MSc International Festival & Event Management

Develop practical skills in international festival and event management on our leading course, whilst in the worlds leading festival city

Edinburgh is the most famous festival city in the world with more than 70 years’ history of arts and cultural festivals. Visitors from all over the globe travel to this tourism-friendly capital city every year to experience its renowned arts and cultural festivals alongside its thriving portfolio of entertainment, business, and sporting events, making it a great place to study international festival and event management.

This Masters degree will equip you with the knowledge you need to successfully plan, coordinate and manage international festivals and events, and to devise policies and strategies for the festival and event industry. It also contributes towards professional accreditation with the Institute of Hospitality.

Course details

You’ll develop skills such as formulating policy and planning for the future, as well as developing your softer skills in the likes of time management, project management, and formal presentations.

You’ll also develop business and marketing skills that relate specifically to the design, management and evaluation of large and small-scale events and festivals with an international focus.

Through lectures, guest speakers and case studies, you’ll develop an advanced understanding of the contemporary issues and key concepts involved in the international festival and event industry.

With our close connections within Edinburgh’s festivals community, and the large number of tourist ventures and operations in or near the city and further afield, you’ll have plenty of options for part-time work and opportunities for employment after graduation.

If starting in January you may have the opportunity to gain some of your own work experience by gaining employment within the sector during Edinburgh’s summer festivals, for example the Festival Fringe, International Festival, or Jazz and Blues Festival.

Modules

Modules that you will study* as part of this course

• Business Skills for Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management (TSM11121 )
• Case Studies in International Tourism ( TSM11105 )
• Contemporary Issues in Festivals and Events ( TSM11123 )
• Contemporary Issues in Hospitality Management ( TSM11107 )
• Destination Marketing ( TSM11120 )
• Developing Intercultural Competence in the Workplace (LNG11120 )
• Dissertation ( TSM11130 )
• Experience Design and Management for Tourism, Hospitality and Events ( TSM11114 )
• Festival and Event Management ( TSM11124 )
• International Business Event Management ( TSM11113 )
• International Sales Management ( SAL11101 )
• Managing Heritage Tourism ( TSM11104 )
• Managing International Hospitality Organisations ( TSM11122 )
• Natural Area Tourism ( TSM11116 )
• New Venture Planning ( ENT11101 )
• Professional Selling and Sales Strategies ( SAL11102 )
• Research Methods ( SOE11131 )
• Tourism Concepts and Issues ( TSM11111 )
• Tourism, Society and Visual Culture ( TSM11109 )

* These are indicative only and reflect the course structure in the current academic year. Some changes may occur between now and the time that you study.

How you’ll be taught

You’ll learn by a variety of teaching methods including lectures, guest lectures, site visits, case studies, tutorials and independent study.

This is a full-time course and is split up into three trimesters. You can choose to start in either January or September.

Duration:

• September starts: 12 months
• January starts: 18 months with a three-month break over the summer (after the first taught trimester)

Assessments

The assessments on this course include individual coursework such as:

• written reports
• essays
• portfolios
• exams
• oral presentations
• business plans
• design pitches

Careers

• Festival and Event management
• Arts and cultural management
• Performance and theatre production
• Event design and programming
• Festival logistics coordinator
• Music festival director
• Event marketing and sponsorship management
• Conference and corporate events management
• Charity fundraising and event management

Visit the MSc International Festival & Event Management page on the Edinburgh Napier University website for more details!