Career Options

The School has many career options. On this page:


Art History

In an age of blockbuster exhibitions, specialised shows and the exploding presence of visual media, the role of the art historian has become increasingly prominent.

Much of the discourse of the twenty-first century is visual, whether presented as arguments in exhibitions, architecture, cinema, or in printed material. Art History delves into the most important cultural issues of our time and of the past as communicated through this visual culture.

With a degree in Art History you will have the specific knowledge and skills you need to navigate the rapidly evolving visual discourse, as well as the general skills needed to make you flexible and marketable in any career.

Acquired skills

Art History graduates have:

  • excellent communication and writing skills with the ability to collect and analyse data
  • valuable critical thinking skills, the power to think creatively and offer innovative solutions
  • insight into cultural and heritage issues, a unique understanding into the complex patterns whereby societies define themselves
  • flexible computer and image technology skills, advanced research skills.
  • useful connections with many of the most important art organisations and institutions in Australia.

Career flexibility

An Art History degree will prepare you for a wide range of employment possibilities, especially important in today's quickly changing world where transferable skills are a marketable commodity.

Graduates from the program currently work in museums and arts agencies in every state in Australia and in several countries around the world and include:

  • professors and lecturers in Art History
  • museum and marketing directors, curators, education and public programs officers
  • interpreters and cultural advisors, arts journalists, art dealers

Arts Management

Dance companies, symphony orchestras, opera and theatre companies, choirs, government departments, galleries and museums, festivals and independent arts organisations, venues and performing arts centres all employ arts managers.

A Master of Arts Management provides students with the skills to work in the diverse arts and cultural industry, from large organisations and government departments to self-employment across the performing, musical and visual arts and museum sectors, venue administration, festival planning and artist management and booking services.

Australian Indigenous Studies

Australian Indigenous Studies is relevant to employment opportunities in a number of fields, such as in the public service, education, legal and medical professions, the arts, cultural heritage preservation, and land and natural resource management.

Creative Writing

Creative Writing skills are at the heart of communication in a modern, literate, web-savvy society. Not only do some graduates go on to produce published works in fiction, theatre, cinema, non-fiction and poetry, but graduates of Creative Writing make valuable contributions in related fields such as:

  • editing and publishing, speech writing, report preparation
  • reviewing, journalism, campaign coordination, the book trade
  • television script writing, radio presenting
  • community cultural organisations, teaching in schools and universities, creative arts research

With a major in Creative Writing you will have insights into current intellectual and creative debates, creative arts practice, and the history of literature and its criticism. You will be widely read, and will be confident of facing complex creative problems requiring advanced, nuanced communication skills.

Cinema and Cultural Studies

The analytical, critical and communication skills developed in Cinema and Cultural Studies are readily transferable into many professions.

A significant number of graduates choose to do research, and the program has a long tradition of attracting students, nationally and internationally, for the Masters and PhD programs.

Many more move into diverse and successful careers. Employers often recruit Cinema and Cultural Studies graduates who have a broad and comprehensive education in order to train them for a specific role that builds on the qualities that they bring to an organisation. Some paths and professions that graduates pursue are:

  • archivists, arts policy
  • museum administration, advertising, creative arts
  • multimedia, film and television, journalism, public relations
  • teaching, the public service, editing and publishing, reviewers and film critics

Acquired skills

Cinema and Cultural Studies graduates will be able to:

  • Think critically and perform in depth research and analysis
  • Administer a variety of programs as well as thinking creatively and offer innovative solutions
  • Understand the nature of cultural forms in their social, economic and historical contexts
  • Possess the qualifications needed to pursue advanced study in the field
  • Work with the various film culture bodies, understanding their purpose, structure and functions (Cinema Studies)

Cinema and Cultural Studies graduates are currently working with:

  • Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI)
  • ScreenSound Australia, Cinemedia
  • ABC Television & ABC Radio
  • The Australian Film Institute, The Age
  • The Melbourne International Film Festival
  • Senses of Cinema, The St. Kilda Short Film Festival
  • Computer game companies, Village Roadshow, Buena Vista/Disney
  • Universities in Australia and internationally

English and Theatre

Studying English and Theatre introduces you to the long traditions and varied practices of literary, theatrical and cultural production. When you study the different ways that writers over the centuries have interpreted or sought to change the world around them, you’re developing skills in the analysis of complex material.

When you talk and write about literature and theatre, you’re developing skills in oral and written communication, with a special focus on the use of language, narrative and representation in the organisation of ideas. When you engage with theatre through performance, you’re developing further skills in textual analysis through embodiment and speech-making.

The analytical and communication skills developed in English and Theatre Studies are readily transferable into many situations and many professions. A significant number of graduates choose to do research, and the School has a long tradition of attracting students, nationally and internationally, for the Masters and PhD programs. English and Theatre graduates often develop complementary research interests in adjacent fields such as Cultural Studies, Creative Writing, History, etc. Equally, they often pursue postgraduate studies internationally, or enrol in a research program at Melbourne and spend part of their candidature at another university outside Australia.

Many graduates move directly into diverse and successful careers. Employers often recruit English and Theatre graduates who have a broad and comprehensive education in order to train them for a specific role that builds on the qualities that they bring to an organisation. Some paths and professions that our graduates pursue are:

  • editing and publishing, journalism, teaching, writing, librarianship
  • public relations roles in business, government and community organisations
  • research, consultative and speech-writing positions
  • business and commerce, information technology
  • creative arts, multimedia, acting, arts management, advertising agencies
  • the public service, arts, cultural and educational policy, museum administration

Media and Communication

Graduates of Media and Communications are employed in:

  • Print, Broadcasting and on-line journalism, Public relations
  • Publishing and editing, Marketing and advertising
  • Media consultancy, Corporate and government communications
  • NGO and humanitarian communications, Media and cultural policy

Many will spearhead new media forms as they emerge

With a major in Media and Communications, you will have skills in communication and research, and knowledge of the major factors influencing the growth and development of media industries. With a Master of Global Media Communications, you will be equipped for leadership roles in news media, in corporate and public communications, and in media governance. High achieving students who complete the thesis option may qualify for entry to PhD research programs.

Publishing and Communications

Graduates of the program work in many different roles and environments, including book editing, marketing, magazine writing and editing, technical writing and editing, production control, web content creation, corporate and government publication management.