Global Creative Industries BA

Course overview

Are you passionate about creativity and focused on adding value to the world around you? Do you want to learn how to turn that passion into a stable and rewarding career? This course gives you the skills and knowledge to build a future of leadership and innovation in the exciting world of global creative industries. You’ll explore how technology and global trends shape creativity, and learn what makes human cultures so valuable. Plus, you’ll gain hands-on experience working with well-known creative enterprises and/or starting your own projects while based in the abundance of culture and creative spaces in Leeds.

The cultural and creative industries are a vital and growing component of the global economy that shape how we understand the world and our place in it. This course is designed for people with a broad range of interests such as creative arts students, business and economics students, technology enthusiasts, students with a humanities or social sciences background, as well as aspiring entrepreneurs! It will open up opportunities for a life of creativity, exploration, and achievement.

This programme has been designed with three distinctive features:

1. It is forward-thinking – it prepares you for a future that we can’t currently imagine.
2. It is student-centred – everything you study derives from your personal passions and ambitions.
3. It is industry-engaged – we bring the industry into the classroom and offer students opportunities to work directly with industry partners to solve real problems.

Your course will be based in the School of Performance and Cultural Industries, from where you can pursue your passion for music, film, digital media, art, theatre, events, or museums and galleries across a range of the world’s cultures. You will learn from leading experts in creative industries practice and research and develop the skills you need to flourish in competitive and rapidly changing environments.

You can tailor the course to your personal ambitions by choosing to study a wide range of optional modules from other schools, including Music, Media and Communications, and Fine Arts, History and Cultural Studies. This selection of modules enables you to align your studies to a career in Marketing and Audiences, Enterprise and Management, or Policy and Politics. You’ll also have access to guest talks from industry professionals, and you’ll be encouraged to participate in career events such as workshops and networking sessions with creative industry leaders.

This emphasis on skills, networks, and experiences will equip you with the confidence to forge your own path into a meaningful and rewarding career as a creative leader, manager, innovator, and thinker.

Specialist facilities

Leeds has plenty of valuable resources for Global Creative Industries students.

The School has a wide range of partnerships with leading creative and cultural organisations, which have led to our staff and students working with:

• Award winning national opera company Opera North (with which the University has a formal partnership).
• Leeds-based creative companies including: Chapel FM, Come Play With Me, Hyde Park Book Club and Leeds Heritage Theatres, which include City Varieties Music Hall, Leeds Grand Theatre, and Hyde Park Picture House.
• TV, film, and digital companies and organisations: Channel 4, BBC, Limehouse Productions, Live Cinema UK, Megaverse, Curiouser and Curiouser Media, and XR Stories.
• Independent artists and producers: Fuel Theatre, Louise Ann Wilson Company, Bloomin' Buds, Mind the Gap.
• Regional and international organisations from across the creative and cultural industries: Hepworth Wakefield, Theatre Royal Wakefield, Azzuu, and IMA HOME.
• Regional and city-based events: Leeds Young Film Festival, Light Night Leeds, Transform Festival, Holmfirth Arts Festival, Furnace Festival, Compass Live Art Festival, Leeds international Film Festival, and Bradford Opera Festival.

Our School is based in stage@leeds, a purpose-built landmark building that sits at the heart of campus. As our student, you’ll have access to its two professional standard, publicly licensed theatres, which provide many opportunities for you to become involved as volunteers, or as a member of one of the many Student Union performance societies. These opportunities offer the unique experience of working in a professional theatre environment within a university context.

You’ll also have access to a wide range of specialist facilities, including video-editing and sound recording suites and a range of technical resources such as portable recorders, 360-degree cameras, VR headsets and green screen technologies. You'll be supported in using these facilities by our experienced technical team.

You can refine your creative skills in Helix, the University's learning innovation hub for students, staff, and the local community. Located in the heart of campus, Helix offers cutting-edge digital provision including immersive technologies, multimedia production studios, as well as a physical makerspace. You'll be able to bring your own initiatives and ideas to life through collaboration, creation and innovation.

You will also have access to business advice and entrepreneurial support from the University’s vibrant community of innovators and entrepreneurs in Nexus. This business support community will help you make the right connections to realise your ambitions, innovate and grow. They provide access to research, talent and facilities across the University of Leeds and beyond.

Leeds University Library is one of the UK’s major academic research libraries, and has extensive holdings to support your studies including Special Collections offering a huge range of rare books, manuscripts and art. You’ll have access to materials relating to Red Ladder, Leeds Playhouse, Phoenix Dance Theatre, and more.

Course details

This course provides you with the understanding and skills needed to sustain a successful career in the global creative industries. In a rapidly changing world of technology and global politics, it lays bare the foundations and commonalities of human creativity. It provides opportunities for you to put your knowledge into practice, in partnership with an established enterprise or based on your own initiative.

Year 1

In your first year you’ll begin to explore how global creative industries function and what makes them distinctive from other parts of the economy. You’ll explore case studies that speak to the social, economic, political and cultural impacts of cultural and creativity activity, and consider how creative industries have developed in different global contexts.

Year 2

In year 2 you’ll focus on policy and creative enterprise, considering how the creative industries are supported, valued and regulated by different governments around the world. As well as developing your own policy proposals, you’ll also work with an external partner organisation to understand its business and solve a business problem on its behalf.

Year 3

In your final year you’ll have considerably more independence as you develop your own career plan and complete a final-year project that embeds your learning from previous years in current best practice according to your own design.

Across each level of study, you’ll also take modules to develop your skills in research and for employability in your preferred areas of the creative industries, ensuring you're ready to make the most of the opportunities as a University of Leeds graduate. Optional modules will allow you to gain a wide range of experiences and develop specialist skills in managing events, arts marketing, visual cultures, and more.

You also have the opportunity to take a year in industry or study abroad after the completion of year 2. You can find out more in the Study abroad and work placements section.

Modules

The course information shown below represents typical modules/components studied and may change from time to time. Read more in our terms and conditions.

Most courses consist of compulsory and optional modules. There may be some optional modules omitted below. This is because they are currently being refreshed to make sure students have the best possible experience. Before you enter each year, full details of all modules for that year will be provided.

For more information and a full list of typical modules available on this course, please read Global Creative Industries BA in the course catalogue

Discovery modules

Throughout your degree you will benefit from a range of opportunities to expand your intellectual horizons outside or within your subject area. This course gives you the opportunity to choose from a range of discovery modules. They’re a great way to tailor your study around your interests or career aspirations and help you stand out from the crowd when you graduate. Find out more about discovery modules.

Learning and teaching

This course adopts several different approaches to teaching, including lectures, seminars, workshops, small-group and individual tutorials, and self-directed sessions.

Compulsory modules will use the following methods to ensure a quality student experience and effective learning:

• Industry partners will deliver guest lectures on their area of specialism to ensure students receive excellent opportunities to engage with the sector.
• You are encouraged to work on creative and cultural events, and to reflect on your continuing engagement with the creative industries. You develop a Final Year Project chosen from a portfolio of options – including responding to industry briefs – providing you with outstanding industry engagement.
• You will draw on team-teaching expertise, ensuring sustainability of the model, research-based learning, and exposure to a range of approaches and skills.
• Staff on optional and compulsory modules will be invited to attend regular programme days where there will training on issues found to be significant in the course as well as opportunities for sharing good practice and reflecting on course development.

We aim to be able to provide global insight using webinars with students in different countries, guest online lectures from specialists in other global contexts and potential links with international organisations.

On this course, you’ll be taught by our expert academics, from lecturers through to professors. You may also be taught by industry professionals with years of experience, as well as trained postgraduate researchers, connecting you to some of the brightest minds on campus.

Assessment

Compulsory modules are designed to build upon your developing experiences and skills as you progress through the course. These modules adopt a range of assessment methods to give you with clear development towards your Final Year Project and a strong appreciation of your own learning. We encourage creativity and effective communication of your learning outcomes, and make full use of effective formative feedback and manageable summative feedback.

This will be particularly significant in the first year where we'll work to support international student transition and development. Optional modules are carefully curated to ensure students experience a manageable set of assessment tasks, which do not prejudice their student experience but ensure robust and sufficient assessment.

Entry requirements

A-level: AAB

Other course specific tests:

Where an applicant is taking the EPQ in a relevant subject this might be considered alongside other Level 3 qualifications and may attract an alternative offer in addition to the standard offer. If you are taking A-levels, this would be ABB at A-level and grade A in the EPQ.

We interview all eligible applicants for this programme.

Alternative qualification

Read more about UK and Republic of Ireland accepted qualifications or contact the School’s Undergraduate Admissions Team.

Alternative entry

We’re committed to identifying the best possible applicants, regardless of personal circumstances or background.

Access to Leeds is a contextual admissions scheme which accepts applications from individuals who might be from low income households, in the first generation of their immediate family to apply to higher education, or have had their studies disrupted.

Find out more about Access to Leeds and contextual admissions.

Typical Access to Leeds offer: BBB at A Level and pass Access to Leeds

Arts and Humanities with Foundation Year

This course is designed for students whose backgrounds mean they are less likely to attend university (also known as widening participation backgrounds) and who do not currently meet admissions criteria for direct entry to a degree.

The course will give you the opportunity to be taught by academic staff and provides intensive support to enable your development of academic skills and knowledge. On successful completion of your foundation year, you will progress to your chosen degree course. Find out more about the Arts and Humanities with Foundation Year.

Alternative Entry Scheme for Mature Students

If you are a mature applicant (over 21) and you don’t have the required A Levels or GCSE English and maths qualifications, you can complete our Alternative Entry Scheme (subject to meeting the eligibility criteria for the scheme). As part of this, you may be asked to take tests in English and maths and to write an essay.

Contact the Lifelong Learning Centre for more information.

International

We accept a range of international equivalent qualifications. Contact the Undergraduate Admissions Office for more information

International Foundation Year

International students who do not meet the academic requirements for undergraduate study may be able to study the University of Leeds International Foundation Year. This gives you the opportunity to study on campus, be taught by University of Leeds academics and progress onto a wide range of Leeds undergraduate courses. Find out more about International Foundation Year programmes.

English language requirements

IELTS 6.5 overall, with no less than 6.0 in any component. For other English qualifications, read English language equivalent qualifications.

Improve your English
If you're an international student and you don't meet the English language requirements for this programme, you may be able to study our undergraduate pre-sessional English course, to help improve your English language level.

Fees

UK: To be confirmed

International: To be confirmed

Tuition fees for UK undergraduate students starting in 2025/26
The fee for UK undergraduate students is decided by the Government and may vary if policy changes. The fee may increase in future years of your course in line with inflation, and as permitted by law.

Tuition fees for UK undergraduate students starting in 2025/26 will be £9,535.

The tuition fee for the following programmes with an integrated foundation year is £5,760 for the foundation year, and £9,535 for subsequent years of study:
•    Business Studies with Foundation Year BSC
•    Arts and Humanities with Foundation Year BA
•    Interdisciplinary Studies with Preparation for Higher Education BA
•    Social Science (foundation year) BA
 

Tuition fees for international undergraduate students starting in 2025/26
Tuition fees for international students for 2025/26 are available on individual course pages.
 

Tuition fees for a study abroad or work placement year
If you take a study abroad or work placement year, you’ll pay a reduced tuition fee during this period. For more information, see Study abroad and work placement tuition fees and loans.

Read more about paying fees and charges.

There may be additional costs related to your course or programme of study, or related to being a student at the University of Leeds. Read more on our living costs and budgeting page.

Scholarships and financial support

If you have the talent and drive, we want you to be able to study with us, whatever your financial circumstances. There is help for students in the form of loans and non-repayable grants from the University and from the government. Find out more in our Undergraduate funding overview.

Applying

Apply to this course through UCAS. Check the deadline for applications on the UCAS website.

Read our guidance about applying.

Next steps

We select applicants on the basis of your UCAS application and are looking for a strong personal statement and suitable grades.

International students apply through UCAS in the same way as UK students. Our network of international representatives can help you with your application. If you’re unsure about the application process, contact the admissions team for help.

Read about visas, immigration and other information in International students. We recommend that international students apply as early as possible to ensure that they have time to apply for their visa.

Admissions policy

University of Leeds Admissions Policy 2025

This course is taught by

School of Performance and Cultural Industries
School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies
School of Media and Communication
School of Music

Contact us

School of Performance and Cultural Industries Undergraduate Admissions

Email: pciug@leeds.ac.uk
Telephone:

Career opportunities

This innovative course is developing a new generation of creative leaders, managers and thinkers within the creative industries. Traditional career trajectories may not apply in this dynamic sector, but this course will provide you with the skills and confidence to identify and take advantage of opportunities, as well as encouraging you to forge your own route into meaningful and rewarding work.

The Global Creative Industries course will help you develop essential soft skills for any career. Through projects and presentations, you'll improve your communication, learning how to express your ideas clearly and confidently. Working in teams on group tasks will strengthen your collaboration skills, while tackling real-world challenges will enhance your problem-solving abilities. You'll also learn to manage your time and stay organised, handling multiple projects and deadlines effectively. Along the way, you'll build critical thinking and adaptability, preparing you not just for your studies, but for a successful future leading the creative industries.

Suggested pathways through the course will further develop skills and experience in marketing and audiences, enterprise and management, and policy and politics. These areas of focus open a broad range of career opportunities within and around the creative industries, whether working with creative enterprises, or in creative consultancies or related public sector roles.

Importantly, throughout your study you will be equipped with critical skills that enable you to be adaptable and resilient in the rapidly changing worlds of work. You will learn how to recognise new opportunities, and how to identify and then answer emerging questions that will shape creative organisations.

Professional development will be enhanced through guest talks from professionals in the creative industries, analysis of case studies and assessments attached to real world briefs. There are additional School-level employability programmes, such as The Next Stage and Media Futures.

Within the Faculty there's increasing careers support for international students, as well as a deep understanding of the specific characteristics of careers in the creative industries that students can engage with and be supported by during their time at the University of Leeds and beyond.

Study abroad and work placements

Study abroad

On this course you have the opportunity to apply to spend time abroad, usually as an extra academic year. We have over 300 University partners worldwide and popular destinations for our students include Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Africa and Latin America. 

Find out more at the Study Abroad website.

Work placements

Practical work experience can help you decide on your career and improve your employability. On this course you have the option to apply to take a placement year module with organisations across the public, private and voluntary sectors in the UK, or overseas.

Find out more about work experience on the Careers website.