Master in Cultural Communications Strategy

The Skills

The Global Communication Manager title aims at the acquisition of the following skills:

• Develop an organization’s communication strategy
• Lead the rollout of a communication strategy
• Manage the performance of a communication strategy
• Manage the internal and external players of a communication campaign

What Is the Curriculum of the Master in Cultural Communication?

Year 1

Unit 1- CCIs and Communication

• Festival market
• Art history and image analysis
• Theater workshop / Public speaking
• Overview of culture
• Sociology of innovations: AI, social media, big data
• Cultural sectors internationally: Europe and USA
• Communication and creativity

Unit 2- Digital Communication and Marketing Strategies

• Marketing strategy for the CCIs
• Communication issues and fundamentals
• Strategic planning
• Art Direction and Creation
• Influence strategy in the cultural sector
• Strategic AI (Prompt engineering)
• Social media strategy for the CCIs
• 360 media strategy and campaign
• Digital marketing (Google Ads, CRM, AI)

Unit 3- Communication Tools and Materials

• DTP/print (AI)
• Video workshop
• Design thinking

Unit 4- Management and Law

• Image rights / DPLA / Trademark law
• Project management (AI, budget, scheduling, supplier relations)
• Management / GEPC

Unit 5- Professionalization/English

• Professionalization pathway / Meetings with professionals
• Business case
• Work-study / internship defense - Exams
• CSR (lecture)
• Certified title preparation
• Cultural outings

Year 2

Unit 1- Communication and Culture

• Screenwriting and storytelling techniques
• Music and street culture
• Film market, audiovisual, streaming platforms
• Communication theories of the CCIs: issues and perspectives

Unit 2- Digital Communication and Marketing Strategies

• Data marketing, marketing automation, E-CRM (AI)
• Press and public relations
• Marketing studies
• Internal communication strategy
• Creative strategy for social platforms (Instagram, TikTok, Twitch, Discord…)
• Media strategy for the CCIs

Unit 3- Communication Tools and Materials

• Graphic identity and visual identity
• Creative AI (design, creation, prompting)
• Wordpress/UX

Unit 4- Management

• Business plan / business model
• Management / Recruitment techniques

Unit 5- Professionalization/English

• Production and communication of a cultural event
• Title coaching
• Professional Development
• Study trip (USA)
• CCIs and gender-based and sexual violence and harassment (VHSS)
• Certified title defense
• Cultural outings
• Defenses and exams

How Are Students Assessed?

Throughout the Master, skills acquisition is supported by a continuous assessment system designed to encourage individual progress, consolidate learning, and build ownership of professional methods. Students are assessed through individual and group work, oral presentations, case studies, monitoring files, group projects, and regular simulations.

This gradual follow-up makes it possible to:

– apply the knowledge acquired in concrete contexts tied to the challenges of the cultural sector;

– experiment with different professional roles and stances in a safe setting;

– receive regular feedback from instructors and professional speakers, in order to adjust one’s approach and gain autonomy.

Projects carried out in workshops or as part of core courses are designed as intermediate milestones, preparing students for the final certification exams.

These, held at the end of the cycle, validate the skills blocks of the Global Communication Manager professional title (RNCP 40856). They include:

• Block 1: Developing an organization’s communication strategy
  Professional thesis, professional simulation based on a real or fictional case of developing a company’s communication strategy.
• Block 2: Leading the rollout of a communication strategy
  Professional simulation based on a real or fictional case of rolling out a company’s communication strategy, professional simulation based on a real or fictional case of crisis management within a company.
• Block 3: Managing the performance of a communication strategy
  Professional simulation based on a real or fictional case of evaluating the performance of an organization’s communication strategy.
• Block 4: Managing the internal and external players of a communication campaign
  Practical case based on a real or fictional case of hiring a team member in a communication team, professional simulation based on a real or fictional case of a company using outside providers to deploy a communication campaign, professional simulation based on a real or fictional case of managing a communication department, professional simulation based on a real or fictional case of team coordination.

Project-based learning

The Master in Cultural Communication Strategy relies on active, career-oriented, and immersive teaching, aimed at linking theoretical input to concrete communication situations in the cultural field. The goal is to let students acquire strategic and operational skills, while developing their autonomy, analytical mind, and ability to manage complex projects in line with the realities of the sector.

1. Academic courses to build expertise

In-person classes, led by faculty researchers and industry professionals, provide a solid grounding in communication strategies, cultural sector issues, digital transformation, mediation practices, influence, brand content, and technological innovation.

2. Project-based learning to foster learning by doing

The program gives a central place to experimentation through real projects carried out in groups and independently, in connection with real cultural organizations or events. In the first year, students design and deploy a 360° communication strategy around a cultural event, including visual productions, digital strategy, media plan, budget management, partnerships, and impact assessment.

3. Workshops, and professional simulations

Throughout the program, thematic workshops (influence, creative writing, social media strategy, experience design, storytelling, etc.) let you explore specific tools and methodologies in an intensive and participatory format. These workshops are led by practicing professionals and result in presentations under near-professional conditions.

4. A personal entrepreneurial end-of-cycle project

In the second year, each student develops and carries out an individual project with strong cultural value (start-up, artistic promotion initiative, platform, exhibition or mediation project…). This project receives individual support from a professional mentor, and concludes with a presentation before a certification jury, validating technical and strategic skills as well as the ability to carry out a coherent approach from start to finish.

5. Gradual professional immersion

The program is designed to foster a gradual entry into the professional world thanks to a suitable rhythm (work-study or a long second-year internship), regular meetings with players in the cultural sector, and the completion of a real business case under commissioned conditions. Students are thus placed as full-fledged players in a cultural project, from design to event communication.

Initial prerequisite and work-study:

• Entry into the 1st year (M1 – 2-year program): Hold a level 6 certification (Bac+3), or an equivalent degree (foreign degree, etc.), or have earned 180 ECTS credits, in the targeted field or one related to marketing and/or communication, business, management, etc.
• Entry into the 2nd year (M2 – 1-year program): Hold a level 6 certification (Bac+4), or an equivalent degree (foreign degree, etc.), or have earned 240 ECTS credits, in the targeted field or one related to marketing and/or communication, business, management, etc.

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

Access timeframes: Admissions are open from October 2026 to September 2027 for an October 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 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.

Equivalences: No equivalence.

Transfer options: No transfer options.

Further studies: The Master in Cultural Communication Strategy is designed as a professionalizing Bac+5 program, whose primary purpose is to enable direct entry into working life, preparing students to take on positions of responsibility in the cultural communication sectors.