university of kentucky arts administration masters

Arts Administration

Be the next generation of arts leaders with our innovative online MA degree in Arts Administration. This degree is designed to serve a vibrant nonprofit arts and cultural industry that attracts more than 78 million Americans each year and generates $135 billion in economic activity annually that supports 4.1 million jobs.

Make ART Happen

This online program is designed for the working professional who wants to acquire the leadership and management skills for today’s arts organizations.  Our program affords the flexibility to balance school, work, and family obligations. A graduate of this program will have the ability to:

  • Design programs and strategies in order to engage with stakeholders, donors, patrons, and communities
  • Solve problems through quantitative and qualitative research and conceptual analysis
  • Utilize industry-standard software programs to create compelling messages in a variety of mediums.
  • Draw on your new knowledge of the cultural sector to initiate change in the arts
  • Transcend traditional modes and mechanisms in order to innovatively collaborate with peer colleagues, industry professionals, and faculty

We now have Summer admission in addition to Fall and Spring. 

Master’s Application Requirements

The GRE is not required for admission to this program.

  1. Transcripts.
    • Applicants may submit unofficial transcripts for all university and college degrees earned. Upon acceptance, official transcripts are required. 
  2. Resume.
    • Please submit a resume (no more than two pages in length) indicating your education, professional and volunteer experience, accomplishments and qualifications for graduate study.
  3. Statement of Purpose.
    • A statement of purpose (one page, single-spaced) indicating the reasons for your interest in graduate study in Arts Administration at UK and what they hope to accomplish with their degree. Please also discuss your personal or professional skills that will aid you in successfully completing classes online.
  4. Writing Sample.
    • Writing samples (10-15 pages) that preferably would include at least one sample of research writing (college-level or above) but may also include professional writing samples that demonstrate critical and analytical thinking. Professional writing samples may include researched essays, marketing or fundraising materials, planning documents or journalistic work.
    • If you do not have an academic or professional writing sample that you wish to submit, you may opt to write a new paper. The research paper should address one of the following topics and should include appropriate citation and references:
      1. Discuss an issue in the arts or arts administration that you believe is of particular concern locally, regionally, nationally or internationally.
      2. Select a person who has had a significant influence in an artistic field. Describe and analyze the person’s contributions to the arts.
      3. Write an essay responding to and providing compelling examples of this quote: “Art is a nation’s most precious heritage. For it is in our works of art that we reveal to ourselves and to others the inner vision which guides us as a nation. And where there is no vision, the people perish.” –Lyndon Johnson, on signing into existence the National Endowment on the Arts
      4. Any arts-related topic of your choosing
UK Department of Arts Administration | LinkedIn
  1. Two letters of recommendation addressing the applicant’s qualifications for graduate work and proclivity for the field of arts administration.
    • Preferably one letter should come from an academic reference and one from a professional reference. When completing your online application, you will be asked to enter in the contact information of your references including their email addresses. Your references will then receive a notification email asking them to complete a recommendation on your behalf.  You can check on the status of your online recommendations by logging in to your online application.

The MA in Arts Administration is open to qualified applicants who have earned a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in the United States or abroad. All candidates for admission are selected on the basis of undergraduate transcripts, academic and personal references, and related work experience. Applicants are expected to have a demonstrable commitment to the arts in at least one art form. This requirement can be satisfied in several ways including an undergraduate degree in an art form or arts-related field; professional experience in the arts; or extra-curricular activity in the arts.

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