COURSE CURRICULUM

The MA Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies curriculum provides a comprehensive understanding of the museum and heritage sector while developing practical, creative, and leadership skills. Students begin by exploring critical issues in museum and heritage development, examining the historical and contemporary roles of museums and heritage organisations through key theories and concepts. The programme then expands to global heritage management, where students investigate international heritage preservation, UNESCO frameworks, cultural policies, and alternative approaches that recognise diverse global perspectives. Creative museum practice focuses on museums as innovative and audience-centred spaces, exploring how creativity and digital technologies can enhance visitor experiences, communication, and community engagement. Through the engaging local and global communities module, students critically examine participation, inclusion, migration, memory, and social sustainability, learning how museums collaborate with communities through co-production and active citizenship models. Sustainable heritage, well-being and place develops an understanding of environmental and cultural sustainability, regenerative practices, health, wellbeing, and the role of heritage in addressing contemporary societal challenges. The Entrepreneurial Museum module introduces financial sustainability, social enterprise, marketing, fundraising, and commercial innovation through a live client brief with the National Trust, helping students understand how cultural organisations create income and maintain long-term viability. Transforming Your Career supports professional development through mentoring, independent learning, transferable skills training, and a 70-hour placement that provides valuable industry experience. The programme culminates in a substantial Research Project, allowing students to pursue a specialist area of interest through a traditional dissertation, creative practice project, or client-based project. Throughout the course, students gain expertise in heritage management, community engagement, sustainability, digital innovation, entrepreneurship, and research while building practical experience and professional networks. Graduates emerge as confident, globally aware museum and heritage professionals prepared for careers in museums, galleries, heritage organisations, cultural institutions, archives, visitor attractions, community engagement projects, and other roles across the wider cultural and creative sectors.