Graduate Certificate

Learn the skills you need to create, develop, facilitate, and evaluate arts and cultural programs and organizations.  

This program is based in the city of Charleston, a top arts, historic, and tourist destination. This program is uniquely positioned to help you study and learn in a dynamic setting. You’ll engage with professionals in the field through applied classroom experiences and guest speakers. You’ll also have access to faculty with robust experience who are also arts practitioners. 

Our program has partnerships with diverse Charleston arts and cultural institutions that offer numerous opportunities for experiential learning, including:

  • Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture 
  • Charleston Gaillard Center 
  • Charleston Jazz 
  • Charleston Stage 
  • Charleston Symphony Orchestra 
  • City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs
    • MOJA Arts Festival
    • Piccolo Spoleto Festival 
  • City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department
  • Coastal Community Foundation
  • Colour of Music Festival 
  • Engaging Creative Minds 
  • Gibbes Museum of Art 
  • Halsey Institute for Contemporary Art 
  • International African American Museum 
  • Kiawah Island Arts Council
  • PURE Theatre 
  • SC Arts Alliance
  • SC Arts Commission
  • Spoleto Festival USA
  • Yo Art!
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From Spoleto to now, my career path shows studying at the College was the right choice. I gained skills in arts advocacy, grant writing, budgeting, administration & entrepreneurship, all transferable.

Latesha Smith, M.P.A. & ARCM '22, Stewardship & Events Coordinator, Center for Heirs' Property

Additional Information

Earn the 15-credit hour graduate certificate as a stand-alone or as part of another graduate program. This certificate can be completed as part of the Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) program and the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (M.F.A.) program.  

This certificate can be completed in one year. However, some students complete the certificate in two to three years, depending on their schedule.  

If you’re completing this certificate as part of the M.P.A. or M.F.A. program, these courses are spread out over a two-year period and count toward the requirements of your master’s degree program.  
While the courses are designed as either fully online or hybrid (in-person and online), our program offers flexibility for those who live outside of the Charleston area. This certificate can be completed online.  

Additional information related to tuition and application deadlines.  

Funding and Fellowships 

First, please explore the Graduate School funding opportunities. 

We also offer a graduate assistantship. This is awarded to a full-time student with a background in event planning, marketing and social media, grant writing, research and general administrative and office management skills. Graduate assistants will be required to work part-time (10 hours per week) providing support to the program director. 

We have limited stipends available for students with urgent and substantial financial need. 

You may pursue external fellowships through the Charleston Symphony Orchestra Inclusion Fellowship and the South Carolina Arts Alliance Graduate Fellowship. 

About the Graduate Certificate

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Learn through immersive experiences with diverse artists, arts and cultural institutions and their communities.

The certificate classes have equipped me with the knowledge base and skill set that I need moving forward into a meaningful career in the world of creative nonprofits.

William Greene '20, M.F.A. and Graduate Certificate in Arts and Cultural Management

Alumni Outcomes

Our alumni go on to successful careers in Charleston and around the globe. They work for organizations like Spoleto Festival USA, High Museum of Art and the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. 

The skills you learn in this program will help you succeed in other areas as well. Many graduates work in hospitals and medical centers, zoos and aquaria, K-12 schools, colleges and universities, commercial business, foundations, public relations and digital media firms, government agencies, community development and social service agencies, faith-based institutions and nonprofit organizations. 

Recent Alumni 

Selynne Ancheta
ARCM '23
Director of Development, Halsey Institute for Contemporary Art

Sarah Berry
MPA, ARCM '21
Senior Analyst, Digital Marketing, Capacity Interactive

Sarah Bowdoin
MPA, ARCM '22
Director of Grants and Development Operations, American Dance Festival

Josh Garcia 
MFA, ARCM '21
Poet, Seminar Associate at Bucknell University 

Latesha Smith 
MPA, ARCM '22 
Stewardship and Events Coordinator, Center for Heirs' Property Preservation

Hannah-Marie Wayne
MPA, ARCM '22 
Annual Giving Coordinator at the Penland School of Craft

Rachel DeWyngaert Workman
ARCM '13
Finance Manager, City of Charleston's Office of Cultural Affairs 

Jenna Whetzel
MPA, ARCM '24
Station Manager, KZMU Community Radio

Hailey Yasinski
MPA, ARCM '24
Arts Industry Coordinator, South Carolina Arts Commission