BA Creative and Cultural Industries

For those who aspire to have a career in the cultural, creative, and media industries, whether in music, film and TV, theatre, fashion, publishing, or in galleries, libraries, archives, or museums (GLAM), this course will help to develop a critical understanding of the industries from a national and global perspective and prepare the next generation of cultural leaders, cultural entrepreneurs, policymakers, and researchers in these sectors. The Cultural, Creative, and Media Industries (CCMIs) course offers a deep and captivating journey through theory, research, and applied learning.

The Cultural, Creative, and Media Industries (CCMIs) programme offers a profound and captivating journey into the dynamic landscape of music, film, fashion, TV, gaming, publishing, GLAM, and the performing and visual arts. It equips students with the expertise to excel in leadership roles, drive strategic initiatives, influence policies, and promote entrepreneurship within the cultural, creative, and media sectors.

In the first year of study, you'll learn the key theories of cultural production and explore different industries and case studies. In the second year, you'll focus on putting your critical thinking into practice, as well as having the chance to choose specialised topics of interest. In the final year, you’ll combine practice and theory in the form of a major research and a major practical project. Alongside these core course units, there are options to pick additional courses from the School of Arts, Languages, and Cultures, meaning you can explore subjects from individual artforms, as well as key issues, including the impact of digital technology, sustainability, leadership, and how to be an entrepreneur.

There is the option for you to choose to undertake a placement year, gaining industry experience. Both the host organisation and your academic mentor will oversee the placement.

Please note : Effective from September 2026 this course will be known as BA (Hons) Cultural, Creative,and Media Industries , however, existing students and students who start their studies in September 2025 will be given the option to retain the existing course title or transfer onto the new title. Student intake from September 2026 will apply to the new proposed title, and students for 2026 entry will graduate with this.

If you aspire to have a leadership career in the cultural, creative, and media industries such as music, theatre, film, fashion, GLAM, and publishing, or in policymaking for these sectors, this course will help you to develop a critical understanding of the industries from a national and international perspective.

By enrolling on this course in Manchester, one of the UK's most important cultural hotspots, students will have the opportunity to benefit from its cultural infrastructure, MediaCityUK, the award-winning Whitworth Art Gallery and HOME, to name just a few.

Manchester: a creative city

Manchester is one of the world's great creative cities. It is the birthplace for many key cultural touchpoints across literature, music, cinema, and sport, to name a few. Our course is designed to give students access to a range of business and organisations within the creative and cultural industries. With organisations such as the BBC and ITV as well as major music and theatrical venues, you will be at the centre of a global cultural hotspot.

Placements

There is the option to take a placement year should wish to do so, working in industry, which might include working in Manchester’s cultural and creative scene, gaining vital skills in time management, research, and networking.

Experts in the classroom

In the course, a range of practitioners and creatives from various industries will give guest lectures. These will focus on a variety of matters across the creative and cultural industries.

Students will learn through a mixture of lectures, seminars, workshops, and tutorials, spending approximately 12 hours a week in study sessions. For every hour of university study, you will be expected to complete a further 2-3 hours of independent study.

The individual study component could be spent reading, producing written or creative work, and revising for examinations.

Assessment formats will vary according to course unit specification and will include written examinations, presentations, coursework including research or data collection alongside undertaking a dissertation project in your final year.