Essential preparation for successful heritage careers
Year of entry: 2025 (September)
1 year full-time,
2 years part-time,
3 years part-time
September 2025 (semester dates)
Join us online or in person to find out more about postgraduate study at York.
Find out moreQS World University Rankings by Subject, 2025
QS World University Rankings by Subject, 2025
Equip yourself to work in the cultural heritage sector which offers a wide range of exciting opportunities in museums, local authorities, heritage agencies, organisations and consultancies.
This course offers essential training for professional roles throughout the sector. You'll learn to understand all aspects of heritage management theory and practice, gain practical experience with heritage sector professionals, and develop knowledge and skills essential for today’s heritage sector careers.
Through a combination of academic studies, practical training and research projects, you'll receive a thorough grounding in all aspects of heritage management theory and practice. You will address key issues such as:
The course focuses on providing you with highly valued and transferable practical skills, knowledge and experience.
This is a general course, exploring the multidisciplinary nature of the heritage environment. It is therefore suitable not just for students of Archaeology or History, but for anyone who wishes to pursue a career in the heritage sector. Recent students have included those with backgrounds in History, English, History of Art, Politics and Environmental Sciences.
I chose the course because I felt that the varied module options and opportunity to carry out a placement would be of great benefit for me, and I wasn’t wrong! In fact, the variety of options in areas that I had never studied before was fantastic and opened my eyes to a number of studies and careers that I hadn’t previously been aware of.Ruth, MA Cultural Heritage Management
York is the UK's archaeological capital and we use it extensively as our ‘living lab’ for both teaching and research.
Students on this programme can take part in Heritage Planning Studio, our unique, award winning collaboration with York Civic Trust. You'll have the opportunity to develop professional practice skills through appraising planning applications in York.
You will study 180 credits over the duration of your course:
You will choose five option modules from examples including:
You'll also have the opportunity to choose options from our full module catalogue. Some option module combinations may not be possible. The options available to you will be confirmed after you begin your course.
Our modules may change to reflect the latest academic thinking and expertise of our staff, and in line with Department/School academic planning.
You'll complete an 8,000-word dissertation on your research.
You will receive support, advice and guidance from your dissertation supervisor throughout your project. The range of expertise of our staff means we can provide you with guidance on a wide range of topics. You will have one-to-one meetings with supervisors across the Summer Semester.
Examples of previous dissertations include:
Every course at York is built on a distinctive set of learning outcomes. These will give you a clear understanding of what you will be able to accomplish at the end of the course and help you explain what you can offer employers. Our academics identify the knowledge, skills, and experiences you'll need upon graduation and then design the course to get you there.
| Study mode | UK (home) | International and EU |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time (1 year) | £11,200 | £25,900 |
| Part-time (2 years) This is the year 1 fee. Fees for future years are subject to confirmation. |
£5,600 | £12,950 |
| Part-time (3 years) This is the year 1 fee. Fees for future years are subject to confirmation. |
£3,733 | £8,633 |
Students on a Student Visa are not currently permitted to study part-time at York.
For courses which are longer than one year, the tuition fees quoted are for the first year of study.
UK (home) or international fees? The level of fee that you will be asked to pay depends on whether you're classed as a UK (home) or international student. Check your fee status.
Find out more information about tuition fees and how to pay them.
We don't anticipate there being any additional fees associated with this course. All books and resources you need will be available in the library or online and it isn't mandatory that you buy your own copies. You may wish to set aside a small budget for photocopying, depending on how you like to work.
There are some field trips as part of some modules, the cost of which is covered by the Department.
Placements are unpaid and there may be travel costs associated with attending a placement. However, if this is an issue other placements can be considered which do not have travel costs associated.
Discover your funding options to help with tuition fees and living costs.
We'll confirm more funding opportunities for students joining us in 2025/26 throughout the year.
If you've successfully completed an undergraduate degree at York you could be eligible for a 10% Masters fee discount.
We are pleased to work with Chevening Scholars to offer funding for our Masters programmes. Chevening Scholarships provide one year of fully-funded postgraduate study in the UK for international (including EU) students. The scholarships are open to early and mid-career professionals who have the potential to become future leaders.
We have a variety of funding options available within the department.
You can use our living costs guide to help plan your budget. It covers additional costs that are not included in your tuition fee such as expenses for accommodation and study materials.
The staff at York are passionate and are experts in their respective fields, and I have taken a great deal away from the course. The placements offered through the course have been a direct gateway in helping me to secure my first paid job in the museums sector while studying.Chris, MA Cultural Heritage Management
You’ll work with world‐leading academics who’ll challenge you to think independently and excel in all that you do. Our approach to teaching will provide you with the knowledge, opportunities, and support you need to grow and succeed in a global workplace.
You will be taught through a combination of lectures, seminars and workshops with an emphasis on student led-discussion.
You will be based on Campus West and in King's Manor.
Our beautiful green campus offers a student-friendly setting in which to live and study, within easy reach of the action in the city centre. It's easy to get around campus - everything is within walking or pedalling distance, or you can always use the fast and frequent bus service.
You will be assessed by a variety of methods. Depending on which modules you opt to take, these could include:
The MA Cultural Heritage Management has a clear focus on employability to ensure that you leave equipped with the best skills to help you get a job. Graduates have gone on to careers in archaeology and heritage-related organisations across the UK and abroad. Others have gone on to take PhDs at York, Stanford (USA) and other universities. You'll also develop transferable skills that are applicable to a multitude of careers beyond archaeology and heritage.
Students involved in the Heritage Planning Studio have gone on to great success. Most have secured employment as conservation officers in local government and in various national, regional and local heritage bodies.
The Cultural Heritage Management course was a huge contributor to getting me where I am today. It provided me with a strong basis for my current role where I work with a diverse range of heritage and landscape sites. I couldn't recommend the course and the staff highly enough.Inez, MA Cultural Heritage Management
| Typical offer | |
|---|---|
| Undergraduate degree | 2:2 or equivalent in a Archaeology or a related subject such as History, History of Art, English, Geography, Anthropology, Politics and Environmental Sciences. |
| Other qualifications and experience | Mature students or those with less conventional qualifications but with relevant professional experience in this field will be considered. An interview may be required. |
| Other international qualifications | Equivalent qualifications from your country |
You will need to submit examples of written work with your application. Please see our guidance on submitting written work.
If English isn't your first language you may need to provide evidence of your English language ability. We accept the following qualifications:
| Minimum requirement | |
|---|---|
| IELTS (Academic and Indicator) | 6.5, minimum 6.0 in each component |
| Cambridge CEFR | B2 First: 176, with 169 in each component |
| Oxford ELLT | 7, minimum of 6 in each component |
| Oxford Test of English Advanced | 136, minimum 126 in each component |
| Duolingo | 120, minimum 105 in all other components |
| LanguageCert SELT | B2 with 33/50 in each component |
| LanguageCert Academic | 70 with a minimum of 65 in each component |
| Kaplan Test of English Language | 478-509, with 444-477 in all other components |
| Skills for English | B2: Merit overall, with Pass with Merit in each component |
| PTE Academic | 61, minimum 55 in each component |
| TOEFL | 87, minimum of 21 in each component |
| Trinity ISE III | Merit in all requirements |
For more information see our postgraduate English language requirements.
You may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English language courses. These courses will provide you with the level of English needed to meet the conditions of your offer.
The length of course you need to take depends on your current English language test scores and how much you need to improve to reach our English language requirements.
After you've accepted your offer to study at York, we'll confirm which pre-sessional course you should apply to via You@York.
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