Postgraduate programmes in Cultural Policy & Arts Management
Director’s Welcome
Thanks for your interest in our postgraduate programmes in cultural policy and arts management. I hope you find the information on these pages useful in explaining and helping to clarify any questions you may have and in deciding whether one of these options offers the right opportunity for you at this stage in your career.
The broad objective of the MA in Cultural Policy and Arts Management is to provide students with a blend of the intellectual and practical skills needed for effective leadership in the cultural sector. Our mission is to produce ‘reflective practitioners’ – people who can manage people and resources effectively on a day-to-day basis while having a sophisticated grasp of the complex philosophical values and cultural issues that condition the environment in which the contemporary cultural manager works.
You may be interested to know something of my own background. Before taking up the position as Director of the Programme in 2006 I had spent over twenty years working as a manager in Ireland’s cultural sector, during which time I frequently wrote and spoke on contemporary policy issues. I was for many years director of one of our leading heritage sites, Kilmainham Gaol, where I developed a strong conviction about the power of artistic practice to illuminate questions of history and identity, and worked with many leading artists and arts organisations over the years to realise this possibility. Completing an MBA in 2004 was for me a valuable way of crystallising the management skills that are always essential to running cultural organisations effectively. In delivering the course, I am assisted by Dr. Emily Mark-FitzGerald, who has an MA in Arts Administration from Indiana University and also has practical experience working in arts organisations.
A core conviction of mine is that the more diverse the student group is in any year (taking into account variety of national background, art-form interest, age range and work experience) the better the learning experience and the greater the opportunity for students to learn from each other. We put a lot of work into selecting candidates through the application and interview process with this in mind.
The learning experience of participating in our MA programme is one, I hope, in which you will be challenged by lecturers and fellow-students to think deeply about culture and society, the role and value of the arts, and to reflect upon how you can develop your own management skills and style to be an effective leader or team player in a cultural organisation.
Those of you who feel inclined to pursue a more in-depth piece of academic research into a cultural policy or management related subject, I would urge to consider the MLitt and PhD options which we also provide. It is especially by having students that pursue this kind of in-depth research that our School can make a valuable contribution to the strategic development of cultural policy in Ireland and elsewhere.
Pat Cooke, MA, MBA,
Director
Enquiries regarding the course should be made to
- The Director, Cultural Policy & Arts Management, Room J013, Newman Building, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4.
- Tel: + 353 1 716 8625 / Fax: + 353 1 716 8226 / pat.cooke@ucd.ie
