Courses

The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular term. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

• MET AR 640: Technology in Arts and Cultural Management
  The ever-evolving nature of digital technology presents opportunities and challenges in the work of arts administrators. In this course, you will examine a range of technologies employed by arts organizations to improve their practice and extend their reach, including customer relations management, fundraising, collaboration management, ticketing, project management, and social media management. You will also explore emerging products and trends, interact with practitioners to learn how they are using these tools, and engage in hands-on challenges to build competency in using emerging technologies such as interactive communication and Generative AI tools.
• MET AR 650: Public Art Project Management
  A hands on project-based collaborative class that will conceptualize, plan, and execute a public art project during the semester. Students will develop an understanding of the various challenges administrators face in all phases of a project, especially from the creative vantage of the artist. We will explore project funding, case study analysis of public art management, artist selection, and the unforeseen.
• MET AR 660: Curating in Multidisciplinary Contexts: Theory and Practice
  This course addresses the conceptual and practical aspects of curating in visual, performing, and/or interdisciplinary arts through the development and installation of a public curatorial project at one or more locations in Boston. Students will examine current curatorial discourse through readings, guest speakers/site visits, conversations, critical writing, research, and presentations. Students will discuss and enact ideas about concept development, venue selection and context, artist research and selection, exhibition design and layout, season or program development, audience engagement, timelines and budgets, and effective partnerships and collaborations.
• MET AR 670: Creative Startups: The Entrepreneurial Process
  This course explores the field of creative innovation and entrepreneurship. The first part of the course is dedicated to deepening students' understanding of creativity and ideation as building blocks to innovation, creative placemaking, the creative economy, and business models. During the second part of the course students work in teams to develop entrepreneurial projects at the intersection of Arts and Culture; Business and Technology; and Social Impact, while gaining practical entrepreneurial skills, including business models, customer identification, budgeting, pitching, personas, business plans, and delving into design, communication, marketing and networking.
• MET AR 700: Leadership in the Arts
  This course provides students with an understanding of issues and practices of people in leadership positions in the arts world. Regardless of what functional area a student is aiming for - artistic, development, marketing, finance - eventually they are going to have to demonstrate leadership of a department, a team, or an entire organization. Through a combination of case analysis, class discussion, written assignments, and the insights of the two instructors and guest speakers from the arts community, we will focus on the most effective qualities of leaders. Topics include distinguishing between leadership and management; recruiting, cultivating, and evaluating leaders; specific challenges of leading highly creative people; teamwork and leadership; promoting DEI in the leadership of an organization; co-leadership, shared leadership, and other models; understanding and developing your own leadership style.
• MET AR 725: Educational Programming in Cultural Institutions
  Review the history, theory, and practice of educational programming and audience engagement in both museums and performing arts organizations. Emphasis will be on analysis of program design, implementation, and evaluation, teacher training, and creation of youth and adult learning programs.
• MET AR 730: Political and Public Advocacy for the Arts
  This course will address the politics of arts and culture through seminars with political and cultural leaders, class discussion, readings, and research. Students will develop advocacy campaign plans and analyze how cultural organizations interact with all levels of government. [4 credits]
• MET AR 735: Arts and the Community
  This course explores the dynamic, complex, and sometimes contradictory work of community-based arts programs, including program development and design, relationship-building, funding and financial models, evaluation, and ethics. Sharpen your orientation as a practitioner through case studies, research, and experiential learning that will deepen your understanding of community-based arts and how they can be leveraged to drive positive change in communities.
• MET AR 755: Arts and Cultural Research
  This course is designed to equip students with the tools and critical thinking skills to identify and apply appropriate methodologies to support the work of their organizations as practitioners and consumers of research. We will review the major approaches to social science research, including a range of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methodologies, and consider the relevance of each research framework to specific questions in the arts. The course will consider the role of arts research in domains such as audience development and marketing; program evaluation and assessment; social and economic impact; decision-making and reflective practice; collaboration and creation; case making and communication with the public.
• MET AR 795: Arts and Cultural Management Practicum
  This course is the capstone experience for students pursuing a concentration in the MS in Arts and Cultural Management or seeking an Advanced Graduate Certificate within the Arts and Cultural Management Program. Students may elect to complete the work for the practicum in a single semester as a 4-credit course, or in two semesters as two 2-credit courses. The practicum experience can consist of one of the two following options: 1) A formal internship with an arts and cultural management organization in the nonprofit or commercial sectors; 2) A formal project developed and executed by the student. The practicum project requires a minimum of 200 hours of work. In each case, the practicum must involve an external partner who will have a direct supervisory role over the student’s work and must be approved by the program prior to the semester in which the practicum is undertaken.
• MET AR 796: Advanced Management and Consulting for Arts and Cultural Organizations
  The purpose of this course is to increase students' ability to analyze and solve problems that confront arts organizations. Students will apply financial, marketing, fundraising, and legal knowledge and techniques to (1) in-class discussion of key management issues of concern to senior leadership, and (2) a semester-long consulting project which partners and team of students with a local arts organization. Permission from instructor required/arts administration students only. Students may not register for MET AR 796 until they have completed a minimum of six required courses.
• MET AR 800: Directed Study
  Prereq: Consent of advisor. Requires prior approval of student-initiated proposal. Independent study on special projects under faculty guidance.
• MET AR 810: Master's Thesis 1
  Two consecutive two-credit courses (MET AR 810 Masters Thesis 1 and MET AR 810 Masters Thesis 2) will give students the tools they need to be informed consumers and producers of arts administration research. The Actual Units 2.00 *Enrollment Unit Load Calc Type Maximum Units 2.00 thesis must be completed within 12 months. Only students who have completed six courses in the Arts Administration master's degree program and have a GPA of 3.7 or higher may enroll in MET AR 810 and MET AR 811. Students are responsible for finding a thesis advisor and a principal reader within the department. The advisor must be a full-time faculty member; the principal reader may be a part-time faculty member with a doctorate.
  BU Hub Learn More

  • Critical Thinking
  • Quantitative Reasoning II
  • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • Writing-Intensive Course
• MET AR 811: Master's Thesis 2
  Two consecutive two-credit courses (MET AR 810 Masters Thesis 1 and MET AR 810 Masters Thesis 2) will give students the tools they need to be informed consumers and producers of arts administration research. The thesis must be completed within 12 months. Only students who have completed six courses in the Arts Administration master's degree program and have a GPA of 3.7 or higher may enroll in MET AR 810 and MET AR 811. Students are responsible for finding a thesis advisor and a principal reader within the department. The advisor must be a full-time faculty member; the principal reader may be a part-time faculty member with a doctorate.
• MET AS 101: The Solar System
  The historical development of astronomy and the motion of the planets. The formation of the solar system. The sun and its effects on the earth. Description of the planets and the moons of our solar system including recent results from the space program. Use of the observatory. Carries natural science divisional credit (with lab) in CAS. Effective Fall 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Quantitative Reasoning I, Scientific Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.
  BU Hub Learn More

  • Critical Thinking
  • Quantitative Reasoning I
  • Scientific Inquiry I
• MET AS 102: The Astronomical Universe
  The birth and death of stars. Red giants, white dwarfs, black holes. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, and other galaxies. The Big Bang and other cosmological theories of our expanding universe. Effective Spring 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Quantitative Reasoning I, Scientific Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.
  BU Hub Learn More

  • Critical Thinking
  • Quantitative Reasoning I
  • Scientific Inquiry I
• MET AT 505: Actuarial and Financial Data Analysis
  This course covers the use of programming, spreadsheets, and database software in an actuarial environment. You will calculate premiums and analyze loss metrics over the term while learning about the tools in R Studio, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Access that help an actuary perform their analysis in a timely and accurate manner.
• MET AT 511: Economics and Management Decisions
  The aim of the course is to present decision problems and the economic analysis needed to guide these decisions. Microeconomic tools are used to structure complicated decision problems about production, pricing, investment, and other strategic issues and address uncertainty through probabilistic forecasts and sequential decisions. An important part of the course is to develop an understanding of the external environment in which firms operate by analyzing the implications of market structure, macroeconomic developments and policy, and other forms of public policy toward business.
• MET AT 521: Financial Mathematics
  Prerequisites: MET MA 225 or consent of instructor. This course develops uses of interest rates as the concept relates to the theory of finance. You will gain an understanding of interest calculations related to financial instruments including bonds, mortgages, annuities, and financial instruments with non-level payment schemes. The material covered in this course may help you prepare for the SoA/CAS Exam FM.
• MET AT 531: Fundamentals of Actuarial Mathematics
  Prerequisites: MET MA 581 or CAS MA 581; MET AT 521; or consent of instructor. - This course will cover the fundamentals of both long-term insurance and short-term insurance. The long-term topics will include insurance, annuities, and premiums for from both a theoretical basis and the application of those models. The short-term portion of the course introduces severity and frequency models, and will cover actuarial methods that are useful in modeling. Foundational principles of ratemaking and reserving for short-term coverages will also be covered. The material in this course may help you prepare for SoA Exam FAM.