City University of London

Cultural Policy & Management

City University
Northampton Square
London, EC1V 0HB
United Kingdom
Main Phone: 44 7040 8753
Main E-Mail: cpm@city.ac.uk

Degree/Credential: Graduate (MA in Culture, Policy and Management, MA in Cultural Leadership)
Web Site: http://www.city.ac.uk/cpm/

Program Director: MQuine [link available to AAAE members only]

Program Goals and Objectives

The Department of Cultural Policy & Management (CPM) is the longest-established department in Britain dedicated to teaching, study and research in the areas of arts and cultural policy & management. Formed in 1969, the Department and its staff have played a significant role in the development of the subject in the UK and elsewhere.

The University is located just north of the Square Mile of the business City of London, in the heart of the borough of Islington with its vibrant cultural life, and London's unmatched range of galleries, museums, theatres, concert halls and cultural entrepreneurs of all kinds is just minutes away. There are around 13,000 students (full time equivalents) studying at City, drawn from some 150 countries, giving the opportunity for the easy development of cross-national knowledge, understanding and collaboration. The Department has strong links with the cultural community it serves, and the university as a whole has strong associations with those working in its subject fields, and an enviable reputation for post-study employment.

The University has a certain amount of student accommodation for graduate students, and offers advice and assistance for those who wish to seek accommodation elsewhere.

It is part of the School of Arts, which also incorporates Departments of Music and of Journalism & Publishing, as well as Language Studies, Creative Writing, and Education and Lifelong Learning.

A £12 million building development is due to come on stream towards the end of 2008, providing excellent enhanced facilities for the School and all its work.

CPM started with one single postgraduate course, and over the years developed a range of 4 Masters Programmes: from September 2007 after extensive consultation with the sector these have re-developed into one MA course, the MA in Culture, Policy, Management, known as the Pathways Programme. It takes one academic year, full time, or can be spread over two years on a part-time basis. The Department also offers a PhD/MPhil research programme.

The new Masters programme is aimed at early- and mid-career professionals who wish to develop and/or re-focus their career; at those who may be seeking to break into the cultural management sector after a career elsewhere; and, for the first time, at those coming straight from an undergraduate degree programme with a determination to develop a career in arts management. It is called the Pathways Programme because it is designed particularly to suit the varying individual needs of participants at different stages in their career.

The Department's students have an excellent record in finding work soon after their courses finish: and they go on to take excellent positions whether in the arts funding system (Arts Councils, British Council, for instance), in cultural organisations or their network bodies, in arts journalism and in independent consultancy.

The most recent external reviews both of Teaching Quality and of Research recorded excellent results (Higher Education Funding Council, and Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education).

Administration of the Program

There is a small team of full-time academic staff, as many again part-time staff, and a wide range of associates and of occasional visitors. All of the teaching is carried out by people with particularly close links in to the sector, and all teaching is developed especially for the Department and its students. Administration in the Department is handled by a small team of friendly long-serving staff.

Curriculum

The programme can be taken in one year, on a full-time basis, or over two years on a part-time basis: study is in London – there is not yet any distance-learning option.

It is distinguished by three modes of study – the Taught mode, the Professional Placement mode, and the Research mode. These give participants a choice of different approaches – from the vocational to the theoretical, from learning in an academic context to learning in the workplace, or by the pursuit of pure or applied research: there is also the opportunity to put a special focus on culture, policy or management.

All students begin their study by taking two compulsory core modules – "Culture, Policy & Management", and "Cultural Portfolio – Pathway Plan and Immersion". The first of these explore the relationships between these three interlocking areas, while the second has two particular purposes: to guide the student in the development of her/his own pathway through the period of study, and to ensure that "immersion" takes place through the year – that the student never loses contact with the art and its presentation – thus differentiating the programme from a straight business-skills study programme.

On the Taught mode, students then have to select and take six from a range of 14 elective modules, and then complete a dissertation; on the Placement mode, students will select three of those elective modules and then undertake a period of around 10 weeks (40 days' equivalent) on placement to an organisation within the sector for supervised work-place-based learning; while on the Research mode, the student will select two of the electives, take an additional module on Research Methods and Design, and then prepare and deliver an extended dissertation.

Each elective module entails teaching for five weeks, on one full day each week (with associated independent study, reading and research) and a written piece of work to be completed and delivered normally three weeks after the close of the module. There are no formal examinations, and assessment is on the basis of course work submitted, project presentation where appropriate, and the dissertation.

The majority of students are expected to follow the Taught mode, with some undertaking the Placement mode, and only a small number whose experience will enable them to come with a major and significant research question to be the focus for following through the Research mode.

The elective modules at present are in alphabetical order: Audiences and Marketing; Cultural Planning; Currents of Criticism; Education, Learning and the Cultural Sector; Comparative International Models of Cultural Policy; Financial Planning and Entrepreneurship; Fundraising and Advocacy; Impact and Evaluation; Law and the Cultural Sector; Managing Organisations; Managing People: Post-Colonial Agendas; Programming; UK Cultural Policy;

International Links
The Department is proud to have extensive links into many countries. Apart from the fact that its students normally come from at least 20 different countries, bringing a wealth of experience and knowledge of different approaches to practice and policy, it has many associations at other levels. It was a founder member of ENCATC in 1992 (the European Network of Cultural Administration Training Centres) and provided that network's Treasurer and Vice President for 6 recent years; and it is (obviously) a member of AAAE. It is part of a small network of universities in Europe enabling student exchange (with financial support from the European Union for EU-based students): these are currently in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, the Netherlands and Spain. It is represented at the bi-ennial AIMAC conference and on its Scientific Committee (Association Internationale de Management des Arts et de la Culture). And its academic staff and close teaching associates frequently teach and engage in research in countries as diverse as Finland, Korea, Russia, Spain, Sweden.

Admissions

Fees for the year's teaching programme (on the full-time basis) in 2008-09 are £10,700 (£4,600 for those ordinarily resident within the EU).

The year's programme begins in late September.  Enquiries and applications are welcome at any time of year, but receive active and prompt consideration from January.  All reasonably strong applicants are interviewed either face to face or by telephone and decisions about offering a place are made within around two weeks from any interview.   Places become more scarce from around June.

Applications can be made on-line, but the paper-based system (by downloading the full appplication form) allows a stronger application to be presented.  The Department/University requires a good standard of English but there is no other standardised admission requirement - recognising that appplicants and good students can and do come from a wide range of backgrounds.  It is normally expected that students will come with a (good) first degree but prior experience can compensate for the absence of a degree.  Students typically range in age from 22 to 50+, but the majority are within the range 25 - 36.