Why study here?

Our exciting contemporary centre provides a platform for postgraduate study, continuing professional development, research and knowledge exchange with cultural and heritage professionals.

Did you know?

 

Manchester is recognized world-wide for its vibrant creative sector, with an enviable stock of tangible and intangible cultural heritage.

All of our practice-based courses have a vocational emphasis and are designed to facilitate a bridge between education and professional life. They are taught by both those working within academia and professional practitioners in a variety of fields.

Our graduates are trained in different methodological and theoretical approaches in their respective fields and are encouraged to participate in lively interdisciplinary debate, alongside developing their own individual skills as practitioners.

Having Manchester Museum and Whitworth Art Gallery as part of the University’s resources is undoubtedly a huge asset to this course; I particularly enjoyed co-curating an exhibition at Manchester Museum with coursemates.

Denise Courcoux / Art Gallery and Museum Studies student

Opportunities

Learn from experts

  • You'll be taught and trained by our expert academic staff and experienced arts, museum and heritage professionals.
  • You'll prepare for employment in the arts by studying arts management, museology and heritage theory whilst also gaining an understanding of overarching trends in the arts, cultural and heritage sector. 

Gain valuable work experience

  • With our excellent links to cultural organisations, there is no shortage of access to a range of exciting and valuable work placements.
  • Past placements have been at the Manchester Museum, The Whitworth, Tate Liverpool, Manchester Art Gallery, Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester International Festival, The Royal Exchange Theatre and Chorlton Arts Festival, to name a few.
  • See a longer list of placement institutions

Extend your practice-based experience through live projects

During the MA, you'll have opportunities to design and participate in live projects with cultural and heritage organisations in Manchester. These include curating a collection, developing exhibitions, developing heritage management plans, producing cultural events and working on creative collaborative projects.

Be at the heart of Manchester’s ‘cultural boom’

Not only is Manchester a great city to live in, it is increasingly becoming one of the UK’s most important cultural hotspots. Now positioned as the engine room for the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ the city is benefitting from massive investment in its cultural infrastructure. Building on MediaCityUK and the BBC at Salford Quays, recently renovated The Whitworth, new £25m arts centre HOME, Manchester welcomes the £78m The Factory production site and home for Manchester International Festival in 2017.

You have your own University museums

You’ll work closely with the University’s museums, The Manchester Museum and The Whitworth. You’ll have opportunities to get trained by experienced museum staff in different aspects of cultural professional practice (including conservation, collections management, art curating, museum and heritage education, intangible and natural heritage, audience engagement, marketing, fundraising and events management).

Increase your employability

The course has a strong vocational aspect, lots of CV building opportunities, and your supervisor provides you with personal and career development support. You’ll also have access to the award-winning Careers Service of the University, which provides support and advice in career development. 

Access excellent facilities

The University of Manchester has world-class facilities. It has the largest single-site university library in the UK along with a new £24 million learning facility. As a student of  the Graduate School, you’ll have access to excellent training within a dedicated postgraduate space where you can meet with each other, access resources, organise events and participate in a thriving academic community.

Get out and about

We take fieldtrips to cultural organisations in Manchester, the North West of England and beyond. Regular trips include Liverpool, London, Oxford and Wales. In 2016 we also introduced an international trip to Amsterdam for all MA students of the Institute. Our previous students have also taken part cultural exchange trip to Moscow.

Join our international arts managers and museum professionals network

You’ll network with future museum and heritage professionals and arts managers on the course as well as a range of cultural and heritage organisations.

Through my work placement as part of the MA Arts Management, Policy and Practice, I acquired an unimaginable amount of experience. I was also been inspired to write about the value of collaborative, international partnership for my Master’s research dissertation.

Laurie Kremer / Arts Management Student