Cultural and Creative Industries MA

This innovative MA has been designed to develop the knowledge and skills that will help future leaders of the creative and cultural industries to excel. Aligning practical experience and industry contacts with a deeper understanding of these fields, the aim of this course is to develop your critical understanding and awareness of the key issues shaping these areas today.

The course centres on the management, production, policy, and value of creative and cultural activity. You will develop the knowledge, skills and confidence required to contribute effectively to leadership, management and professional practice across both sectors. You will also develop critical perspectives on creative and cultural work by applying conceptual frameworks and methods to real-world contexts.

Adopting an evidence-informed and critically reflective approach, this course will enable you to engage with theory and practice through skills of analysis, interpretation, synthesis, and evaluation. Designed to bring together cross-disciplinary expertise in creative thinking, cultural studies, and business, the programme is delivered in collaboration between our School of Humanities and York Business School. This course will allow you to work with a range of external partners to create and apply knowledge in different industry contexts, whilst learning about the theoretical underpinnings of the current creative and cultural trends.

How you will study

You can study this postgraduate course full time or part time. This allows you to fit your studies around other commitments.

If you choose to study full time the course will take 1 year to complete, or 2 if you choose a year in industry. You will study:

• 5 compulsory modules, including a final Capstone Project module OR a Business Consultancy Project

If you choose to study part time the course will take 2 years to complete and the modules will be split across both years.

You can find out which modules are available in each term in the Course Specifications.

Modules

Teaching and learning

All of your modules will be delivered using a variety of different teaching sessions. This includes:

• Lectures, in person and online
• Seminars
• Guest speakers
• Workshops

Our teaching draws on both our research and professional experience. This means your learning is informed by the most current thinking in the subject area. You can find out more about our research and backgrounds by visiting our staff pages.

Professional Experience

Choosing to study the MA with Professional Experience can give you a competitive edge in your future career. It is an opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills you have learned in the workplace. You will be on placement for a full academic year, after you have successfully completed all of the taught modules.

Assessment

We use a wide variety of assessment types, which help you to develop skills relevant to the workplace. They include:

• Presentations
• Critical essays
• Portfolios
• Reflective writing
• Project-based work

You will receive detailed feedback on assessments to help you develop and continuously improve your performance from your module tutors. Advice will be provided in relation to development, further areas for research and guidance on how to enhance your subject knowledge.

Qualifications

If your degree is in an unrelated subject, but you can provide evidence of relevant professional experience, your application may still be considered.

International students

If you are an international student you will need to show that your qualifications match our entry requirements.

Information about international qualifications and entry requirements can be found on our International pages.

If English is not your first language you will need to show that you have English Language competence at IELTS level 6.0 (with no skill below 5.5) or equivalent.

International entry requirements

Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL)

If you do not have traditional qualifications, you might be able to provide evidence of professional experience in the subject as an alternative way to meet the entry requirements. This is called Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL). Appropriate references and records of employment would need to be presented to support your case for admission. 

Terms and conditions

Our terms and conditions, policies and procedures contain important information about studying at York St John University. You can read them on our Admissions page.

UK 2026 - 2027

The tuition fee for 2026 entry to this postgraduate course is £8,800 for full time study.

These costs apply to all UK, Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man students.

Postgraduate loans are available to help you pay for your master’s course. Find out more about funding your postgraduate studies.

Postgraduate funding opportunities

International 2026 entry

The tuition fee for 2026 entry to this postgraduate course is £11,800 for 1 year of full time study

These costs apply to all students living outside the UK.

Due to immigration laws, if you are an international student on a student visa, you must study full time. For more information about visa requirements and short-term study visas, please visit the International Visa and Immigration pages.

Find out more about funding your postgraduate studies.

International Fees and Funding

Tuition fees

Alumni Scholarships

If you are alumni of York St John University we have scholarships available to help you continue your studies.

Scholarships for alumni

Additional costs and financial support

Course-related costs

While studying for your degree, there may be additional costs related to your course. This may include purchasing personal equipment and stationery, books and optional field trips.

Accommodation and living costs

View our accommodation pages for detailed information on accommodation and living costs.

Where could the cultural and creative industries take you?

This postgraduate course could prepare you for a career in any sector. The leadership skills you will develop will put you in a good position to move into roles in the creative and cultural industries.

This will give you an advantage in careers such as:

• Marketing
• Advertising
• Museums and archives
• Public relations
• Festival organisation
• Charity sector
• Digital arts

Stand out from the crowd with postgraduate study.

Far fewer people have postgraduate degrees than undergraduate qualifications. This gives you something extra to set yourself apart in a competitive graduate job market. Those with a postgraduate qualification will earn an average of £8,000 a year more than those with only an undergraduate degree. (Department For Education Graduate Labour Market Report 2019)

Our careers service, LaunchPad, provides career support tailored to your ambitions. Through this service you can access:

• Employer events
• LinkedIn, CV and cover letter sessions
• Workshops on application writing and interview skills
• Work experience and volunteering opportunities
• Personalised career advice

This support does not end when you graduate. You can access our expert career advice for the rest of your life. We will help you gain the experience and confidence you need to succeed.