Master of Arts in Arts, Cultural Management and Museum Studies

Our M.A. program uniquely combines museum studies and arts management curricula, and as such draws diverse cohorts of students from across the performing arts, visual arts, and music, but also from the sciences, history, anthropology, and more. At each stage of the program, we are committed to fostering the perspective that management offers an opportunity to engage with people, and to make a difference in community well-being. To this end, we connect our students with a rich network of experienced faculty and professional mentors who are immersed in the worlds of arts and museums, writ large.
We also offer separate graduate certificates in both Museum Studies and Arts & Cultural Management. Each one is designed for those MSU graduate students in other programs across campus who wish to expand their knowledge into a related field of study and also for working professionals who want to take their professional practice to another level.
The Master of Arts degree in Arts, Cultural Management and Museum Studies is a multidisciplinary degree administered by the College of Arts and Letters that prepares students for leadership positions related to the management and advocacy of arts and cultural organizations or dimensions of an artistic and humanistic entrepreneurial career. Students will customize their program electives for deeper exposure to museum, artistic, and cultural management depending on their area of interest. While we see the arts in its broadest terms, our program involves many disciplines including those from the sciences, business, history, anthropology, and more.

A baccalaureate degree, with a minimum overall GPA of 3.2.
Academic EssayWhat is your background? What are your academic interests? What is the relationship between academic and professional for you? Why will this degree, and ours in particular, help you to achieve your professional goals? Tell us about how your values coincide with ours.
A writing sample that must reflect aptitude for critical and scholarly writing (approximately 10-20 double-spaced pages). Papers from your undergraduate courses are appropriate to use.
A portfolio that demonstrates professional experience/interest related to Arts, Cultural Management and/or Museum StudiesA compilation of evidence (documents, videos, website, photos, brochures etc) showing what youve done that helps us see if you are a good fit for the program. What to include can mean different things to different people. Anything that you have done in the past that supports your interest could be compiled, it can include, for example, budgets you created, flyers you made, tours you designed, catalogs you have createdanything that reveals some connection between your experience and this program of study. You can turn it in as a bundle of pdfs or make a website for it, we just ask that you explain your role in what you submit and provide a table of contents.
Letters of Recommendation (3)Professional and/or academic, not personal. Must be on letterhead and signed, then made into a pdf. These should be submitted to the portal by the writers themselves. References can be to the ACM&MS Admissions Committee's attention.
TranscriptsPlease have official versions sent to MSU Admissions office, you may upload unofficial versions to the application portal but only in addition to the official one(s) (please send transcripts directly to Office of Admissions 426 Auditorium Rd. Rm. 250 East Lansing MI 48824)
CV or resume
In addition, international students must also submit:
TOEFL scores (minimum score of 100)