Arts Administration Micro-Credential

Students sitting around a conference table with professor

Welcome to the Arts Administration Micro-Credential at the University of Colorado Boulder College of Music!

The College of Music’s Arts Administration Micro-Credential prepares students with the arts organization administration, management, and leadership skills and knowledge needed to work in the performing arts industry. Students also gain knowledge and insights into the opportunities and challenges facing today’s arts administration professionals.  

This credential is designed to supplement existing graduate degrees or provide a cost-effective credential for CU staff. Students interested in earning this micro-credential need to be active College of Music, College of Arts & Sciences or College of Business graduate students in good academic standing or CU-Boulder staff members with experience or interest in performing arts administration.

Student participants in the graduate Arts Administration Micro-Credential will gain knowledge of arts organization administration, management and leadership through two required courses that are offered in-person. These courses offer practical applications on various topics including grant writing, performing group tour scheduling and budgeting, effective board meeting planning and communications, marketing campaign creation and leadership models. In addition, the courses provide networking opportunities with local arts administrators currently practicing in the profession through class presentations and site-based observations.  

Demand for arts administrators

The arts industry, taken as a whole, is a vast enterprise in our country. According to Americans for the Arts, a nonprofit arts advocacy organization located in the nation’s capital, nearly 5 million workers were employed by arts and cultural industries (2021). In Colorado, 748 performing arts organizations employ some 5,242 people (2023). Combined, these data demonstrate the robust nature of the performing arts industry as a whole and the corresponding demand for qualified, educated arts administrators.

What we’re hearing from our graduates

Mary Kettlewell (MM ’18 voice performance) applauds the certificate for opening doors to her position as program administrator at the Texas Commission on the Arts (TCA), a small state government commission in Austin dedicated to funding arts organizations in Texas: 

It’s the reason I was hired. And now, I have the satisfaction of going to work every day knowing that I’m part of the reason that arts organizations in my area receive funding and are able to commission new works, create new outreach programs and provide artistic opportunities to underserved populations in Texas.

Courses

Introduction to Arts Administration (3 credits, offered fall semesters) 
This course introduces students to current trends in arts administration, explores the fundamentals of managing arts organizations and develops concrete tools for budgeting, programming and project management; operations, ticketing, and venue management; governance, boards, financial management, fundraising and marketing. Current issues, the role of the arts and arts advocacy, and current trends in not-for-profit administration–including the expansion of the arts into contemporary for-profit models–are explored through case studies and discussions. 

Innovative Leadership & Sustainability in the Arts (3 credits, offered spring semesters)
Presents concepts and practices that can be applied in various types (e.g. for-profit and nonprofit sectors) and sizes of arts organizations with a goal of equipping students to create comprehensive leadership and sustainability plans that focus on organizational relationships with key stakeholders. Students develop knowledge about organizational leadership, board relationships, financial management, audience engagement and donor support (including individual funding, corporate sponsorships and grants). 

Students interested in earning this micro-credential need to be active graduate students in good academic standing or CU-Boulder staff members with experience or interest in performing arts administration. Students will be directed by the course instructor to contact the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies to declare their interest in earning the micro-credential and timeline for course completion. Upon verification of course completion with a grade of C or higher (Masters degree or CU staff) or B- or higher (Doctoral degree), the Micro-Credential will be posted.