Performing Arts Administration (MA)
Program Description
The master’s degree program in performing arts administration was founded in 1971 and is one of the oldest arts management programs in the country. The program educates prospective and practicing administrators for positions with outstanding arts organizations in this country and abroad. It does this with a combination of courses, specifically designed for arts administrators, in the areas of the environment of arts administration; development for the arts; marketing the performing arts; law and the arts; statistics; and business courses in economics, accounting, behavioral science, and marketing, which may be offered through NYU’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business or Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. In addition, the program emphasizes the acquisition of executive skills in the areas of organizational assessment, career planning, and executive presentation through periodic workshops offered only to students enrolled in the master’s degree program. Internships with leading arts managers are a required part of the program of study and enhance coursework. In recent years, interns, who usually receive a small weekly stipend, have trained with managers of organizations as varied as Carnegie Hall, American Ballet Theatre, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Manhattan Theatre Club, and National Endowment for the Arts. In addition, guest lecturers and adjunct faculty from the field regularly speak at special forums.
Special Opportunity
Summer Study Abroad in Arts Administration takes degree and visiting students to the Netherlands, Germany, and France to study alternative ways of managing arts organizations through intensive examination of current practices in Europe. The 6-unit graduate course examines the effects of economics, politics, and management on arts policy and practice.
Traveling to Utrecht, Amsterdam, Berlin, and Paris, students meet with curators, performing arts managers, and national policymakers and tour a variety of theatres, museums, and cultural institutions. The course is designed for both graduate students and alumni of both visual and performing arts administration programs as well as arts administrators with professional experience in the field.
Admissions
Admission to graduate programs in the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development requires the following minimum components:
- Résumé/CV
- Statement of Purpose
- Letters of Recommendation
- Transcripts
- Proficiency in English
See NYU Steinhardt's Graduate Admissions website for additional information on school-wide admission. Some programs may require additional components for admissions.
See How to Apply for admission requirements and instructions specific to this program.