University of Oregon

Arts & Administration Program

Arts & Administration Program
5230 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-5230
United States
Main Phone: 541/346-3683
Main E-Mail: dblandy@aaa.uoregon.edu

Degree/Credential: Graduate (MA or MS in Arts Management)
Web Site: http://aad.uoregon.edu

Program Director: DBlandy [link available to AAAE members only]

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Program Goals and Objectives

Arts management is a multidisciplinary field, focused on promoting the arts and culture for individuals and societies. Knowledge and expertise from the arts is combined with social, cultural, managerial, and educational perspectives for the purpose of creating, implementing, and administering arts and cultural programs in non-profit, for-profit and unincorporated organizations and institutions.

The Arts and Administration Program at the University of Oregon (UO) is built upon over three decades of academic programming, research and publication in the area of cultural and community arts services. Constituents served by the Arts and Administration Program include graduate students in arts management, undergraduate community arts minors, and arts professionals. Arts management at the UO is characterized by a commitment to a multicultural and sociopolitical orientation to art and culture; a strong belief in electronic communication and opportunities afforded by the Internet; a focus on contemporary and future trends, and a belief in the importance of research to the profession.

The master's degree in arts management (MA or MS) at the University of Oregon (UO) is based on the belief that professional arts managers must be familiar with the social, cultural, economic, political, technical and ethical contexts of the arts.

The program aims to prepare students for leadership roles in professional positions as managers, policy makers, and analysts in international, national and regional public and private arts organizations, to provide professional experience through a field-based internship designed to enhance the ability of graduates to move into professional positions, to facilitate the development of individual research projects that contribute to the body of knowledge regarding the theory and practice of arts policy and management in an era of dynamic sociocultural change, to provide development opportunities for current professionals to enhance their knowledge and skills, and to provide students with professional expertise in software applications to enhance their presentation skills.

Areas of Concentration include Community Arts, Festival and Event Management, Museum Studies, and Performing Arts Management. There are four areas of focus within the AAD curriculum: Core classes, required of all AAD students, a Technology component, a Research component that includes a summer internship between the first and second year of study and a terminal project or thesis, and the Concentration electives.

Integral to the Arts and Administration Program is an extensive website aad.uoregon.edu. This website is designed to be an informational resource for current students, prospective students, alums, and arts administrators. As such, the site includes original material related to the program and profession as well as links to career resources, arts and cultural organizations, and cultural updates.

The Arts and Administration Program is associated with two certificate programs. The first is Festival and Event Management (center.uoregon.edu/festivalevent/). The second is in Museum Studies; it is anticipated that this certification program will be functional beginning in 2001. In addition, the program regularly offers in-service workshops for working administrators.

The Arts and Administration Program is affiliated with the University of Oregon Institute for Community Arts Studies (ICAS). ICAS was established at the University of Oregon in 1965 by a founding gift from Lila A. Wallace, as a research and public service organization in the School of Architecture & Allied Arts. ICAS promotes and implements research, professional education and community programs concerned with public understanding of the arts in a broad context. Current emphases for the Institute include studies in community arts and cultural policy. Current projects of the Institute include establishing a clearinghouse for research in arts administration, with an emphasis on case studies, and a cross-cultural comparative study of community arts programs involving Eugene, Oregon and Koga, Japan. ICAS also has an Internet site at aad.uoregon.edu/icas/index.html. ICAS On-Line is an electronic forum for the discussion and dissemination of current community arts and cultural policy issues. The three main components of ICAS Online are the Forum, the Archive, and CultureWork. The ICAS Forum contains current information about the field of community arts. The ICAS Archive houses the abstracts of research done by the graduates of the Arts and administration graduate program, and texts of visiting lecturers. "CultureWork" (http://aad.uoregon.edu/culturework/index.html) is an electronic publication. Its mission is to provide timely workplace-oriented information on culture, the arts, education, and community.

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Administration of the Program

The AAD program director is Dr. Doug Blandy. The AAD program is located as one of seven departments and programs within the School of Architecture and Allied Arts on the Eugene campus of the University of Oregon. The program works collaboratively with numerous departments across the campus: Theater, Music, Dance, Anthropology, Education, Planning Public Policy and Management, Folklore, Business and others, and with entities such as the Humanities Center, the Museum of Art, and the Museum of Natural History. Additionally, practicum opportunities exist in a wide variety of community organizations within Lane County and the region. Summer internships take place all over the country and the world.

A ten-member advisory board includes members from local, regional, and statewide arts, historical, educational, and community development organizations. Three members of the board enjoy national recognition as arts management consultants. Advisory Board members mentor AAD graduate students, offer practicum opportunities, provide career counseling, and are available for meetings with students and teaching workshops.

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Curriculum

The master's degree in arts management is designed as a two-year, full-time program, consisting of a minimum of 72 credits on the quarter system. A few students are on a slower track, and are required to complete the program within seven years (a requirement of the university's Graduate School). The curriculum is composed of four parts, whose specific courses follow:

Core Component

Art in Society
Art and Community Service
Arts Administration
Cultural Policy in Art
Arts Program Theory
Issues in Marketing the Arts
Arts Program Evaluation
Managing Non-Profit Organizations

Technology Component

Information Design and Presentation
Advanced Information Design and Presentation
Multimedia for Arts Administration

Research Component

Research Methods
Professional Practice I
Professional Practice II
Master's Degree Project
Research OR Thesis

Students are required to serve an internship of 200 hours during the summer between the first and second year of the program. The summer internship experience is non-credit. Students do not register for summer session during their internship. Internships take place locally, regionally, nationally, or internationally depending on the interests and expertise of the students.

Area of Concentration Component

These courses are selected by the student, in consultation with his/her AAD faculty academic advisor. A representative list of options follows, but other courses may be considered:

Event Management
Museum Education
Practicum
Anthropology Museum
Museology
Aesthetic Bases for Dance in Art and Education
Issues in Performing Arts Management
Introduction to Ethnomusicology
Studies in Theater and Culture

Course work in AAD requires the use of computers and computer applications. Students entering the program without their own computer may work through the UO Bookstore to identify the system of preference at special student pricing. Because of the computer requirement, students applying for financial aid may also request an additional amount to cover the cost of a computer purchase. Please contact the AAD office for the current minimum standards for hardware and software, as well as minimum competencies.

A strong student organization, the AAD Student Forum, meets regularly for social and professional development opportunities. The group is responsible for a speakers' series that expands the breadth of the classroom experience. The Student Forum also assists incoming students with housing, orientation, and feeling welcome in Eugene. Members are happy to provide information to prospective students throughout the year.

The AAD faculty have areas of expertise and research interest that span the following areas of Community Arts, Event Management, Museum Education, Arts Administration, Information Management, Evaluation and Assessment & Arts Education. Adjunct faculty and other departments provide additional breadth, including Therapeutic Strategies in the Arts, Technological Applications, Applied Creativity & Exhibit Interpretation and Installation.

Faculty from the following campus-wide departments and schools also participate in the program:

Department of Planning, Public Policy and Management
Department of Art History
School of Music
Department of Dance
Department of Theater Arts
Historic Preservation
School of Law
Oregon Bach Festival

Representatives of the professional arts management community beyond the campus also act as participating faculty.

The undergraduate minor in Community Arts requires 28 credits and is extremely flexible with regard to the courses selected. Interested students apply through the AAD program after conferring with the minor advisor, Dr. Doug Blandy.

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Admissions

Applications are accepted by February 1st each year, for admission during the following fall term. Application materials are available on-line at http://aad.uoregon.edu/info/application/index.html. Hard copy application materials are available upon request from the Program office. Application fees cannot be paid on-line.

Students come to AAD with a wide range of undergraduate degree preparation. An admission checklist requires the following elements: an official three-part form plus $50 application fee, two official transcripts from each degree-granting college or university plus one unofficial transcript from all other schools attended, an internal application, three letters of reference (using a form provided), a personal autobiographical essay, a current resume, and TOEFL score reports, if applicable.

An interview may be requested by students, who wish to visit campus, or by the faculty, either by phone or in

person. A few graduate teaching/administrative/research fellowships (with tuition-remission) and scholarships are available to AAD students who are generally in their second year of the program. Additional fellowships are available to first and second year students elsewhere on campus. Further information may be obtained from the Financial Aid office at (800) 760-6953.