Arts & Cultural Management

Shaping and Sustaining Thriving Cultures in the 21st Century

The mission of the Arts and Cultural Management ACM) graduate program is to build on Pratt Institute's international reputation for developing creative leaders. Our program mission is to develop leaders able to use their creativity strategically to foster creative expression, build creative community and shape a commerce of ideas and images in an increasingly challenged and mediated world. The program is designed to emphasize the importance of cultivating creative capital by bridging the three C’s of culture, community and commerce. Participants actively examine how to use the creative arts to develop and sustain thriving cultures and to create prosperity. Typically those interested in arts and culture are not educated in the theory or provided with the tools, language and experience necessary for administrative leadership. The ACM program was designed to provide these in a collaborative and applied learning environment. Participants are expected to explore the changing role of the cultural leader and the cultural institution and to develop competency in new media and methods that are transforming the way we communicate, engage and transform.

Based in experiential learning, the program objective is to create a team based collaborative learning community that sharpens critical thinking, deepens reflective practice and develops strategic leadership skills. Participants develop skill in strategy formulation and implementation, finance, marketing and law, innovation and decision making, operations planning, cultural programming, human resource management and negotiation.

Program participants collaborate with faculty and each other to achieve the following outcomes:

• Apply theory to practice to develop and sustain thriving cultures and create prosperity.
• Demonstrate the power of collaborative practice to foster creative expression, build creative community and shape a commerce of ideas, artifacts, images and experiences.
• Evidence the value of cultural leadership and the importance of cultural capital in shaping the 21st century.

Program participants achieve these outcomes by:

• Engaging in simulations and applied practice projects that test theory against the dynamic and evolving realities of a changing world.
• Working in teams to discover opportunities to use the arts to tackle "wicked problems" that require collaboration.
• Integrating and applying learning in strategy formulation and implementation, finance, marketing and law, innovation and decision making, operations planning, cultural programming, human resource management and negotiation across practice projects.
• Designing applied research projects that deliver creative and strategic approaches to critical cultural challenges.
• Developing team charters and professional and personal development plans and engaging in ongoing peer coaching.

The Program’s Structure
Pratt’s Master of Professional Studies in Arts and Cultural Management (ACM) is designed to develop 21st century leaders. The Arts and Cultural Management program is a two year program that enables participants to explore the challenges involved in creating and sustaining thriving cultures. Participants are required to take 42 credits to complete the program and receive a Master of Professional Studies in Arts and Cultural Management. The program has five required semesters-fall, spring, summer, fall and spring. The program is completed as a cohort and participants are required to take all courses in sequence and to work collaboratively in teams. The program does not provide course waivers or accept transfer credits.

The ACM program provides participants with the opportunity to:

• Join a creative learning community of professionals with diverse expertise
• Develop a strategic skill set that bridges public, profit, and nonprofit sectors
• Explore the role of art, culture and meaning making in shaping equity, economy and ecology of place
• Create and expand professional networks worldwide
• Examine trends and global challenges
• Use technology to advance dialogue and engagement
• Refine communication, collaboration and conflict management skills
• Lead the development of thriving cultures

Entrance Requirements
The required statement of purpose should reflect the applicant’s personal vision of how this program fits in with his/her personal and professional goals, including how the applicant hopes to use the skills he/she acquires in this program. The statement should be no more than 500 words or two pages. Resumes must also be submitted. An interview (in person, by phone, or by email) with the program director is required for admission. A minimum 3.0 undergraduate cumulative index is required. For international students, a minimum Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score of 600 is required.

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You can schedule an informational interview by contacting our office at acm@pratt.edu.