BY BECKY BRETT
In order to learn the business of running an arts organization, many people today are choosing education–either undergraduate or graduate school–over working hundreds of hours as a volunteer or manager of a small storefront theatre.
According to Phyllis Johnson, professor in the masters’ program at Columbia College, arts administration programs worldwide are gravitating toward the American model of arts management. With the traumatic decline in government subsidies over the years, arts managers need to be more entrepreneurial to succeed in today’s competitive arts landscape. And although some programs are more heavily weighted to MBAs and learning about Fortune 1000 companies, with some nonprofit management thrown in, others choose to more fully integrate the arts into the business curriculum. Overall, most programs combine courses in entrepreneurship that accentuate core business values in tandem with the creation of positive creative environments.
These programs will likely serve your needs, but vary in terms of time commitment, cost and balance between business and art. But is it worth your time and money to obtain a degree? Would you get the same experience by working at an arts organization without going into massive debt? Arts administrators from around the city agree that it’s not the degree that prepares a person for the job, it’s how they apply what they learn. The degree fills in gaps in an artist’s knowledge of how to run a business, but the more hands-on experience a person gets, the better.
To get in to a graduate program you’ll need a few of the same things that you needed for your undergraduate application.
Standardized tests: Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) or the Graduate Records Exam (GRE) are required for admission into any program and are given several times a year. The Educational Testing Service (ets.org) can help you find a date and location, and even tutorials to refresh your standardized test-taking skills.
Transcripts: An official transcript is required from all colleges and universities attended. A transcript is official when enclosed in an envelope and signed across the seal by the registrar’s office of the school. Be sure to allow a few weeks for your requests to be processed.
Recommendations: You’ll need a few recommendation letters from individuals who can evaluate your intellectual, academic or professional capacity. Some schools offer recommendation forms as well.
In addition to these application requirements, you should also have basic skills in word processing, spreadsheet and database use. Many programs offer classes in business operating systems to supplement your working knowledge. The average time commitment to obtain a degree is approximately two years. Some programs are geared more toward full-time students than others. Every program requires an internship.
To find a program that’s right for you, check out the search feature at petersons.com (search under Arts Administration/Management and Nonprofit Management), or the Association of Arts Administration Educators. Additional information about the programs listed below can be found at each school’s Web site. Please note that specific information about costs and deadlines is subject to change. Check with the school directly.
Programs to Check Out:
Roosevelt University, Chicago: The Walter E. Heller College of Business Administration offers an MBA with a concentration in Arts and Entertainment Management. This offers a broad-based MBA with a quarter of your classes within the arts management concentration.
A sample of courses toward the arts concentration includes: Labor-Management Relations; Cultural, Economic and Managerial Environment of the Arts; Legal Environment of the Arts; Marketing and Development in the Arts. Other courses you’ll have to take include accounting, economics, finance and strategic planning.
Web: www.roosevelt.edu
Phone: 312/341-3515
Annual cost: approx. $20,000
Application fee: $25
Columbia College, Chicago: This program offers both graduate and undergraduate degrees in arts management. The MA in Arts, Entertainment and Media Management is one of the few programs in the nation that are not part of a business school. It is a 45-hour program (equivalent to about 15 classes). Core courses in accounting, human resources and information systems coordinate with classes focusing on Performing Arts Management, The Music Business, Visual Arts Management, and Media Management. Electives include classes on entrepreneurship, desktop publishing, grant writing and record mixing.
According to Johnson, who coordinates the music business and internship programs, Columbia’s program is unique because "being an arts school, [it] can look at the whole spectrum of the arts." Some of their distinguished alumni have gone on to work at the Chicago Symphony, Chicago Opera Theatre, Terra Museum and have even started their own record labels.
Web: www.colum.edu
Phone: 312/344-7260
Annual cost: N/A
Application deadline/fee: March 15 (early application), August 1 (final)
Note: GRE not required for admission
Theatre School at DePaul University, Chicago: DePaul offers a BFA in Theatre Management for those who have figured out early on that this is what they want to do.
This is a regular four-year university program and one of the few undergraduate theatre management programs in the country. Classes cover all aspects of theatre–performance, criticism, design–as well as accounting and management. Three quarters of internships are required (one in the second year and two in the fourth year) with a producing arts organization. Fortunately, Chicago has plenty companies to choose from.
Leslie Shook, Theatre Manager at DePaul’s Merle Reskin Theatre and one of the instructors in the program, said that the program graduates two or three people each year. "It’s small and you get lots of attention."
Some alumni have gone on to work at Disney Theatricals, The Vagina Monologues and the Jimmy Buffet Tour.
Web: www.depaul.edu
Phone: 773/325-7999
Annual cost: approximately $20,000
Application deadline/fee: 2 weeks prior to interview date or January 10 (whichever comes first)/$25
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA: As one of the nation’s great theatre schools, it offers a similar blend of arts and business as Columbia College’s program referenced above. The Heinz School and the College of Fine Arts have created the Masters of Arts Management program (MAM).
MAM is one of the programs designed to be completed in two years as a full-time student. Core courses cover management, technology, financial, quantitative and communication skills within the context of arts and non-profit organizations. Electives allow you to delve more deeply into specific management, technical, or arts areas that interest you.
An unusual feature of this program is the Systems Synthesis project required of everyone in lieu of a thesis. Students work in a group for a real client (local or national) on a real issue being faced by the organization. The students propose a project, frame the problem, conduct the analysis, make recommendations and present their findings. An example of a current systems project is "The Arts Impact on Urban Development and Community Revitalization."
Web: www.cmu.edu
Phone: 412/268-6086
Annual cost: approximately $25,000
Application deadline/fee: March 15/$50 (this fee is waived if you apply online)
Yale University, New Haven, CT: Yale offers one of the largest arts administration graduate programs. The School of Drama offers an MFA in Theatre Management as well as a joint MFA/MBA program with the Yale School of Management.
The straight MFA is a three-year program that focuses equally on coursework and practical experience. In addition to classes in finance, marketing, law and production, all MFA students are required to serve on staff at Yale Repertory Theatre in an increasing capacity each year. Assignments range from development assistant to assistant press director to associate managing director.
For the joint MFA/MBA program applicants must apply to both schools. Admission decisions are made independently by each.
Web: www.yale.edu
Phone: 203/432-4771
Annual cost: approximately $17,000
Application deadline/fee: February 1/$50
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