About

Welcome to the Arts Management Program at the College of Charleston! Our program prepares students to become leaders, managers, and integral members of arts organizations. The courses in the program emphasize management, organization, decision-making, and problem-solving skills relevant to the creative sector. Internships and participation in the School of the Arts and community arts organizations reinforce classroom experiences. We are fortunate to have local artists, administrators, managers, and other arts professionals engage our students in the classroom.

We strongly encourage students to pursue additional studies in the fine arts, business, or related disciplines to complement arts management coursework. Common double majors and minors include business, marketing, communication, and the visual and performing arts.

History

In 1993-94, the School of the Arts established the Arts Management minor as an interdisciplinary program in conjunction with the School of Business and Economics. In 1996-97, the Arts Management major became available to students. Jerry Spencer (owner of Spencer Art Gallery in downtown Charleston) and Stacy Shaw began teaching in the program and in 1998, Shaw became the Program Director. In 1999, Dr. Karen Chandler joined the program as Co-Director with Shaw and in 2001, she became the Director of the College’s Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture. Scott Shanklin-Peterson, former Director of the South Carolina Arts Commission and Senior Deputy Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, became Director of the Arts Management Program in 2001 and served until she retired in 2014 at which time Chandler began serving as Program Director.

In 2008-2009, Shanklin-Peterson, in collaboration with Heather McDonald and other music industry professionals, then started working on developing a music industry concentration within the Arts Management major, which was launched officially in 2014. Today, approximately 30% of Arts Management majors are pursuing the music industry concentration. Chris Burgess served as Program Director for the undergraduate program from 2019-2021, followed by Kate Keeney from 2021-2023. Chris Burgess is the current undergraduate program director as of July 1, 2023.

In 2002, the Arts Management Program, in partnership with the Master of Public Administration (MPA) Program and the Graduate School, first offered an Arts Management concentration within the MPA Program, and in 2005, an Arts Management Certificate Program was established. A second Arts Management emphasis was established in 2016 in the Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing with its distinguished writing faculty including a former member of NEA's National Council on the Arts. In 2019, a new Graduate Certificate in Arts and Cultural Management (ARCM) was established. As of July 1, 2023, Hsin-Ching Wu serves as the director of the certificate program.