The Master's degree program in Cultural Management is open to students who have already obtained a first professional degree (Bachelor's or Diplom) in an economics or arts-oriented degree program (business administration, music or liberal arts) with a grade of 2.9 or better or an equivalent university degree with at least 180 ECTS credits. Subject to pre-defined conditions, graduates with a first degree qualifying them for a profession in a cultural, social, tourism or leisure studies course are also eligible.
In addition to the above-mentioned completed degree program, basic knowledge from the business management disciplines amounting to 22 ECTS credits or the artistic disciplines amounting to 24 ECTS credits as well as basic knowledge of empirical social research with at least 5 ECTS credits must be demonstrated. In addition, an exposé on a freely chosen case study from the field of cultural management (approx. 2-3 A4 pages) must be prepared. The content of the exposé is a real or fictitious problem or question of your choice from the field of cultural management. This should be clearly formulated and presented in a form that is comprehensible and meaningful for the admissions committee.
The application for admission includes an application form, certificates of previous studies, a curriculum vitae in table form (max. 2 pages), a letter of motivation and the above-mentioned exposé.
The course builds on a broad range of basic knowledge and offers a targeted advanced qualification with a view to a challenging management role in a culturally oriented environment. The first and second semesters serve to impart methodological, social and culture-specific skills and to deepen and further develop business knowledge in the field of non-profit organizations. Compulsory electives such as event management, theater pedagogy, business English or courses at the HfM Saar or HBK Saar supplement the curriculum in the third semester, in which the Master's thesis is also written.
The uniqueness of this degree program results in particular from the cooperation of three universities from different disciplines, namely the Saar University of Fine Arts, the Saar University of Music and the Saarland University of Applied Sciences. This ensures the acquisition of interdisciplinary specialist knowledge from both the economic and artistic fields in a special way. Due to the wide range of courses offered in the artistic field, in addition to a generalist orientation, there is also the opportunity to specialize in the fields of "Music" or "Fine Arts". The teaching of socio-political and cultural-political, cultural-sociological and cultural-anthropological aspects is of particular importance. In addition, the harmonization of the knowledge base in the preparatory course is also unique (see FAQ "How can a common knowledge base be created for students with different degrees?").
The unique "1+ 3 semester" concept enables students to be brought up to a common knowledge base within one semester in a propaedeutic course preceding the 3-semester Master's course, regardless of the area they come from in terms of their previous Bachelor's degree. This so-called harmonization takes place through a "tailor-made" composition of the preparatory course, which is based on the respective level of knowledge of the applicants. This ensures that students are able to compensate for areas in which they previously had deficits and have a broad common knowledge base for the actual Master's degree course. Students with no knowledge of business administration are therefore first taught basic business administration "tools of the trade" and, conversely, students with no prior artistic training learn artistic basics.
Possible fields of activity for cultural management graduates are management positions (leadership, marketing, PR, etc.) in public cultural institutions (e.g. theaters, museums, orchestras, socio-cultural centers), state authorities (e.g. cultural offices), private non-profit cultural institutions (e.g. foundations, associations), but also in commercial companies from the cultural industry (e.g. art market, book market, film industry, music industry, festivals, amusement parks, etc.).
If you have any further questions about the course, please contact the Director of Studies, Prof. Dr. Nicole Schwarz, nicole.schwarz@htwsaar.de