Developing Current and Future Arts Leaders

Located in the heart of New York City, Baruch’s MA in Arts Administration program is training a new generation of leaders in arts and culture. As both partner and supporter of the city’s world-renowned museums, theaters, galleries, and cultural institutions, the Baruch MA in Arts Administration prepares students for leadership as activists, educators and managers to ensure a bright future for the wide range of public, private, and non-profit arts institutions in our field.

The program attracts students from a wide array of backgrounds, including current arts professionals looking to further hone their leadership skills and those who are just starting their career journey. Here are their stories:

An interdisciplinary program

Since admitting our first class of students in Fall 2015, our program has built on the strength of its joint sponsorship across Baruch’s three schools: the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences, the Zicklin School of Business, and the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs. Students greatly benefit from this integrated approach of arts, culture, management, and public policy in our curriculum.  Our faculty are leading educators and practitioners from diverse fields, including fine and performing arts, communication studies, public policy, accounting, management, and organization theory.

Integrated courses and experiential learning

The 36-unit (1.5 to 2 years) MA program admits students each semester, and includes a core curriculum focused on leadership and management in public, non-profit and commercial arts organizations. Utilizing the wealth of our New York City arts community, students learn from faculty and guest speakers representing a diversity of artists, arts professionals, and civic leaders. Students develop competence in finance, resource development, marketing, audience engagement, entertainment law, arts education and outreach, public policy, and advocacy.

The core curriculum is further enhanced by a wide range of electives that provide the opportunity for students to deepen their knowledge within specific areas of interest as well as explore disciplines new to them. Students are expected to study across artistic disciplines to increase their awareness of the field as a whole and better prepare them for success in our fast-paced and ever-changing field. With a practical approach, in their final semester, students develop a consultancy with an arts organization, leading to a thesis or case study for use by the organization, as well as future students and practitioners in the field.

Flexible approach

We serve part- and full-time students with courses scheduled to meet the needs of working professionals as well as full time students. The majority of courses are offered in the evening after 6 pm. Some students have substantial experience in cultural institutions, others are recent college graduates, and still more are contemplating career changes.

Baruch College and The City University of New York have a long tradition of serving an economically and ethnically mixed population. In addition, our commitment to this program stems from a profound awareness of the difficulties facing arts organizations in this country and abroad which include changing priorities in public and foundation funding, vast competition for audience attention, and changes in audience demographics. By providing an affordable and top-rate education to strong candidates, our program aims to support greater diversity among the next generation of exceptional leaders for arts and cultural institutions.

The program was founded by Bruce Payne, former president of the Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation. David Milch, Distinguished Lecturer in Fine and Performing Arts at Baruch College serves as the current Director of the Masters in Arts Administration program.

Contact

Office of Graduate Studies
Weissman School of Arts and Sciences
Baruch College
One Bernard Baruch Way, Box B8-211
New York, NY 10010
Telephone: 646-312-4490
Fax: 646-312-4491
Email: wsas.graduate.studies@baruch.cuny.edu