About Course

• 3 Years
• Full-time | Four years with a placement option  

• The longest-running degree course of its kind in the UK, Arts and Festivals Management boasts enviable industry links to give you the real-world insight and professional edge.  

  From programming and cultural policy to marketing and management theory, you will gain the skills that you need to become a leader in the cultural arena and festivals sector. With us, you will learn what it takes to run small and large-scale cultural events, including fundraising, business planning, licensing, and health and safety. You will gain expertise in different scales of venues and kinds of programmes, from theatres to music venues, galleries, museums and festivals. 

  We will also develop your knowledge of the theory and academic debate surrounding a range of topics, from running and promoting a venue to cultural leadership, arts and communities and the key to engaging audiences.  

  The events landscape is continually changing and professionals in the sector must be adept problem-solvers, with the ability to handle new challenges and offer dynamic solutions. This programme will help equip you with the skills to adapt to the diversification and developments of the sector, with practical projects allowing you to experience online event delivery and digital arts and cultural content.  

  At DMU, you can study Arts and Festivals Management with either Dance or Drama as a joint honours course. This will complement your understanding of the cultural sector by enabling you to acquire practical skills and critical knowledge of performance arts, opening up career opportunities in this sector. You will choose 50 per cent of your options from Arts and Festivals Management and 50 percent from Dance or Drama.

  Key features:

  • Arts and Festivals Management at DMU is ranked number one in the UK in the ‘Hospitality, event management and tourism’ subject area (Guardian University Guide 2021)
  • Links with the Leicester Comedy Festival have provided students with the opportunity to organise and run a venue, manage the acts and promote events. The festival founder is DMU alumnus Geoff Rowe. 
  • In your final year you can be part of the team producing, programming and running the high-profile annual  Cultural Exchanges Festival. Previous events have featured inspiring guests such as Benjamin Zephaniah, Grayson Perry, and Meera Syal. 
  • Gain meaningful international experience through  DMU Global. Students have benefited from trips to Amsterdam, and New York, where they saw a rehearsal and behind-the-scenes of Il Barbiere di Siviglia at Manhattan’s Lincoln Center. 
  • Valuable real-life experience is offered though a placement module with a professional organisation. Students have previously worked with the Joseph Papp Public Theatre in New York, Universal Music, Curve theatre and Glastonbury Festival. 
  • Our graduates are highly practical individuals who are equipped with business planning, engagement and delivery skills, which are hugely attractive in the arts sector. Graduates hold key positions across a wide range of industries and roles, including The Barbican, Ballet Rambert, Wembley Arena and the BBC.