BA (Hons) Events & Festivals Management

Do you want to become the next Emily Eavis, organising world-famous festivals? Or are your sights set on events management in the corporate sphere? Our BA (Hons) Events & Festivals Management degree course, taught at UCA Epsom’s Business School for the Creative Indstries, will help you get there.

This degree is designed to immerse students in the organisation of events and festivals, and the audience experiences within these arenas.

Employability is a key focus: the course has been developed by event industry specialists – who also teach on it – and you’ll work directly with venues, artists, audiences, and other industry partners as you develop your skills.

Professional placements will form part of your core learning, equipping you to be adaptable, resilient, globally minded, confident, entrepreneurial, and digitally savvy, and to develop the transferable skills you need to excel in employment or to set up your own ventures.

What you'll study
The content of the course may be subject to change. Curriculum content is provided as a guide.

Integrated foundation year (if undertaken)

• UCA’s Integrated Foundation Year is designed to give you the skills you’ll need to start your degree in the best possible way – with confidence, solid knowledge of creative practice, study skills and more.
• You’ll explore a range of creative techniques and develop your portfolio, with your chosen subject in mind. We’ll work with you throughout the year to ensure you’re on the right track and give you the tools to achieve your highest potential on your degree.

Year 1
Core units
You will study the following core units:

• Principles of Live Events
• You’ll be introduced to the fundamental principles of designing, funding, delivering, and evaluating successful events, from conception to the post-event review. You’ll explore, analyse and critique the theory, working practices, and funding models of cultural live events of various scales, with a particular focus on concerts and music festivals. Finally you will create and manage a group-run live event, presenting your group project and reflecting on the different components of the event.

Introduction to the Creative & Cultural Industries

• The global creative economy is one of the world’s fastest-growing sectors, creating employment and income, promoting innovation, and contributing to societies’ well-being. You’ll explore the dynamic and multifaceted landscape of the Creative and Cultural Industries, including design, media, arts, and heritage.

Fundamentals of Marketing and Social Media

• You’ll be introduced to foundational concepts, theories and models used in marketing and social media, specifically in terms of how they operate as a business function. This unit is designed to help you gain a sound understanding of marketing and marketing principles and will enable you to apply best practices in marketing and social media in future coursework.

Understanding Audiences

• Diverse factors influencing audiences, including their behaviours, preferences, motivation, and engagement, will be explored in this unit, to understand the dynamic relationships between creators, cultural organisations, and audiences,

Industry Brief: Audience Evaluation

• You’ll learn about audience studies, research, and evaluation, and how evaluating audiences plays a key role in shaping creative and cultural experiences, determining cultural value, and affecting marketing activities in contemporary cultural business environments.

Elective units
You will study one of the following elective units:

Experience Economy

• In this unit you will explore experiences as a distinct fourth economic offering (beyond commodities, goods and services). Using case studies from a range of businesses, this unit will focus on creative insights sought by businesses that aim to generate memorable experiences for their users, audiences and/or consumers.

Brand Logo and Design

• A brand is built of many things, and crucial amongst those are the visual and lived experience of the brand. We can understand brand as the external image of a specific product or service that consumers connect with by identifying the name and logo. Branding is essential to identify and leverage competitor advantage in a crowded marketplace. It helps differentiate products and services from competitors and captures a target market, maximising customer loyalty and ensuring brand success. Understanding the principles of design and brand building is an essential skill to have in Creative Industry.

Managing Creative People

• You’ll consider and reflect upon the key skills and attributes effectively manage creatives. This unit will develop your understanding of the knowledge, skills, and personal qualities required to responsibly manage diverse teams in the cultural and creative industries. 

Year 2
Core units
You will study the following core units:

Producing and Managing Cultural Events and Festivals

• Covering the origins and functions of a variety of global cultural events and festivals, you’ll learn strategies for producing and managing cultural events and festivals and obtain practical knowledge and skills, including drawing up an Events Management Plan. You’ll also gain critical understanding of risks associated with cultural events and festivals and how to manage them. And there’s practical experience too, as you undertake a field trip to a local organisation to gain practical experience of assessing a site.

Project Management in the Creative Industries

• You’ll be given a sound understanding of project management principles and practices specifically tailored to the dynamic fields of creative industries and events management in this unit, exploring the unique challenges and opportunities that arise when managing projects in the creative sector.

Designing and Planning Immersive Events

• There are many different facets of event design and in this unit, you’ll use a range of concepts including imagineering, co-creation and gamification for idea generation to learn about them. As part of this unit you’ll conduct a site visit, design and pitch an immersive event concept and plan for a set venue partner, and then deliver the event itself. Following this you’ll present your group project on the different components of the event design, and coursework evaluating your individual contribution to the immersive event and what you would do differently.

Professional Practice: Your Professional Self

• This unit aims to prepare you for the development of your creative professional practice and equip you with the critical awareness of current and emerging trends in the global creative industries. You’ll have opportunities to create and develop your professional network and think critically and creatively about how you can make a positive contribution to industry and how you present yourself professionally.

Creative Business Brief: Digital Futures

• You’ll critically reflect on the imminent challenges and opportunities created by new technology and innovation in different contexts within the global creative industries, and design your own mini-research project, which focuses on one key topic within this burgeoning area. You’ll present it in a digital content format (for example, as a podcast, microsite, or short film) for a commercial and/or creative audience.

Elective units
You will study one of the following elective units:

Cross-Cultural Management

• This unit will introduce you to the importance of cross-cultural awareness and intercultural competence for business success in the global cultural and creative industries. It will explore the risks, uncertainties, and topics of debate within intercultural creative business and management, inviting you to consider what kinds of sophisticated, proactive leadership skills are needed to ensure positive cross-cultural collaboration and cooperation. Alongside international case studies, it includes an exploration and critical analysis of influential theories from management studies and global indicators of cultural context, including economic, political, social, and business issues across the world, allowing for comparison and discussion of key topics.

Creative Content: Analogue and Digital

• The focus of this unit is to continue building your knowledge of and experience with design approaches and methodologies, specifically related to both analogue and digital design. The creative approach is specific to industry, encouraging outcomes through the approach of concept, vision and idea making. Students are required to develop a range of physical proficiencies that utilise both analogue and digital skills that investigate, generate, articulate and communicate ideas and solutions applicable to standards, approaches, and methods practiced across the Creative Industries.
• The combined approach to Analogue and Digital Design throughout disciplines and across multiple mediums is more relevant and necessary than ever, the art and skill of hand rendered design and quick digital ideation enables effective communication and concept share to be developed, discussed and agreed prior to any undertaking of finalised, potentially costly and labor-intensive end solutions.

Managing International Tours & Events

• In this unit, you will critically examine concepts and working practices related to the touring of arts and music events on an international level. You will identify potential international markets for distinct cultural products and assess the feasibility of touring to those markets, considering financial and logistical aspects. Through case studies from music, performing and fine arts, you will develop knowledge and critical understanding required to plan sustainable international tours across a range of disciplines and contexts.

Professional practice year (if undertaken)

• If you opt to complete a professional practice year, this will take place in year three. You will undertake a placement within the creative industries to further develop your skills and CV.
• While on the Professional Practice Year, you will be required to pay a reduced tuition fee for that year. This fee will be determined using government funding regulations. Based on current regulations, we expect this to be a maximum of 20% of the tuition fee rate that you are charged for your second year of study. You will also incur additional travel and accommodation costs during this year. The University will provide you with further advice and guidance about this as you approach your Professional Practice Year.
• You’ll spend two years learning with us, before putting what you’ve learned into practice through a year-long industry placement.
• Our Professional Practice placements give you the opportunity to develop your professional, academic and personal potential, equipping you to be confident and engaged in creative workplaces. These qualities are widely recognised by employers and a significant proportion of placement students nationally are offered graduate-level jobs or go onto postgraduate study.
• Throughout your placement, your course team will support you, making use of our extensive industry connections to help facilitate you to find about the right placement for you. On conclusion of the placement, you’ll return to complete your final year of study – applying what you’ve learned on the job.

Year 3
Core units
You will study the following core units:

Emerging Trends in Events Management

• This unit explores the dynamic landscape of the events industry, focusing on the current trends and technological innovations driving its development. You’ll critically assess how cultural trends influence the events sector and propose a forward-looking vision for its future in a conference panel discussion.

Data Analytics in the Creative Industries

• This unit will equip you with the data analytics knowledge and skills required for working in the data-driven global creative industries. Working with existing or self-generated data sets, you will explore and develop a critical understanding of the fundamentals of data analytics and its use in the global creative industries, including the differences between descriptive and predictive analytics; the ethical, social, legal, and economic considerations of data collection and analysis; and the statistical and data visualisation tools required to produce meaningful insights into the global creative industries.

Finance and Fundraising in the Creative and Cultural Industries

• This unit will introduce you to the fundamental guiding principles, theories and working practices of raising and managing finance in the creative and cultural industries. You’ll explore, analyse and engage critically with a range of finance and funding options, to critically understand how to design financially viable creative projects. As part of this, you’ll be required to produce a fundraising strategy for a creative and/or cultural project of your choosing and to demonstrate your ability to articulate its value to potential funders, partners or donors.

Degree Project, Creative and Cultural Industries

• In this final unit, you will apply knowledge, skills and experience gained throughout your course, to create a distinctive piece of work for your degree project. The purpose of your degree project is to successfully identify an opportunity within the global creative industries, which aligns with your career aspirations.
• Through academic and industry research, you will create a project concept relating to the global creative industries. You will choose between a practical project (e.g. the creation of a business start-up) or an academic project (e.g. a dissertation) and deliver your project from initial idea to completed work.

Facilities

• The UCA Business School for the Creative Industries, based at our Epsom campus, is the first of its kind in the UK. There’s dedicated studios and study areas, digital media suites equipped with Macs and PCs which are programmed with specialist software including Adobe Creative Suite, Dreamweaver and After Effects. There’s a modern library with a wealth of books and thanks to its location, many collaborative opportunities with students from other courses.

Careers
Our BA/BSc Events & Festivals Management course will enable you to pursue a range of careers including:

• Events Management
• Venue Management
• Promotions Management
• Marketing Executive
• PR Executive/Account Manager
• Advertising Agent
• Postgraduate Study