FAQ for Future Students
IESA arts&culture prepares students for careers in the production and distribution of cultural projects:
- A Bachelor in Cultural and Creative Industries, accessible after the baccalaureate or through parallel admission after a completed bac+1 or bac+2. As part of this Bachelor, you can specialize in Production or Communication in the 3rd year.
- A Master’s in Performing Arts Production and Distribution, accessible after a bac+3.
- A Master’s in Audiovisual & Film Production and Distribution, accessible after a bac+3.
- A Master’s in Music Management, accessible after a bac+3.
- A Master’s in Heritage and Cultural Tourism, accessible after a bac+3.
- A Master’s in Cultural Communication Strategy, accessible after a bac+3.
- A Master’s in Marketing and Development of Cultural Institutions, accessible after a bachelor’s degree (bac+3).
- A Master’s in Cultural Mediation and Audience Development, accessible after a bac+3
- Two MBAs, MBA in Arts and Cultural Management, in partnership with Paris School of Business, and MBA in Performing Arts Management & Entertainment, both taught entirely in English and accessible after a bac+4
- A professional Master’s in Cultural Project Management, accessible after a bac+4 or through vocational training
- A professional program for Production Manager in Performing Arts or Contemporary Music, accessible after a bac+1 or through vocational training
In the Art Market track, IESA arts&culture offers:
- A Bachelor in Art Market open after the baccalaureate or through lateral admission after a completed bac+1 or bac+2.
- A Bachelor in Arts Management, taught entirely in English, open after the baccalaureate or through lateral admission after a completed bac+1 or bac+2.
- A Master in International Art Market with three specializations: Old Master Art, Contemporary Art, and Exhibition Curation, open after a bac+3.
- Two MBAs, MBA in Contemporary Art and MBA in Arts & Cultural Management, both taught entirely in English and open after a bac+4.
- A Professional Master in Art Market open after a bac+4 or through continuing professional education.
- A professional Bachelor as an Art Market Consultant, delivered by Drouot Formation, open after a bac+2 or through continuing professional education.
Yes, IESA arts&culture has an international department that offers programs taught entirely in English, from bac+3 to bac+5.
You will thus be able to take:
- A Bachelor in Arts Management, open after the baccalaureate or through lateral admission after a completed bac+1 or bac+2.
- Three MBAs: MBA in Arts and Cultural Management, in partnership with Paris School of Business, MBA in Performing Arts Management & Entertainment, and MBA in Contemporary Art, open to candidates with a four-year postsecondary degree (bac+4).
These programs lead to level 6 (bac+3) and level 7 (bac+5) titles certified and recognized by the State.
IESA arts&culture offers programs for adults as part of continuing education:
- A professional Master’s in Cultural Project Management awarding a level 7 title recognized by the State.
- A professional Master’s in Art Market awarding a level 7 title recognized by the State.
- A professional Bachelor in Art Market Consulting, taught by Drouot Formation, awarding a level 6 title recognized by the State.
- A professional program for Production Manager in Performing Arts or Contemporary Music, awarding a level 5 title recognized by the State.
IESA arts&culture titles are also accessible through the VAE.
All titles awarded by IESA arts&culture are registered in the National Directory of Professional Certifications (RNCP). Their levels are certified by the State.
For students, as well as for the professionals who will hire them, it is a guarantee of quality. This certification rests on two fundamental principles: the consistency of the skills acquired by the student with the realities of the professional sector (skills framework) and the school’s proven ability to train students who find work after their program (graduate placement).
IESA arts&culture awards 6 titles registered with the RNCP, at levels 5, 6, and 7:
- Artistic and Cultural Project Administrator (level 7)
- Global Communications Manager (level 7)
- Artwork and Art Object Sales Officer (level 6)
- Cultural Project Production Manager (level 6)
- Communications Officer (level 6)
- Artistic Project Production Manager (level 5)
IESA arts&culture holds an Open Day and/or an information day every month. The dates are announced on the dedicated page.
The Open Days will let you attend lectures on careers and sectors in culture and the art market, as well as meet professors and students and discover our students' projects.
The information days, for their part, will allow you to meet the admissions managers and students to better understand how the school and its programs work through their testimonials.
The baccalaureate is required to join our programs (except the Production Manager professional program). However, we do not select by track. You can therefore apply whether you earned a general, vocational or technological baccalaureate.
Above all, we assess your motivation and your general knowledge. They are essential for careers in culture and the Art Market.
To prepare for your admission interview, think carefully about what interests you in the specialty you have chosen. Why do you want to take this program? What kinds of careers interest you? Which artists inspire you, and which would you like to work with? These are all questions that will let you check during the interview that the program you are applying to is truly right for you.
IESA arts&culture, like many schools that train for careers in culture, does not wish to take part in the Parcoursup process (formerly APB).
We want to meet our future students and assess their choice in a personal discussion that allows us to confirm with them that they will be in the right place in the program they are applying to.
Your academic record is important, but it is not the main thing. Your personality and your commitment to your choice of studies are just as important. This personal relationship with the student is therefore essential for us, and it cannot be built by simply reading files on the Internet.
As a result, you can apply and come meet us whenever you like, starting in November.
To join IESA arts&culture in the 2nd year of the Bachelor, you must have completed a first year of higher education (60 ECTS). You will then need to show us that you already have good general knowledge and that the field you have chosen is already somewhat familiar to you. You therefore do not need to have completed a year in the same specialty.
To join IESA arts&culture in the 3rd year of the Bachelor, you must have completed a bac+2 (120 ECTS in the same field). The 3rd year of the Bachelor, through parallel admission, is an intensive program that combines 2nd- and 3rd-year courses. It is recommended that you already have training in a field close to or complementary to the program you are going to choose.
Do not hesitate to meet our admissions officers, who can advise you to give yourself every chance of success.
All bachelor’s degrees are accepted for admission to the Masters at IESA arts&culture. However, we pay close attention to your career plans and your general knowledge in the field you wish to enter. The fact that students come from different backgrounds (law, social sciences, art history, cultural mediation, business, marketing, etc.) makes for great richness in classes and group projects.
For the Masters in ancient art or contemporary art, a refresher course is offered to students who have not previously studied Art History.
The professional Masters at IESA arts&culture are open to professionals who are changing careers or upskilling.
Admission to the professional Master’s is based mainly on the candidate’s motivation, career plans, the maturity of their approach and their knowledge of the sector.
The admissions officers are here to help you determine whether the professional Master’s you have chosen is the right program for you. Do not hesitate to contact them.
The admission interview is a one-on-one interview. It allows the school to understand your expectations, your plans and the motivations that led you to apply to the program you have chosen. It also allows us to verify your level and your interests in relation to the targeted program. For you, as for the school, it is an important step to check that the curriculum you have chosen really matches your wishes and needs. The admission interview can take place Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 17:15. If you live far from Paris (particularly abroad), you can also take this interview by videoconference. Register
Application deadlines depend on available places. To find out whether places remain in the program you are interested in, you can contact the admissions office of IESA arts&culture.
You can pay for your program in installments.
For those who wish, the programs at IESA arts&culture (except the first year of the Bachelor, vocational programs and English-language programs) can be taken under an apprenticeship or professionalization contract. Although the school can help you, it is up to you to find your host company.
Finally, IESA arts&culture has signed a banking partnership allowing you to finance your studies at a negotiated rate. Do not hesitate to ask us for advice.
For vocational training, programs may be funded: Individual Training Leave, France Travail funding outside of agreements, CPF hours, etc. The admissions officers will help you put together the funding applications.
All IESA arts&culture programs (except the first year of the Bachelor and the English-language programs) are built on a dual track, academic and professional. For Bachelors and Masters, the program follows a work-study rhythm.
This format allows students to pursue their studies while building on professional experience through part-time internships (4 to 6 half-days) or full-time internships (2 months minimum).
For Professional Masters, the program first includes 6 months of classes followed by an internship of at least 2 months. Internships are mandatory, are a full part of the training path, and are validated by reports and defenses. Through project work, practical case solving, and meetings with professionals who come to share their experience, they contribute to the student’s professional development, allowing them to build a résumé and a network.
While the academic track is very important in the programs at IESA arts&culture, the professional development track is just as important. The goal of our programs is to enable students to use their knowledge in the professional world as soon as they finish their program.
The professional development track has three main components: courses and practical work that train students in professional skills (expertise, production, communication, mediation, funding, etc.); group and personal projects that let them put a range of skills into practice and also carry out a production, from design to distribution; and internships in institutions or companies that let them use the skills acquired in real professional practice and learn the practices of the targeted careers from recognized professionals.
In each program, meetings with professionals also provide a better understanding of the various careers and the reality of the cultural sector and how it operates.
In the Art Market sector, the main careers involve the sale and appraisal of artworks, exhibition installation and collection building, fairs and trade shows, or specialized services (insurance, transport, communication, sponsorship and investment).
We thus find antique dealers, gallery owners, auctioneer’s clerks and all the players in auction houses and salesrooms, art advisors and brokers, exhibition curators and collection registrars, art experts, but also fair directors, administrators of contemporary art biennials, specialized journalists and art critics, insurance and art conservation experts, etc.
In the cultural sector, the main types of careers are in production and distribution, mediation, communication, and administration. They exist in every sector: exhibitions, performing arts, festivals, film and audiovisual, heritage and cultural tourism. Local authorities (city halls, communities of municipalities, departments, regions) also have cultural departments.
This includes careers such as production officer and production director, producer, distribution officer, booking agent or distributor, programmer for a venue or festival, cultural mediator, cultural activities coordinator, audience and audience development manager, communications officer, press officer, public relations officer, community manager, administrator for a company, performance venue or heritage sites, sponsorship manager, stage manager, tourism product developer, local authority director of culture, tourist office manager, etc.