Everything you need to know...
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What is the fee?
Home: See fees section below
International/EU: £17,155 per year -
How long will I study?
1 Year
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Where will I study?
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What is the UCAS code?
D045
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When do I start?
September 2025
Come to an open day
Find out more at our undergraduate open days. Book now for your place.
Course summary
- Top up your existing qualifications to a BA (Honours) degree.
- Develop the skills to become a successful festival and entertainment manager.
- Work with external festival and entertainment managers on a consultancy project.
- Network with leading professionals, boosting your career prospects.
- Learn how to create memorable event experiences, demonstrating business value for employers and clients.
This course tops up your higher national diploma (HND), foundation degree, or equivalent to an honours degree in events management. You'll gain practical experience working on real events while learning the roles of multi-purpose leisure and sporting venues. Graduates become employable specialists in music and arts festivals, casinos, theme parks and nightclubs – with strategic experience in design and management.
How you learn
Watch course leader Mark Norman talk about the BA Festival and Entertainment Management course at Sheffield Hallam University.
All our courses are designed around a set of key principles based on engaging you with the world, collaborating with others, challenging you to think in new ways, and providing you with a supportive environment in which you can thrive.
Our award-winning teachers have valuable experience working in the festival and entertainment management sector. They’re actively involved in impactful research, so you’ll understand the latest trends in the industry and have the opportunity to apply your knowledge to a live consultancy brief.
You’ll also be able to engage with live projects and festivals. You can access volunteering and work experience opportunities through our extensive network of industry professionals and leading festival organisers, such as Festival Republic.
You learn through:
- A combination of lectures, seminars and workshops
- Opportunities to attend or volunteer at live events and festivals
- Working on a live consultancy project
- External guest speakers
- Independent study
- Group work
Key Themes
The course explores key themes such as the current ‘hot topics’ in festivals and events, strategic experience design, festival and entertainment consultancy, and the role of multi-purpose leisure and sporting venues.
It emphasises practical experience through real event projects, developing core skills for the festival and entertainment industries. You’ll gain expertise in a diverse range of roles, from music and arts festivals to casinos, theme parks and nightclubs.
Course Support
You’ll be supported in your learning journey towards highly skilled, graduate-level employment through:
- Access to our unique student support triangle to help with your personal, academic and career development
- Access to our Skills Centre with one to ones, webinars and online resources, where you can get help with planning and structuring your assignments
- Industry-specific employability activities such as live projects and networking opportunities
Applied learning
Work experience
As a top-up route, there’s no placement opportunity within the course, but our links with local and national event organisers mean you’ll be able to undertake work experience in various event sectors.
Students have previously gained work experience with Tramlines Festival, Leeds Festival and Ticketmaster.
Live projects
Throughout the course, you'll work with real clients, venues and organisations on their events, assisting with projects and understanding the processes and complexities involved. Students have previously provided business solutions for Tramlines Festival, Yorkshire Sculpture Park and Corporation Nightclub in Sheffield
Field Trips
International and national field trips, site visits and collaboration with external organisations all enhance your understanding of working in the festival and entertainment industry.
Networking opportunities
Our links with industry partners mean you’ll be able to engage with a wide range of guest speakers from across the festival and entertainment industry.
Guest speakers have included Martin Green of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, Lucy Kinsella from Festival Republic, Simon Read (Event Producer) from Ashfield Meetings and Events, and Jon Hughes from KPMG.
Future careers
The festival and entertainment industry brings a range of economic, social and cultural benefits to local areas, communities and individuals. It’s a vibrant ecosystem with plenty of opportunities for graduates with the right skill set.
This course prepares you for a career in:
- Festival or entertainment entrepreneurship
- Festival management
- Festival operations
- Tour management
- Artiste management and liaison
- Venue management (music, arts and culture)
- Entertainment venue management (cinema, theme parks etc)
- Entertainment operations management
Previous graduates of this course have gone on to work for:
- Ludlow Marches Food and Drink Festival
- LS Events
- Corporation Nightclub
- Event Management Direct
- Moshtix
- Big Fang Collective
- Welcome to Yorkshire
Student success story
Where will I study?
You study at City Campus through a structured mix of lectures, seminars and practical sessions as well as access to digital and online resources to support your learning.
City Campus
City Campus is located in the heart of Sheffield, within minutes of the train and bus stations.
City Campus map | City Campus tour
Adsetts library
Adsetts Library is located on our City Campus. It's open 24 hours a day, every day.
Learn moreEquipment and facilities
Every year, our students leverage the wealth of independent venues in Sheffield and the surrounding area to work on festival and entertainment experiences. These include:
- Sheffield City Hall
- The Leadmill
- Yellow Arch Studios
- The Hide
- Genting Casino
- Showroom and Workstation
We’ve invested over £100m in new facilities to help you study how and when you want. This means 24-hour libraries and study spaces designed by our students. Our new Sheffield Business School Building, provides state of the art teaching facilities and lots of social learning spaces.
You’ll also work with specialist events and festival planning software such as OnePlan.
Entry requirements
All students
Normally one from
• a HND or foundation degree in a relevant subject, with an overall merit profile from year two modules
• equivalent qualification in a relevant subject
You can find information on making sense of UCAS tariff points here and use the UCAS tariff calculator to work out your points.
If English is not your first language you will need an IELTS score of 6.0 or above, with a minimum score of 5.5 in each skill.
Additional information for EU/International students
If you are an International or non-UK European student, you can find out more about the country specific qualifications we accept on our international qualifications page.
For details of English language entry requirements (IELTS), please see the information for 'All students'.
Modules
Important notice: The structure of this course is periodically reviewed and enhanced to provide the best possible learning experience for our students and ensure ongoing compliance with any professional, statutory and regulatory body standards. Module structure, content, delivery and assessment may change, but we expect the focus of the course and the learning outcomes to remain as described above. Following any changes, updated module information will be published on this page.
Final year
Compulsory modules
Consultancy And Enterprise Challenge
Hot Topics In Events, Festivals, And Esports
Maximising Festival And Entertainment Outcomes
Strategic Experience Design
Fees and funding
Home students
Our tuition fees for UK students starting full-time undergraduate study in 2025/26 are regulated by the UK government and are yet to be confirmed. For an indication, our tuition fee for UK students starting full-time undergraduate study in 2024/25 is £9,250 per year.
If you are studying an undergraduate course, postgraduate pre-registration course or postgraduate research course over more than one academic year then your tuition fees may increase in subsequent years in line with Government regulations or UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) published fees. More information can be found in our terms and conditions under student fees regulations.
International students
Our tuition fee for International/EU students starting full-time study in 2025/26 is £17,155 per year.
Financial support for home/EU students
How tuition fees work, student loans and other financial support available.
Additional course costs
This link allows you to view estimated costs associated with the main activities on specific courses. These are estimates and, as such, are only an indication of additional course costs. Actual costs can vary greatly depending on the choices you make during your course.
Legal information
Any offer of a place to study is subject to your acceptance of the University’s Terms and Conditions and Student Regulations.
