Everything you need to know...
-
What is the fee?
Home: See fees section below
International/EU: £17,155 per year -
How long will I study?
1 Year
-
Where will I study?
-
What is the UCAS code?
D045
-
When do I start?
September 2025

Come to an open day
Visit us to learn more about our gold-rated teaching and why we were awarded the highest possible rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework.
1. 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.
2. How you learn
Watch course leader Mark Norman talk about the BA Festival and Entertainment Management course at Sheffield Hallam University.
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 specialist support services 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
Course leaders and tutors

Charlotte Rowley
Senior LecturerI currently teach on the BSc Events Management courses. I am also one of the Placement team for the Events Management subject group, I support students in finding b … Read more
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.
3. 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
4. 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 more5. Equipment 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.
6. 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.
Compulsory modules
Module Aim:
To prepare students for a career as a professional in festival, entertainment, hospitality, tourism and aviation management by providing an opportunity to work on a company-based project or their own venture, focusing on the application of business and management skills within an organisational context. Students will either respond to a project brief, analyse and interpret information to develop a suite of enterprising solutions which are sustainable and financially viable or develop their own venture and business plan. In doing so, students will reflect on their personal and professional development.This module encourages students to develop, synthesise and apply knowledge and experience gained in previous levels of study.
Indicative content:
- The nature of consultancy/role of the consultant
- The tender process
- Business models
- Consultancy project planning and management
- Data collection and analysis for consultancy purposes
- Effective communication and relationship management
- The application of appropriate frameworks (and industry experience) to understand stakeholders, organisations, and the contemporary business environment
- Identifying enterprise opportunities and responding to those
- Change management and leadership
- Financial appraisal of the solutions developed
- Personality theory and team roles
- Reflection on current knowledge, achievements, skills, abilities and aptitudes in relation to graduate employability and improving career potential
- Introduction to as wide a range of situations as possible to allow students the opportunity to experience decision making situations and to develop relevant skills in the area from the viewpoint of managers and other stakeholders
- Taking a professional and ethical approach to consultancy with sustainability and inclusivity (among other principles) in mind
Aims:
Drawing on the latest trends within the event, festivals, entertainment and esports industries, current academic research and the contemporary global and national issues, this module will ensure students graduate with a clear, subject specific, knowledge and understanding of what is emerging in their chosen industries and are able to draw on that understanding to make sound, innovative and responsible decisions.
The indicative content may vary with emerging trends and issues but may include:
- Current and future trends, opportunities and challenges in events, festivals, entertainment and esports.
- Innovations in events, festivals, entertainment and esports including new and emerging technologies.
- Issues in the global consciousness and how they impact the experience design industries
- Issues such as equality, diversity, inclusivity and sustainability within the sector.
- Exploration of the issues from a local and global perspective.
Aims:
This module provides an operational focus to the effective management of an organisation’s assets and resources taking into consideration growing external challenges of sustainability and technology.
The intention is to develop an entrepreneurial focus on problem solving towards a range of issues that SME-type organisations in this sector face such as independent festivals or live music venues.
Principles would also be applicable to large brands or chains of entertainment such as theme parks, cinemas, casinos or other visitor attractions
Indicative content:
- Sales strategies
- Customer relationship management (systems)
- Revenue management
- Pricing strategies
- Managing seasonality
- Sponsorship
- Profile/brand management
- Reducing Wastage / Sustainability
- Managing costs through technology
- Management systems such as EDI and Business Model Canvas
Aim:
This module will enable students to appreciate the strategic importance of shaping and delivering well-designed event experiences from the perspectives of client, attendee and other relevant stakeholder groups, and to apply their knowledge and understanding of experience design principles to a range of appropriate event scenarios.
Indicative content:
-
To achieve event objectives, students will consider experiences before, during and after the event, and how they can be intentionally designed
-
Concept areas such as destination and venue selection, programming and use of related software will be discussed as elements contributing to an effective event design, which is now seen as a strategic tool for organisational success
-
Inclusivity in experience design
-
Economic, social and political factors that shape the development of the industry will be evaluated, alongside stakeholders' characteristics and expectations
-
Technological, environmental and sustainability issues in experience design
-
Analyse and critique a range of international case studies from a strategic design perspective
-
The module integrates underpinning academic knowledge with students' own experience and practical research
8. Fees and funding
Home students
Our tuition fee for UK students studying full-time in 2025/26 is £9,535 for the course. These fees are regulated by the UK government and therefore subject to change in future years.
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
The links below allow you to view estimated general course additional costs, as well as costs associated with key activities on specific courses. These are estimates and are intended only as an indication of potential additional expenses. Actual costs can vary greatly depending on the choices you make during your course.
General course additional costs
Additional costs for Sheffield Business School (PDF, 255.6KB)Legal information
Any offer of a place to study is subject to your acceptance of the University’s Terms and Conditions and Student Regulations.