Master in Marketing and Development of Cultural Institutions

What You Will Learn in This Program

• Defining an Artistic and Cultural Project
• Manage the administrative and financial operations of an artistic and cultural project
• Deploying a Marketing and Distribution Strategy for an Artistic and Cultural Project
• Manage an artistic and cultural project
• Define and implement the funding strategy for an artistic and cultural project (Specialization)

What Is the Master’s Curriculum?

Year 1

Unit 1 - Cultural Mediation Policies and Cultural Practices

• History of cultural policy in France
• Economics of Culture
• Introduction to art history (17th-19th century)

Unit 2- Sociology of Audiences and Cultural Mediation

• Sociology of audiences and cultural practices
• Regional cultural policies
• Audience development and cultural outreach

Unit 3- Administration, Law, and Management of Cultural Institutions

• Data, images, and creations: legal issues for cultural institutions
• Labor law
• Financial and budget management
• Cultural project methodology and management

Unit 4- Sponsorship and Cultural Funding

• Principles and fundamentals of public procurement
• Sponsorship: taxation, definition, and issues / In-kind and skills-based sponsorship
• Collective sponsorship: crowdfunding, Business Club, donor circles
• Patronage and sponsorship

Unit 5- Communication and Marketing Applied to the Arts and Cultural Sector

• Cultural marketing
• Cultural communication
• Digital communication and social media
• Press and media relations

Unit 6- Professionalization and Full-Scale Project

• Orientation Seminar
• Public speaking techniques and group cohesion
• Professionalization module (supervised project, meetings, sector monitoring)
• Applied professional English
• Workshop from vision to ideation
• Negotiation — conflict prevention and management
• Full-scale group project — Centre des Monuments Nationaux
• Carbon footprint and CSR
• Study trip to Amsterdam (Dec. 2026)
• Exams and Defenses

Year 2

Unit 1- Advanced Sector Studies of the CCIs

• Heritage and museums
• Performing Arts
• Film and Audiovisual

Unit 2- Development and Entrepreneurship

• Cultural outreach and mediation
• Cultural Entrepreneurship
• Digital transformation of the CCIs and AI

Unit 3- Administration, Law, and Management of the CCIs

• Contract law
• Budgeting applied to a cultural project
• Human resources management and team management
• Sustainable cultural tourism

Unit 4- Cultural Funding

• Diversification of earned revenue (sales, marketing, CRM, ticketing, retention)
• Promoting cultural brands, licensing, and co-branding
• Food service and shops (concessions, AOT)
• Grants and Creative Europe
• Cultural merchandise

Unit 5- Advanced Marketing

• Experiential marketing
• Digital marketing
• Market research methodology

Unit 6- Professionalization and Full-Scale Project

• Orientation Seminar
• Professionalization, network building, and career entry
• Individual PGR – Certified title project coaching (certification methodology and individual follow-up)
• Public speaking and storytelling – Oral exam preparation
• Applied professional English
• DTP and video for content creation (intensive block week)
• Defenses and exams

Unit 7- Seminars and Study Trip

• Study trip abroad (March-April 2027)

How Are Students Assessed?

General assessments:

Throughout the program, students are assessed through continuous assessment (case studies, presentations, reports, written and oral submissions) and semester exams validating theoretical and methodological knowledge.

Students also complete internships or follow the program through an apprenticeship contract. These periods in a professional setting result in an internship or work experience report, defended orally before an academic jury. This assessment verifies students' ability to apply what they have learned in real-world contexts in the arts and culture sector.

Assessment for the professional certification of the RNCP title 42330:

The level 7 certified title “Administrator of Artistic and Cultural Projects” is awarded after validation of the 5 skills blocks. Each block involves simulated or real professional scenarios, with structured deliverables assessed by a jury of professionals.

Block 1: Defining an artistic and cultural project

Professional simulation based on a real or fictional case on defining an artistic and/or cultural project.
Case study based on a real or fictional case of designing a cultural and artistic mediation proposal, including documentation on defining an artistic and cultural project.

Block 2: Conducting the administrative and financial operations of an artistic and cultural project

Practical case based on a real or fictional case on conducting the administrative and financial operations of an artistic and cultural project.
Professional simulation based on a real or fictional professional situation of implementing a partnership.

Block 3: Deploying a digital sales and distribution strategy for an artistic and cultural project

Professional simulation based on a real or fictional case of deploying a digital sales and distribution strategy for an artistic and/or cultural project
Practical case based on a real or fictional project to carry out in the art market and/or cultural industries sector.

Block 4: Leading an artistic and cultural project

Professional simulations based on a real or fictional case on coordinating a project’s stakeholders and on a real or fictional case of implementing a quality system after project closure.
Practical case based on a real or fictional case presenting project management process optimization challenges.

Block 5: Defining and implementing the funding strategy of an artistic and cultural project

Professional simulation based on a real or fictional professional situation on defining the fundraising strategy, negotiating partnerships and sponsorships, setting up retention actions, and assessing the financial impact of the partnerships and sponsorships of an artistic and cultural project.

Project-based learning

The Master in Marketing and Development of Cultural Institutions relies on a hybrid teaching approach that combines academic rigor, professional immersion, and real project management, to prepare students to meet the strategic, marketing, and communication challenges of cultural organizations.

The courses provide solid knowledge in cultural marketing, project management, development strategy, brand communication, and audience analysis. They are taught by expert instructors in the field and practicing professionals, who pass on tools that can be used immediately in the field.

Throughout the program, students are placed in positions of responsibility through practical projects that let them apply these skills. Flagship experiences include consulting assignments carried out for major Parisian cultural institutions: museums, heritage sites, national theaters, art centers, or foundations. Students work on real issues such as developing brand identity, audience retention strategy, or rolling out a communication plan.

Other projects let them develop an entrepreneurial approach, such as setting up an exhibition completely autonomously, from curatorial selection to budget management, including finding partners and promoting the event. These real-life scenarios confront them with the realities of the field, while giving them the means to experiment with different facets of cultural development careers.

Finally, each student develops a personal project related to their professional aspirations, which they work on throughout the Master with the support of a tutor from the cultural sector. Presented before a certification jury, this project is the culmination of the program, demonstrating both mastery of the skills acquired and the ability to lead a concrete, innovative, and meaningful cultural strategy.

Initial prerequisite and work-study:

• Entry into 1st year (M1): Hold a level 6 certification, or an equivalent degree (foreign degree, etc.), or have earned 180 ECTS credits in the targeted or a related field (art history, culture, etc.)
• Entry into 2nd year (M2): Hold a level 6 certification, or an equivalent degree (foreign degree, etc.), or have earned 240 ECTS credits, in the targeted or a related field (art history, culture, etc.)

Admission is based on an application file and an interview with the admissions committee

Access timeframes: Admissions are open from October 2026 to August 2027 for a September 2027 start. Applications are processed within 3 weeks maximum after receipt of the complete file. Enrollment is possible until the start date, subject to available places.

By exception, enrollment is possible after the start date of the program, following review and verification of the learner’s ability to catch up on the learning already delivered, within a maximum of two months after the start of the program.

This program can be completed as work-study. The program follows an alternating schedule, with internships and/or work-study at professional organizations. These placement periods are part of the program’s validation.

Apprentice pass rate: New program, no certified graduates to date.
Apprentice dropout rate at CFA ECAD during the 2024-2025 year: 2% (Class of 2025)

The program takes place at IESA on the LE DELTA campus (16 rue Claude Bernard, 75005 Paris) and at partner cultural venues.

IESA premises are accessible to people with disabilities. The admission interview and the course of study can be adapted to the needs of those concerned, who are therefore invited to express them as soon as they apply to the school. Contact: handicap@iesa.fr.

If you do not obtain the RNCP title, please note that if you have validated all the skills of a block, that skill block is yours permanently.

Title pass rate: New program, no certified graduates to date.

Equivalences: In the case of an equivalence, whether through VAE and/or the award of a skill block or an equivalent certification, it is up to the applicant to present this equivalence to the jury for validation.

Bridging paths: No bridging path for this program.

Further studies: This program is designed for professional entry.