Cultural and Creative Industries

Overview

Supported by leading-edge research and professional practice, the MA Cultural and Creative Industries from Cardiff University offers a balance of theory and professional study.

We provide you with conceptual knowledge and professional skills that will enable you to identify emerging areas of opportunity within the creative industries. You will become a flexible and reflexive practitioner with the skills and knowledge to adapt to the changing demands of the creative workplace.

You will explore the effect different political, economic, social and cultural contexts have on the way in which these industries operate, so that you can apply critical thinking to professional scenarios to further your effectiveness in your chosen career.

Learn how to manage media production

You will also learn about the practice and theory of digital creativity and the skills and knowledge needed to manage digital and social media in a creative context as well as exploring the innovative ways in which creative practitioners are connecting with their audiences, embracing digital, immersive and mixed media methods. 

As well as gaining valuable practical and professional skills and industry work experience, you will undertake an individual piece of research. This will act both as a critique of the current state of your chosen field of interest and as a vehicle for the development of your own professional skills appropriate to your future career ambitions.

Work with the creative sector

A key part of the MA Cultural and Creative Industries, and what makes this programme stand out, is its industry facing nature, including a professional placement module. We engage directly with external partners from the cultural and creative industries and make use of our home in the heart of Cardiff.

We involve creative industries businesses, organisations and practitioners at the forefront of the field in workshops, field visits and as guest lectures throughout the programme.

The programme is suitable for graduates seeking a career in the cultural or creative industries or for professionals wishing to enhance their existing knowledge and career prospects. The programme will also prepare students for doctoral research in the cultural and creative industries broadly defined.

Careers and placements

We recognise the majority of our students undertake postgraduate qualifications to improve their prospects in the job market. That’s why we’ve designed our MA Cultural and Creative Industries to give you the opportunity to follow a wide variety of careers in any number of cultural, creative or associated sectors.

You may want to consider work as a freelancer or start your own creative business. Other options include working within small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), or as an ‘embedded’ creative in a non-creative business. You may decide to pursue policy-making or go down an academic career path and pursue further study.

Placements

The Professional Development and Placement module offers you the opportunity to undertake a significant work experience placement within a cultural or creative business or organisation as part of your studies. All students on the programme are expected to undertake a placement.

Please note: you will source your own placement but will be supported by the School to enable you to find a suitable and beneficial placement opportunity.

You will undertake a minimum of 70 hours (or 10 days) of work experience with a creative or cultural business or partner organisation. The placement can be undertaken in various ways – a day or more across a number of weeks; a day a week and then a week block, or a two week block. Our partnership with Creative Cardiff and our developed industry links mean that we are exceptionally placed for students taking part on placements. In the unlikely event you are not able to undertake a work placement, there will be the opportunity to undertake a campus-based project.

The placement will form a valuable expression of your learning and will help you identify issues and/or questions that will then form the basis of your Professional Research Project which you will undertake in the final semester.