MA Arts Administration

Our graduates build careers leading cultural organizations and using their management, marketing, strategic planning, finance, and fundraising skills to advance the arts around the world.
As a MAAA student, you’ll learn from top scholars in arts management and cultural policy. In addition to being committed educators, O’Neill faculty members are highly regarded by their peers in the arts management industry and at academic institutions across the country.
You’ll also find many opportunities to practice what you learn outside the classroom. Our vibrant community is filled with local arts organizations, cultural institutions, live music venues, and festivals that provide hands-on leadership experience.

Combining faculty and practical expertise with the astonishing variety of cultural offerings on campus and in Bloomington, students can look forward to an intellectually and culturally stimulating experience in the study and practice of arts management, while preparing themselves for leadership in the arts in the decades ahead.

We also offer innovative, multi-disciplinary programs that enable you to combine interests and broaden your learning experience across IU or with one of our global partners. Explore how arts administration intersects with other fields with the following dual degrees:
• MAAA + Master of Public Affairs
• MAAA + Master of Arts in Musicology in partnership with the IU Jacobs School of Music
• MAAA + Master of Arts in Cultural Policy and Arts Management in partnership with University College Dublin.

Our MAAA curriculum will provide you with the foundational skills, core knowledge, and practical expertise you need to become an effective arts advocate and leader of change. You’ll master a comprehensive arts administration core, management and policy courses, and a heavy experiential component.

This 45-credit hour degree program can be completed in three to four semesters, plus a 280-hour internship and three 50-hour practicum projects.
Core classes include:
• Organizational Behavior and the Arts
• Financial Management for the Arts
• Audience Development and Marketing the Arts
• Fund Development for Nonprofits
• Legal Issues in the Arts
• Seminar in Arts Administration

In addition to core classes, you will also complete coursework in a variety of administrative disciplines. All students take at least one course in performing arts administration, visual arts administration, arts and cultural policy, technology management, and community and place.

With your electives, you can choose to further diversify your skillset, specialize in a particular discipline, or a combination thereof. For example, you may choose to focus on fundraising and effective leadership for nonprofit organizations at the O’Neill School, which is consistently ranked as the top place to study nonprofit management in the US. Or, you may take electives through any IU Bloomington school or department, including the Jacobs School of Music, the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture, and Design, the Department of Theatre, Drama, and Contemporary Dance, and the Kelley School of Business. You will work with a dedicated academic advisor to outline courses that best align with your academic and professional goals.

We welcome students from a variety of academic disciplines, both artistic and non-artistic, to apply.
Fall term application deadlines:
• Priority date: January 15
• Final date: May 1

Visit our website to learn about the application process.

FINANCIAL AID
Over 60% of O’Neill master’s students receive funding. Competitive funding packages are available to assist in making our top-ranked school affordable. We take your academic and professional achievements, extracurricular and volunteer activities, and financial need into account and strive to build a funding package that can help you reach your goals.

We also offer opportunities for you to receive funding to work with local community arts organizations, including through our O’Neill Leadership Program.
Email us email to learn more about funding your degree.