Arts Administration, BS

Arts Administration

Arts Administration students explore the intersection of arts and management. Majors will follow a curriculum that includes Business Administration courses, foundational Arts Administration courses, and the study of artistic disciplines. Some course topics include nonprofit and for-profit arts management, marketing and audience development, fundraising and grant writing, event planning, financial management, cultural policy, and leadership in the arts. Coursework combines theory with hands-on experience, preparing students to support and lead arts organizations such as theatres, museums, galleries, and music venues.

Admission Requirements

Prospective Students must schedule an interview with Dr. Sarah Scott by emailing them at sarah.scott@wagner.edu and fill out a Declaration of Major form available through the Registrar’s office.
What is Arts Administration?

Arts Administration is a multi-disciplinary major that combines courses in Business Administration with intensive study in the Arts. Students complete a set of foundational courses in Arts Administration, a series of Business courses, and a series of courses in their chosen Art field. Toward the end of their time at Wagner, students complete a full-time, semester long internship in Arts Administration.
What do Arts Administrators do?

Arts Administrators make art happen. We write press releases and create monthly newsletters to invite customers to productions. We run ticket offices and websites. We fundraise, write grant applications, and provide customer service. We are CEOs, Artistic Directors, Publicists, Managers, Content Specialists, Digital Media Marketers, Fundraisers, Accounting Specialists, Policy Directors, Grant Writers, Executive Assistants, Entrepreneurs, and Creators. Many of us are also artists. We understand the business of art, and we know how to advocate and strategize for the art we care about.
What kind of internships do Arts Administration majors undertake?

Most Arts Administration majors hold a full-time internship in their final semester at Wagner. Each student searches for and secures an internship that will further their career goals with support from their advisor and Dr. Scott. Wagner students have held internships at NBC, Lincoln Center, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Broadway organizations, Manhattan-based marketing agencies, Staten Island Arts, and more. If you are an employer seeking NYC-based interns, please feel free to reach out to Dr. Sarah Scott for more information about our students.
Student Perspective

“Arts Administration is essentially a dual major in business and the arts. As a multi-disciplinary major, Arts Administration offers concentrations in Theatre, Art, Music or a combination of these and other artistic areas known as Combined Arts. Because the major is complex and versatile, it requires students to complete a wide span of courses. The courses to be completed in order to receive the Bachelor of Science degree in Arts Administration include; foundation courses in the student’s area of arts concentration, multiple business courses, professional courses in Arts Administration, and a full-time internship. All the course requirements for the major are, of course, in addition to the mandatory general education requirements set by the college. The goal of Arts Administration is to give students training in the visual/performing arts with a background in business administration.

“Ultimately, a degree in Arts Administration prepares students for management positions in the arts world. It is obvious that Arts Administration is a highly demanding major, thus the Arts Administration student must be organized, dedicated, self-motivated and goal-oriented. Though most students focus on art, music and/or theatre in their time at Wagner, there are students who wish to focus on fashion, publishing and film and television. Due to the unique full-time internship opportunity students are given (usually in their senior year), they are able to experience working in their field of choice, from film to fashion or art to publishing. Due to Wagner’s New York location, it is the ideal place to pursue a degree in Arts Administration. Here, students have experienced hands on what it is like to work in and around the very arts organizations that could employ them in the future.”

-Cara Scarnati Class of 2012
Want to know more?

Want to know more?

Reach out to Dr. Sarah Scott at sarah.scott@wagner.edu Or visit @artsadmin_wagner on Instagram!

Meet Our Faculty

Dr. Sarah Scott

Arts Administration courses taught by Dr. Scott include the capstone Internship and Museum and Gallery Studies.

Dr. Sarah Scott earned her BA in Art History and Archaeology, with a minor in Chemistry, from Bowdoin College. After working at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in both the Objects Conservation and Ancient Near Eastern Art departments, she completed her Ph.D. in the History of Art at the University of Pennsylvania in 2005. She joined Wagner College in 2007, where she is now a full Professor of Art History and serves as the Dean of Integrated Learning.

Dr. Scott specializes in Ancient Near Eastern Art, with research focusing on the relationship between art and writing in early Mesopotamia and the role of visual narrative in Assyrian imperial art. Her interdisciplinary approach draws from Art History, Archaeology, Semiotics, and Assyriology. She is currently working on a digital reconstruction of an Assyrian palace at Nineveh.
Alika Hope

Arts Administration courses taught by Professor Hope include AA250 Introduction to Management and the Arts, AA291 Special Topics in Arts Admin, and AA440 Arts Management.

Alika Hope is the founder and lead vocalist of the Ray of Hope Project, an award-winning initiative that uses African American spirituals and historical storytelling to educate about slavery and social justice. She holds a BA in Sociology from the University of Notre Dame, a dance minor from St. Mary’s College, and a Master’s in Early Childhood Special Education from Columbia University.

A member of Actors’ Equity, Hope has performed in productions such as South Pacific, The Island Lil, and Doubt. She co-hosted CT Perspective TV on FOX-CT and stars in the comedy A Coupla Pros. In 2019, she was crowned Ms. New England America and competed in the Ms. America Pageant. The Ray of Hope Project released its debut album, Hope for a Motherless Child, in 2016, earning multiple awards. The group combines live music, historical narratives, and multimedia to promote empathy and social awareness, including projects like the “IRL” music video on digital kindness.
Michelle Siemens

Arts Administration courses taught by Professor Siemens include AA 250 Introduction to Management and the Arts, AA440 Arts Management, and AA450 Marketing in the Arts.

Michelle Siemens is the WCT General Manager, an adjunct professor teaching voice and courses in arts administration, and an accomplished opera singer. Michelle has performed internationally, including the stages of LA Opera, Highlands Opera Studio, Central City Opera, Yorkshire Opera Workshop, Opera on the Avalon, Halifax Summer Opera Festival, UCLA Opera, and the Manhattan School of Music. In concert she’s performed with LA Opera, Fresh Squeezed Opera, Savannah Voice Festival, Greenwich Symphony, Colburn School and Opera Exposures. Her awards include: 2020 Classical Singer Fall Competition (winner), 2018 LA Metropolitan Opera National Council District Auditions (winner), 2014 Canadian Opera Company Gala Competition (finalist), 2015 Ades Vocal Competition (finalist). She holds a Bachelor of Music from the the University of Toronto and a Master of Music from the Manhattan School of Music. michellesiemens.com IG: @michellesiemensmezzo

Arts Administration Alumni

Follow Alumni updates on instagram @wagnerartsadalumni

Academics

On Stage

Arts Administration, BS

Arts Administration

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Meet Our Faculty

Arts Administration Alumni