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Arts Leadership and Fundraising (MA) at Royal Conservatoire of Scotland - UCAS

Course options

Course summary

Unlock your potential and prepare for an enriching career as a leader in the contemporary arts sector. The year-long MA programme will empower you to elevate your skills in leadership, management and sustainable business practices. Join us from anywhere in the world – the programme can be completed entirely online or combined with in-person residency intensives. You also have the option to take accredited short courses to add to your learning experience. The programme is delivered in modules, where you’ll be supported by RCS lecturers and industry experts to critically engage with your practice and to refine your identity as thinker, maker and leader. We welcome applications from a range of creative disciplines and backgrounds. You’ll have strong technical skills in your specialist practice but will work in RCS’s multidisciplinary environment, opening up the potential for cross-collaboration that reflects the nature of the creative industries. Enjoy being part of a dynamic international community at RCS, a global leader in performing and production arts education, where you’ll build a professional network to develop your career.

Course details

Principal study options

During the application and audition process, you must select which instrument(s) you wish to specialise in for the duration of your course. On this course, you can choose from the following options:

Main specialism

Only one specialism is studied. It may be possible to study a further instrument, but this will not contribute towards the qualification.

Instrument/specialisms

For all courses, you must select at least one specialism from the 'primary' list. For those studying primary/secondary pathways, two instruments may be selected – one from the 'primary' list and one from the 'secondary' list. Joint pathway students may select any two instruments from either list.

Primary instrument/specialism

  • General Arts Management

Modules

Please see our course webpage for more information about the programme.

Assessment method

Please see our course webpage for more information about the programme.


How to apply

*If you are an international applicant, or you are applying for a postgraduate course, or are choosing certain assessment locations, the 'on time' deadline may be later in the year - please contact the conservatoire directly.

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1

International applicants

Currently around 20% of our students come from outside the UK. Between them, they represent over 60 different nationalities and add a rich diversity to the Conservatoire.

Entry requirements

As the second cycle of higher education, postgraduate study represents a continuation of learning, training and/or experience rather than a beginning. As such, many of our applicants will have a degree qualification either in an arts subject, or in business or management. However, we recognise that traditional application processes, which show a bias towards prior learning and achievement, can perpetuate existing societal inequities, favouring those who already benefit. For this reason, we embrace the principles of widening access and participation and, whilst prior qualifications and experience may be taken into account, our application process places emphasis on students’ values, potential and readiness for Master’s level study. This is in accordance with the RCS Admissions Policy (including the Contextualised Admissions Policy). Accreditation of Prior and Experiential Learning (APEL): In some cases, applicants to the programme may already have achieved academic credit on another programme of study and are seeking to reduce the number of modules they will need to study on the programme. Applications for APEL will normally be decided prior to the applicant’s admission to the Royal Conservatoire.

Additional entry requirements

Interview

The interview is designed to provide the programme team with an insight into your level of suitability for study on the programme. This will likely take place online. The interview will comprise of two parts consisting of a short presentation and an interview: Short presentation (no more than 10 min) Your programme will culminate in a module which enables you to design and undertake a substantial project, synthesising your arts leadership and/or fundraising enquiry into one cohesive piece of work. You are invited to share some initial ideas for how you might use this project to deepen your chosen field of enquiry. For example, you may choose to focus on investigating: • Opportunities within your specialist area that you would benefit from a deeper understanding • The practical application of arts leadership and/or fundraising in a professional context • Defined areas of arts leadership and/or fundraising/policy that you believe would benefit from further research or exploration • Ways in which you might use this final module to address gaps in your own development You will be requested to provide some evidence to support your initial proposals, drawing on published journal articles, books or other key sources and to be prepared to provide some critical analysis of these in light of your project ideas. We will explore this with you and support your ideas development as part of the interview process. Following your presentation, there will be a 20-min discussion about your presentation and application with the Head of Programme and a member of the delivery team. This will be used to explore your educational background, experience, opportunities and aspirations and you will be invited to address the following questions: • What has led you to apply for this programme? • How do you see this programme contributing to your professional development? • What opportunities, if any, will you have to apply your learning in a professional context whilst on the programme?

Other

All applicants are required to create an Acceptd profile regardless of where you are auditioning. More information on this can be found on our website. The panel will take account of all aspects of the applicants’ profiles. This will include: • Performance at interview • Commitment to the programme • Potential to benefit from the programme • Readiness for masters level study • Academic qualifications • Personal statement • References (2 references from appropriately qualified persons) • Contextualised data The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland may require an applicant to provide additional material in support of their application prior to, or following, their interview.


English language requirements

TestGradeAdditional details
IELTS (Academic)77.0 with a minimum score of 7.0 in speaking and no component below 6.5
TOEFL (iBT)94Overall score of 94, with minimum component scores of: Reading – 19, Listening – 20, Speaking – 23, Writing – 24
PTE Academic66Overall score of 66 with a minimum of 66 in speaking and no component below 62

More information about our language requirements can be found at the weblink.

https://www.rcs.ac.uk/study/international-students/english-requirements/


Assessment locations

In the event of a successful assessment, applicants may be invited for a further interview prior to being made an offer.

Remote assessment recordings may be accepted in the event that you cannot attend an assessment in person.

Single specialism assessment

LocationOn-time FeeLate Fee
Online£65£65

Joint principal specialism assessment

LocationOn-time FeeLate Fee
OnlineNot available at this location

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

Channel Islands £14700* Year 1
England £14700* Year 1
Northern Ireland £14700* Year 1
Scotland £14700* Year 1
Wales £14700* Year 1
Republic of Ireland £14700* Year 1
EU £14700* Year 1
International £14700* Year 1

*This is a provisional fee and subject to change.

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .

Additional fee information

For more information on fees and funding, please see our website - https://www.rcs.ac.uk/apply/finance/feesandfunding

Sponsorship information

There are currently no internal scholarships available for this programme. Please visit our website for more information about funding options: https://www.rcs.ac.uk/study/fees-funding/

Arts Leadership and Fundraising (MA) at Royal Conservatoire of Scotland - UCAS