Course contact details
Main Contact
Email:admissions@rcs.ac.uk
Phone:0141 332 4101
Fax: 0141 332 8901
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
100 Renfrew Street
Glasgow
G2 3DB
Arts Leadership and Fundraising (Taught)
- Master of Arts
- 1 Years
- Full-Time
- 16 August 2027
- Postgraduate
- Main Site
- Course scheme
- UCAS Conservatoires
Course summary
The application deadline for this programme is the 31st March 2027
This MA programme will empower you to elevate your skills in leadership, management and sustainable business practices.
Join us from anywhere in the world – the programme can be completed entirely online or combined with in-person residency intensives. You also have the option to take accredited short courses to add to your learning experience and enrich your personalised journey.
The programme is delivered in modules, where you’ll be supported by RCS lecturers and industry experts to critically engage with your practice and to refine your identity as thinker, maker and leader. Core to the programme is the exploration and critical thinking around contemporary leadership and management theory, enabling you to upskill, reskill or take your career forward as a change-maker in the arts.
You will be part of a thriving and collaborative learning community with opportunities to share thinking, challenge assumptions and develop your distinctive competencies within a supported framework.
We welcome applications from a range of creative disciplines and backgrounds. You’ll have strong technical skills in your specialist practice but will work in RCS’s multidisciplinary environment, opening up the potential for cross-collaboration that reflects the nature of the creative industries.
Enjoy being part of a dynamic international community at RCS, a global leader in performing and production arts education, where you’ll build a professional network to develop your career.
Course details
Principal study options
During the application and audition process, you must select which instrument(s) you wish to specialise in for the duration of your course. On this course, you can choose from the following options:
Instrument/specialisms
For all courses, you must select at least one specialism from the 'primary' list. For those studying primary/secondary pathways, two instruments may be selected – one from the 'primary' list and one from the 'secondary' list. Joint pathway students may select any two instruments from either list.
Primary instrument/specialism
- General Arts Management
Modules
Course Modules
The programme is divided into Situating Practice and Cultures and Context modules, allowing you to focus on expanding your practice.
You will study subjects such as policy, ethics and accountability; learn measurement methods such as economic impact and financial return on investment modelling; explore communication, leadership bias and effective advocacy alongside developing your personalised development goals and defined areas of academic research and enrichment.
The final module, Synthesising Practice, concludes with a presentation of a work-in-progress that combines your new knowledge with your existing practical and theoretical skills. It could be a new script, improvisation practice, choreography, film score, or even a new start-up entrepreneurial concept. You can also propose a substantial research project suitable for a PhD or DPerf application.
https://www.rcs.ac.uk/courses/ma-mfa-arts-leadership-fundraising/#programme-structure
Assessment method
Please see our course webpage for more information about the programme.
How to apply
If you are an international applicant, or you are applying for a postgraduate course, or are choosing certain assessment locations, the 'on time' deadline may be later in the year - please contact the conservatoire directly.
Apply by
13 January 2027
This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.
Application codes
- Course code:
- 218F
- Institution code:
- R58
- Campus name:
- Main Site
Points of entry
The following entry points are available for this course:
- Year 1
Entry requirements
Typical qualification requirements
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.
Additional entry requirements
- 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.
English language requirements
| Test | Grade | Additional details |
|---|---|---|
| IELTS (Academic) | 7 | 7.0 with a minimum score of 7.0 in speaking and no component below 6.5 |
| TOEFL (iBT) | 94 | Overall score of 94, with minimum component scores of: Reading – 19, Listening – 20, Speaking – 23, Writing – 24 |
| PTE Academic | 66 | Overall score of 66 with a minimum of 66 in speaking and no component below 62 |
| Cambridge English Advanced | Overall score of 185 with a minimum of 185 in speaking and no component below 176 | |
| Cambridge English Proficiency | Overall score of 185 with a minimum of 185 in speaking and no component below 176 |
https://www.rcs.ac.uk/study/international-students/english-requirements/
Assessment locations
In the event of a successful assessment, applicants may be invited for a further interview prior to being made an offer.
Remote assessment recordings may be accepted in the event that you cannot attend an assessment in person.
Single specialism assessment
| Location | On-time Fee |
|---|---|
| Online | No Fee Charged |
Joint principal specialism assessment
| Location | On-time Fee |
|---|---|
| Online | Not Applicable |
Additional Information
All applicants need to complete an Acceptd account and application, this is part of the audition process (https://app.getacceptd.com/rcs) and needs to be completed once your UCAS application is submitted. Once we receive your UCAS and Acceptd application we will contact you with details of your interview. For further information on what to prepare, please see our website - https://www.rcs.ac.uk/courses/ma-arts-leadership-fundraising/
Fees and funding
Tuition fees
Per year tuition fees
| Location | Fee | Year |
|---|
* This is a provisional fee and subject to change.
Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website.
Additional fee information
Please note, all new students are required to pay associated programme cost related fees at the start of their studies.
For more information on fees, funding and scholarship, please see our website.
Sponsorship information
Online Blended learning
There are currently no RCS scholarships available for this programme. You may be eligible for funding via the student loans companies relevant to your country, more information can be found on our website.
https://www.rcs.ac.uk/study/fees-funding/#sources-of-funding
Related courses
At Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
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