Sustainable Festival Management BA(Hons)

Program Overview

This Sustainable Festival Management BA(Hons) program equips students with the skills and knowledge to manage festivals sustainably. Through coursework-based assessments, students gain practical experience in event planning, operations, and project management. The program emphasizes sustainability, inclusivity, and real-world industry engagement, preparing graduates for careers in festival and event management, marketing, and the creative industries.

Program Outline

Sustainable Festival Management BA(Hons)

Degree Overview

This program is designed for students who are passionate about the future of festivals and want to learn how to manage them in a sustainable way. The program is based in a creative arts institution, partnered with the pioneering Eden Project and located in a region with a thriving festival scene.

Objectives:

• To equip students with the skills and knowledge to manage successful festivals, from music festivals to those focusing on literature, food, comedy and more.
• To provide students with real experience organising live events and engaging with industry, while benefiting from the breadth of leading sector expertise at the Eden Project, host of the Eden Sessions.
• To enable students to learn from specialist staff with experience in music, events, hospitality, technical and entrepreneurial backgrounds, as well as relevant research interests.
• To develop a range of project management skills – essential for the fast-moving and ever-changing contemporary festival industry.

Outline

The program is offered over three years. During the first year, students will gain a broad understanding of the festival industry, including its nature, scope and scale. They will also explore the importance of attendees' experience, learn about wellbeing in the industry, design promotional communications and investigate sustainable development. The second year focuses on developing more specialized operational knowledge of sustainable festival management. Students will learn about legal aspects, financial management, festival operations and project management. They will also plan and deliver a live festival event. In the final year, students will further develop their practical skills, including crisis management and ethical and creative leadership. They will also enhance their specialist knowledge by applying advanced research skills. They will also complete a final live event project while preparing for their future career in the industry.

Assessment

All assessments in this program are coursework-based. Assessment methods include:

• Practical assessments: crisis management simulation, digital and industry presentations, and the development of students' own festival events.
• Coursework assignments: reflecting real world outputs, including a portfolio of promotional communications, a grant funding bid and project initiation document (PID).
• Research projects: exploring areas of personal interest.
• Continuous assessment: through visual, verbal and written assignments.

Teaching

The program uses a variety of teaching methods, including lectures, seminars, workshops, field trips, collaborative projects and guest speakers. The program team has an “open door” policy and is always available to support students.

Careers

Graduates of this program can work in a variety of sectors, including:

• Festival and event management organizations
• Venue operators
• Marketing agencies
• Public agencies and local authorities
• The creative industries sector
• Tourist and event attractions and destinations
• The music and entertainment sectors
Graduates can pursue roles such as:
• Festival event manager
• Operations manager
• Digital marketing officer
• Social media manager
• Vendor
• Artist liaison
• Talent booker
• Volunteer coordinator
• Sponsorship manager

Other

This program is accredited by A Greener Future and Attitude is Everything, two organizations championing sustainability and inclusivity in live events.

Annual tuition fee Student Full-time UK £9,250 per year Annual tuition fee Student Full-time EU/international £17,950 per year Annual tuition fee Student Full-Time UK and EU/international £1,850 per professional placement year