Master of Arts in Arts Administration and Policy: Courses

MAAAP Graduate Fieldwork allows students to work in part-time, art-related positions in approved organizations and institutions. Students are assigned a faculty adviser, who assists in setting clear objectives for the Fieldwork, makes site visits, and participates in final written evaluation of the project. Participation requires a total of 225 hours, with a weekly minimum average of 15 work hours with the fieldwork organization. In addition, four seminar classes address issues of entering the workforce, and include discussion of fieldwork experiences and a workshop on evaluation techniques. You must be a Master of Arts in Arts Administration and Policy student to enroll in this course.

In the first semester, Arts Administration students will attend monthly colloquia in which a topic related to the field is discussed and analyzed. Presentations are made either by faculty members or guest lecturers. The aim of these sessions is to provide students with a critical and discursive engagement with contemporary arts-related issues and late breaking news.

In this course theories and practices of strategic marketing, and approaches to effective written and oral communication for arts administrators are examined. Marketing topics include: consumer behavior; definition of both actual and potential arts consumers; market segmentation; market research; planning, pricing and distribution of the art 'product', including the development of marketing plans. An array of descriptive, analytical, and critical writing styles will also be covered: eg writing reports, proposals, and press releases, and writing for arts publications. Effective public speaking will also be discussed and practiced. You must be a Master of Arts in Arts Administration student to enroll in this course.

In this course theories and practices of strategic marketing, and approaches to effective written and oral communication for arts administrators are examined. Marketing topics include: consumer behavior; definition of both actual and potential arts consumers; market segmentation; market research; planning, pricing and distribution of the art 'product', including the development of marketing plans. An array of descriptive, analytical, and critical writing styles will also be covered: eg writing reports, proposals, and press releases, and writing for arts publications. Effective public speaking will also be discussed and practiced. You must be a Master of Arts in Arts Administration student to enroll in this course.

Effective management requires knowledgeable and thoughtful preparation and use of financial information. This course focuses on the most critical financial management concepts and skills. Topics include: principles of financial management and control; budget preparation; financial management and strategic planning; allocation and recovery of indirect costs; preparation and analysis of financial reports; and coping with cutbacks. Quantitative analysis is emphasized. Students develop the confidence and ability to produce budgets, set prices and undertake other financial tasks required of administrators.

This course is designed for MA or MFA students who are interested in designing, developing and producing multidisciplinary art projects using their own work and/or the work of others. The course will be a lab-like intersection of courses in arts administration, studio/performance practice, art history and cultural policy, in which participants will grapple with the complexity of merging practical skills with personal vision in real-time. Specifically, the course will be a combination of lecture, discussion and practice, using realproject case studies and hands-on project development of students' own ideas. Participants will develop and merge skills in: incubating project ideas, developing strategy, writing, fund raising, marketing, collaborating, managingrelationships and producing. This course is ideal for students who intend to create and produce an 'event' as part of their thesis work.

This course is designed for MA or MFA students who are interested in designing, developing and producing multidisciplinary art projects using their own work and/or the work of others. The course will be a lab-like intersection of courses in arts administration, studio/performance practice, art history and cultural policy, in which participants will grapple with the complexity of merging practical skills with personal vision in real-time. Specifically, the course will be a combination of lecture, discussion and practice, using realproject case studies and hands-on project development of students' own ideas. Participants will develop and merge skills in: incubating project ideas, developing strategy, writing, fund raising, marketing, collaborating, managingrelationships and producing. This course is ideal for students who intend to create and produce an 'event' as part of their thesis work.

MAAAP Graduate Fieldwork allows students to work in part-time, art-related positions in approved organizations and institutions. Students are assigned a faculty adviser, who assists in setting clear objectives for the Fieldwork, makes site visits, and participates in final written evaluation of the project. Participation requires a total of 225 hours, with a weekly minimum average of 15 work hours with the fieldwork organization. In addition, four seminar classes address issues of entering the workforce, and include discussion of fieldwork experiences and a workshop on evaluation techniques. You must be a Master of Arts in Arts Administration and Policy student to enroll in this course.

Law, Politics And The Arts provides the student with an understanding of the legal system and the political process as they relate to the arts. The first part of the course is a survey of the American legal system and laws affecting arts organizations. The second part of the course explores the philosophical foundations and the practical experience of the relationship of government and the political process to the arts. You must be a Master of Arts in Arts Administration student to enroll in this course.

This course will examine the dynamics of the art market and how collectors, museums, galleries, insurance companies, and the IRS attach value to art objects in diverse contexts. The class will include discussions with experts from these areas. Emphasis will be on collection care, what drives a work of art?s value, authentication processes, the presence of forgeries in the market, provenance, use of Catalogues Raisonnes and elements of valuation.

This course critically traces an archeology of postmodern cultural production, display, criticism, and radical political intervention by examining paradigmatic modern cultural institutions in general, and museums in particular. Analyses of modern socio-cultural politics according to Foucault and Benjamin will provide a basis for a critical examination of the cultural economies of which modern museums are the key agents and the materializations. Increasingly, the work of these authors has been taken up and deployed by contemporary cultural historians and theorists as a means of gaining critical perspectives on the complicated relationships between capitalism, urbanism, colonialism, consumerism, and, in the more critically adventurous cases, sexism, racism, and classicism.

A master's thesis is required for completion of the master's degree in arts administration. The thesis should demonstrate a student's ability to design, justify, execute, evaluate, and present the results of original research or of a substantial project. In this class students work closely with an MAAAP program advisor, and meet frequently with other MAAAP participants in groups and in individual meetings. The thesis is presented, in both written and oral form, to a thesis committee for both initial and final approval. You must be a Master of Arts in Arts Administration and Policy student to enroll in this course.

A master's thesis is required for completion of the master's degree in arts administration. The thesis should demonstrate a student's ability to design, justify, execute, evaluate, and present the results of original research or of a substantial project. In this class students work closely with an MAAAP program advisor, and meet frequently with other MAAAP participants in groups and in individual meetings. The thesis is presented, in both written and oral form, to a thesis committee for both initial and final approval. You must be a Master of Arts in Arts Administration and Policy student to enroll in this course.

MAAAP Graduate Fieldwork allows students to work in part-time, art-related positions in approved organizations and institutions. Students are assigned a faculty adviser, who assists in setting clear objectives for the Fieldwork, makes site visits, and participates in final written evaluation of the project. Participation requires a total of 225 hours, with a weekly minimum average of 15 work hours with the fieldwork organization. In addition, four seminar classes address issues of entering the workforce, and include discussion of fieldwork experiences and a workshop on evaluation techniques. You must be a Master of Arts in Arts Administration and Policy student to enroll in this course.

Creative Industries discourses posit artists? work as model of entrepreneurism in support of a greater realm of design that produces value-added commodities through information technologies. Developed in the late1990's after cultural critique had identified pedagogical, social and political uses of the arts throughout the 70?s and 80?s, this move completes a full turn away from the traditional 'art-for-art?s-sake' framework indicative of high culture, towards an understanding of culture as resource. Valuations of art worlds, works and practices shift depending on the framework evoked, leading to market, community and resistance inflected rhetorics. This seminar will attempt to untangle the strands.

This course examines cultural policy issues within arts organizations and society. A central objective of the course is to develop student understanding of the mission and operation of different arts organizations in the context of society's structures and needs. Cultural policy at the National Endowment for the Arts, along with other national models, will be critically analyzed. The philosophical foundations of the nonprofit sector, and the developments that have taken place there in recent times, will be examined. The educative role of the arts, and how this can be effectively integrated with an arts organization's program will be addressed through case studies. Alternative organizational models will be introduced, to encourage new thinking in the development of organizational missions. You must be a Master of Arts in Arts Administration student to enroll in this course.

This course examines cultural policy issues within arts organizations and society. A central objective of the course is to develop student understanding of the mission and operation of different arts organizations in the context of society's structures and needs. Cultural policy at the National Endowment for the Arts, along with other national models, will be critically analyzed. The philosophical foundations of the nonprofit sector, and the developments that have taken place there in recent times, will be examined. The educative role of the arts, and how this can be effectively integrated with an arts organization's program will be addressed through case studies. Alternative organizational models will be introduced, to encourage new thinking in the development of organizational missions. You must be a Master of Arts in Arts Administration student to enroll in this course.

In the first semester, Arts Administration students will attend monthly colloquia in which a topic related to the field is discussed and analyzed. Presentations are made either by faculty members or guest lecturers. The aim of these sessions is to provide students with a critical and discursive engagement with contemporary arts-related issues and late breaking news.

This course provides an overview of fundraising-public funding, proposal and presentation preparation, with an emphasis on the development of a funding plan for an organization. Planning includes corporate, individual, public funding opportunities in addition to events, communication and the use of technology in fundraising.

MAAAP Graduate Fieldwork allows students to work in part-time, art-related positions in approved organizations and institutions. Students are assigned a faculty adviser, who assists in setting clear objectives for the Fieldwork, makes site visits, and participates in final written evaluation of the project. Participation requires a total of 225 hours, with a weekly minimum average of 15 work hours with the fieldwork organization. In addition, four seminar classes address issues of entering the workforce, and include discussion of fieldwork experiences and a workshop on evaluation techniques. You must be a Master of Arts in Arts Administration and Policy student to enroll in this course.

The MAAAP Management Studio provides intensive opportunities for engaging in the management practices that are vital to the success of students after graduation. Students work in Management Studio over the course of two or three semesters for a total of 9 credits. This project-based environment integrates skill building in the areas of marketing, organizational management, project management and fundraising/development. Students also develop individual strategies and approaches to managing change/adaptation; supporting and engaging creativity; leading complex environments; building and understanding networks and connectivity; navigating teamwork, collaboration, self-organization, and problem-solving; and developing innovation practice skills. Project environments will move in and out of the classroom, and the organizational structure will be adaptive to each particular project. Students develop well-rounded general skill sets, and additional depth in chosen management skill areas.

The MAAAP Management Studio provides intensive opportunities for engaging in the management practices that are vital to the success of students after graduation. Students work in Management Studio over the course of two or three semesters for a total of 9 credits. This project-based environment integrates skill building in the areas of marketing, organizational management, project management and fundraising/development. Students also develop individual strategies and approaches to managing change/adaptation; supporting and engaging creativity; leading complex environments; building and understanding networks and connectivity; navigating teamwork, collaboration, self-organization, and problem-solving; and developing innovation practice skills. Project environments will move in and out of the classroom, and the organizational structure will be adaptive to each particular project. Students develop well-rounded general skill sets, and additional depth in chosen management skill areas.

Roger Brown's art making activities and collections were influenced by and responsive to the material culture of places in which he lived. In this seminar the different aspects of Brown's life will be teased out, through direct contact with paintings and archival materials alongside visits to his Chicago home and remote inspections of the other collections in New Buffalo MI and La Conchita CA. Each week the class will encounter a different painting by Roger Brown and investigate its content. A close inspection of the paintings, and related archival materials at the Roger Brown Study collection, will be supplemented with visits to museum and private collections.

From art acquisition and de-acquisition to exhibition planning and design, this course will examine a wide range of contemporary art consulting practices. Students will be exposed to an overview of the industry, as well as practical information regarding the work of art consultants. Additional topics include: setting up a business, collection management, artists' commissions, budgeting, facility planning, and artist advocacy. The class will include lectures, guest speakers, and a three-part course project that will engage students in the development of an art program project for a hypothetical client, such as a corporation, private collection, or law office.

An examination of connoisseurship and the handling of original works of art in museums, commercial galleries, corporate settings, and alternative space galleries.

Thesis 1 is designed to provide the student with the skills necessary to generate research questions, critically evaluate research studies, construct research design, and generate viable thesis proposals. This will be accomplished through lecture, discussion, activities, and the students developing a research proposal of their own design. The focus will be on applications-based research and the development of a thesis proposal to complete studies in the MAAA program. It will also involve the study of institutional research methods such as program evaluation, needs assessment, market surveys, and descriptive market and quasi-experimental techniques as appropriate. The overall concern is that students develop thesis proposals which promise to yield original research of value to the field. You must be a Master of Arts in Arts Administration student to enroll in this course.

Thesis 1 is designed to provide the student with the skills necessary to generate research questions, critically evaluate research studies, construct research design, and generate viable thesis proposals. This will be accomplished through lecture, discussion, activities, and the students developing a research proposal of their own design. The focus will be on applications-based research and the development of a thesis proposal to complete studies in the MAAA program. It will also involve the study of institutional research methods such as program evaluation, needs assessment, market surveys, and descriptive market and quasi-experimental techniques as appropriate. The overall concern is that students develop thesis proposals which promise to yield original research of value to the field. You must be a Master of Arts in Arts Administration student to enroll in this course.

In Spring 2012 students will work on the Graduate Exhibition ('MFA show') as part of a curatorial team. Directly aligned with one of the guest curators, they will assume responsible positions for a section of the overall show. Students will benefit from conceptual discussions, hands-on training, and participation in this overall scheme of curators, graduate assistants, faculty, staff, and participating artists in this major exhibition. By instructor consent only.