The Creative Health MASc is the first of its kind, providing the first Master’s level ‘Arts and Sciences’ qualification, with a focus on the intersection of the arts and health sciences. The course seeks to address growing national and international interest in the evolving field of Creative Health. It does this by examining different aspects of this field, including arts, culture and nature in health, health equity, lived experience and community assets. Our approach to teaching and learning focuses on research-led/based practice, community engagement, non-clinical interventions including social prescribing, and experiential learning.
Since its launch in 2021, the Creative Health MASc continues to have a substantial impact on enabling a new generation of socially engaged scholars and practitioners to meet the needs of changing health, social care and voluntary third sectors, where personalised care and the patient experience are integrated with primary, secondary and community health.
Over the last two decades, the field of Creative Health has grown rapidly, facilitated by a number of major advances in research, the publication of several key policy documents by Arts Council, central and regional governments and the World Health Organisation, as well as the growing participation of arts, culture, nature and community organisations in health and wellbeing. Arguably, the foundation document for the movement, the 2017 All Party Parliamentary Group for Arts, Health and Wellbeing Creative Health Inquiry, has identified a need for more education and training opportunities for those interested in working in the sector. This need seems more pressing than ever, in the aftermath of the COVID-19 Pandemic and with health (including mental health and psychiatric) services in many places at breaking point. If the field is to continue to develop and promote high-quality research and practice, the provision of such training opportunities, as offered by the Creative Health MASc, is vital.
Students on the Creative Health MASc will develop practical skills in the application of the range of multi- and interdisciplinary concepts, theories and methods involved in creative health, as well as designing, researching and presenting creative health research using a variety of methods and media. They will also develop a deep understanding of the intersections between research, policy and practice in relation to arts, creativity and health, and be able to critically appraise evidence from a variety of sources, along with an ability to work independently and as part of a team, including with external teams such as a community partner organisation.
The Creative Health MASc, which saw its first cohort of students graduate in late 2022, prepares graduates to be well placed to take up a position within health or social care, the arts, cultural and creative sectors, as well as community and local government, NGOs, and the voluntary and third sectors. Creative Health is also a growing area of research and we have already seen a number of our graduates entering PhD opportunities in related fields.
Graduates from the MASc have gone on to work in sectors including: Health and social care (35.7%), academic research and HE (14.3%) and performance and creative arts (7.1%). They have gone on to work for employers including Greensand Health Centre, Traumascapes CIC or the Midlands Arts Centre. Others have gone on to further study.*