The M.A. European Urban Cultures (Polis) is a full time, postgraduate degree jointly developed by four European universities; the Tilburg University (Netherlands), the Flemish Free University of Brussels (Belgium), Helsinki University of Art and Design (Finland) and the Manchester Metropolitan University (UK).
Polis offers a specialist programme aimed at graduate students from Europe and elsewhere with undergraduate degrees in subject areas such as the social sciences; cultural and leisure studies; art, design and architecture; urban theory and planning; cultural marketing and management. The course is also targeted at professionals and administrators eager for the latest experiences, ideas and insights in urban cultural policy.
The minimum requirements for entry are related undergraduate diploma or degree, together with good proficiency in English.
The main topics include:
- European cultural policies
- popular cultures
- theory and practice of urbanism
- urban regeneration
- cultural consumption
- cultural management
- creative industries
- cultural and leisure theory
- globalisation and the city
- reading the city
The students will acquire the skills to evaluate urban cultural policies from the perspective of the latest expertise in urban and cultural theory. Furthermore, they will be able to formulate innovate strategic plans, aimed at combining and mutually strengthening interests of local cultural creativity and urban development. The course will develop expertise in urban cultural planning and policy, from a strategic, European perspective.
