Download or Print

1. Study
2. Postgraduate
3. Taught Courses
4. Masters
5. Arts Management and Creative Producing

Course Fact File

Code	MAAMCP
Duration	1 Year Full-time; 2 Years Part-time
Teaching Mode	Full-time, Part-Time
Qualifications	MA
NFQ Level	Level 9
EU Fees	Full-time: €12,800 Part-time: €7,400 See Fees and Costs for full details.
Non-EU Fees	€23,500
Closing Date	Rolling deadline. Open until all places have been filled. Early application is advised.
Non-EU Closing Date	Open until all places have been filled. Early application is advised.
Start Date	7 September 2026

Course Outline

Our MA in Arts Management & Creative Producing programme is offered by the College of Arts, Celtic Studies & Social Sciences (CACSSS) at University College Cork (UCC).  The programme is designed for people who want to develop their professional capability in arts leadership and creative producing, with a curriculum that is grounded in hands-on practice and rigorous academic learning.

You will develop advanced producing and leadership skills across the full lifecycle of artistic projects, including ideation, planning, producing, coordinating stakeholders, managing operational risk, marketing and delivering live events for external audiences, while learning to critically connect these decisions to relevant theory and evidence. Learning through professional practice is embedded in the programme through the Department of Theatre’s collaboration with Cork Opera House’s senior leadership and producing teams as part of their ‘learning theatre’ ethos.

This MA is for aspiring and emerging arts managers (managing theatres, arts venues and cultural organisations) and creative producers (programming, producing, curating performances, arts events and festivals). This partnership enables innovative teaching practices that enable students to combine academic research, and critical and reflective thinking with practical skills and our teaching team reflects the expertise and network of professional contacts within the industry. The team includes:

Dr Marie Kelly (Lecturer in theatre and former Assistant to the Artistic Director and Head of Casting, Abbey Theatre),
Eibhlín Gleeson (CEO, Cork Opera House),
Dr Jennie Jordan (festival studies expert, cultural and creative industries consultant)
Dr Beri Juraic (expert in Asian theatre, theatre producer and festival programmer).

Connected Curriculum

The programme’s learning approach reflects UCC’s Connected Curriculum, which embeds research-based teaching, employability, sustainability, inter-and transdisciplinarity, global reach, and civic and community engagement through an integrated model of practice and scholarship. Staff within the Department of Theatre and across UCC support you to make meaningful connections across disciplines such as culture, arts/performance, leadership, policy and management.

A key feature of this MA is that practice is designed to generate academic questions and synthesis critical thinking into your practical learning. As you work in professional producing contexts at Cork Opera House, you learn to apply management and producing theories to guide real decisions, and then to critically reflect on what you did, why you chose it, and what you have learned from the outcomes. This practice-led learning is developed and academically underpinned through taught research training and the completion of a substantial independent thesis project in the summer semester.

Programme Details

The Arts Management & Creative Producing MA can be taken over 12 months as a full-time programme or over 24 months as a part-time programme.

The emphasis is on learning through a combination of professional practice in collaboration with the Cork Opera House and taught sessions to support independent study. Students take core modules on arts management and creative producing together the option of an arts placement.

Students take core modules in arts project management, leadership and global perspectives, theoretical frames, cultural policy, research methods, and the two practice-base modules in events and festival practice which take place at Cork Opera House. Students then pick two electives from strategic management, arts placement and digital marketing. The course ends with a final thesis project where students work with a supervisor to define a research question, then undertake independent research leading to complete a thesis that synthesises and develops their learning across the programme, providing a pathway to further academic research, including PhD.

Course Practicalities

Full-Time Programme

Part 1 (60 Credits)

Semester 1

Core Modules:

• DR6055 Event Practice [5 credits]
• DR6056 Theoretical Frames [5 credits]
• DR6070 Artistic Leadership & Global Perspectives [10 credits]
• DR6052 Arts Project Management [5 credits]

Electives - Students choose 2 of the following 3 modules:

• MG4036 Strategic Management [5 credits] - Semester 1
• MG4048 Digital Marketing for International Marketplaces [5 credits] Semester 2
• DR6047 Arts Placement [5 credits] Semester 1 or 2

Semester 2

Core Modules:

• DR6083 Festival Practice [15 credits]
• DR6058 Research Methods [5 credits]
• DR6051 Dialogues in Culture [5 credits]

Part II (30 credits)

Semester 3

Core Module:

• DR6085 Thesis Project / Dissertation

Part-Time Programme

The part-time option is taken over two years; 30 credits in Year 1 and 60 credits in Year 2 as follows:

Part-time Year 1 (30 Credits)

Semester 1:

Core Modules:  

• DR6070 Artistic Leadership & Global Perspectives [10credits]
• DR6052 Arts Project Management [5 credits]

Electives - Students choose 2 of the following 3 modules:

• MG4036 Strategic Management [5 credits] - Semester 1
• MG4048 Digital Marketing for International Marketplaces [5 credits] Semester 2
• DR6047 Arts Placement [5 credits] Semester 1 or 2

Semester 2

Core Modules:

• DR6051 Dialogues in Culture [5 credits]

Part-Time Year 2 (60 Credits)

Part I (30 credits)

Semester 1:

Core Modules:

• DR6055 Event Practice [5 credits]
  DR6056 Theoretical Frames [5 credits]

Semester 2:

Core Modules:

• DR6083 Festival Practice [15 credits]
• DR6058 Research Methods [5 credits]

Part II (30 credits)

Semester 3

Core Module:

• DR6085 Thesis Project / Dissertation

Why Choose This Course

This MA provides a rare opportunity to combine real-world producing experience with genuinely rigorous academic research and critical thinking, providing a springboard into arts leadership, creative producing or further academic study. From the first semester, you learn about arts leadership, global perspectives on culture, project management and arts marketing, and professional event design and management through our collaboration with Cork Opera House. You’ll learn the practical workflows and skills that underpin successful creative events, including curation, budgeting, risk assessments, contracting and operations.

This programme is designed so that practice is not separate from scholarship. You apply management and producing theories to the decision you make in professional contexts and then critically reflect on your choices, creating the habits to become a self-reflexive life-long learner – a key skill for effective leadership. Your practice is supported by modules that introduce you to relevant theoretical frameworks and research methods, and by academic seminars, group and individual tutoring.

In addition to the core modules, there are opportunities to specialise. You can choose between an Arts Placement and Strategic Management in Semester 1 and between an Arts Placement and Digital Marketing in Semester 2 – so you can align your pathway to your career ambitions.

Then in Semester 3 you complete a thesis project/dissertation of 12-14,000 words that enables you to take a deep dive into an area that has piqued your interest during the course, supported by an academic supervisor. This is the perfect opportunity to build your expertise in an area and to strengthen your independent research skills – which are essential for future careers in creative producing - and form a solid basis for further post-graduate study, including PhD research.

Placement or Study Abroad Information

The Arts Placement allows you to gain experience working in an arts organisation, to build your professional networks and to integrate your academic study in practical arts management and creative producing settings. UCC and the MA are highly regarded in Cork’s arts and cultural eco-system and beyond. Former students have worked with a variety of arts and cultural organisations including:

• Sample-Studios, Cork
• Glucksman Gallery, Cork
• Crawford Gallery, Cork
• Everyman Theatre, Cork
• Cork Midsummer Festival
• Cork Opera House,
• Nano Nagle Place, Cork
• Backwater Artists Group, Cork
• Blackwater Valley Opera, Lismore
• Cork International Film Festival
• Music Generation, Cork
• Islander, Cork Circus Factory
• Cork Craft & Design,
• Graffiti Theatre, Cork
• Cill Rialaig Project, Southwest Kerry
• Glór Ennis, Clare
• Once Off Productions, Waterford
• Smashing Times Theatre Company, Dublin
• Kevin Kavanagh Gallery, Dublin
• Kilkenny Arts Festival
• Galway Dance Project
• Trailblazery
• Draíocht Arts Centre (Dublin)
• Project Arts Centre (Dublin)
• The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia
• IT Productions, Brantford, Ontario

Skills and Careers Information

On completion of the programme students are well placed to move into a wide range of roles in the cultural sector and across the creative industries, including:

• Performing, visual and participatory arts management (admin/managing arts venues, community and touring organisations);
• Independent event producing and curating (theatre, performance, dance, and other arts events, festivals, exhibitions, etc.);
• Audience engagement, fundraising, marketing, and PR;
• Working in national/international government funding agencies and other cultural agencies);
• Creative project management in corporate and creative industries;
• And further academic research, including PhD.

Requirements

Applicants will normally have a minimum Second Class Honours Grade II in a primary honours degree (NFQ, Level 8) in the humanities or business and demonstrate an interest in working in the arts. 

Examples of demonstrated interest include membership of youth arts groups; previous involvement in art projects either at school, university, or in the community; previous internships/placements, volunteering, or full/part-time work in arts-related organisations. Applicants with significant professional-level experience in the arts will also be considered under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL).

In addressing the criteria, applicants will be required to answer supplementary questions in addition to the standard questions on the online Postgraduate Studies Application form for Taught masters programmes.

Applicants will be required to attend an interview (in person or online in the case of students living at a distance) with staff from the Department of Theatre (UCC) and Cork Opera House.

Fees and Costs

The EU fee for this course is Full-time: €12,800 Part-time: €7,400.

The Non-EU fee for this course is €23,500.

How To Apply

Additional Requirements (All Applicants)

Please note you will be required to provide additional information as part of the online application process for this programme. This will include the following:

• You may enter the details of professional or voluntary positions held. (We strongly encourage you to complete this section with all relevant work experiences that will support your application.)
• In addition to your previously declared qualifications, please outline any additional academic courses, self-learning and professional training relevant to this programme.
• Please describe your motivation and readiness for this programme.
• Please upload your CV. 
• Please submit a copy of a short analytical/critical/report writing sample or essay (1,000 words approx.).
• Please detail your computing/technical/IT skills.
• After the online application is submitted, applicants will be required to add the name and email address of 1 academic referee and 1 professional/voluntary experience referee and send a reference request via the Application Portal.

The closing date for non-EU applications is Open until all places have been filled. Early application is advised.

Apply Now