Programme overview

The study programme in a nutshell

Managing Art and Cultural Heritage in Global Markets (MAGMa) is structured around a series of mobility periods across two years where you study at a combination of partner universities, taking a mix of core and optional courses.

Teaching is delivered via a mix of lectures and seminars, with guest lectures and opportunities for work placements. In the last semester of the second and final year, you will return to one of the partner universities to conduct research and write a master thesis on a topic of your choice, under the supervision of a team from at least two universities.

What you will learn

MAGMa aims to offer an integrated, international and coherent programme of study that explores the social, historical, cultural and physical contexts of past, present and future cultural sites as well as critical methodologies. The programme provides in-depth and detailed insight into the management of art & cultural heritage in line with international, national, regional and community strategies, multiple stakeholders and competing priorities.

The pedagogical design of MAGMa will expose you to a broad range of teaching, learning and assessment formats including lectures, discussion-oriented seminars, work placements, project-based teamwork, e-learning, dissertation, written assignments and exams, and oral presentations.

Students will examine the practical, legal, and ethical implications of business models for art & cultural heritage, and their sustainability within the marketplace, including emerging markets. And they learn to reflect on the changing perceptions of value in art and culture and on the relationships between art markets and cultural institutions, the nature of local versus global art worlds, the roles of public and private collections, existing cultural institutions and new models in creating cultural heritage.

The programme broadens and deepens students critical understanding of the relationships between art and cultural institutions with local and global audiences and the many ways in which such organisations create economic and cultural impact in their communities.

And lastly, students will explore the role of the art market in creating collections and the roles of curators and national bodies in the creation of a vital and lively arena for contemporary artists to flourish and diversify.

Duration of the programme

The programme is structured around a series of mobility periods across two years where you study at a combination of partner universities, taking a mix of core and optional courses. Teaching is delivered via a mix of lectures and seminars, with guest lectures and opportunities for work placements. The final mobility period will be spent at one of the partners under the supervision of a team from at least two universities.

The programme also includes an optional two-week summer and winter school in years 1 and 2. Successful students will be awarded a multiple degree (four parchments) by all the consortium partners.

Below you can view the course overview for the cohort 2023–2025.

Study programme overview
 

Year 1

You will spend Semester 1 in Lisbon at the University Institute of Lisbon (ISCTE) and University of Lisbon studying Art Management and Art Markets, and Semester 2 in Paris at IESA Arts and Culture. IESA offers two study track options:

• Collecting and the Art Market
• Managing the Cultural Heritage of the Future

Year 2

You will spend Semester 3 in Rotterdam at Erasmus University Rotterdam, at the Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication (ESHCC). You will be able to choose between two study tracks:

• Cultural Tourism
• Economics of Cultural Heritage

Year 1 and 2 (semesters 1-3)

You will complete three online courses at the University of Glasgow.

Year 2, Semester 4

You will return to or stay in one of the four locations (Lisbon, Paris, Rotterdam or Glasgow) to complete your dissertation depending on your choice of research topic. Supervisor allocation will be based on staff subject background and research interests.