Arts Administration - Academic Programs

Academic Programs

Arts administration programs are available at a number of universities and colleges in the US, the UK, Canada and Australia. In the United States, these programs began in the 1970s at several schools after meetings with the National Endowment for the Arts on how the next generations of arts leaders would be educated. Some academic units offer certificate programs for practitioners seeking continuing education or professional development education. While programs in arts administration draw on many elements of related administration fields, such as business administration, they also include specialized courses on administering non-profit arts and cultural organizations.

Arts administration programs award a range of credentials, including certificates and diplomas, Bachelor's degrees, and Master's degrees. These programs usually blend curriculum elements from existing administration programs such as public administration, business administration, arts law, and management. At some institutions arts administration may be a concentration within the school's Master of Business Administration (MBA) program. The MA in Arts Administration program at Columbia University is the only program that ties together curriculum elements from public and private management/administration, law, business, and finance at an Ivy league university. Many arts administration programs include a practicum in which the student volunteers or works in an arts or cultural organization to gain practical experience.

At some universities, similar programs are called arts management (e.g. American University) or arts leadership (e.g. DePaul University). Universities such as American, Wisconsin and Indiana, among many others, offer programs to students in all arts disciplines, while others, such as DePaul, specialize in one discipline (in DePaul's case, theatre). The Master's degree at some schools is an MBA, while other universities offer MFA, MA, and MPA degrees, largely depending on where the program is housed. For example at American University, the program is part of the Department of Performing Arts, whereas at Indiana University it is part of the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. The atmosphere of these programs differs, though the curricula are similar. Variances between programs often revolve around the centrality of arts versus the centrality of business skills in the curriculum. Other programs, such as Ohio State, Indiana, and (increasingly) American, are strongly rooted in cultural policy. Most programs require two years in residence, though Drexel University and Goucher College offer online options, and Savannah College of Art and Design offers a fully online MA in arts administration.

Some programs offer dual degrees. For example, the University of Cincinnati offers an MA/MBA program in conjunction with the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. The UC/CCM Graduate Arts Administration Program, like most others, exists to prepare and train students to become successful CEOs and senior managers of non-profit arts and cultural institutions by combining business administration and real-world experience.

In Italy, the Istituto Europeo di Design, in Venice, offers a Master in Business Administration in Arts and Cultural Events that provides advanced knowledge and entrepreneurial skills necessary to understand and operate in the multifarious world of the arts. In Turin, the St. John International University offers a Master of Arts in International Arts Administration. A new innovative program based on the concept of artwork as 'information', that integrate recording, cataloguing, communication, management, fruition. The program is leaded by faculty and high level practitioners from Heritage, srl.

Other programs may be offer a single degree that includes coursework at two colleges. Carnegie Mellon's Master of Arts Management (MAM) Program is one example, tying the College of Fine Arts to Heinz College's School of Public Policy and Management in the Heinz College. Heinz College provides the core management coursework and the College of Fine Arts supports the MAM Program with coursework specific to arts institutions. Another example is the two-year MA/MBA program at Southern Methodist University, offering a Master of Arts in Arts Administration from the Meadows School of the Arts and a Master of Business Administration from the Cox School of Business.

Several universities offer concentrations in media (film, television, music, new media, etc.) management: Drexel University, Carnegie Mellon, and Columbia College Chicago are examples. Carnegie Mellon offers a separate degree in film/television management. New York University's MA in Arts Administration program allows students to choose a visual arts or a performing arts focus.

Increasingly, the AAAE (Association of Arts Administration Educators) membership has become more interested and proactive in responding to key issues in the arts and in offering help to arts organizations on management, policy, governance, fund development, and financial issues. As a result of this new commitment, research in the program is growing in both amount and quality.