The University of Manchester Speciality : Management
programme: Arts and Culture Management

I completed my MA in Arts Management, Policy and Practice at The University of Manchester in 2019, and I really enjoyed it. I feel like the course had a good balance between a hands-on work experience (in the form of a temporary placement), as well as academic learning, which equipped me well for the professional world. I would definitely recommend this course to anyone who wants to build a career in the arts sector.

I studied MA Arts Management Policy in Practice, straight after completing my undergraduate degree in Drama at a different university. As I was a postgrad student, I didn’t really engage much with the student union nightlife but always found the SU a friendly and approachable place to visit. The course was similar to what I expected, although the content was much more difficult than I expected, with a lot of independent study and learning. What I liked the most about the course was the Arts Management core module, which gave us a perfect introduction to the field. The lecturers were also very knowledgable and helpful. I also really enjoyed my dissertation module which allowed me more freedom to research areas I was interested in and discusses my ideas with my allocated supervisor. The library facilities were good, but often had a limited amount of computers available. As the MA was a vocational subject, I would have really benefitted from employment guidance such as CV, cover letter and interview support. The arts are a very oversaturated industry, so getting a job is very challenging. I felt that the course could have prepared us better for applying for graduate positions in the arts, whilst we were still studying. I would strongly suggest taking the Placement module, to gain contacts and hands-on experience in the arts. Many of the placement options did not appeal to me and as I was already working part-time in a theatre, I decided to take another option.