Curriculum Overview and Courses

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The School of the Art Institute of Chicago's (SAIC) Master of Arts (MA) in Arts Administration and Policy program provides an academic structure within which students can master specific sets of skills while at the same time building a critical perspective toward issues of contemporary arts administration.

Curriculum Overview as of Fall 2020:

Critical and Cultural Policy Studies 9
  • ARTSAD 5005 Activating Arts Admin.: Key Frameworks (3)
  • ARTSAD 6018 Spheres of Cultural Valuation (3)

Choose either:

  • ARTSAD 5505 Law, Politics, & the Arts (3)
    or ARTSAD 5510 Topics in Digital Arts Administration (3)
  
Management Studies 15
  • ARTSAD 5100 ProSeminar: Leadership Talks (3)
  • ARTSAD 5054 Management Studio I (3)
  • ARTSAD 5055 Management Studio II (3)
  • ARTSAD 5017 Financial Management (3)
  • ARTSAD 6040 Communicating for Cultural Change (3)
  
Research and Professional Practice 6
  • ARTSAD 5200 Research Studio (3)
  • ARTSAD 6095 Thesis (3)
  
Electives 12
Completion of thesis  
Total Credit Hours 42

 

Degree requirements and specifications

  1. Completion schedule: Students have a maximum of four years to complete the degree. This includes time off for leaves of absence. Thesis in Progress: Students who have not submitted a finished thesis for review and approval by the end of the final semester of enrollment are given a Thesis in Progress grade (IP). All students with a Thesis in Progress grade (IP) will be charged the Thesis in Progress Fee in each subsequent full semester until the thesis is completed and approved and the grade is changed to Credit (CR). If the statute of limitations is reached without an approved thesis, the grade will be changed to No Credit (NCR).
  2. Internships: Students without solid professional experience are strongly encouraged to do internship placements, whether for credit or not. AAP Department faculty are available to advise and assist in identifying and securing placements.
  3. Transfer credits: A minimum of 36 credit hours must be completed in residence at SAIC. Up to six transfer credits may be requested at the time of application for admission and are subject to approval at that time. No transfer credit will be permitted after a student is admitted.
  4. Curriculum: The program requires 42 credit hours.
  5. Enrollment: Nine credit hours constitutes full-time enrollment, although as many as 15 credit hours may be earned in any semester. Two semesters of full-time status are required of all students when they begin the program; thereafter a minimum of 6 credit hours per semester are required for continued enrollment in the program.
  6. Full-time Status Minimum Requirement: 9 credit hours.

Interested in learning more?

Click around the pages of this website for more information on admissions requirements, MA in Arts Administration and Policy faculty, students and alumni, and more.

Interested in learning more about how you can apply?

Visit the graduate admissions website or contact the graduate admissions office at 800.232.7242 or gradmiss@saic.edu.

Students must qualify and be accepted by both the Modern and Contemporary Art History and the Arts Administration and Policy programs before admission can be granted to the Dual Degree program. Admission to either of the degree programs does not guarantee admission to the other. Applicants to the dual degree program must fulfill the application requirements for each program.

Curriculum Overview as of Fall 2020:

Area of Study Credit Hours
Critical and Cultural Policy Studies 12
  • ARTSAD 5005 Activating Arts Admin.: Key Frameworks (3)
  • ARTSAD 6018 Spheres of Cultural Valuation (3)
  • Global Issues seminar (5000 level) that focuses on art worlds outside of Europe and North America or focuses on Global Art Theory. A list of courses that satisfies this requirement is available from the department every semester.
  • Select one of the following:
    -ARTHI 5007 History of Art History (3)
    -ARTHI 5008 History of Art Criticism (3)
    -ARTHI 5011 History of Art and Design (3)
  
Management and Leadership Studies 15
  • ARTSAD 5100 ProSeminar: Leadership Talks (3)
  • ARTSAD 5054 Management Studio I (3)
  • ARTSAD 5055 Management Studio II (3)
  • ARTSAD 5017 Financial Management (3)
  • ARTSAD 6040 Communicating for Cultural Change (3)
  
Research and Professional Practice 6
Two-course thesis completion component for either Art History or Arts Administration
  • ARTHI 5999 and ARTHI 6999
  • Or ARTSAD 6085 and ARTSAD 6095
  
Art Historical Studies 24
  • 5000-level Graduate seminars in Art History, Theory, and Criticism (12)
  • Additional courses or seminars in Art History, Theory, and Criticism at the 4000-6000 level (12)
  
Interdisciplinary electives at the 4000–6000 level or additional courses or seminars in Art History, Theory, and Criticism 6
  • Completion of the thesis
  
Total Credit Hours 63

* Consult advisor for appropriate courses.

Dual Degree requirements and specifications

  1. Completion schedule: Students have a maximum of five years from entry into the program to complete coursework and submit a final, approved thesis. This includes time off for leaves-of-absence. Credit for ARTHI 5999 Thesis I and ARTHI 6999 Thesis II is granted only after the thesis is approved and final copies are submitted to the Department. Thesis in Progress: Students who have not submitted a finished thesis for review and approval by the end of the final semester of enrollment are given a Thesis in Progress grade (IP). All students with a Thesis in Progress grade (IP) will be charged the Thesis in Progress Fee in each subsequent full semester in order to retain active status until the thesis is completed and approved, and the grade changed to Credit (CR). If the statute of limitations is reached without an approved thesis, the grade will be changed to No Credit (NCR).
  2. Critical and Policy Studies courses: Each semester, a list of courses that satisfy the requirements for "Narratives/Presentation" is available from the administrative office of Arts Administration and Policy, and a list for "Global" is available from the administrative office of the Art History, Theory, and Criticism department.
  3. Art History Distribution Requirements: Within the 24 credits of Art History Studies that include Graduate Seminars and additional courses in Art History, at least one three-credit hour course must be designated nineteenth-century art history, and at least one three-credit hour course designated early-twentieth-century art history. A list of courses that satisfies this requirement is available from the Department of Art History, Theory, and Criticism each semester.
  4. ProSeminars and Thesis: Taken in the first two semesters, ProSeminars are a two-course sequence designed to support students' progress through the degree by providing exposure to a wide variety of professional practices and instruction in research and practice methodologies. The thesis courses are completed in the final year of study.
  5. Internships: Students without solid professional experience are strongly encouraged to do internship placements, whether for credit or not. AAP Department faculty are available to advise and assist in identifying and securing placements.
  6. Completion schedule: Students have a maximum of five years from entry into the program to complete coursework and submit a final, approved thesis (this includes time off for leaves-of-absence). If the thesis remains incomplete after the end of Thesis II, the student must pay a continuation fee each subsequent semester in order to retain active status.
  7. Full-Time Status Minimum Requirement: 9 credit hours

The information below updates twice a week--it is possible that changes may occur between updates. Up-to-the-minute information for enrolled students can always be found at PeopleSoft Self-Service.