Master of Curating and Cultural Leadership

The Master of Curating and Cultural Leadership offers a customisable structure with flexible entry and exit points and offers full-time and part-time study options.

Depending on the length of your program, you’ll complete the following courses:

2-year program (96 UOC)

• 11 Core courses
• 5 Prescribed electives

1.5-year program (72 UOC)

• 8 Core courses
• 4 Prescribed electives

1-year program (48 UOC)

• 5 Core courses
• 3 Prescribed electives

Each university year at UNSW has three terms and an optional summer study period.

Some courses need to be studied in your first year, so you’re prepared for courses that can only be studied in later years. You can study full-time or part-time. Depending on how you plan your study load, you can fit two or three courses into a term and one course in a summer term.

Diverse electives support a core curriculum to guide your progression through the three key stages of the degree. Depending on where you enter the degree, you’ll be learning the following:

• 2 year program (96UOC) - You’ll be introduced to the field in your first term through a grounding in art and cultural history, theory and policy as well as writing skills;
• 1.5 year program (72UOC) - You’ll join at the intermediate level, with a core focus on developing research skills and building a sophisticated knowledge of the forces shaping the Australian and international cultural landscape;
• 1 year program (48UOC) - You’ll join the program at the advanced level, with a core focus on high-level writing and research skills, ethics and legal considerations and advanced theory in curating and cultural leadership.

Through core courses and electives, you’ll explore topics such as curatorial practice, exhibiting and visual culture, cultural studies, the history of art, communication, art writing and publishing and more. The degree focuses on two key areas of study:

• Curating focuses on contemporary curating as a diverse and dynamic profession that plays a key role in setting cultural agendas and discovering new ground. The curatorial strand emphasises experimentation and developing a strong independent practice through curatorial studios and live public projects.
• Cultural Leadership includes museum management, public programming and engagement, education, policy, critical writing, promotion, production, and new emerging roles. It emphasises the fluid boundaries between all these activities and promotes a collaborative approach. This strand fosters a vision of leadership that is diverse and limited by neither age nor status. It educates students to develop a unique individual philosophy underpinned by a robust and flexible skillset.

Capstone project
All students undertake a capstone project that enables them to employ and extend the skills and knowledge they have gained during the program through developing and delivering an independent or collaborative cultural initiative. You'll undertake an internship or self-directed cultural project tailored to develop your skills, build your professional network and open future employment opportunities.

If you're interested in and demonstrate a capacity for high-level research, you can complete a supervised major research paper, allowing you to investigate a pressing issue or topic deeply. 

Below is an example of what you could study in the two-year program (96 UOC):

First year

• 5 Core courses
• 1 Contemporary Art History course
• 2 Prescribed electives

Second year

• 1 Capstone project
• 4 Core courses
• 3 Prescribed electives