The Arts Management Program at George Mason University seeks to advance the management of all aspects of the arts. Our graduates, taught by some of this country’s most outstanding practicing managers, provide for the development and nurturing of artists, audiences, and communities. The Mason Arts Management Program, located in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, offers a MA in arts management, an undergraduate minor in arts management, and in partnership with the School of Theater, an accelerated MA in arts management/BA in theater. The program responds to a growing demand for graduates who can manage and coordinate the arts, bridging the world of performing and visual arts with applied managerial skills. Prospective students who are interested in visiting campus to learn more about the program are encouraged to attend an information session or to make an appointment for a individual meeting by emailing [email protected]

Arts Management Minor:
The fields of visual and performing arts offer many career paths that rely on a strong foundation in one or more art forms and require specific knowledge and skills in administration and management. The minor in arts management is open to all CVPA majors as well as art history majors. All other students must complete 9 credits of arts-related course work to be eligible for this minor.

University policy states that students must earn 8 distinct credits that are not used toward their major toward their minor, with a minimum 2.00 GPA earned in all courses applied to the minor

Accelerated Arts Management, MA:
The College of Visual and Performing Arts offers several options for our undergraduate students to start working on their master’s degree while they’re completing their bachelor’s. Applicants receive a waiver of the graduate application fee and admitted students may obtain both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree after satisfactory completion of 144-150 credits (number of required credits depends on the degree program).

Dual Arts Management and Art History – MA Program:
This degree option is open both new students, and to students already enrolled in either the Arts Management MA program or Art History MA program.
Students can apply up to 6 credits of Arts Management to the Art History degree and 9 credits of Art History to the Arts Management degree. (Art History MA requires a total of 30 credits and Arts Management MA requires 36 credits).

Learn to Sustain and Lead Arts Organizations

Our program, which is aimed at students interested in nonprofit performing or visual arts management, places a strong emphasis on developing practical managerial skills in financial management, marketing, public relations, governance, and development, through both classroom study and experiential learning. Management courses are situated in a core framework of classes devoted to understanding the place of arts in society, and designed to foster leadership and entrepreneurship in the arts. Internships are an integral part of the arts management student experience at Mason, and provide an opportunity to delve deeply into an area of arts management, while gaining professional experience through meaningful work. Too see a list of where our students have interned visit: http://artsmanagement.gmu.edu/internships/

Core Course Work:
Fundraising and Development
Arts and Society
Public Relations and Marketing
Governance and Leadership in the Arts
Finance and Budgeting for Arts
Arts Policy
Internship

Elective Course Work:
International Arts Management – Study Abroad Course
Art Law
Grant Writing
Technology in the Arts
Arts Entrepreneurship
Festivals and Special Events

The program is geared toward those with a passion for the arts. Diversity among applicants is anticipated and sought, and candidates are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Work experience is strongly preferred. It is anticipated that some students will come from the arts community, with experience and training in music, dance, theater, and visual and technical arts and wish to add the skills of marketing, finance, strategy, entrepreneurship, and management to their repertoire. It is also expected that some students will enter with more developed skills in business and wish to unite these skills with prior experiences in the arts. Completed applications must be received by February 15 for fall and October 1 for spring.