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MAAA Curriculum
Goucher College Master of Arts in Arts Administration
The Master of Arts in Arts Administration curriculum requires a total of forty-three credits for graduation. Of these, thirty-one credits are earned through required courses, six credits through elective courses, and an additional six credits through the internship and major paper. Students who successfully petition to be exempted from the internship requirement will replace those credits with an additional elective course.
Required Courses
AAD 601. Principles of Arts Administration
Baker 3 credits/fall
Introduction to the history and practice of the profession of arts administration. What are the various responsibilities of arts administrators in a nonprofit organization? Consideration of issues for administrators in all artistic disciplines and of the different challenges confronting theatre, music, dance, visual arts, arts councils and multidisciplinary institutions; and of distinctions between nonprofit and commercial arts institutions. What cultural and economic contributions can be made to a region, large or small, by strengthening the arts sector? What are the problems and opportunities particular to the arts in differing community, urban, or regional settings? This required course begins during the student’s first summer; individual projects, conceived during the residency, will be completed during the fall semester.
AAD 605. Writing and Research Methods for the Arts Administrator
Lucas 3 credits/fall and spring
This course will strengthen students’ writing and research skills in preparation for a career in arts administration. The course will prepare students not only for the professional writing needed in the field, but also for the academic writing that is expected in the MAAA program. Students will build on their current skills, emphasizing the use of style and tone to reach an audience, the mechanics of good writing, and editing skills. Using analysis and problem-solving methods, students will consider approaches that may be useful in a variety of situations that arts administrators may face. The research section of the course will review the steps required for academic research, synthesis of research findings, organization of a paper, and proper citation. Required for the first year.
AAD 610. Leadership and Strategic Thinking
Coleman Cook 3 credits/fall and spring
What are the characteristics of an effective leader for an arts organization? How can you shape your own talents and abilities to inspire the strongest interaction with and contributions from those with whom you work—artistic and administrative staff, artists, board members, volunteers, the audience? What are the best approaches to governance and structure for different types of arts organizations? Are there ethical considerations involved? How might your leadership style develop as the organization grows? How can you make the strongest and most valuable links with the larger community which you serve? How do you identify strategic issues as you lead an organization in strategic planning? Required for the first year.
AAD 611. Financial Management for the Arts
Burdett 3 credits/fall and spring
Finance and accounting principles for the non-financial executive. How to read and understand budgets, profit and loss statements, reports of assets and liabilities and financial statements and other financial materials. Understanding cash versus accrual accounting tools for nonprofit organizations. Discussion of financial management as a component of short- and long-range planning. Required for the first year.
AAD 612. Public Relations and Marketing the Arts
Kearns 3 credits/fall and spring
How to coordinate public relations and marketing efforts to provide maximum impact for an arts institution. Development of internal and external public relations and marketing plans. Areas of focus include: audience development, market segmentation, relationship products, promotion tools and tactics, emarketing, research, customer service, budgeting and evaluation, and media relations. Required for the first or second year.
AAD 613. Developing Financial Resources
Zellner 3 credits/fall and spring
Special emphasis on building board and volunteer leadership to develop revenue for nonprofit artistic institutions of all types. Considering the particular potential contribution of differing organizations to the community or region, what might be fruitful avenues of financial and material support and of extra earned income? Should the mission of the organization be tailored to make it of greater benefit and appeal to the public? The particular skills of generating funding by working with appropriate private donors, corporations, and foundations will be addressed; included will be methods of research into financial sources and where to find support. Required for the first year.
AAD 614. Law and the Arts
Browne 3 credits/fall and spring
An examination of the legal rights and responsibilities of artists and artistic institutions. Topics include the law of intellectual property (copyright and trademark), moral rights, personality rights (defamation, publicity, and privacy), and freedom of expression. The course also provides an introduction to basic contract law and to the structure and language of contracts, including commissioning, performance rights, and music licensing agreements. Other legal issues that arise in the management of arts organization may also be discussed.
AAD 617. Public Policy for the Arts
Brown 3 credits/fall
This course examines governmental policy on the arts at the national, state and local levels including the history of public arts policy in this country and current politics. Understanding and changing public policy, identifying decision makers and developing a vocabulary for successful advocacy are major components of the course. Field trips to government agencies and arts advocacy groups are included. Required in the second summer residency and completed in the fall semester.
AD 619. Cultural Ecosystem: The Arts in Community
Ewell/Vega 3 credits/fall and spring
The course will look at how artists, arts organizations and arts councils function within and support a particular community. The course will be taught from a local arts agency perspective of relevancy and integration into the community, addressing the arts as an agent for social and economic development. Specific topics may include the following: the historical context of community arts in the United States and around the globe; changing demographics and their impact on the arts; integrating multiple cultures into arts policy and programs; understanding government systems from the most local to national and international; understanding demographics and economic development; the relevance and usefulness of the economic impact approach to arts advocacy; understanding the concept of community health and the role of the arts in supporting it; integrating the arts into public programs; understanding cultural democracy; partnerships and cooperation with civic institutions; understanding community planning and cultural planning; public art programs and their role in building community identity; helping arts organizations to understand their role building community identity; how to define and evaluate success for arts organizations; current trends in local arts management. Required for students entering in 2007 and beyond; open as an elective to all other students.
AAD 620. Human Resources Management
Zdunek 3 credits/fall
Principles and best methods for managing both paid and volunteer personnel in an arts organization. Topics will include hierarchical vs. collegial organizational structures and supervisory skills; orientation and training of the board of directors and committees; managing staff meetings; establishing management teams; recruiting and hiring new employees (job descriptions; interviewing skills); job training and performance evaluation; advancement and succession; the use of independent contractors vs. regular employees. The implications of the change in the volunteer demographic profile will be addressed, as well as volunteer recruitment, supervision, retention and recognition, and designing alternative volunteer opportunities to accommodate today’s professionals. Required in the third summer residency and completed in the fall semester.
AAD 625. Grantsmanship from A to Z
Burdett 1 credit
This course will cover the process of researching, preparing, and managing corporate, foundation, and government grants for nonprofit arts organizations. Topics to be covered will include research, cultivation, understanding guidelines, program development, outcomes-based evaluation, letters of intent, preparation of proposals and reporting process. . Students will be encouraged to become familiar with their own local funding environment, and will prepare at least one complete grant proposal.
AAD 650. Internship
The Faculty 3 credits
Supervised experience in a functioning artistic organization. This is usually done in a place other than that of the student’s employment; however, the home base can sometimes be used if the task exposes the student to new challenges beyond the regular duties of the job. Requirements for the internship experience are described at length in the MAAA Internship and Major Paper Handbook and in the contract to be completed by each student.
AAD 651. Major Paper
The Faculty 3 credits
The major paper is a research paper of thesis quality. Prior to Commencement, the student defends the major paper before an oral defense committee. Details of requirements may be found in the MAAA Internship and Major Paper Handbook.
Electives
AAD 630. Managing Performing Arts Organizations
Wildman 3 credits/fall
Particular challenges relating to theatre, music, and dance institutions, examined through a case study approach. Contractual agreements; cooperative ventures between organizations; outreach and integrating the arts into education. Managing organizations in transition (artistic, administrative and/or facility), and balancing the needs of artists, staff, boards, and funders will be central considerations.
AAD 631. Managing Visual Arts Organizations
Kelly 3 credits/fall
This course dissects and examines the myriad challenges facing the director of an art museum, nonprofit art gallery or alternative space. Topics will include ethical issues, board governance, the pros and cons of facility expansion, provenance issues, fundraising strategies and their Catch-22 components, audience development, media communication, managing controversy and change, the organization’s role as educator, collaborative ventures, the critical investment in exhibitions, collecting and deaccessioning, and working with contemporary artists.
AAD 634. Planning and Managing New Ventures in the Arts
Bush 3 credits/Spring
Designed to provide the student with insights into setting up a new artistic venture. Students will explore creating a concept and a mission; developing a business plan, and a leadership and personnel requirement; building support in the larger community; defining physical needs for the organization and searching for facilities; developing financial viability on many levels; and public relations, marketing, outreach and tourism.
AAD 636. Arts in Education
Chiu 3 credits/spring
This course will study the various arts education methodologies practiced in the classroom, explore models of best practices in different settings in urban and rural schools, discuss the role of the arts in academic learning, and examine public support for arts in education and advocacy for such support. Students will survey their own communities and their professional backgrounds to build a context for their understanding of the coursework, participate in discussion of assigned readings and issues in arts education, practice resolution of real-life situations in arts instruction, seeking public support, and developing advocacy strategies to ensure the permanence of arts in the core curriculum of all schools.
AAD 637. Directed Reading in the Chosen Art Field
Faculty 3 credits
Directed Reading can be designed by a student on an individual basis to broaden the student's knowledge in a particular area of arts administration. Students interested in taking this course must have the prior approval of the director, an outlined bibliography, and a faculty member who has agreed to advise their work. .