Master of Arts in Creative and Cultural Futures at University of Canberra

Become a creative cultural leader of the future

The versatile Master of Arts in Creative and Cultural Futures will prepare you to be a leader in the rapidly changing cultural sector. Based in the national capital of Canberra – home to Australia’s major cultural institutions and an ever-increasing creative community – you can use the course’s interdisciplinary learning environment to expand your knowledge and networks, build or update your digital skills, develop your entrepreneurial potential, and apply your creativity in real-world settings using Australian and international industry case studies.

This expertise and industry knowledge will help you to establish or build upon a sustainable career in the creative and cultural industries, in fields such as heritage and conservation, community arts, cultural policy and planning, film production, creative writing, digital arts, or in the galleries, libraries, archives, museums and records (GLAMR) sector. The course is capped by a thesis or professional/creative project in an area of your choosing, and if you are already employed in the sector, you will be encouraged to use your past or recent experience to reflect on current industry practice, problems and issues.

Study a Master of Arts in Creative and Cultural Futures at UC and you will:

• reflect critically on contemporary issues for the cultural and creative sectors
• critically analyse and apply professional knowledge and skills, and key techniques and approaches, relevant to a specific area of creative and cultural practice
• work independently and collaboratively to develop creative solutions to real-world problems and develop entrepreneurial approaches to implement these solutions
• critically evaluate and apply strategies for cultural leadership and communication across a range of professional and community contexts
• plan, design and implement creative, professional or research-based projects.

Work Integrated Learning

Work Integrated Learning (WIL) is a prominent feature of this course, with units containing team-based problem solving in real-life industry contexts, analysis of real-world case studies, and professional mentoring from industry and sector leaders. You can choose to undertake your final project as either a traditional thesis or as a research or creative project in a professional practice context.

Throughout your study, you will have unique behind-the-scenes access to cultural collections at Canberra-based institutions, with experiential learning of Indigenous cultural issues and creative and cultural practice. The degree has 12 credit points of electives which you can use to study abroad if you wish, and there will also be opportunities to partake in international field trips during your time on the course.

Career opportunities

• Arts administrator
• Gallery/Museum director
• Digital collections strategist
• Arts/cultural policy analyst
• Experience manager
• Cultural content developer
• Writer
• Filmmaker
• Multimedia developer
• Cultural entrepreneur
• Interpretation specialist
• Conservator
• Head of heritage
• Heritage consultant
• Curator
• Gallery manager
• Indigenous heritage officer
• Collections manager
• Heritage manager
• Engineering heritage consultant
• Historic buildings conservation officer
• Culture and heritage officer
• Heritage site manager
• Heritage and cultural policy adviser

Course-specific information

A clear pathway of study exists between this degree, the undergraduate Bachelor of Arts (Culture and Heritage), and the postgraduate Graduate Certificate in Heritage Materials Conservation, Graduate Certificate in Creative and Cultural Futures, and Graduate Diploma in Creative and Cultural Futures courses.