The New Museum School Advanced Programme, a partnership with the University of Leicester’s School of Museum Studies launched in 2021 with support from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. The Programme not only offers a gold-standard postgraduate offer but also brings with it the opportunity to harness the arts and heritage sector in driving a movement of inclusive transformation.
Culture&’s New Museum School provided a pipeline of fresh, diverse talent to the arts and heritage sector. Over the past 11 years, New Museum School provided accessible and flexible training to over 150 people from diverse backgrounds with around 74% finding full-time employment in the sector within six months of graduating. Whilst we are proud of this achievement, we realise that this is only the start of our commitment. Having supported these professionals to gain entry level access to employment we followed up with them to see how their careers were progressing. A survey conducted with them tells of their encounter with a ‘glass ceiling’ and the barriers that impede their career progression, experiences that reflect the findings of broader surveys into diversity in the museum workforce (Arts Council England 2019).
The New Museum School Advanced Programme addresses Culture&’s core strategic objective to open up who makes and enjoys arts and heritage. The Programme looks for the most promising diverse talent with leadership potential within the Arts and Heritage workforce. The course allows professionals to continue full-time employment while attending distance learning. The course has a flexible and modular structure leading to post-graduate qualifications from PGDip to MA level. There is an accessible recruitment process for applicants with a wide-range of experiences to diversify the Arts and Heritage workforce.
Applications now closed for NMSAP October 2025 entry.
We are delighted to announce that the New Museum School Advanced Programme is returning for its 4th cohort thanks to continued support from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Art Fund, the Marstine Family Foundation and the University of Leicester.
Through the New Museum School Advanced Programme, Culture& – in collaboration with the University of Leicester – is offering 10 fully funded studentships for Postgraduate Diploma and Masters programmes in Museum Studies and Socially Engaged Practice in Museums and Galleries to UK based individuals from backgrounds underrepresented in the museum and heritage sector.
The Programme addresses Culture&’s core strategic objective to open up who makes and enjoys arts and heritage. The Programme supports diverse talent with leadership potential to benefit from a gold standard postgraduate offer; develop their careers within museums, galleries and heritage; and support the inclusive transformation of the sector.
The course allows professionals to continue full-time employment while studying flexibly through distance learning. The course has a flexible and modular structure leading to post-graduate qualifications from PGDip to MA level.
Successful applicants will start their studies in October 2025.
Further details can be found here: New Museum School Course Prospectus
For more details about the postgraduate programmes at the University of Leicester, visit Museum Studies at Leicester | University of Leicester
Arts & Heritage Partners
If you are an arts and heritage organisation and you would like to support the New Museum School Advanced Programme, please see this page.
