Arts Leadership and Fundraising (MA) (Taught)

As the second cycle of higher education, postgraduate study represents a continuation of learning, training and/or experience rather than a beginning. As such, many of our applicants will have a degree qualification either in an arts subject, or in business or management.

However, we recognise that traditional application processes, which show a bias towards prior learning and achievement, can perpetuate existing societal inequities, favouring those who already benefit. For this reason, we embrace the principles of widening access and participation and, whilst prior qualifications and experience may be taken into account, our application process places emphasis on students’ values, potential and readiness for Master’s level study.

This is in accordance with the RCS Admissions Policy (including the Contextualised Admissions Policy).

Accreditation of Prior and Experiential Learning (APEL): In some cases, applicants to the programme may already have achieved academic credit on another programme of study and are seeking to reduce the number of modules they will need to study on the programme. Applications for APEL will normally be decided prior to the applicant’s admission to the Royal Conservatoire.

Interview

The interview is designed to provide the programme team with an insight into your level of suitability for study on the programme. This will likely take place online. The interview will comprise of two parts consisting of a short presentation and an interview: Short presentation (no more than 10 min) Your programme will culminate in a module which enables you to design and undertake a substantial project, synthesising your arts leadership and/or fundraising enquiry into one cohesive piece of work. You are invited to share some initial ideas for how you might use this project to deepen your chosen field of enquiry. For example, you may choose to focus on investigating: • Opportunities within your specialist area that you would benefit from a deeper understanding • The practical application of arts leadership and/or fundraising in a professional context • Defined areas of arts leadership and/or fundraising/policy that you believe would benefit from further research or exploration • Ways in which you might use this final module to address gaps in your own development You will be requested to provide some evidence to support your initial proposals, drawing on published journal articles, books or other key sources and to be prepared to provide some critical analysis of these in light of your project ideas. We will explore this with you and support your ideas development as part of the interview process. Following your presentation, there will be a 20-min discussion about your presentation and application with the Head of Programme and a member of the delivery team. This will be used to explore your educational background, experience, opportunities and aspirations and you will be invited to address the following questions: • What has led you to apply for this programme? • How do you see this programme contributing to your professional development? • What opportunities, if any, will you have to apply your learning in a professional context whilst on the programme?

Other

All applicants are required to create an Acceptd profile regardless of where you are auditioning. More information on this can be found on our website. The panel will take account of all aspects of the applicants’ profiles. This will include: • Performance at interview • Commitment to the programme • Potential to benefit from the programme • Readiness for masters level study • Academic qualifications • Personal statement • References (2 references from appropriately qualified persons) • Contextualised data The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland may require an applicant to provide additional material in support of their application prior to, or following, their interview.