Cultural & Creative Industries is a unique interdisciplinary programme that draws on studies in cultural theories, cultural history, digital culture, management, geography, cultural policy, gender and fashion and makes use of London arts and cultural links with Tate Modern, Southbank Centre and the British Film Institute. Leads to careers in major cultural and creative organisations and smaller creative businesses.
KEY BENEFITS
- Located at the heart of London's arts and media industries.
- Guest lectures from industry professionals and researchers provide up-to-date knowledge of current debates and trends.
- Optional internship programme (selective intake) with opportunities in a range of leading organisations.
KEY FACTS
Student destinations
Our graduates have gone on to a wide range of roles in the cultural and creative industries including arts administration in local government, art marketing for a major cultural institution in London, editing a lifestyle magazine in the US, and researching for China's broadcasting industry regulator. Further career paths have included performing arts management, museum and gallery management, arts funding, cultural industries development, film distribution, freelance research and creative business development. A number of our students have gone on to do further academic research.
Programme leader/s
Professor Andy Pratt, Dr Richard Howells
Awarding Institution
King's College London
Credit value (UK/ECTS equivalent)
UK 180/ECTS 90
Duration
One year FT, two years PT, September to September.
Location
Strand Campus; occasionally other London locations.
Year of entry 2013
Offered by
School of Arts and Humanities
Department of Culture, Media and Creative Industries
Closing date
Until places filled. Please note that this is an extremely competitive course and early application is advised.
Applicants wishing to apply for funding (eg AHRC) must submit their application by the relevant funding deadline, which is usually early in the year. Please see
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/pg/funding/sources/index.aspx for information on the available funding opportunities and deadlines.
150 FT, 15 PT.
Fees
PT Home: £5000 (2013)
PT Overseas: £8375 (2013)
FT Home: £10000 (2013)
FT Overseas: £16750 (2013)
CONTACTS
Contact information
Postgraduate Officer, Centre for Arts & Sciences Admissions (CASA)
tel: +44 (0) 20 7848 2765 / 2232 / 7232
fax: +44 (0) 20 7848 7200
Email
Website
PURPOSE
Provides a critical understanding of the cultural and creative industries for graduates seeking a career in the arts or creative industries or for professionals wishing to enhance their existing knowledge and career prospects. Can also prepare students for doctoral research in culture, media and creative industries. Meanwhile, it is important to know that we are not a media, communications or journalism studies programme. If you wish to follow a career in these areas, MA CCI will only be relevant in so far as your interests relate specifically to the cultural and creative industries (e.g. performing and visual arts, cultural heritage, film and music).
DESCRIPTION
This interdisciplinary programme allows students to examine the structure and history of the cultural and creative industries and explore practical and theoretical issues facing cultural entrepreneurs, professionals and policy-makers. It uses a range of analytical tools from sociology, history and cultural studies, and draws on teaching, research and professional expertise from both King's academics and professionals working in the field.
Core modules examine cultural theory and history and the nature of cultural industries and creative organisations.
Optional modules include
- Art of Management;
- Contextualising Creativity;
- The Creative City;
- "Creatives" working in the Cultural Industries;
- Culture and Commerce;
- Cultural Markets;
- Cultural Policy;
- Film and American Culture;
- Internship in the cultural and creative industries;
- Youth Subcultures;
- Music and American Culture;
- Digital Industries & Internet Culture;
- Fashion, Culture & Society;
- Bodies & Identities in Digital Media;
- The Aesthetic Economy & Aesthetic Markets;
- Gender, Media & Culture;
- Visual Culture
- Two modules on the contemporary museum taught at Tate Modern.
Students on the internship module undertake work experience in the arts or creative industries, and write a self-assessment looking at the skills, knowledge and motivation needed to build a career in these industries.
Previous students have interned at the National Theatre, Barbican Centre, British Council, British Film Institute, Hayward Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Screen Digest, The British Museum, CIDA (Cultural Industries Development Agency), MTV, Donmar Warehouse, Google and the V&A Museum.
Finally, students research and write a supervised dissertation on a chosen topic within the field.
STRUCTURE OVERVIEW
Core programme content
- Analysing the Cultural and Creative Industries
- Contested Culture: Formations
- Dissertation
- Research Approaches for the Cultural and Creative Industries.
Indicative non-core content
- The Aesthetic Economy and Aethetic Markets
- Art of Management: Management of Art
- Contextualising Creativity
- The Creative City
- "Creatives": Working in the Cultural Industries
- Culture and Commerce
- Cultural Markets
- Cultural Policy
- Digital Industries and Internet Culture
- Fashion, Culture and Society
- Film and American Culture
- Inside Today's Museum (taught at Tate Modern)
- Internship in the Cultural and Creative Industries
- Music and American Culture
- Towards Tomorrow's Museum (taught at Tate Modern)
- Visual Culture
- Youth Subcultures.
The Department will be introducing more optional modules over the 2012-13 academic year, please check the webpages for information.
FORMAT AND ASSESSMENT
Exams; essays; dissertation.
ACADEMIC ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
General entry advice
Minimum 2:1 honours degree (or overseas equivalent) in any discipline. For those returning to study, evidence of appropriate experience will be required. A written personal statement, emphasising both qualifying background and reasons for selecting this programme, will be required. A sample of academic writing should be submitted.
APPLYING TO KING'S
To apply for graduate study at King's you will need to complete our graduate online application form. Applying online makes applying easier and quicker for you, and means we can receive your application faster and more securely.
King's does not normally accept paper copies of the graduate application form as applications must be made online. However, if you are unable to access the online graduate application form, please contact the relevant admissions/School Office at King's for advice.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
To apply for a place on MA Cultural & Creative Industries, please complete the online application process, myApplication (via the link above), making sure to provide the required supporting documents:
- Two references from previous or current academic tutors.
- A complete or partial transcript of your first degree results. This is obtainable from your degree-awarding institution.
- A sample of your previous academic writing (following the guidelines below).
- A personal statement of 500 words (following the guidelines below).
If English is not your first language, and your degree was not taught and assessed entirely in English, we require relevant English language qualifications to be provided. Please note that we will still be able to consider your application even if you do not yet have an English language certificate. In this case, any offer made will be given on more the condition that you meet King’s College London's English language requirements, which will be detailed in your offer letter.
In assessing your application we will look for the following: academic capabilities: broad understanding of CCI; and interest and ability in studying CCI. Your academic interests should match the broad themes that inform MA CCI teaching, i.e. cultural theory and history, cultural production, cultural consumption and cultural governance. It is ideal that your career interests correspond to the sectors on which MA CCI teaching focuses including visual cultures, museums, popular music, film and digital culture.
PERSONAL STATEMENT & SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Applicants must submit both a personal statement and a sample of previous academic writing. The personal statement should explain why you wish to apply for this programme and why you feel it matches your interests, academic background, and, if relevant, your career plans. The personal statement should be a maximum of 500 words, if you submit a personal statement which is longer than this it will not be accepted, and you will be required to submit a shorter version, thus delaying application assessment.
The sample of previous academic writing should be minimum 2,000 words, either originally written in English or translated into English by yourself. This writing sample will normally be an essay or part of an essay written for an undergraduate degree. It may include previous markers' comments in the margins. The essay should be a demonstration of your ability to investigate a well-defined topic or question, to undertake original research, and to construct a coherent argument well supported by relevant evidence and full citation of sources (i.e. footnotes or in-text referencing, and a full bibliography). We do not require the writing sample to be on a topic directly relevant to MA Cultural and Creative Industries, e.g. if your first degree was in history, you should send us an essay in this area. If your first degree was in a discipline where research papers are not commonly assigned, please send in a sample of your written work from the final year of your degree, indicating the question and/or the brief that you were given for this assignment.
FUNDING
Self-funded; Graduate School and School of Arts & Humanities studentships and bursaries.
Student profiles
Cultural & Creative Industries MA
After almost 20 years of working as journalist, I decided to take a break and to deepen my knowledge about cultural policies and cultural industries – two fields I’ve been writing about for a decade. In order to choose the best place to do it I talked to some policy makers and cultural producers in Brazil. It wasn’t hard to discover that the best place to study it was King’s College London and the course I should try was the MA in Cultural and Creative Industries. I worked hard to produce the best application I could and I got an offer from King’s and a Chevening Scholarship as well – which allows me to dedicate myself fully to studies.
After a short time of living in London and studying at King’s, I have no doubts - I’ve made the best choice - after this MA I’ll able to work as a cultural agent in Brazil. The course is great – and also hard – and London is the right place if you’re interested in understanding the ‘creative industries’. As I’m writing a fortnight cultural column for O Globo, a Brazilian daily newspaper, I’m ‘obliged’ to pay attention to all cultural venues in the city. And I can assure you, they are endless.
Cultural & Creative Industries MA
I undertook an internship with the Helen Storey Foundation and worked with Helen Storey, an artist and creative educator to produce an evaluation report on a project entitled 'Eye and I'. My internship involved going to Barcelona to carry out an audit of their exhibition 'Primitive Streak', where I assessed audience responses and collated feedback to include in a report of observations. Before this experience I thought that art was exclusive but through the placement I discovered that it can change people's perspectives and creativity can be brought into everyday life.
The internship was an important part of my MA programme and helped me to identify what I want to do in the future, and since graduating I have begun a six month placement with the Southwark Arts Forum which I'm really enjoying.
Cultural & Creative Industries MAHaving already spent 3 years at King’s studying for a BA in Geography I felt that I had no real reason to move anywhere else for my Masters. The university is perfectly located in the heart of London, has an incredibly diverse student population, and has strong inter-institutional links with other universities both locally and internationally.
Furthermore, the MA Culture, Media, and Creative Industries is the longest running course of its kind and has attracted scholars from a wide range of backgrounds who are at the forefront of their respective fields giving the teaching element an exciting research led quality. There is a concerted effort from the course leaders to instill a sense of community amongst a very diverse international student body. They lay on mixer events, invest plenty of money into drinks and networking evenings, and generally try their best to make your time here at King’s both friendly and beneficial in terms of creating a vibrant student community.
In terms of King’s wider appeal it would be safe to say that the prestige of the university and the weight its name gives to your CV pays dividends in terms of employment and wider social mobility. It has been voted the best higher education institution for employment and enjoys fantastic links with businesses and institutions both in London and further afield.
With respect to my course the fresh injection of cash into Somerset House and the newly formed
King’s Cultural Institute (under the stewardship of
former ROH creative director Deborah Bull) shows that exciting new projects are being readily invested in to the benefit of students and the wider community alike. It’s certainly an exciting time to be at King’s with its prestigious past and a bright future.
Find out what it's like to be a student on CCI by reading Chris's blog!
Cultural & Creative Industries MA
I chose to study at King’s because I completed my BA here and enjoyed it so much I didn’t want to leave! King’s was the first university to design a course such as this one, and so is now the most prestigious in the country which made that choice very easy! With regards to studies, there is a lot of variation and flexibility in the modules, which is one of the aspects I most enjoy.
So far, I’ve been looking at the origins of culture and how different schools of thought have proffered ideas for how we perceive our society culturally. We’ve also been looking at the benefits and necessity of internships and what this means for recent graduates attempting to find work in the creative industries.
Undertaking the MA part-time means that I have time to work part-time as well, ensuring that I will be financially stable when I complete my MA in 2014. I am very lucky in that I have just secured a job in a creative small business who are flexible enough to accommodate the time I need to spend studying. I am also convinced that part of the decision to employ me will have been encouraged by the keen display of enthusiasm for the industry shown through the MA I am studying at King’s.
Cultural & Creative Industries MAWhen I was looking for a master’s course in culture, I could only find programmes that focused on its historical aspect: art history, for instance, or film classes about specific periods. Moreover, they all focused on only one cultural discipline; there was no option to combine art and film, or any other topics. The Cultural and Creative Industries MA offered by King’s is one of the few exceptions. With courses like ‘Digital Cultures’, ‘Towards Tomorrow’s Museum’ and the option to do an internship it really gives me a more practical and up to date sense of the industry I will be working in afterwards.
Combining different subjects is perfectly possible, and I think that interdisciplinary approach adds value to our tasks and discussions in class. The fact that all of this is based in the middle of London only increases its success. The city offers a wide range of cultural events; it buzzes with creative excitement, and that is just what I was looking for. I feel it makes my course more relevant and I can directly apply the things I have learnt when I wander about the National Galleries, go to a concert at the Royal Albert Hall, join in a discussion with the director of the National Theatre or when I take my friends to the London Film Festival. For me, the combination of this course and this city is the best choice I could have made this year.
Find out what it's like to be a student of CCI by
reading Stella's blog!
Cultural & Creative Industries MA
I hope to pursue a career in arts management field. The CMCI department offers not only theory based teaching but also practical internship module. This master’s course seems abundant because students can do so many different things after they have learned from it. One of our teachers is a historian in music and film industry. I was amazed how wide his knowledge about music when I took his class. Not only pop and jazz music, but he also knows classical music. His way of teaching makes me feel closer to the history of music.
It’s amazing that our Strand Campus is located in the centre of London. It took me more than a month to explore my vicinity, watching musicals, visiting galleries and going to classical music concerts, and so on. Some said living in London is hard because people here are distant, but I found it untrue. London embraces diversity and is friendly with foreigners. Tourists come here all year round so are foreign students. It’s safe to be here because of the high level security provided by school and by the city government. More specifically, the accommodation offered by school saves me lots of money. Stamford Street Apartment is so close to Strand and Waterloo campuses and a great place to mingle with other students.
I can’t wait to see what I learn here can be applied in real life. Cultural and creative field has started to gain its importance in Taiwan, so this may be the good timing for me to contribute after I complete my learning and internship project. King’s well-known reputation is going to make a young person’s CV looks more appealing because we have been working to get into this competitive institute and at the same time very ambitious in absorbing professional knowledge and in career plan
Staff profiles
Cultural & Creative Industries MA
For me, two of the most exciting and interesting aspects of the MA CCI are its links with the Creative Industries and its international student body. Students have opportunities to learn not only cultural theory, but also how the creative industries function in practice through work placements, visits and guest lecturers. The relationships fostered by King's with a number of high profile cultural institutions, and the input they provide, ensure that the course content stays dynamic and relevant.
Our students come from all over the world, from a wide variety of academic disciplines and boasting an impressive range of work experience in the cultural sphere; students and faculty alike benefit from sharing in this diverse and valuable knowledge.
Although my own research has been predominantly focused on the museum sector, I am also interested in popular culture, and music in particular - in my spare time I am a dj. I am currently working on a project with the SouthBank Centre, researching the history of one of London's premier arts venues.