Curation MA

Program Overview

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Curation MA

Course Overview

Curation MA is for those wanting to innovate in curatorial practice, explore art’s role in social change and develop leadership skills. Prepare to engage with global challenges, amplify voices, and advance your career in contemporary culture.

What You'll Study

Explore curatorial practice as activism, inclusivity and influence, engaging with design theory, professional innovation, and representation. Collaborate on real-world projects, address societal issues through creative methodologies, and build a future-focused skill set.

Modules

• Co-Create - 30 credits
  • Work on a simulated or real-life project created by industry experts.
  • Collaborate with students from other postgraduate courses in the School of Arts and Creative Industries, applying your specialist discipline knowledge to form an essential part of a wider team.
  • Explore design theory and practice and research methodologies, and build professional development skills like project management, delegation and problem-solving.
• Curator as Influencer - 30 credits
  • Learn how to manage and showcase art and culture in ways that go beyond museums and galleries, focusing on its impact on society.
  • The curator inspires new ways to drive change in response to the concerns of contemporary society.
  • Develop a toolkit for measuring success in projects that have value beyond museum or gallery spaces, effecting meaningful change responsive to the concerns of contemporary society.
• Curator as Mediator - 30 credits
  • Explore inclusivity and representation within the arts and culture, highlighting the curator’s role.
  • The module asks: What stories could we be listening to? Which histories should we centre? How can we listen to a wider range of voices that better reflect the world we live in?
• Professional Practice and Innovation - 30 credits
  • Explore ecologies of the creative industries, considering the interrelations between independent, commercial, and public sectors.
  • The module is designed in collaboration with The RSA from which you’ll have a 12-month fellowship so you can access all RSA resources and platforms during your period of study.
  • Receive an RSA digital credential once you have successfully passed the module.
• Curator as Activist - 60 credits
  • Highlighting curatorial practice as a tool for activism, learn to address, disrupt, and expose political, economic, sociological, technological, environmental and legal issues that exist in the world.
  • Apply your knowledge to develop methodologies effecting social change.
  • Engage with alternative sites for commissioning, producing, and experiencing art, to experience live contexts for learning.

How You'll Learn

Teaching and learning methods may include:

• Lectures
• Seminars
• Tutorials
• Presentations
• Group projects
• Workshops
• Practical laboratory sessions.

Teaching and Learning Hours

As a full-time postgraduate student, you will study modules totalling 180 credits each academic year. A typical 30-credit module requires a total of 300 hours of study. Study hours are made up of teaching and learning hours, and guided and independent study.

Teaching Hours

Teaching hours will vary, depending on where you are in your studies, but on average, you will have between 8 and 12 teaching and learning hours each week. You will also have the opportunity to attend optional sessions, including time with a Success Coach or to meet with staff for advice and feedback.

Guided and Independent Learning

Throughout your studies, you will be expected to spend time in guided and independent learning which will make up the required study hours per module. You will be undertaking a variety of activities, learning through guided background research, planning and preparation, studio activity, creative practice and making, reviewing what you have learned and completing assignments. This can be completed around your personal commitments. As you progress towards the end of your studies, you will spend more time on independent learning.

Online Learning

As an innovative university, we use different teaching methods, including online tools and emerging technologies. So, some of your teaching hours and assessments may be delivered online.

Assessment

This course will be assessed using a variety of methods which could vary depending on the module. Assessment methods may include:

• Reports
• Tests
• Essays
• Practical coursework
• Assignments
• Viva voce
• Presentations.

The Coventry University assessment strategy aims to ensure that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards achieving the intended learning outcomes.

Entry Requirements

Typical entry requirements:

• UK
• International

An honours degree 2.2 or above (or international equivalent) in a creative arts discipline.

We recognise a breadth of qualifications; speak to one of our advisers today to find out how we can help you.

Select your region to find detailed information about entry requirements:

Africa

Americas

Central Asia

East Asia

Europe

Middle East

South Asia

South East Asia

You can view our full list of country specific entry requirements on our Entry requirements page.

Alternatively, visit our International hub for further advice and guidance on finding in-country agents and representatives, joining our in-country events and how to apply.

English Language Requirements

• IELTS: 6.5 overall with no component lower than 5.5.

If you don't meet the English language requirements, you can achieve the level you need by successfully completing a pre-sessional English programme before you start your course.

For more information on our approved English language tests visit our English language requirements page.

We recognise a breadth of qualifications, speak to one of our advisers today to find out how we can help you.

Fees and Funding

Student | Full-time | Part-time
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UK, Ireland*, Channel Islands or Isle of Man | £9,350 | Not available
EU | £9,350 per year with EU Support Bursary**
£18,600 per year without EU Support Bursary** | Not available
International | £18,600 | Not available

For advice and guidance on tuition fees and student loans visit our Postgraduate Finance page and see the university's Tuition Fee and Refund Terms and Conditions.

We offer a range of international scholarships to students all over the world. For more information, visit our International Scholarships page.

Tuition fees cover the cost of your teaching, assessments, facilities and support services. There may be additional costs not covered by this fee such as accommodation and living costs, recommended reading books, stationery, printing and re-assessments should you need them.

The following are additional costs not included in the tuition fees:

• Any optional overseas field trips or visits: £400+ per trip.
• Any costs associated with securing, attending or completing a placement (whether in the UK or abroad).

Facilities

The Delia Derbyshire Building hosts sector-leading facilities in a unique environment. You will have access to our full range of workshops, from metal work and ceramics to immersive studios with modern virtual reality and mixed-reality technologies.

Careers and Opportunities

On successful completion of the course, you will be able to:

• Demonstrate a systematic understanding and application of the theoretical and thematic concerns of their chosen context transforming research into innovative curatorial responses for diverse audiences and contexts
• Develop and launch original curatorial proposals that demonstrate a systematic understanding of the expanded roles of a curator
• Independently identify, write, and pitch for funding for curatorial projects in the expanded fields of curation
• Apply enhanced social change and activist methods and tools to curatorial projects
• Critically assess public and the ethical impacts and legacies of curatorial work within varying social and geographical contexts
• Build effective partnerships and networks to communicate with audiences in an appropriate manner
• Critically evaluate and measure feasibility and success of curatorial projects through the application of an evaluative toolkit for a sustainable career in curatorial practice
• Apply systematic knowledge and understanding of the role of creative teams in the realisation of curatorial projects.

Successful graduates may seek the following careers:

• Freelance / self-employment
• Curation for national and international cultural institutions
• Curator for national and international commercial galleries
• Curator of collections such as the National Trust
• Collection managers
• Curator of national and international festivals, biennials and fairs
• Curation for hospitals
• Curation for city centres and regional arts organisations and events
• Curation for universities
• Curation for social media and digital platforms
• Curating in the gallery and museum section, both public and private sector
• Archivists
• Digital archivists
• Records manager
• Collections mangers
• Director of international and national art galleries
• Curatorial research
• Theoreticians
• Cultural policy makers
• Leading innovation in the cultural sector.

Where Our Graduates Work

We have several undergraduate alumni who have progressed into curatorial positions both locally and internationally such as the Co-CEO of Birmingham Museums Trust, the Managing Director of the Institute of Contemporary Art in London, and the curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp. More recently, a Senior Visual Arts Officer at Rugby Art Gallery, and at Coventry Cathedral as Cultural Events Organiser.

Our new Curation MA course will allow us to retain talent in Coventry, as well as to offer an attractive progression route as Coventry aims to become one of the largest cultural hubs in the world.