Creative Health MASc

The MASc in Creative Health is the first of its kind, providing the first Masters level ‘Arts and Sciences’ degree, with a focus on the intersection of the arts and health sciences. The programme 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.

The MASc will help create a new generation of socially engaged scholars and practitioners to meet the needs of a changing health, social care and voluntary third sector, where personalised care and the patient experience are mainstreamed into 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, several key policy documents released by Arts Councils, central government and the World Health Organisation, as well as the growing participation of arts, culture, nature and community organisations in health and wellbeing. However, 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 is particularly acute given that there are still very limited opportunities available for health and social care professionals, researchers or people from wider backgrounds interested in the field, to receive specific training, let alone an academic qualification. Moreover, this need is more pressing than ever as the world recovers from the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic. If the field is to continue to develop and promote high-quality research and practice, the development of such training opportunities is going to be vital.

To this end, the MASc Creative Health offers a range of taught and research-led modules providing students with an in-depth understanding of the depth and breadth of Creative Health, including practice, policy shift and research innovation. Taught modules will provide the necessary grounding in Creative Health for students to understand scope of research, policy and practice. The research dissertation will be undertaken in collaboration with a community partner, providing practical experience of the role of community organisations in supporting different aspects of health and wellbeing, with a focus on developing and applying research and evaluation skills.