BA/BA (Hons) Events and Festival Management
In 2023 this course is being offered for Year Three entry only.
An event is like an iceberg, and the performance that the audience sees on stage is just the tip. Behind that lies 90% of unseen hard work done by the events manager and their team. On this course you will learn about the nature of events and how to design, manage and deliver them. You will gain invaluable practical skills running a live event and consulting with events industry partners and have the opportunity to study abroad*.
Could you plan, deliver and orchestrate an event such as a music festival? Where would you start? What would you need to consider? You will know all this by Year Two of this course. By Year Three you will understand who your audience is and what makes them return and promote your event for you.
Why QMU?
- You can gain invaluable experience working in Edinburgh’s many festivals and other large international events on your doorstep.
- We have superb links with active professionals in the field, with renowned visiting professors and guest speakers from organisations including Marketing Edinburgh and The Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
- The balance of theory and practical experience will prepare you to work in a variety of events and festival management roles in the UK and abroad.
About the course
The events business has grown exponentially in the last 20 years, from pop-up food fairs to corporate events, fashion shows to festivals such as Glastonbury and school sports days to the London Olympics. Events help drive the strategies of businesses, charities and public bodies, and there is now a growing cadre of supremely capable events professionals. They know all about planning, management, legal issues, budgeting, staging, marketing, promotions, evaluation and social responsibility. This course will teach you these skills and give you that experience and more.
You will also learn how to think critically about issues such as sustainability, crime, social justice, inclusion and what happens when the party is over. There are political considerations too, as many events and festivals are used to encourage tourism, regenerate communities and stimulate local economies such as our own world-famous Edinburgh festivals. Leading industry figures will bring your learning to life in guest lectures and networking opportunities.
In Year Two you will focus on the specifics of events and festivals management, plus general management skills such as marketing and human resources. You will put theory into action when you plan and deliver a live event. Our students have organised unforgettable fashion shows, music nights, charity dinners and sports days, often raising thousands of pounds for charities in the process. You will critically consider the purpose of events and their political and social impacts.
Years Three and Four will deepen your understanding of how events and festivals relate to national and international strategic issues, such as how cities use events for image development and investment purposes. You will look at audience development and engagement, why do some ideas catch on instantly when others fade into obscurity? This is when you will refine the focus of your learning, choosing the elective modules that you are most passionate about. You will undertake a consultancy project for an events industry partner. If you continue to honours, you will develop leadership skills in international events and examine how events contribute to social justice. You will complete a dissertation in an area of your choice and undertake a placement within the events industry, preparing you for graduation and your future career.
Finally, you will be learning all of this on a campus just six minutes by train from the heart of the city with the biggest arts festival on earth.
The really big event of your life, your career, starts here!
Structure
Students joining this course with a HND can opt to study for an ordinary degree over one year or an honours degree over two years. You will complete a range of modules each year as outlined in the following modules section.
Modules
Year Two
- Events and Festival with Purpose
- Events and Festival Project Management, Design and Operations
- Business Law
- Human Resource Management
- Digital Business and E-Commerce Management
- Live Event: Production and Evaluation
Year Three
- Events and Urban Regeneration
- Consumer Motivations, Events and Festival Experiences
- New Enterprise Creation
- International Events and Festival Employability
- Research Methods and Skills
- Plus one elective module
Electives include:
- Attractions Management
- Advertising and Marketing Communications
- Contemporary Food and Drink
- Entrepreneurial Finance
- Sustainable Development
Year Four
- Business and Events Placement
- Strategy as Practice
- Critical Issues in International Management/
- International Events and Festival Leadership and Social Justice
- Dissertation
The modules listed here are correct at time of posting (April 2021) but may differ slightly to those offered in 2022. Please check back here for any updates.
Teaching, learning and assessment
You will be taught in lectures, seminars and practical sessions. Outside these timetabled sessions you will be expected to continue learning through self-study.
You will be assessed by various forms of assessment: essays, reports, event bids, industry consultancy, investigative presentations, online portfolios, academic blogs, placements and live event delivery.
Placements
N/A
Exchange opportunities
In Year Three, you have the opportunity (subject to availability) to study for one semester at a university overseas. For more information, visit Exchanges and Study Abroad.
On December 24th 2020, the UK Government announced that as an outcome of Brexit negotiations, the United Kingdom would not be seeking to participate in the Erasmus+ successor programme.
From 2022/23 Queen Margaret University will no longer operate under the Erasmus+ scheme. Over the coming year we will be working with new and existing partners on study abroad and exchange opportunities for the 2022/23 academic year and beyond.
Careers
You will have the in-demand skills and confidence to kick-start your career with a role in events management, festival management, sporting events management and many other interesting fields. Recent graduates are carving out impressive careers as General Manager, Events Coordinator, Performer Co-ordinator, Conference and Events Manager, Events Executive at VisitScotland, Events and Groups Executive at Apex Hotels and Front of House Supervisor at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.
Entry requirements
Required subjects: English required and Maths preferred at Nat 5/GCSE level.
For entry in 2023, you will only be able to join this course in Year Three.
Direct Entry Year Three:
• HND in a related subject with CB in the graded unit
For details of related HND courses, visit our College Leavers and Mature Students Advice page.
Teaching staff, class sizes and timetables
For more information, please visit ‘How we teach and how you’ll learn’.
Awarding body
QMU. More information is in the ‘External Review’ section on the ‘How we teach and how you’ll learn’ page.
Please note:
The delivery of this course is subject to the terms and conditions set out in our 2022/23 Entry - Terms and Conditions (Undergraduate).
Teaching staff may be subject to change.
