Arts and Project Management - MA

Our MA Arts and Project Management course helps you explore how arts organisations, cultural spaces, and visual and performing arts projects are managed in different social and economic environments.

You will be introduced to arts policies in different regional and national and circumstances while gaining advanced organisational, planning and marketing skills. This prepares you for life as a professional project manager, a PhD researcher or to work in other career sequels.

This stimulating course offers you a specialist education in Arts and Project Management. You will be encouraged to develop your knowledge and understanding in order to be effective in managing and marketing the arts within contemporary culture.

What's covered in the course?

This stimulating course offers you a specialist education in Arts and Project Management. You will be encouraged to develop your knowledge and understanding in order to be effective in managing and promoting the arts within contemporary culture.

There is scope to work on live projects with external clients such as Selfridges and you will benefit from our close links with Ikon, Eastside Projects, New Art Gallery Walsall, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, and the lively alternative arts scene including: The Lombard Method, Grand Union, Trove, Stryx and MSFAC.

Our academic staff team is highly experienced. Programme leader, Beth Derbyshire has 20 years’ experience working in the creative industries as an inter-disciplinary artist and Creative Director in Design and Brand Development.

The staff team has national and international research profiles including the artist/curator, Mona Casey who has extensive experience in the creative industries and Kathryn Burns who supports entrepreneurs and small arts businesses.

You will be located at Birmingham School of Art (Margaret Street), a fine example of Venetian Gothic architecture and an impressive purpose built Grade I listed art school.

Why Choose Us?

• Birmingham School of Art is an internationally recognised centre of excellence for art-based learning and research. You will become a valued member of one of Birmingham School of Art’s Research Centres.
• MA Arts and Project Management has a growing international reputation with alumni worldwide, with strong professional profiles and working in a range of organisations.
• Professional exposure has led to employment with companies: Burberry, Cadbury, Channel 4, Fused, Games Faction, Saatchi & Saatchi, TBWA and The Mill.
• You will have the opportunity to interact with students from other Master’s courses in the School and the wider faculty/university.
• You will be supported by a highly professional staff team in a caring and supportive environment.
• We maintain excellent connections with major city centre institutions such as Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery (BMAG), Selfridges, Birmingham City Council and the Lunar Society, to name but a few, and are members of the Colmore Row Business District.
• Financial support may be available via the Postgraduate Loan initiative, Birmingham City University Scholarships, the Gertrude Aston Bowater Bequest and Mike Holland Trust.

Year on year our programme has achieved high rankings and favourable responses in the Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES). Overall full time student satisfaction in the Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) 2015- 16 for Art-based Masters programmes was 82%.

The school achieved high scores in areas such as staff enthusiasm and support, enhancement of academic abilities, research skills development, student experience and quality of delivery.

We also achieved high levels of achievement and success in other areas such as 42% of our students graduating with Commendation and 47% of our students graduating with Distinction. The survey results also reflected high levels of employment and employability as a result of studying the course.

Further Study

Many students progress from undergraduate to postgraduate study. For some it is an opportunity to build on what they have achieved so far, for others it is about consolidating what has yet come to fruition. For all it is about identifying new directions within a research context.

MA Arts and Project Management graduates have been highly successful as professionals working in the creative industries. Furthermore, if you decide to progress to higher degree research you will be eligible to apply for the prestigious M3C AHRC doctoral training award (£14.6million research fund) that enables strong research to emerge in the Midlands.

Placements

Placements are one of the possible ways of fulfilling your Research in Practicemodule and numerous students across the ABM Programme have chosen this route. There is scope for placements with a number of organisations in the city and beyond, however it is your responsibility to plan and organise your placement with the organisation you wish to work with.

Placements can last for a few weeks or for a longer period of time. They provide you with a great opportunity to gain insight into how an organisation works and your reflection on their activities can be useful to them as you develop your research. You will also find that this is a great way to meet and network with people in the creative industries. Our members of staff are able to guide and support you through this process.

Enhancing employability skills

As you study this course you will develop a set of transferrable skills such as creative problem solving, communication and presentation skills, adaptability and flexibility, independence and teamwork, and good time management.

Specific modules have been designed to address employability, for example; Managing Arts Events and Projects, Technical Methods, Workshop Practice and Learning, Small Arts Business Set Up, and Creative Publishing and Public Dissemination.

Graduate jobs

A significant number of our graduates have become highly successful arts professionals. Numerous others have been employed in a number of other professions including:

• Conference/ exhibition organiser
• Web designer
• Marketer
• Project Manager
• Fund Raiser
• Health professional
• Graphic designer
• Business professional
• Insurance underwriter
• Industrial relations officer

A significant number of our graduates have been appointed in Higher Education Institutions nationally and internationally. 

Visit the Arts and Project Management - MA page on the Birmingham City University website for more details!