503 Information Technology for Arts Managers (1:0:0) Prerequisite: acceptance to graduate program in CVPA or permission of instructor. Provides arts management students the opportunity to advance IT skills to required levels. Following skills assessment and seminar, students take three classes in campus media labs ranging from MS Office/Excel to advanced IT.
599 Special Topics in Arts Management (1–6:1–6:0) Prerequisite: admission to MAM graduate program or permission of instructor. Provides opportunity to explore special and timely topics in arts management including theoretical and applied areas. Topics and credit vary; may be repeated for up to 12 credits taken under different topics.
601 Fund Raising/Development in Arts (3:3:0) Prerequisite: admission to graduate program in master of arts in arts management or permission of instructor. Overview for students seeking general knowledge, as well as introductory course for those who will complete the fund-raising concentration. Teaches role of fund raising as management function and part of overall strategic intention of arts organizations, presenting fund raising as a multifaceted, team-based process. Analyzes tools and techniques for effective fund raising.
602 Seminar in Arts Management (3:3:0) Prerequisite: admission to graduate program in CVPA or permission of instructor. Develops tools and techniques necessary for successful pursuit of a management career in visual and performing arts. Introduces wide range of arts organizations, working arts administrators, and institutional models through guest lectures, readings, field trips, and analysis of institutional data. Students gain understanding of organizational structures and functions of arts organizations as well as a theoretical model for general management and practical tools.
603 Arts in Society (3:3:0) Prerequisite: admission to a master’s program in CVPA or permission of instructor. Examines role of visual and performing arts as social and cultural institutions, with emphasis on historic traditions and trends that have most directly influenced contemporary American practice. Consideration is given to the essential functions of art in society in an effort to address questions: Why do we require art at all? What constitutes good or bad art? What is the value of art? What encouragements or impediments does our society offer to the creative artist or arts institution? How do the various forms differ in their traditions, philosophical underpinnings, and current manifestations? How can arts managers participate in the cultural conversation to the benefit of art forms, artists, and the institutions they serve?
604 Public Relations and Marketing Strategies for the Arts (3:3:0) Prerequisite: admission to a graduate program in CVPA or permission of instructor. MAM 602 should be taken prior to or concurrently with MAM 604. Teaches strategic way of thinking about audience, community, and markets. Structured into four modules, beginning with fundamentals of strategic planning. Students learn about external and internal environments and the interplay among them; discuss marketing fundamentals pertaining to arts audiences; and are introduced to fundamentals of applied marketing media and advertising fundamentals. Designed as fundamentals course for elective concentration in marketing and public relations.
605 Arts Audiences (3:3:0) Prerequisite: admission to CVPA graduate program or permission of instructor. Introduces theory and practice of creating commitment of arts audiences for performing and visual arts. Students explore different perspectives such as psychological, anthropological and business-minded.
606 Board of Directors (3:3:0) Prerequisite: admission to master of arts in arts management or permission of instructor. Board development including oversight and management of a board, as well as understanding board functions. Board relationships, including volunteers, are essential through all of the stages of a management career.
607 Fund Raising/Development in Arts II (3:3:0) Prerequisite: admission to arts management program or permission of instructor. Focus on two active arts organizations and create a development plan and various proposals specifically geared to their situations. The course focuses on practical application of development principles, writing and communications skills, and strategic thinking and planning.
608 Executive Management of Arts Communications (3:3:0) Prerequisites: MAM 604 Public Relations/Marketing Strategy for Arts. Conception, planning, and implementation and control of platforms to create and manage a holistic communications strategy for arts organizations. This includes Management of Brand, Public Relations, Advertising and the Evolving Marketplace: New Technologies, and Theories in Marketing.
609 Facilities Management (3:3:0) Prerequisite: admission to arts management program or permission of instructor. Bridging strategic planning and marketing; audience development; financial management and board and volunteer management, with issues of scheduling, ticketing and sales, mission integration and strategic challenges of new facilities, and growth and operations of existing ones.
704 Finance and Budgeting for Arts Organizations (3:3:0) Prerequisite: admission to CVPA graduate program, or permission of instructor. Introduces budget and finance as fundamentals of the budget process, specifically tailored to needs of arts organizations. Provides overview of accounting as tool to manage and control arts organizations. Involves laboratory component for teaching software application frequently encountered in fiscal operation of arts organizations.
705 Budgeting/Finance for Arts Organizations II (2:2:0) Prerequisites: MAM 704. Introduces budgeting, planning, and finance as fundamentals of the strategic planning process and management control, specifically tailored to the needs of arts organizations.
706 Festivals and Special Events (3:3:0) Prerequisite: admission to arts management program or permission of instructor. Technical aspects of events and festival management. Topics such as cultural understanding, tourism, sponsorship, fund raising and development, logistics of scheduling and contracts, and the relationship to larger venues, marketing and sales, and budgeting.
710 Arts Policy (3:3:0) Reviews current state of nonprofit arts field, then familiarizes students with the most common rationales for public support of the arts and respective roles of federal, state, and local governments and private policy actors. Examines dilemmas that arts organizations face in balancing the need for government support and artistic integrity with push and pull of the market. Compares U.S. policies to those of other developed countries.
711 Directed Readings and Project Course (1–6:1–6:0) Opportunity to engage in a more intensive study or project in arts management. Students partner with faculty member for intensive readings and project in strategy and planning in the arts, fundraising and development, entrepreneurial project work, arts marketing, arts policy and law, or other specialized areas pertinent to arts administration.
712 Grant Writing in the Arts (1:1:0) Prerequisite: admission to master of arts in arts management or permission of instructor. Places components of grant-writing process within broader context of nonprofit management. Introduction to perspectives of grant seeker and maker. The grant-writing process: research, proposal writing, terminology, oral, and written techniques and specific focus. Discover resources and compelling writing skills pertaining to proposal and letters of intent.
740 Internal Internship-Laboratory Rotation (2:0:6) Prerequisite: admission to master of arts in arts management. 12 credits taken within the master in arts management program; or permission of program director. Required for developing practical application. Builds on apprenticeship as a core means of teaching applied concepts of arts management. Augments use of Center of the Arts and active arts environment, both performing and visual, as a learning laboratory. Builds on practical learning, and provides internal training as preparation for external internship. (minimum 84 hours).
750 Arts Entrepreneurship I (3:3:0) Prerequisite: admission to master of arts in arts management or permission of instructor. Lecture course in discovering and developing entrepreneurial skills in the artist and the arts. Special focus will be placed on developing communication skills, planning strategies, and nurturing the skills and attitudes that enable students to creatively solve problems and identify opportunities. This entrepreneurial perspective is in line with the Mason experience and widely applicable outside the business world, in fields such as politics, education, and the arts. Assigned readings will be augmented and supported by presentations, lectures, and meetings with successful art and nonart entrepreneurs in the region. At mid-term, students will conceive, develop, and present a for-profit or nonprofit business plan strategy, which includes a business model(s), market overview, and management structure. The final project will include adding a revenue model, developing revenue streams, constructing a partnership acquisition strategy, and technical and information technology strategy to the business plan strategy. The semester concludes with a 15- to 20-minute public presentation of the business plan summary before a panel of entrepreneurs and business and nonprofit managers.
751 Arts Entrepreneurship II (3:3:0) Prerequisite: Arts Entrepreneurship I or permission of instructor. Advanced lecture course in discovering and developing entrepreneurial skills in the artist and the arts. Special focus will be given to developing business financial planning skills, developing a funding strategy, and the marketing and sales of the arts. Assigned readings in the class will be augmented and supported by presentations, lectures, and meetings with successful art and nonart entrepreneurs in the region. At midterm, students/student teams will conceive, develop, and present three-year projected cash flows, income statements, accompanying financial assumptions, and funding plans for a for-profit or nonprofit business plan. The final project will include determining market verticals, targeting those verticals and building a multiyear event-based marketing campaign, which includes schedule and expenses. The semester concludes with a 15- to 20-minute public presentation of their business financials and marketing campaigns before a panel of entrepreneurs, business, and nonprofit managers.
760 Current Issues in Arts Management (3:3:0) Prerequisite: admission to master of arts in arts management program, 9-credit standing; or permission of program director. Strategic decision making within the complex web of social, political, economic, personal, and ethical dimensions. Analysis of cases, using learned skills in planning, financial and strategic analysis, human resource allocation, and fund raising.
780 Arts Consultancy (3:3:0) Prerequisite: admission to CVPA graduate program or special written approval of program director. Studies techniques, frameworks for selecting and using consultants effectively. Incorporates business development, project scope, contract and pricing, and independent contractor as opportunities in arts management field.
790 External Internship (2–4:0:6–12) Prerequisite: admission to master of arts in arts management, 15-credit standing; or permission of program director. Designed to follow internal internship. Provides a specific work environment to build on skills developed in the classroom, and integrates work experience with specific academic exercises. Students advised to pursue a three-pronged approach toward specialization: electives; internal internship in the same area as concentrated electives; and external internship consistent with specialized course work and internal internship (minimum 42 hours/credit).