Research Methods
Introduces students to the process of research, including the ability to work from libraries, exhibitions and institutional archives, and developing skills in visual literacy and academic writing. Students are encouraged to develop independence of thought by discovering, evaluating and making appropriate use of a wide range of approaches to research and writing. This course assists students with the identification of their own interests as they move towards choosing a topic for the professional research project.

Arts Management and Marketing
Equips students with the management skills — planning, organising, staffing, supervision and controlling — necessary to facilitate the production and presentation of the visual arts to audiences. The course will address strategic planning, finance management, fund-raising, marketing and communication. Students will consider the vision, mission and values — alongside the aims and objectives — of a number of specific international arts organisations.

Arts Policy
Aims to give students an understanding of the structure of arts policy in the UK and the USA, as well as on an international level. The course will explore the history of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the Arts Council and the British Council, in the UK and the National Endowment for the Arts in the USA, making comparisons between the two. Students will be asked to critically engage with different political agendas and how they have impacted arts organisations and the creative industries. Current debate around the instrumentalisation of the arts as social and economic processes will be discussed, alongside questions about how the value of art to society can be evaluated and measured – questions which are central to public policy formation.

Curating
Equips students with the practical skills and theoretical knowledge necessary for makingexhibitions in a museum or gallery. The course will trace the history of curating from the Salons in Paris through key exhibitions produced by the avant-gardes in the 20th century. Students will become familiar with current topics in curating, including the concept of the ‘universal’ museum, the ‘artist as curator’, new institutionalism and the ‘educational turn’ in curating, alongside issues to do with museum collections, including the ethics of ownership. Students will also explore practical aspects of curating, such as transport, insurance, installation and object-handling. The
course will make use of London’s many arts institutions.

Art Education
Engages students with current discourse on the educative, social and regenerative potential of the arts, and how these potentials are activated in museum programming and public policy. Students will explore the practical application of learning theories in the gallery; access, outreach and audience development in the museum and case studies of the success and failure of the arts as instruments of urban renewal, both through capital projects and community engagement. As well as studying local and international contexts, the course will draw upon case examples of regional museums and galleries in the UK.

International Art Market
Provides students with an overview of the international art market, including its history and current dynamics. Specific attention will be paid to emerging markets in China, Russia, India and the Middle East. The course analyses the structure, theory and practice of the constituent components of the ‘for-profit’ arts sector, including commercial galleries, auction houses, art fairs and consultancy organisations. Qualitative and quantitative research methods for art business and investment will be discussed.

Professional Research Project
For students working independently on their Masters professional research project. The professional research project (10,000-12,000 words) encourages students to study intensively a topic agreed with a supervisor, and so develop skills and experience which can be applied in work placements or further graduate work. Students apply their knowledge from across the fall and spring semesters to researching a topic on visual arts management and curating, which may relate to the internship. This course is comprised of intensive and regular meetings on a group and one-to-one (by appointment) basis with a project supervisor to discuss the progress of research, development and writing.

Extended Professional Research Project
For students working independently on their Masters professional research project. An extended project equivalent to a 15,000 word thesis is offered as an alternative to the optional internship. The professional research project encourages students to study intensively a topic agreed with a supervisor, and so develop skills and experience which can be applied in work placements or further graduate work. Students apply their knowledge from across the autumn and spring semesters to researching a topic on visual arts management and curating, which may relate to their work experience. This course is comprised of intensive and regular meetings on a one-to-one (by appointment) basis with a project supervisor to discuss the progress of research, development and writing.

Internship
A part-time work placement within an organization to enable students to participate in graduate level experiential learning and so develop hands-on skills and professional experience which will prepare them for work in a range of arts and creative cultural industries (depending on the requirements of the organization in question, a minimum of 200 hours). Placements are supervised, career-related work experiences combined with reflective, academic study that help students ‘learn by doing’. During the internship, the staff of the Internship Office and a faculty supervisor work closely with each student and the organization to ensure that the placement is a successful one.