Non-profit Management

Arts Management & Administration Minor

Seven students standing in front of a non-profit headquarters

Art Is Powerful. Now Learn To Sustain It.

Whether you create, perform, direct, design, or manage—this minor helps you build a career that supports artists and advances shared artistic missions. Learn to fund your work, lead arts organizations, and make your vision last.

What is Arts Management & Administration?

Students inside an empty theatre

Arts Management & Administration is an interdisciplinary field focused on supporting, organizing, and sustaining the work of artists, arts organizations, and cultural institutions. Practitioners use a wide variety of skills to ensure that the arts can thrive, reach communities, and make a lasting impact. Whether you're helping run a theater company, promote a music festival, manage a gallery, or fund your own creative projects, arts managers are the people behind the scenes who make the creative work possible.

Program Outcomes

The Arts Management & Administration (AMAD) minor is designed for students majoring in Digital Innovation, Film and Television (DIFT), Theatre, Music, or Art. It builds on your creative talents and equips you with practical skills in marketing, self-employment, nonprofit leadership, grant writing, and arts presenting—so you can grow your artistic career, build vibrant arts communities, and bring your vision to life in sustainable ways.

By the way, Xavier University is an institutional member of the Association for Arts Administration Educators.

Jobs and Opportunities in the Field

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Arts Managers and Administrators are in demand! Here is a list of sample employers and careers. Also, you can find current job opportunities through ArtsAdminJobs.

Required Courses

NOTE: Required courses can be taken in any sequence. However, we strongly encourage newly declared students to take NPMA 200 first before taking other courses.

  • Intro to Non-Profit Management (3 cr) NPMA 200: This course introduces students to fundamental theories, legal principles and best practices in non-profit management, including board governance, non-profit finance and budgeting, mission-driven decision-making, and annual reporting.
  • Intro to Grant Writing (3 cr) – NPMA 310: In this course, students learn to develop, write and submit compelling grant proposals, including persuasive narratives, project budgets and supporting materials.
  • Principles of Marketing (3 cr) - MKTG 300: Marketing is examined from its role as a central function of business and non-profit organizations, and from its dominant role in a market economy.
  • Self-Employment in the Arts (3 cr) – NPMA 210: This course is specifically designed to help artists plan to make informed financial decisions to sustain creative arts practice. Additional topics include planning for costs associated with creative projects and contracted services, self-employment tax, health and life insurance, union services and dues, and continuing education.
  • Presenting Arts Experiences (3 cr) - NPMA 330: Students in this experiential learning course will attend, participate in and reflect on a wide variety of local arts programs and experiences. Drawing insights from diverse models of public programming and arts presenting, students will coordinate and co-present a series of public arts events on campus.

Got Questions? Ask Dr. White!

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Course availability can be found by searching for the courses above in the University course catalog. For answers to questions about the field or specific courses, please email Dr. Jason C. White at whitej48@xavier.edu.