This course provides an industry-focused grounding in theories and practices of Creative Industries and Visual Culture. In the first year, you’ll study a wide range of contemporary issues, including arts policy, management, criticism, media law, and current discussions in the fields of art, design, film, photography, curating, museums, media, aesthetics, gender studies, and postcolonial studies. After the shared first year, you will select your own pathway, focusing on either Creative Industries or Visual Culture. On the Creative Industries pathway you will study arts management, media law and cultural policy, while on the Visual Culture pathway you will study aesthetics, art and design history, museums, exhibitions and curating. Common core modules throughout the course foster an understanding of the relationship between culture and society, and its impact on wider issues of policy, economics, and identity.
In addition to pathway selection, you will have an opportunity to further customise your learning, taking advantage of a wide range of specialist optional modules provided by Schools across the University, including modules in Languages, Creative Arts, Music and Drama, Architecture, Media, Hospitality and Tourism Management.
The teaching on the course applies theory to practice and features project-based learning, work placements, and visits by leading industry practitioners. You will often share classes with practice-based students on Creative Arts courses, helping to develop future networks. Depending on your pathway, you can choose to take the placement module (Real-World Engagement) in Year 2. Our recent placement partners include the IFI, Little Museum of Dublin, 100Archive, Red Dog Design Consultants, IMMA, and Visual Artists Ireland. In Year 3 you will organise and curate public events, based on your own independent research.