Cultural Studies: Culture and Organization
masters programme
How are art and culture organized? Why and how are art, creativity and diversity important to ideas and practices of organization and entrepreneurship? How are urban creative spaces and industries designed and atmospherically experienced? And how do digital media change the way we work and interact?
This cutting-edge Masters programme is dedicated to the relationship between culture, the arts and organization. Uniquely, it is both theory-driven and practice-based, combining dialogical teaching with fieldwork-based learning.
The programme introduces cultural and sociological theories as critical lenses for studying contemporary organization and organizing. On this basis, students learn to engage empirically and analytically with organizational and entrepreneurial practices in different sectors, systems, fields and industries of arts and culture.
As a distinct feature, the Culture and Organization Masters is situated at the intersection of the organization of culture and the arts and what is called the ‘culturalization’ of organizations. With modules dedicated to cultural and artistic fields, institutions and digital networks, the programme studies culture and organization as an empirical setting and through field work. The present and future practices of work and organization are investigated in their urban, institutional and networked contexts. Culture and the arts, and cultural theory, are therefore studied as critical agents for understanding and shaping our organizations and society.
Culture and Organization – The Programme
Culture and Organization – The Programme
Content
The courses introduce students to cultural sociology, the sociology of arts and culture, the study of digital cultures and new forms of organizing and of management and cultural entrepreneurship. Steeped in the tradition of sociology and cultural studies, the programme takes a pronounced international approach and engages with up-to-date research and methods. The programme is fully taught in English; in addition, further electives are offered in German.
The Masters programme approaches culture in two ways – as an empirical setting and as a critical and conceptual lens. Students learn to study and understand different institutions and organizations in cultural and artistic sectors (from urban movements to the creative industries and network culture). Importantly, they learn to investigate different organizational modes, entrepreneurial and social practices and technologies and discourses that shape these institutions and organizations through fieldwork-based and artistically inspired approaches. Employing a broad understanding of culture as a lens, the Masters also mobilizes cultural and social theories in order to critically reflect on how organizational practices and discourses are shaped by cultural and technological transformations.
This comprehensive approach to culture and organization is based on longstanding research traditions and current research projects at Leuphana University. The programme is run by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in cooperation with the Faculty of Management and Technology, and with local and international partners in the cultural and university sectors.
Structure
There are four components to the Culture & Organization programme. In the core area of study, students explore key topics in the field of organizations and organizing culture and the arts, cultural entrepreneurship, digital media and cultural sociology.
There are also three complementary components: electives, integration modules and Complementary Studies. The electives allow students to both focus and broaden their study of culture and organization, e.g. with modules on organization theory, digital cultures, critical studies, queer studies, art theory, entrepreneurship or business studies. The integration modules for cultural studies bring together students from all Masters programmes at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and familiarise them with the history and methods of and current debates in cultural theory. Complementary Studies enables students to take classes beyond their immediate field of study in order to broaden their understanding of key contemporary challenges for culture and society. Together, these four components prepare students for writing their research-based Masters dissertation.
Here you can find further information on the course content of the Masters programme Cultural Studies: Culture and Organization.
Master Thesis/Masters Forum
During the fourth semester of their Masters programme, students embark on their dissertation. Dissertations link advanced theories to an in-depth engagement with core empirical phenomena of culture and organization. A dedicated Masters Forum brings all students together with teaching staff and is a space in which students can present their work in progress, learn about methods, and receive peer-to-peer feedback. As a collective process organized around dissertation-writing, students will share their experiences and receive regular support from peers and teaching staff: the dissertation is not simply an individual challenge.
Study Regulations and Subject-Specific Schedule
Here you can find the General Assessment Regulations and the Subject-Specific Schedules.
The Subject-Specific Schedule shows the subject-specific curriculum. The modules to be taken and their content, the types of courses, the type and number of examinations are formulated in detail and in a legally binding manner.
Teaching Personnel
Programme Director
- Prof. Dr. Timon Beyes
Deputy Programme Director

Studying Abroad
You can integrate a stay abroad into your studies in the 3rd or 4th semester, either as part of the Erasmus programme + or with one of our non-European partners. There are around 30 faculty-related exchange programmes to choose from. You can find more information on the partner universities on the pages of the International Office.
In addition, there are programme-specific international cooperations such as the European Haniel Program on Entrepreneurship and the Humanities (bringing together students and faculty from Bristol, Copenhagen, Lüneburg, Paris, St.Gallen and Venice), and an annual joint seminar with the Universiy of St. Gallen’s programme in Management, Organization Studies and Cultural Theory (MOK). Further specific international cooperations are in preparation.
Culture, Language, Literature
As part of a German-Italian partnership with the University of Genoa, students can choose to spend the second year of their Masters at the Università degli Studi di Genova and acquire two Masters degrees in two years on the basis of a specially coordinated curriculum. Click here for the programme Culture, Language, Literature
Career Prospects
The Masters programme gives students an understanding of the way in which organization fundamentally conditions culture and society, and it teaches methodological and analytical skills for research into the discourses, practices and technologies of organization. The programme provides practice-based knowledge of, and competencies for, organizing culture, and teaches students transferable skills in communication and teamwork. All of these capabilities and skills are in high demand in a wide range of occupations.
The programme is suitable both for students seeking to pursue an academic career and for those who would like to take on responsible roles in the cultural and creative industry, in the arts, in the media, in the public sector, in urban development or in foundations and charitable organizations.
Qualified students with a particular interest in research have the option of simultaneously registering for the Doctoral Track. Combining the Masters and doctoral phases offers students a unique opportunity to join the scholarly community at very early stage.
Impressions of the Programme
Admission Requirements and Application
You can find all information about the admission requirements, the application and the selection procedure on our "Apply" page.
Please note that in the selection process for the study programme Culture and Organization, all applicants with degrees considered to be consecutive will be individually interviewed. The interviews will be conducted online and are scheduled to take place on 19-21 June 2023, and 3-5 July 2023. The purpose of this interview is to obtain a personal impression of your interest and your motivation as well as your suitability for the Master's programme in Culture & Organization. Hereby, you can achieve up to 18 additional points in the selection process and thus improve your prospects of a study place in Lüneburg. The 20-minute interviews are conducted online and in English. Invitations to the interviews are sent out by email approximately one week before the interviews.
Additional Links
International Students
The study programme matches your interests? Then you will find further information for prospective international students on residence and social matters, such as visa, residence permit, health insurance or finding accommodation, on the following pages. Please note that the information for incoming exchange students and international degree-seeking students differs slightly.
At a Glance
Degree awarded: Master of Arts, MA
Application deadline: EU degrees: 1 June / Non-EU degrees: 1 May
Type of programme: Thematic relevance
Study places: 25
Start date: Every winter term, October
Extent: 120 ECTS
Duration: 4 semesters
Language: English, some electives in German
Location: Lüneburg
Semester contribution ca. 320 EUR
Contact and Counselling
First contact point
The Information Office (Infoportal) is your contact point for
- general information on the application procedure
- initial questions about the study programmes offered at Leuphana
- making an appointment with the Graduate School Student Counselling Service.
Information Office
Building 8, Ground Level
Fon +49.4131.677-2277
studierendenservice@leuphana.de
By telephone
Mon - Thu 9 am - 4 pm
Friday 9 am - 12 noon
Campus opening hours
Mon - Thu 9.30 am - 12 noon +
1 pm - 2.30 pm
Fr 9.30 am - 12 noon
Student Counselling
To make an appointment with our Student Counselling Service, please make an appointment on our website.
Appointments are usually available in the following time slots (CET/ CEST):
Wednesday 2 - 4 pm
Thursday 4 - 6 pm