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Arts Administration

Department of Arts & Humanities

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Program Description

Prepare for creative leadership with the Program in Arts Administration’s (ARAD) comprehensive, two-year, 48-credit master’s degree that is informed by both research and professional practice. Our program welcomes students training to work in all artistic traditions and aesthetic styles, in the for-profit and non-profit sectors, both in the U.S. and abroad. In our program you will find:

  • An exceptional and renowned full-time faculty with active research projects and influence in the arts;

  • Accomplished arts professionals and highly successful instructors who offer courses on marketing, fundraising, accounting, and business planning;

  • A data-driven approach to arts administration that will uniquely position ARAD graduates as competitive in the field;

  • A partnership with the Columbia University School of Business enabling preferential registration;

  • Opportunities for hands-on learning with leading arts organizations in New York and beyond;

  • Individualized student advising and mentorship from faculty, fellow students, and alumni;

  • An academic internship program, supported by an in-house professional development coordinator;

  • A robust and global alumni network;

  • A supportive, dynamic, exciting group of peers—part of our “cohort experience;”

  • Opportunities for professional development, including an annual internship fair, networking opportunities, career and interviewing workshops, and microgrants.

Degrees

  • Master of Arts

    • Points/Credits: 48

      Entry Terms: Fall

      Degree Requirements

      The M.A. degree consists of 48 points of coursework:

      The 48 required points are comprised of: 30 points taken from the core program offerings, which includes 3 points of coursework through the Columbia University Business School, 1 point for the Practicum, 2 points for an internship, and 3 points for the capstone thesis or project; 6 points of Arts Administration Program (ARAD) electives; 6 points of coursework outside of the Arts Administration Program to fulfill the breadth requirement through Teachers College courses; and 6 points taken as electives at Teachers College or Columbia University.  

      The core curriculum represents a unique alliance among the faculties of Teachers College and Columbia’s Graduate School of Business, and access to diverse academic offerings across Columbia’s many graduate programs and schools. Included in the core requirements are training in cultural data and analysis, policy, fundraising, DEIA (diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility), accounting, financial planning, marketing, entrepreneurship, labor relations, contracts, and copyright law.  Each student is evaluated in the first year to ensure that satisfactory progress is maintained. Please note: tuition rates may vary for non-TC courses, depending on the offering school.

Faculty

  • Faculty

    • Davinia Gregory Assistant Professor, Arts Administration Program
    • Jennifer Carroll Lena Associate Professor of Arts Administration

  • Lecturers

    • Tania Aparicio Morales Lecturer - Arts Administration (ARAD)

  • Adjunct Faculty

    • Yan Xiao Adjunct Assistant Instructor

Courses

  • A&HG 4013 - Cultural Policy
    A seminar covering historical and contemporary issues in arts policy focused on moments of economic, political, and social conflict and consensus.
  • A&HG 4171 - History and Theory of Arts Administration I
    AADM majors only. Overview of the history of the arts and arts organizations in America; major theories of art's production and consumption; and the development of arts administration as a field. HTAA I covers basic concepts in organizational analysis, overview of the structure of arts organizations, an introduction to the principles of good management in the arts, and strategic planning.
  • A&HG 4172 - History and Theory of Arts Administration II
    AADM majors only. Overview of the history of the arts and arts organizations in America; major theories of art's production and consumption; and the development of arts administration as a field. HTAA II focuses on major systems of funding in comparative perspective, capitalist market dynamics and their impact on the arts, marketing and fundraising, external communications, audience assessment and engagement, community partnerships, and collections and collectors in art markets.
  • A&HG 4173 - History and Theory of Arts Administration III
    AADM majors only. Overview of the history of the arts and arts organizations in America; major theories of art's production and consumption; and the development of arts administration as a field. HTAA III is a basic introduction to legal issues in the arts (including employment rights and unions, deaccessioning, and intellectual property),public policy and arts advocacy, technology and digital issues in the arts, and the relationship of art to the public good.
  • A&HG 4174 - Law and the Arts
    Permission required for non-AADM majors. Principal artistic applications of U.S. law in areas drawn from copyright law, unfair competition and trademark law, misappropriation, First Amendment questions, miscellaneous torts including rights of privacy and publicity, defamation, interference with contract, and other problems relating to authenticity of art works.
  • A&HG 4176 - Fundraising
    Permission from professor required for non-AADM majors. An overview of current thinking in the field on finding support and generating funds for cultural initiatives including traditional and non-traditional approaches, funding trend analysis and research, and social entrepreneurship and revenue generation.
  • A&HG 4178 - Marketing for the Arts, Entertainment & Culture
    This course encompasses a focus on both for and not for profit organizations. It covers the diverse fields of commercial entertainment and visual arts, nonprofit performing and visual arts, as well as service and trade-related organizations in the cultural arts realm.
  • A&HG 4182 - Cultural Data and Analysis I
    AADM majors only. From the enduring mandate to track attendance; to formal evaluations of exhibitions, programs, and performances; to independent research that can be presented at professional conferences and published in professional journals, arts administrators work with data throughout their careers. This course serves as an introduction to the collection, cleaning, and analysis of such data, and why they matter. CDA I focuses on paradigms of inquiry, positive and reflexive science, causality and interpretation, case and case selection, and ethics. This course equally serves as a prerequisite to the Capstone Seminar, providing students with sufficient technical training to initiate their own data collection and analysis.
  • A&HG 4183 - Cultural Data and Analysis II
    AADM majors only. From the enduring mandate to track attendance; to formal evaluations of exhibitions, programs, and performances; to independent research that can be presented at professional conferences and published in professional journals, arts administrators work with data throughout their careers. This course serves as an introduction to the collection, cleaning, and analysis of such data, and why they matter. This course equally serves as a prerequisite to the Capstone Seminar, providing students with sufficient technical training to initiate their own data collection and analysis. Focus on participatory action research, visual applications of qualitative research, data analysis, and creating a proposal for an integrative thesis project.
  • A&HG 4184 - Cultural Data and Analysis III
    AADM majors only. From the enduring mandate to track attendance; to formal evaluations of exhibitions, programs, and performances; to independent research that can be presented at professional conferences and published in professional journals, arts administrators work with data throughout their careers. This course serves as an introduction to the collection, cleaning, and analysis of such data, and why they matter. This course equally serves as a prerequisite to the Capstone Seminar, providing students with sufficient technical training to initiate their own data collection and analysis. Focus on methods of inquiry, including surveys, participant observation, in-depth interviews, text and historical analysis, and digital tools of inquiry.
  • A&HG 4370 - Practicum in Arts Administration
    Permission required. This is a required course that offers professional development sessions and in which students read and critique research and reports on the state of the field, and practices within it. This course must be completed prior to the required internship.
  • A&HG 4470 - Internship in Arts Administration
    Permission required. Internship arranged with host institutions on an individual basis, taking into account the student’s needs, interests, and capacities and the host’s abilities to integrate those with its operation in an educationally useful manner. Minimum 75 hours. Pre-requisite: Practicum in Arts Administration.
  • A&HG 4575 - IP Proposal
    AADM majors only. In this mandatory course, first-year ARAD students will develop a formal proposal for the integrative project for approval, secure an appropriate IP Sponsor, and complete an oral defense of their IP proposal.
  • A&HG 4970 - Supervised Individual Research in Arts Administration
    Permission from the Program Director required. Independent research in arts administration.
  • A&HG 5172 - Contemporary Issues in Arts Administration
    Contemporary issues within arts administration. Topics evolve with the field but can include debates over deaccessioning art, the importance of new markets like China, etc.
  • A&HG 5175 - Entrepreneurship in the Arts
    Permission from professor required for non-AADM majors. Designed to integrate arts administration course-work from business, law, and the arts. Moves from the financial, cultural, political environment to strategic planning tools to specific arts situations in the creation and implementation of planning objectives.
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