PhD Arts Management and Cultural Policy / Programme details
Year of entry: 2025
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Programme description
Our PhD Arts Management and Cultural Policy programme links together these interdisciplinary fields to support research into the organisation of the arts, creative and cultural practices and their relationship to broader society, power relations and governance.
The programme is one of a suite of PhD programmes within the Institute for Cultural Practices (ICP). They were launched with the aim of providing an axis for engagement, collaboration and partnership between arts and cultural management professionals, sector organisations and higher education through its teaching and research programmes.
The ICP works closely with Manchester-based, regional and national cultural partners and bodies and is developing partnerships overseas.
Research supervision interests for this PhD programme include:
- popular music, cultural policy and regeneration;
- the role of research in the arts management practice;
- the relationships between higher education and the creative economy;
- Audience, engagement and participation evaluation frameworks;
- Local cultural policy, planning and strategy.
You can find out more about our research on the Institute of Cultural Practices website, and see what our current PhD students are working on.
Additional programme information
Humanities Doctoral Academy
Our Humanities Doctoral Academy combines the strengths of our four schools to bring expertise, knowledge, support and high-quality services for postgraduate researchers.
We are a community of academic leaders and postgraduate researchers across all levels in the Faculty of Humanities. The Doctoral Academy Hub houses our specialist professional service teams who support postgraduate researchers throughout the programme journey.
This includes admissions, registration, student experience, progression, examination, and graduation. We collaborate closely with other University directorates including Manchester Doctoral College, Researcher Development team, and the corresponding Doctoral Academies in the Faculty of Science and Engineering and the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health. Together we provide the best experience and support for your studies and research.
EDI
Equality, diversity and inclusion is fundamental to the success of The University of Manchester, and is at the heart of all of our activities.
We know that diversity strengthens our research community, leading to enhanced research creativity, productivity and quality, and societal and economic impact.
We actively encourage applicants from diverse career paths and backgrounds and from all sections of the community, regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation and transgender status.
All appointments are made on merit.
The University of Manchester and our external partners are fully committed to equality, diversity and inclusion.
Teaching and learning
Supervising staff
Abigail works on research, consultancy, knowledge exchange and public engagement with arts and cultural communities.
Her main research focus is on relationships between cultural participation and place-making, and the use of research and evidence in cultural policy and local cultural strategies.
She also works on partnerships and collaborative work between higher education institutions and the creative economy. Her PhD was in popular music and urban cultural policy.
Simon's research interests include applied theatre with a focus on drama and theatre in education, drama within the context of public engagement with research, contemporary science in performance, and approaches to arts evaluation.
He is currently working with colleagues at the University of Derby and Isinglass Consultancy in researching Y Touring Theatre Company's Theatre of Debate programme, which aims to stimulate debate among young people about ethical issues raised by scientific research using a combination of theatre and digital media.
This project is part of a wider investigation into the role of theatre and performance in mediating public engagement with contemporary scientific research, which was initiated in the Creative Encounters programme documented in a book published by the Wellcome Trust.Related research
REF 2021
In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF2021) Arts Management and Cultural Policy was assessed as part of The University of Manchester's 'Art and design: history, practice and theory' submission.
91% of our research was judged to be in the highest two categories (4*) 'world-leading' or (3*) 'internationally excellent'.
Our research impact was also judged to be strong, with 100% judged to be (4*) 'world-leading' or (3*) 'internationally excellent'.
The University of Manchester was ranked in the top 10 in the UK in terms (by grade point average) among the 86 departments assessed under Unit of Assessment 32.
Find out more about our research in the Institute for Cultural Practice.
What our students say
Facilities
Research and teaching in arts management is supported by rich resources within our library. Manchester is home to one of the UK's five National Research Libraries - one of the best-resourced academic libraries in the UK and widely recognised as one of the world's greatest research libraries.
Find out more about libraries and study spaces for postgraduate research students at Manchester.
We also have one of the largest academic IT services in Europe - supporting world-class teaching and research. There are extensive computing facilities across campus, with access to standard office software as well as specialist programmes, all connected to the campus network and internet.
Every student is registered for email, file storage and internet access. If more demanding computer access is required, our specialist computing division can provide high-end and specialist computing services.
Find out more about facilities for Institute for Cultural Practices students.