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Master of Arts (MA) Cultural Production & Cultural Policy | CPP
Rethinking Arts, Culture & Curating for Democratic Civil Societies
This interdisciplinary English-language Master’s degree program in Cultural Production & Cultural Policy qualifies students for programmatic, research-based, artistic and curatorial work in the cultural sector. In times of violent geopolitical upheavals and crises of planetary proportions, cultural work in highly heterogeneous societies means creating spaces and infrastructures for cross-cultural dialog. A particular focus of the Master's program is therefore on the analysis and design of transformation processes and international cooperation.
Anyone who plans transdisciplinary cultural events, curates exhibitions, directs festivals, develops concert programs or cultural policy program lines for regions and institutions today not only needs an artistic sensorium and management skills, but also a sense of social and political responsibility as well as the communicative ability to coordinate participation processes.
Closing event of the "Creativity & Performance" workshop Photo credit: Immanuel Grosser
Profile of the CPP Master's Degree Program
The CPP Master's program trains its students in artistically sophisticated, integrative and theoretically sound cultural work that is committed to a democratic civil society and a decolonial perspective. It prepares students to deal competently with digital and heterogeneous public spheres and is based on a post-heroic understanding of management, for which communication and relational leadership are central.
The Master's program qualifies students to work as responsible experts, program developers, researchers and potential change agents in the cultural sector.
Focus of the CPP Master's Degree Program
The Master's program allows students to set interdisciplinary priorities and carry out their own projects - depending on their individual research and work interests. The program focuses on
curatorial programming in the arts
international cultural work in the context of festivals, theaters, museums, galleries, concerts, socio-cultural institutions and in the independent scene
national and international cultural policy strategy and management processes
as well as the organizational development of cultural institutions.
Information on
What makes the CPP Master's program so special?
In the program, renowned lecturers and students jointly explore, develop and examine innovative cultural formats. The Master's combines project-based courses, in which students conduct field research and curate their own events, with sophisticated theoretical work and empirical research.
In teaching and in the university artsprogram students meet internationally renowned artists, curators, festival directors and experts from the cultural sector. The program cooperates with innovative partner institutions around Lake Constance and abroad in teaching research projects.
At the Centre for Cultural Production, outstanding research on the subject of cultural production and cultural policy is brought together.
Together with the head of the artsprogram, students curate events and their own internationally oriented festivals (e.g. SEEKULT) as part of their studies. The award-winning campus architecture has its own exhibition space, the White Box, and a range of attractive event rooms, workshops and media labs.
In this environment, students are enabled to develop innovative forms of planning, organization and curatorial programming and to help shape cultural policy strategies and funding structures. The Master's offers comprehensive theoretical and analytical thinking tools for this, so that graduates are able to think and act in terms of art, cultural management and cultural policy in equal measure.
Selected projects by ZU Students from the Department of Cultural & Communication Studies
Facts and figures about studying
- Degree: Master of Arts (M.A.)
- Standard period of study: 4 semesters (2 years)
- ECTS points: 120
- Course language: English
- Start: Fall semester (September)
- Departmental affiliation: Department of Cultural and Communication Studies
- Semester fee: 6.150 €
The Master CPP is a non-consecutive degree program. It is aimed in particular at Bachelor's graduates from the entire spectrum of cultural studies, humanities, social sciences, media and communication sciences as well as studies in the various artistic disciplines including design and architecture.
Interested? Note on the language requirements
As the Master in Master in Cultural Production and Cultural Policy is an English-language Master's program, a very good command of English at C1 level is required. German language skills are desirable, but not a mandatory admission requirement. If you wish to take courses from our other Master's programs, you may be offered German teaching formats.
Our selection interviews for the Master in Master in Cultural Production and Cultural Policy are held in English and you will also take an English test, which is why you do not need to submit proof of English with your application.
Fields of work
The program is geared towards different fields of work in the cultural sector: an examination of major fundamental cultural and socio-political upheavals, research into established cultural organizations (museums, concert halls and theaters, socio-cultural institutions, galleries, etc.) and the associated cultural policy fields of action and new agile formats in the field of independent art and cultural production.
Our graduates become:
- Process designers, curators, researchers and managers of cultural organizations
- activists, consultants in international cultural policy
- and do a doctorate in the fields of cultural or social sciences.
The cultural field is a field in transition, in which new and specialized professional profiles are still being differentiated. The degree program also prepares its graduates for this.
Information on
The Master in Cultural Production and Cultural Policy suits you if you...
...fulfill these criteria
have a Bachelor's degree or a diploma in a humanities, social sciences, cultural studies or arts course in Germany or abroad
are motivated and interested in a challenging education in an individual and creative learning environment
...bring an interest in
future-oriented conceptual cultural work
curatorial work and the active shaping of transformation processes in the cultural sector
self-initiated and team-oriented project work
the development and strategic implementation of international cooperation projects in the cultural sector
the combination of research and practical project work in your work
... are interested in these contents
Programming & Curating
Cultural Organization & Cultural Policy
Cultural Economy, New Publics & Audience Studies
International Cultural Relations
Arts, Politics & Social Change
Digitalization and Social Transformation
...would like to acquire these core competencies
artistic, cultural management and cultural policy thinking as well as the development of new agile formats in the field of cultural production
curatorial and staging skills, creative techniques and artistic knowledge
interdisciplinary approaches to current transformations in the cultural sector
cutting-edge, process-oriented cultural management skills and future skills
combination of theoretical foundation and empirical research - with a strong practical orientation.
...if you want to seize these career opportunities
- Expert, leader and transformation agent in the field of local, national and international cultural work
- Curatorial program designer in the arts
- those responsible for international cultural cooperation to shape socio-
political transformations and challenges - managers in cultural organizations (e.g. in the arts, music and theater, cultural policy and cultural administration, foundations, the independent scene, international cultural cooperation, publishing), consultants for cultural and process management, for the transition to independence and for the founding of cultural organizations and start-ups
Study Fees & Financing
The fees per semester of the two-year master's program come to 6.150 €. This is the equivalent of 1.050 € a month if paid per semester. Thus, the cost of an four-semester program, if paid per semester, is 24.600 €. Monthly payment of tuition fees is also possible, please contact the Admissions Team.
No financial obstacles should stand in the way of an excellent education, which is why we offer you individual financing options for your studies at ZU.
Scholarships are not only available for young people who have achieved exceptional results - we also offer scholarships to applicants with experience beyond success or with a strong commitment to cultural, political or social issues.
Career prospects with the Master's in Cultural Production & Cultural Policy
After completing the Master's degree in Cultural Production & Cultural Policy, our alumni find their dream jobs in a wide variety of fields*:
- 39 % in the creative industry, media, communication, PR
- 13 % in the cultural sector
- 14 % in consulting
- 17 % in NGOs, associations, foundations, academia
- 17 % in other areas
*Survey among alumni fall 2024
Further information
Team Admissions
| Phone: | +49 7541 6009-2000 |
| Room: | FAB 3 | 0.31 |
Executive Program Director
| Phone: | +49 7541 6009-1305 |
| Room: | FAB 3 | 0.67 |
| Phone: | +49 7541 6009-1221 |
| Room: | FAB 3 | 1.51 |