Los Angeles, the Creative Capital of the World, Is Our Laboratory.
The Master of Arts in Arts Management program provides valuable experience and career-launching connections for a wide range of career paths. Our ties to the vibrant and dynamic Southern California arts community offer practical research on real issues and close interaction with experienced faculty. You will have a first-hand opportunity to master the skills and knowledge to shape the future of arts organizations regionally, nationally, and globally.
Turn your passion into your profession. Arts institutions in the for and nonprofit sectors are seeking capable managers with an understanding of the arts, culture, business, and leadership to head museums, manage theatre and dance companies, lead music and arts education organizations, and advocate for the future of the arts. The Arts Management program blends the best of the Drucker School of Management and the School of Arts and Humanities to balance business courses with graduate level courses in the study of culture, history, and the arts.
Program Highlights
You can explore all options, encompassing for-profit and nonprofit organizational structures in all disciplines.
Complete your degree in three semesters or customize the time it takes to fit your professional and personal commitments.
The personalized, seminar-style learning environment includes coursework in arts organization dynamics, legal foundations, fundraising, finance, and other essential topics.
Study arts management in an international context through our field travel practicum completed in the spring semester.
Take electives throughout the university to tailor your studies to your career goals.
Fellowships and federal work-study opportunities are available.
Program At a Glance
UNITS
40 units
ESTIMATED COMPLETION TIME*
3 semesters
*This estimate assumes full-time registration and pursuit of the degree. Actual completion times will vary and may be higher, depending on full- or part-time course registration, units transferred, and time to complete other degree requirements.
COURSES BEGIN
Fall | Spring
DEGREE AWARDED
MA in Arts Management
Featured Courses
ARMGT 300
Introduction to Arts Management
Introduces students to careers in arts administration and demystifies the various domains, genres, and scales of work advanced by arts management professionals. Provides a broad overview of the discipline while immersing students in the arts ecosystem of Los Angeles, a global city.
ARMGT 301
Legal Foundations for the Arts
Provides an overview of major art law and business topics, including the U.S. legal system, contracts, intellectual property, artist rights, authenticity and title, First Amendment, business structures, and business challenges.
ARMGT 310A
Principles and Practices of Fundraising
Teaches students the fundamentals of philanthropy and fundraising in the arts. The course presents critical concepts and pragmatic applications for raising funds for the visual and performing arts across different genres, settings, and scales.
ARMGT 317
Finance & Accounting for the Creative Industries
Introduces students to foundational concepts in finance and accounting. Students will learn how organizations responsibly manage their resources and how to understand financial documents to make effective decisions as a manager.
ARMGT 321
Marketing Management
Introduces key marketing concepts, theories, and practical applications through an analysis of relevant case studies, readings, lectures, and discussions, teaching students to think strategically and proactively about marketing problems.
ARMGT 351
Arts & Cultural Policy
Explores how cultural policy is the context in which all arts organizations and artists operate. The course examines government and private support of the arts and issues such as cultural equity and inclusion, gentrification, education, advocacy, and economic development.
Curriculum
A typical course of study would be:
Fall – Year 1
Introduction to Arts Management (4 units)
Legal Foundations of the Arts (4 units)
Principles and Practices of Fundraising I (2 units)
Marketing Management (2 units)
Elective (4 units)
Spring – Year 1
Finance & Accounting for the Creative Industries (4 units)
Capstone A (4 units)
Field Study Practicum (0 units)
Electives (4-8 units)
Fall – Year 2
Capstone B (4 units)
Electives (4-8 units)
Field Study
Field study travel provides behind-the-scenes access to artists, art businesses and organizations, and leaders in the field. The trips are designed to accelerate the formation of international networks and ensure familiarity with the complexity of the international arts landscape. All students are required to go on one field study trip.
Visiting the Pearl Lam Galleries at Gilman Barracks Contemporary Art Center, Singapore
Students trying on traditional Noh masks backstage at the Hosho Style Noh Theater in Tokyo, Japan
The Yoshio Taniguchi-designed Gallery of Horyuji Treasures at Tokyo National Museum
Nighttime vista from the roof of the famous Marina Bay Sands in Singapore
Albert Lim and Linda Neo talking about their collection and introducing students to the work of Jane Lee in Singapore
Choi Jung-hwa's "Alchemy" (2014) at the Leeum Samsung Museum, Seoul, South Korea
Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa
Capstone Sequences
Every Arts Management student completes a capstone sequence, which is the culmination of your degree, synthesizing everything that you have learned throughout the program. It is designed as a bridge to your professional life, serving as a powerful demonstration of the skills you’ve developed at CGU as you enter or continue your work in the arts and cultural field. Each capstone sequence comprises both course work and a final project or deliverable that stems from your own intellectual and creative pursuits.
Students in the Arts Management program may complete their degree requirements through any sequence below.
Explore the arts and cultural field with partnering arts organizations such as museums, theaters, presenters, funders, and government agencies.
You might act as a consultant, providing valuable work related to the organization’s articulated needs and goals. Or you might act as a researcher and observer, offering data and insights about the organization’s place and operations within the larger arts ecosystem. Work closely with a partnering organization and faculty to present your work and findings for feedback and assessment. Some organizations offer a stipend; others do not.
Develop cutting edge business skills to launch a new venture for the arts and cultural sector.
You will study the principles of startups from initial concept through prototyping, market testing, and business plan development. You will study alongside MBAs in the Drucker School of Management and practice working with and speaking to people across disciplines and industries.
Complete your degree requirements with the successful execution of an academic master’s thesis.
This thesis will most likely stem from completed coursework that stimulated your curiosity. Master’s theses are primarily research-driven and draw upon both original research and secondary sources. You will take courses with MA and PhD students in the School of Arts & Humanities and produce a thesis that contributes new knowledge to the arts and culture field.
Electives
A highlight of the Arts Management program is the ability to take a total of 16 units of elective courses. In addition to electives offered by Arts Management program, students may take courses in other departments and programs, such as:
Archival Studies
Art
Cultural Studies
Educational Studies
Entrepreneurship
Evaluation
History
Leadership
Management
Marketing
Museum Studies
Music
Organizational Science
Politics and Policy
Transdisciplinary Studies
Faculty
The Center’s faculty are renowned experts in arts and culture management in California. Courses are taught by arts leaders, practitioners, and policy experts who are driving change in Los Angeles and beyond. Additional faculty are drawn from CGU’s Drucker School of Management and School of Arts & Humanities.
David Pagel
Professor of Art Theory and History
Roland Reiss Endowed Chair in Art
Faculty Coordinator, Center for Business & Management of the Arts
