Bachelor of Arts in Creative Industries
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
DURATION
4 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
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EARLIEST START DATE
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TUITION FEES
AED 68,387 / per year
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
Scholarships
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Introduction
The Bachelor of Arts in Creative Industries (BACI) is the first business and creative leadership program of its kind in the United Arab Emirates. The BACI program is a four-year degree established in collaboration with Ryerson University’s Creative School, which has been central to the evolution of Canada’s cultural industries for over 70 years.
This unique interdisciplinary program blends a variety of creative fields together in one degree, including leadership for the media business, interior design, and communications. It offers a unique set of practical learning opportunities, incorporating creative entrepreneurship, industry internship, and the chance to spend two years in Canada.
Our BACI program is adapted from the prestigious Bachelor of Arts in Creative Industries program at Ryerson University's leading Creative School in Toronto, Canada. The degree will give you the skills needed to be successful in the creative workplace, including entrepreneurship and management, leadership, communication, digital literacy, and strategic thinking.
What are the Creative Industries?
Spanning a wealth of fields including advertising, architecture, arts and crafts, interior design, graphic design, film, photography, music, performing arts, publishing, research and development, software, computer games, TV/radio, tourism, and cultural activities, the Creative Industries generate $2,250 billion in revenues (10% of world GDP) and 30 million jobs worldwide, according to UNESCO.
The UAE has long focused on expanding its creative, cultural, and arts industries, from investing in dedicated spaces such as the Dubai Design District and the Media, Studio, and Festival cities, to building branches of the Louvre and attracting top talents in fashion, music, and performance for exhibitions and concerts.
Recently, the Dubai government announced its Dubai Creative Economy Strategy which aims to raise the sector’s contribution to GDP to 5% from 2.6% by almost doubling the city’s creative firms and professionals by 2026.
Program overview
The Bachelor of Arts in Creative Industries is a four-year degree that blends the fundamentals of a business program with courses in the media business, design, and communication, to help students become the creative leaders of tomorrow. Adapted from the prestigious Creative Industries program at Ryerson University’s Creative School in Toronto, the CUD BACI program will give you the skills in leadership, communication, digital literacy, and strategic thinking needed to be successful in a creative business context.
Typically, businesses in the Creative Industries are distinguished by the polarization between “suits” and “creatives” – between creative practitioners and those who manage and commercialize the creative process. Our goal is to bridge this divide through an academic program that provides opportunities that enable you to explore and understand the industry as both a creative process and commercial activity.
Concentrations
This flexible and innovative program offers you the ability to select two industries to explore in more detail. You will learn to help shape and lead the UAE’s creative sectors by selecting concentrations in:
- Interior Design
- Media Business
- Communication Studies
- New modules will be offered in this program in the coming years
Gallery
Ideal Students
The program is for any student who wants to become a business leader with the capacity to transform creative ideas into commercial products and services. It will help you to develop a broad understanding of possible career paths within the diverse spheres of the Creative Industries and will give you a solid foundation in new business concepts and practices applicable to creative production. The BACI program is flexible and designed to accelerate your entrepreneurial spirit, give you global experience, and advantage with employers in your chosen concentration.
Admissions
Scholarships and Funding
Curriculum
Study Plan
| Semester 1
Semester 2
Semester 3
Semester 4
| Semester 5
Semester 6
Semester 7
Semester 8
** Students are advised to complete the Internship in the summer semester |
Rankings
- Ranked #1 in university Dubai (QS World University Rankings 2023)/(THE Impact Rankings 2022)
- Ranked in the top 541-550 worldwide and top 4 in the UAE (QS World University Rankings 2023)
- Ranked #7 for International Students and #8 for International Faculty worldwide (QS World University Rankings 2023)
- 18 accredited programs and over 30 majors/concentrations
- Regional affiliation: AArU (Association of Arab Universities)
- Licensed by the Ministry of Education – United Arab Emirates
- Accredited by the Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA)
- Diverse student community with over 120 nationalities
- International Program Accreditation/Certification: CIMA, CFA, ACCA, IAA, PRSA, PRME, ECO Canada, & SHRM
Institutional Licensure & Program Accreditation
Canadian University Dubai is licensed to award degrees by the UAE Ministry of Education - Higher Education Affairs. In addition, all of our degree-granting programs are accredited by the Ministry of Education - Higher Education Affairs through the Commission for Academic Accreditation.
Rankings
International
Canadian University Dubai (CUD) has maintained its #1 rank in Dubai and remains in the top 2 percent of global universities according to the recent QS University Rankings for 2023.
QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) ranking system is recognized among the world’s most respected university rankings.
Professional Accreditations and Affiliations
Our academic programs are designed to prepare students for professional practice in their chosen fields. This focus on employability skills has attracted industry recognition from leading international professional bodies, as outlined below. Canadian University Dubai's accredited programs have also been listed on the International Program Accreditation Portal (IPAP) by the UAE Ministry of Education.
The IPAP is a public portal that provides information on the Strategic National KPI that measures the percentage of nationally accredited undergraduate programs that have received additional accreditation by a recognized international body.
Association of Arab Universities
CUD is proud to join the Association of Arab Universities (AArU) as an active member, that works to support and connect institutions for higher learning in the Arab world, as well as enhance cooperation among them. The non-governmental organization includes 280 Arab universities at present, 12 of which are located in the United Arab Emirates.
Principles for Responsible Management Education
CUD is a proud member of the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), a worldwide initiative of the United Nations Global Compact to promote responsible and sustainable management education that includes 850 leading business and management schools across 95 countries.
International Association of Universities
Canadian University Dubai (CUD) has joined the International Association of Universities (IAU), further demonstrating our commitment to growing our global network of institutional partners and facilitating our education and applied research development to enhance our academic and cultural exchanges.
Program Outcome
As part of this degree program you will benefit from a unique set of experiential learning opportunities:
The Creative Zone
As a First in the Middle East, CUD will be introducing a new learning incubator to give students the opportunity to incubate ideas and work with industry partners to find solutions to real-world challenges in the Creative Industries. The Creative Zone will be at the heart of all FCAD programs at CUD, with courses linking to the Zone through curricular projects and students incubating creative business ideas through extracurricular activities.
Study in Toronto, Canada
CUD’s BACI offers successful students an opportunity to take their studies abroad during the second and third years of the program, by facilitating a transfer to Ryerson University’s Creative Industries program. This unique 1+2+1 structure will give up to 20 high-performing students (per year) the chance to experience and participate in one of Ryerson’s 10 renowned creative learning zones for a one-of-a-kind experiential learning opportunity. For two years, students will have the opportunity to experience creative culture and business practices in Canada, together with Ryerson’s Creative School students.
The Internship
As a student of the BACI program, you will take part in an internship consisting of 240 hours of work, designed to give you first-hand experience in a creative enterprise environment. You’ll discover how the enterprise operates, how creative work is supported through management practices, how technology impacts creative and business functions, and more.
CUD’s career center will offer support to help students arrange a placement with suitable companies. The internship will take place at the beginning of year four and will prepare students for their capstone projects in the final year. The best part: you will develop skills and make connections in top creative enterprises that could lead to job opportunities after graduation.
Career Opportunities
The Creative Industries need entrepreneurial, versatile, innovative, business-minded thinkers at the helm to work with artists, producers, and creators, to help them find audiences and customers for their creative work.
Graduates of this program will have the requisite skills and knowledge to obtain employment and become leaders in this expanding economic sector in the UAE and beyond, in occupations such as:
- Entrepreneurship
- Product Development
- Brand Strategy & Design
- Advertising specialist
- Content creation & marketing
- Creative directors
- Social media manager
- Event Management
- Venue supervision
- Marketing
- Public Relations
- TV executives
- Photography, copywriting
- Design project manager
- User interface design
- Graphic design
- Design Management (business side of design)
- Jobs in non-creative businesses (banks, insurance, others) that need creative people, creative content & creative problem solving, management positions
- Further education
Here are some examples of the roles and organizations that graduates of the Canadian Creative Industries program have entered:
- Account Executive, McCann Canada
- Analytics Insights Consultant, Telus Digital
- Sales Associate, Adidas
- Junior Graphic Designer, Stockland
- Junior Project Manager, Secret Location
- Coordinator, Live Entertainment & Event Marketing, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment
- Creative Media Influencer, Zumel & Co
- Creative Strategist, Stackadapt
- Further Education: Master in Design Studies, Harvard Graduate School of Design
Types of Roles: Product Development, Event Management, Advertising Design, Small Business Development, Brand Strategy & Design, Photography, Live Entertainment.
Organizations: Apple, Bell Media, Bruce Mau Design, McCann Canada, Rogers Media, Ubisoft.