Contemporary curating is a dynamic profession, playing a key role in setting cultural agendas and generating new ideas. In the Master of Curating and Cultural Leadership we foster a vision of leadership that is deeply diverse and non-hierarchical, forging connections between curating, audience engagement, policy, management, critical writing, promotion, production and other emerging roles. You will benefit from partnerships with a broad range of Australian and international creative organisations as well as regular connection with arts leaders and industry professionals.

The degree is flexible and customisable. In the final year you will undertake an industry-based capstone project tailored to develop your skills, build your professional networks, and open further career opportunities. You may also complete a supervised research paper, allowing you to engage deeply with a topic of your interest.

The admission requirements for the Master of Curating & Cultural Leadership degree include:

• A Bachelor's degree (AQF level 7) with a weighted average mark (WAM) of at least 65 or equivalent. The Bachelor's degree can be in any field. This provides admission into the foundational disciplinary course component of the program - requiring completion of 96uoc (2.0 years).
• Bachelor's degree (AQF level 7) in a cognate field with a weighted average mark (WAM) of at least 65 or equivalent. This provides direct admission into the disciplinary course component of the degree - requiring completion of 72uoc (1.5 years).
• An Honours Degree (AQF level 8) in any of the following cognate fields. This provides direct admission to the advanced disciplinary component of the degree - requiring completion of 48uoc (1 year).
• Cognate disciplines include: Curatorial Studies, Librarianship and Information Management (FOE 0913), the Creative Arts (FOE 10, such as Fine Arts, Art History, Art Theory, Museum Studies, Visual Arts and Crafts, Performing Arts, Graphic and Design Studies, Communication and Media Studies), Studies in Human Society (FOE 0903, such as Sociology, Anthropology, History, Archaeology, Human Geography, Indigenous Studies, Gender Specific Studies), Political Science and Policy Studies (FOE 0901), Literature (FOE 091523), and Philosophy (FOE 091701).

Those applying without a Bachelor’s degree or a Bachelor’s degree completed more than 10 years ago can be admitted into the Graduate Certificate of Cultural Leadership through a request for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). Students who complete the requirements for the Graduate Certificate or Graduate Diploma with a record of achievement equivalent to a UNSW credit average (65%) are eligible for admission into the Master’s program with full credit for courses already completed.

Applications must be submitted through our Apply Online portal. We encourage you to submit your completed application as early as possible to ensure it will be processed in time for your preferred term.

Some high-demand programs with limited places may have an earlier application deadline or commencement date. Find out more.

^There is a limited number of Commonwealth Supported Places available for this degree. The indicative tuition fee for domestic postgraduate students shown is for fee paying students, not students in Commonwealth Supported Places. To find out more about the student contribution amounts for Commonwealth Supported Places visit Postgraduate Commonwealth Support.

*Fees are subject to annual review by the University and may increase annually, with the new fees effective from the start of each calendar year. The indicative fees listed here are based on an estimated average and are for tuition only other fees and charges are not included. The amount you pay will vary depending on the calendar year to enrol, the courses you select and whether your study load is more or less than 1 Equivalent Full Time Student Load (8 courses per year). Indicative fees are a guide for comparison only based on current conditions and available data. You should not rely on indicative fees. More information on fees can be found at the UNSW fees website.

Indicative fees to complete the program have been calculated based on a percentage increase for every year of the program. Fee increases are assessed annually and may exceed the indicative figures listed below.