creativity for Sustainable Development
• Museums and Cultural Policy
• Working in the Cultural and Creative Industries

All students will take one optional module.

Read more about the MA in Arts, Enterprise and Development on the Centre's website.Link opens in a new window

Teaching

You will learn in an international environment through interaction with academic experts and industry practitioners.

The core modules are taught through a combination of lectures, workshops and student-led presentations and discussions. These sessions are complemented by self-directed learning and access to resources and activities in a virtual learning environment.

The course is designed to facilitate participation and critical reflection and in some modules you will have the opportunity to apply your learning in a professional context.

Class sizes

We traditionally limit class size to 20-35 students on each of the three taught Master's courses.

Typical contact hours

Typical contact hours range between 6 to 10 hours each week for core teaching - this excludes additional tutorials, workshops, and research seminars.

Assessment

• All coursework
• Written assignments come in a variety of forms: essays, case studies, evaluations, reports, proposals, portfolios and business plans
• Group presentations and creative and practical projects
• A major project (written dissertation of 12,000 words) on a research topic of your choice

Additional course costs

For all MA courses, the cost of field trips or off-campus assignments are estimated to cost between £100-£200, although this will depend on which option module has been chosen or the nature of a project or placement undertaken for an applied management module.

Reading Lists

If you would like to view reading lists for current or previous cohorts of students, most departments have reading lists available through Warwick Library on the Talis Aspire platform.  

You can search for reading lists by module title, code or convenor. Please see the modules tab of this page or the module catalogue.   

Please note that some reading lists may have restricted access or be unavailable at certain times of year due to not yet being published. If you cannot access the reading list for a particular module, please check again later or contact the module’s host department.

Your timetable

Your personalised timetable will be complete when you are registered for all modules, compulsory and optional, and you have been allocated to your lecture, seminar and other study groups. Your compulsory modules will be registered for you, and you will be able to choose your optional module when you join us.

Your career

Graduates from the Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies have gone on to work in television, film, communications, data analysis, theatre, museums, art galleries, events, festivals, UN agencies, NGOs, charities, arts and educational organisations, research, PR, publishing and have even set up their own businesses.

Employers for our graduates include: UNESCO, UNCTAD, BBC, UK government, local arts in Coventry, Birmingham and London, and around the world, city government, and start-up creative enterprises.

We have a dedicated professionally qualified Senior Careers Consultant offering impartial advice and guidance together with workshops and events throughout the year. Previous examples of workshops and events include:

• Discovering Careers in the Creative Industries
• Careers in Radio Film and Television
• Warwick careers fairs throughout the year
• A history and DIY Guide to setting up and running a Theatre Company

Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies

We are internationally renowned for our excellence in the teaching and research in the policy, management, development, enterprise and industry of culture, media communication and creativity. Our approach is based on a critical engagement with both the practical realities of working in the cultural sector and the ideological and conceptual questions which lie behind them.

Find out more about us on our website.Link opens in a new window

Our Postgraduate Taught and Research courses

• Arts, Enterprise and Development (MA)
• Creative and Media Enterprises (MA)
• Cultural Policy Studies/Creative Industries/Media and Communication (MPhil/PhD)
• Global Media and Communication (MA)

Tuition fees

Tuition fees are payable for each year of your course at the start of the academic year, or at the start of your course, if later. Academic fees cover the cost of tuition, examinations and registration and some student amenities.

Find your taught course fees  

Fee Status Guidance

We carry out an initial fee status assessment based on the information you provide in your application. Students will be classified as Home or Overseas fee status. Your fee status determines tuition fees, and what financial support and scholarships may be available. If you receive an offer, your fee status will be clearly stated alongside the tuition fee information.

Do you need your fee classification to be reviewed?

If you believe that your fee status has been classified incorrectly, you can complete a fee status assessment questionnaire. Please follow the instructions in your offer information and provide the documents needed to reassess your status.

Find out more about how universities assess fee status

Additional course costs

As well as tuition fees and living expenses, some courses may require you to cover the cost of field trips or costs associated with travel abroad.

For departmental specific costs, please see the Modules tab on the course web page for the list of core and optional core modules with hyperlinks to our Module Catalogue (please visit the Department’s website if the Module Catalogue hyperlinks are not provided).

Associated costs can be found on the Study tab for each module listed in the Module Catalogue (please note most of the module content applies to 2022/23 year of study). Information about module department specific costs should be considered in conjunction with the more general costs below:

• Core text books
• Printer credits
• Dissertation binding
• Robe hire for your degree ceremony

Scholarships and bursaries

How to apply

Applications are now open for courses that start in September and October 2025.

Applications will close on 2 August 2025 for students who require a visa to study in the UK, to allow time to receive a CAS and complete the visa application process.

How to apply for a postgraduate taught course