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Arts Administration Resources

Academic Common Market Eligibility

Students who are residents of the following states may be eligible to receive in-state tuition to study Arts Administration in the College of Music at FSU by applying to the Academic Common Market:   

  • Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.

Please visit the Academic Common Market website for additional information and application instructions.


Career Paths

  • The College of Music’s Arts Administration program is designed for students who seek administrative or management positions with arts organizations including performing arts centers, symphony orchestras, opera companies, choruses, museums, government and private arts agencies, community arts programs, and arts councils.
  • The program aims to bridge theory and practice through coursework and a required internship
  • Our graduates have gone on to hold positions with prominent arts organizations around the country including the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Grand Opera, the National Endowment for the Arts and Tessitura.

Engaged Learning & Learning Opportunities

  • Engaging in internships with arts organizations
  • Networking with local and national guest speakers through in-person and virtual guest lectures
  • Participating in College of Music ensembles
  • Engaging in applied study
  • Conducting research on arts administration issues as part of the comprehensive exam

Knowledge In Practice & How We Serve

  • Students will participate in internships with local and national arts organizations.
  • Many students engage in arts administration focused assistantships in the College of Music.
    • Assistantships provide a tuition waiver for 9 credit hours in the fall and spring semester and provide a stipend.
    • Assistantship opportunities include orchestra management, community engagement, marketing and public relations, and admissions.
  • These practical experiences enable students to apply their study of nonprofit management theory and develop the skills needed for success in the professional world, resulting in a high success rate of job placement after graduation.

Internship Opportunities

The following is a representative sample of some of the organizations where students have completed arts administration internships in recent years.

Americans for the Arts
Atlanta Opera
Austin Classical Guitar
Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival
Breckenridge Music Festival
Brevard Music Center
Chicago Symphony / Ravinia Festival
Council on Culture & Arts, Tallahassee / Leon County
Eastern Music Festival
Florida Division of Cultural Affairs
Florida State Opera
Handel and Haydn Society
Jacksonville Symphony
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center
Los Angeles Opera
Metropolitan Opera

Minnesota Opera
National Repertory Orchestra
National Symphony Orchestra
Opera America
Opus 3
Pensacola Symphony
Ruth Eckerd Hall
Seattle Symphony
Spoleto USA
Tallahassee Community Chorus
Tallahassee Symphony
Tallahassee Youth Orchestras
Taneycomo Festival Orchestra
Texas Music Festival
United Arts of Central Florida
University of Denver, Lamont School of Music
Youth Orchestra of the Americas


Graduate Placements

Alumni of the Arts Administration Program serve in leadership roles for premier arts and higher education institutions, including:

Associate Director, American Choral Directors Association
Community Programs Coordinator, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Director of Development, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Operations Manager, Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival
Coordinator, Secondary & Middle School Programs, Weill Music Institute, Carnegie Hall
Director of Recruitment and Enrollment, Carnegie Mellon University School of Music
Assistant Director for Admissions, Florida State University
Academy Education Outreach Coordinator, Houston Ballet
Artist Liaison, Houston Grand Opera
Coordinator, Institutional Giving League of American Orchestras
Benefit and Sponsorship Coordinator, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Development Associate, Manhattan School of Music
Director of Undergraduate Student Affairs, Michigan State University
Advancement Associate, Leadership and Planned Giving, Museum of Science, Boston
Division Assistant, National Endowment for the Arts
Operations Manager, National Repertory Orchestra
Assistant Personnel Manager, Utah Symphony Orchestra
Development Coordinator, Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Project


Recent Guests

The College of Music and the Arts Administration program regularly host leading professionals in arts administration as guest presenters. Recent guests have included:

Dr. Ayden Adler – former Senior Vice President and Dean, New World Symphony
Angela Myles Beeching – Director, Center for Entrepreneurship, Manhattan School of Music
Marilyn Horne – Opera singer and Kennedy Honors recipient; Founder of The Marilyn Horne Foundation
Ramon Ricker – Founder of Eastman’s Institute for Music Leadership
Lenore Rosenberg – Associate Artistic Administrator, The Metropolitan Opera
Sebastian Ruth – Founder and Artistic Director, Community MusicWorks
Russell Willis Taylor – former President and CEO, National Arts Strategies


Distinguishing Characteristics

The FSU College of Music’s M.A. in Arts Administration has the following distinguishing characteristics:

  • Music Pre-requisite – The student must have a baccalaureate degree in music and demonstrate principal-level performance skill.
  • Flexibility – Each student, in consultation with the program director, chooses core and elective courses which best suit his/her goals for the future.
  • Focus – The musical (and other performing) arts, as they relate to the administrative needs of the organizations in which they function, are at the heart of the program: syllabi, seminars, and the internship experience. Students are encouraged to continue performance activities if they wish.
  • University Partnerships – Core courses are offered through and in cooperation with three outstanding FSU programs: the College of Music, the School of Theatre’s Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Management and the FSU Department of Art Education. Elective courses may be chosen from within the College of Music’s selection of graduate courses and/or from a variety of other disciplines from throughout the University (Public Administration, Philosophy, Communications).
  • The program is a member of the Association of Arts Administration Educators.