Arts Administration, B.A. (University College)

Program Description

Not all options are available at every campus. Contact the campus you are interested in attending to determine which options are offered.

The Penn State Behrend Arts Administration program is intended for students with an interest in the arts and a desire to pursue careers in the administration or management of arts organizations such as museums, theatre companies, orchestras and choruses. The program combines a broad exposure to the arts with significant training in management, marketing, event planning, strategic planning, writing, development, and digital communication.

The interdisciplinary Arts Administration program answers the growing need for leaders and administrators of arts organizations that must compete, survive, and thrive in a corporate world. Recognizing that these organizations have missions that are different from business corporations, the Arts Administration program aims to produce capable arts administrators, managers, and entrepreneurs with both aesthetic sensibilities and business acumen. Successful arts administration is crucial to the continued vitality of modern cultural institutions, creative enterprises, and arts organizations. If the public is to benefit, skilled arts administrators must facilitate the work of artists to realize their artistic vision and share it with the public, by executing the necessary financial, legal, and organizational decisions. In short, talented arts administrators are partners in a collaborative artistic process. The major includes the following options:

Digital Media Option

Available at the following campuses: Erie, Lehigh Valley

Emphasizes design and social media engagement, so that a student may create and manage online content for cultural organizations. Students develop proficiency in web writing, image editing, layout, and communication-based advertising.

Marketing Option

Available at the following campuses: Erie

Provides a business core for careers that emphasize fiscal planning with arts organizations. The coursework includes statistics, marketing research, and services marketing which is specific to arts and cultural organizations.

What is Arts Administration?

The arts enrich our lives with moments of beauty, humor, surprise, and delight. But the arts are also a business, and like any business, arts organizations need competent, confident professionals who can manage resources and maximize opportunities. Arts administration combines broad exposure to the arts with intensive training in marketing, management, event planning, and development to produce capable arts administrators, managers, and entrepreneurs with both aesthetic sensibility and business acumen.

You Might Like This Program If...

• Your happy places are museums, art galleries, theatres, opera houses, orchestra pits, auction houses, and dance studios.
• You envision a career in the arts, but are not interested in the unpredictability of a performing or studio art career.
• You like the idea of combining a liberal arts degree with business education.

Entrance to Major

Students must earn C or better in ARTH 111 or ARTH 112, MUSIC 5, THEA 105 to be eligible for entrance to the major.

Degree Requirements

For the Bachelor of Arts degree in Arts Administration, the Marketing Option requires a minimum of 124 credits and the Digital Media Option requires a minimum of 126 credits:

15-18 of the 45 credits for General Education are included in the Requirements for the Major. This includes 6 credits of GA courses; 3-6 credits of GQ courses; 3 credits of GS courses, 3 credits of GWS courses.

3 of the 24 credits for Bachelor of Arts Degree Requirements are included in the Requirements for the Major, General Education, or Electives and 0-12 credits are included in Electives if foreign language proficiency is demonstrated by examination.

Per Senate Policy 83.80.5, the college dean or campus chancellor and program faculty may require up to 24 credits of coursework in the major to be taken at the location or in the college or program where the degree is earned.

General Education

Connecting career and curiosity, the General Education curriculum provides the opportunity for students to acquire transferable skills necessary to be successful in the future and to thrive while living in interconnected contexts. General Education aids students in developing intellectual curiosity, a strengthened ability to think, and a deeper sense of aesthetic appreciation. These are requirements for all baccalaureate students and are often partially incorporated into the requirements of a program. For additional information, see the General Education Requirements section of the Bulletin and consult your academic adviser.

The keystone symbol  appears next to the title of any course that is designated as a General Education course. Program requirements may also satisfy General Education requirements and vary for each program.

Foundations (grade of C or better is required.)

• Quantification (GQ): 6 credits
• Writing and Speaking (GWS): 9 credits

Knowledge Domains

• Arts (GA): 6 credits
• Health and Wellness (GHW): 3 credits
• Humanities (GH): 6 credits
• Social and Behavioral Sciences (GS): 6 credits
• Natural Sciences (GN): 9 credits

Integrative Studies (may also complete a Knowledge Domain requirement)

• Inter-Domain or Approved Linked Courses: 6 credits

University Degree Requirements

First Year Engagement

All students enrolled in a college or the Division of Undergraduate Studies at University Park, and the World Campus are required to take 1 to 3 credits of the First-Year Seminar, as specified by their college First-Year Engagement Plan.

Other Penn State colleges and campuses may require the First-Year Seminar; colleges and campuses that do not require a First-Year Seminar provide students with a first-year engagement experience.

First-year baccalaureate students entering Penn State should consult their academic adviser for these requirements.

Cultures Requirement    

6 credits are required and may satisfy other requirements

• United States Cultures: 3 credits
• International Cultures: 3 credits

Writing Across the Curriculum

3 credits required from the college of graduation and likely prescribed as part of major requirements.

Total Minimum Credits

A minimum of 120 degree credits must be earned for a baccalaureate degree. The requirements for some programs may exceed 120 credits. Students should consult with their college or department adviser for information on specific credit requirements.

Quality of Work

Candidates must complete the degree requirements for their major and earn at least a 2.00 grade-point average for all courses completed within their degree program.

Limitations on Source and Time for Credit Acquisition

The college dean or campus chancellor and program faculty may require up to 24 credits of course work in the major to be taken at the location or in the college or program where the degree is earned. Credit used toward degree programs may need to be earned from a particular source or within time constraints (see Senate Policy 83-80). For more information, check the Suggested Academic Plan for your intended program.

B.A. Degree Requirements

Foreign Language (0-12 credits): Student must attain 12th credit level of proficiency in one foreign language. See the Placement Policy for Penn State Foreign Language Courses.

B.A. Fields (9 credits): Humanities, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Arts, Foreign Languages, Natural Sciences, Quantification (may not be taken in the area of the student's primary major; foreign language credits in this category must be in a second foreign language or beyond the 12th credit level of proficiency in the first language)

Other Cultures (0-3 credits): Select 3 credits from approved list. Students may count courses in this category in order to meet other major, minor, elective, or General Education requirements, except for the General Education US/IL requirement.​

Requirements for the Major

Each student must earn at least a grade of C in each 300- and 400-level course in the major field.

To graduate, a student enrolled in the major must earn a grade of C or better in each course designated by the major as a C-required course, as specified by Senate Policy 82-44.

Common Requirements for the Major (All Options)

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Prescribed Courses
ACCTG 211	Financial and Managerial Accounting for Decision Making	4
BA 241	Legal Environment of Business	2
ECON 102	Introductory Microeconomic Analysis and Policy	3
ENGL 202D	Effective Writing: Business Writing	3
MIS 204	Introduction to Management Information Systems	3
Prescribed Courses: Require a grade of C or better
ARTSA 301	Introduction to Arts Administration	3
ARTSA 402W	Strategic Management and Planning for the Arts	3
ARTSA 403	Fundraising and Grant Writing	3
ARTSA 404	Event Planning Practicum	3
COMM 370	Public Relations 1	3
MKTG 301	Principles of Marketing	3
MUSIC 5	An Introduction to Western Music	3
THEA 105	Introduction to Theatre	3
Additional Courses
MATH 21 or higher		3
Additional Courses: Require a grade of C or better
ARTH 111	Ancient to Medieval Art 1	3
or ARTH 112	Renaissance to Modern Art
ARTSA 401	Arts Event Planning and Project Management	3
or COMM 472	Public Relations Event Planning
ARTSA 495A	Arts Administration Off Campus Internship**SPECIAL TOPICS** 2	3
Requirements for the Option
Select an option		21-22

Requirements for the Option

Digital Media Option (21 credits)

Available at the following campuses: Erie, Lehigh Valley

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Prescribed Courses
Prescribed Courses: Require a grade of C or better
COMM 320	Introduction to Advertising	3
COMM 441	Advanced Graphic Design for Communications	3
ENGL 420	Writing for the Web	3
Additional Courses
COMM 270	Introduction to Multimedia Production 1	3
or GD 100	Introduction to Graphic Design
Select 3 credits of the following: 1		3
ARTH 111	Ancient to Medieval Art
ARTH 112	Renaissance to Modern Art
MUSIC 8	Rudiments of Music
THEA 102	Fundamentals of Acting
Supporting Courses and Related Areas
Select 6 credits from program approved list in Music, Theatre or Visual Arts in consultation with adviser and according to student interest		6

Marketing Option (22 credits)

Available at the following campuses: Erie

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Prescribed Courses
Prescribed Courses: Require a grade of C or better
MKTG 342	Marketing Research	3
Additional Courses
Select 3 credits of the following: 1		3
ARTH 111	Ancient to Medieval Art
ARTH 112	Renaissance to Modern Art
MUSIC 8	Rudiments of Music
THEA 102	Fundamentals of Acting
Additional Courses: Require a grade of C or better
MKTG 344		3
or MKTG 330	Consumer Behavior
SCM 200	Introduction to Statistics for Business	4
or STAT 200	Elementary Statistics
Supporting Courses and Related Areas
Select 6 credits from program approved list in Music, Theatre or Visual Arts in consultation with adviser and according to student interest		6
Supporting Courses and Related Areas: Require a grade of C or better
Select 3 credits from a program-approved list of 400 level courses in Marketing		3

Program Learning Objectives

1. Students will demonstrate skills in effective written and oral communication
2. Students will know institutional structures and explain the operation of an arts organization.
3. Students will explain the role of arts organizations in their communities and society at large.
4. Students will design and execute a successful arts event.

Academic Advising

The objectives of the university’s academic advising program are to help advisees identify and achieve their academic goals, to promote their intellectual discovery, and to encourage students to take advantage of both in-and out-of class educational opportunities in order that they become self-directed learners and decision makers.

Both advisers and advisees share responsibility for making the advising relationship succeed. By encouraging their advisees to become engaged in their education, to meet their educational goals, and to develop the habit of learning, advisers assume a significant educational role. The advisee’s unit of enrollment will provide each advisee with a primary academic adviser, the information needed to plan the chosen program of study, and referrals to other specialized resources.

READ SENATE POLICY 32-00: ADVISING POLICY

Lehigh Valley

Elizabeth R. Flaherty, Ph.D.
Coordinator of Arts Administration
2809 Saucon Valley Road
Center Valley, PA 18034
610-285-5073
erf11@psu.edu

Erie

Sharon Dale
Professor of Art History
136 Kochel
Erie, PA 16563
814-898-6208
sxd4@psu.edu

Suggested Academic Plan

The suggested academic plan(s) listed on this page are the plan(s) that are in effect during the 2020-21 academic year. To access previous years' suggested academic plans, please visit the archive to view the appropriate Undergraduate Bulletin edition (Note: the archive only contain suggested academic plans beginning with the 2018-19 edition of the Undergraduate Bulletin).

Digital Media Option: Arts Administration, B.A. at Lehigh Valley campus

The course series listed below provides only one of the many possible ways to move through this curriculum. The University may make changes in policies, procedures, educational offerings, and requirements at any time. This plan should be used in conjunction with your degree audit (accessible in LionPATH as either an Academic Requirements or What If report). Please consult with a Penn State academic adviser on a regular basis to develop and refine an academic plan that is appropriate for you.

University Requirements and General Education Notes:

US and IL are abbreviations used to designate courses that satisfy University Requirements (United States and International Cultures).

W, M, X, and Y are the suffixes at the end of a course number used to designate courses that satisfy University Writing Across the Curriculum requirement.

GWS, GQ, GHW, GN, GA, GH, and GS are abbreviations used to identify General Education program courses. General Education includes Foundations (GWS and GQ) and Knowledge Domains (GHW, GN, GA, GH, GS, and Integrative Studies). Foundations courses (GWS and GQ) require a grade of ‘C’ or better.

Integrative Studies courses are required for the General Education program. N is the suffix at the end of a course number used to designate an Inter-Domain course and Z is the suffix at the end of a course number used to designate a Linked course.

Career Paths

Based on your career goals, you’ll choose one of three modules within the program—Music, Theatre, or Visual Arts—as an area of concentration for your coursework. From there, you’ll pick one of two options for further skills development, Digital Media or Marketing.

Careers

There are more than 100,000 arts organizations in the United States, all of which require executive directors, gallery and company managers, tour directors, marketing and public relations specialists, social media managers, fundraisers, event planners, volunteer supervisors, and archivists, to list only a few of your career possibilities.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT POTENTIAL CAREER OPTIONS FOR GRADUATES OF THE ARTS ADMINISTRATION PROGRAM

Opportunities for Graduate Studies

A B.A. in Arts Administration can be the starting point for graduate-level education in more specialized fields, including contemporary art markets, public relations, art conservation, cultural management, cultural tourism, museum services, visual arts management, arts education, arts production and technology, or arts marketing.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES FOR GRADUATE STUDIES

Professional Resources

• Association of Arts Administration Educators 
• College Art Association

Contact

Lehigh Valley

2809 Saucon Valley Road
Center Valley, PA 18034
610-285-5073
ArtsAdmin@psu.edu

http://lehighvalley.psu.edu/arts-administration

Erie

SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
170 Irvin Kochel Center
4951 College Drive
Erie, PA 16563
814-898-6108
HumSocSci@psu.edu

http://behrend.psu.edu/school-of-humanities-social-sciences