Supervised individual work in Arts Administration. Restricted to majors. A learning contract with project clearly defined must be approved by supervising faculty member, program director, and site supervisor (if required). May be taken up to 6 credits.
People are the basis of arts organizations. Understanding the factors that determine individual actions and interactions, being able to solve problems, capitalize on new opportunities and reach goals is necessary for being a successful leader in a work environment. As such, this course focuses on the planned, systematic process in which applied organizational theory and behavioral science principles and practices are introduced into organizations, toward the goal of increasing organizational and individual effectiveness.
Financial management is a central function of successful arts management. It is the foundation in which human, physical, and financial resources are maintained and monitored. In the nonprofit sector, the relationship of "mission to money" is a key conceptual framework that must be understood by arts managers and will be emphasized in this course. In addition, arts managers are the source of financial information to both internal and external stakeholders, and successful financial analysis is essential for sound strategic planning and governance.
Organization theory examines the inner workings of institutions in an attempt to understand organization functionality. For this course, theories are drawn from numerous disciplines including arts management, business administration, nonprofit management, and public administration. Additionally, theories may be classical, foundational, modern, postmodern, and/or critical. Specifically, this course explores various organizational theories that are relevant to running and studying nonprofit arts organizations.
Arts managers are consistently faced with the challenge of connecting arts offerings with an audience. Understanding the possible markets and developing strategies to reach the desired audience are part of every arts organization's primary administrative activities. Throughout this course, students will explore theories and frameworks crucial to the marketing function including product development, market research, consumer behavior, brand development, pricing strategies, investigate consumer behavior and the conduct primary and secondary marketing research for an arts organization.
Most nonprofit organizations earn at least half of their total annual revenue from contributed sources, including individuals, foundations, governments, and corporations. This course will provide a comprehensive survey of the fundraising process for nonprofit organizations, with an emphasis on arts & cultural organizations, and will introduce students to the philanthropic landscape writ large.
How does art interact with law? How does law impact artistic creation? How can arts administrators ensure that their organization legally protects itself? Understanding the legal environment in which arts organizations exist and artists create empowers arts administrators to make sound and reasoned decisions. Throughout this course, students will be exposed to a variety of legal topics related to artistic creation and the managing of arts organizations.
This course examines an array of contemporary approaches to building the economic, physical, and social dimensions of cities structured around creativity, culture, and the arts. Historical underpinnings, trajectories, and problems of these approaches are explored through lectures, readings, student research, and discussions.
Arts administration, cultural leadership, and arts and cultural organizations are in a critical state of social change. Since the beginning of the 21st century, issues surrounding equality have emerged putting civil rights and social justice at the center of arts and cultural decision-making. This course offers an investigation of the interrelationship between arts and equality for arts administrators.
Successful programs that meet the needs of current and potential audiences are the cornerstone of arts organizations. This course includes the necessary skills for designing, implementing, and evaluating a mission-based program for the arts. Students will utilize research techniques to determine the feasibility of a new program, both internally and externally to the organization. While developing an operating budget, students will include expenses from both earned and unearned revenue sources.
