Program Goals and Objectives

Arts administrators are extraordinary individuals. They must function as managers, fundraisers, planners, educators, conciliators, facilitators, communicators, and most important, as leaders. They must be realists as well as idealists, respectful of the needs of both art and business, and forward-looking yet mindful of the past.

Since 1971 the Indiana University Arts Administration Program has been committed to the development of such leaders. The program, a 16-month, multidisciplinary course of study leading to an M.A. in Arts Administration, is broad-based in outlook and curriculum and strives to achieve a balance of artistic and management concerns, theory and hands-on experience. Students complete three semesters of course work, on-campus practicums, and a supervised internship off campus. The program seeks to serve students who are at the beginning stages of their careers as well as older students wishing to change careers.

Though small in size, the City of Bloomington provides an ideal setting for the program. The city’s thriving arts community includes more than 150 arts organizations as well as the internationally acclaimed Lotus World Music and Arts Festival. On the IU Bloomington campus, the Jacobs School of Music presents more than 1,000 concerts and events each year, and a new production opens almost every other week on one of the two stages in the Department of Theatre, Drama & Contemporary Dance. Other cultural organizations on campus include the IU Auditorium, which offers touring Broadway productions; the Eskenazi Museum of Art, one of the nation’s finest university art museums; the Mathers Museum of World Cultures; the African American Arts Institute; the IU Cinema; and the Lilly Library of rare books and manuscripts.

Degree requirements

(45 credit hours) The program requires 45 credit hours of course work. A typical schedule includes 13 credit hours the first semester and 13 credit hours in the second semester. The third semester of 13 credit hours includes the capstone seminar course, leaving six credits for either the fourth semester or one or both summers. In addition to the required and elective 3-credit courses, students register for one credit of practicum each of their first three semesters. Some students finish in three semesters plus some summer work, while others stay four semesters.

In the summer following the second semester of course work most students complete a seven week internship in an arts organization of their choice. These students are able to complete their degree in December of their second year of study. Some students opt to complete their internship in the spring following their final fall semester of course work. Recent sites have included Carnegie Hall, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Smithsonian, the Museum of Fine Arts–Houston, the Seattle International Film Festival, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Abrons Art Center, and the Barrier Island Group for the Arts (BIG ARTS) on Sanibel Island. While there is no thesis requirement, extensive writing projects are part of the capstone seminar course and internship experiences.

Introduction Course (3 credit hours)

Management and Policy Courses (9 credit hours)

Area I: Performing Arts

Choose one of the following:

Area II: Visual Arts

Choose one of the following:

Area III: Arts and Cultural Policy

Choose one of the following:

Skill Building Courses (9 credit hours)

Theory and Survey Courses (6 credit hours)

Electives (9 credit hours)

Experiential Requirement (6 credit hours)

Capstone (3 credit hours)