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MET’s Reimagined Arts & Cultural Management Master’s Features Four New Concentration Options

The challenge with remaining at the vanguard of the cutting-edge is that the cutting-edge is ever evolving, and we must evolve in kind to keep pace. At Boston University’s Metropolitan College, we take this charge seriously and are constantly examining our programs to be sure they reflect the latest—not only in best practices, but in best opportunities.

At a time when the arts sector is facing unprecedented challenges, Boston University is redoubling its longstanding commitment to teaching the business skills needed to lead and run an arts organization.

In 1992, Metropolitan College founded what would soon become a groundbreaking master’s degree program centering arts administration. Now, starting in the 2026 fall semester, to better prepare tomorrow’s arts sector leaders, BU MET will offer the MS in Arts & Cultural Management (MSACM)—an 8-course, 32-unit master’s program that is available in both on-campus and online formats.

Offered in both full- and part-time formats, the program can be completed in 8 to 16 months, making it a speedier, more cost-effective degree program than its legacy predecessor. The MSACM also distinguishes itself with a quartet of new, optional master’s degree concentrations: Commercial Theater Development, Fundraising, Marketing, and Organizational Leadership. These additional areas of focus will provide the next generation of cultural leaders with targeted skills designed to help arts organizations successfully achieve their missions.

Herself the daughter of abstract painter Sam Gilliam, BU President Melissa Gilliam is a strong believer in the power of the arts, recently telling the Boston Globe that the arts “pushes us, challenges our ideas, gives us new literacy.”

In his role as Metropolitan College’s director of Arts & Cultural Management programs, Douglas DeNatale has seen and supported generations of arts leaders as they successfully navigate the industry, “At virtually every cultural institution in Greater Boston, you’ll find our graduates in middle and upper management,” he told the Globe.

As has been the case since the inception of arts leadership study at BU MET, the Arts & Cultural Management master’s will be rooted in global perspectives, particularly evident in the course all US-based, domestic students must take, International Arts Practice and Policy (MET AR 525), which sees students travel overseas to broaden their artistic horizons. Every MSACM student will also benefit from the Laboratory in Professional Practice (MET AR 110), a non-unit course designed to support professional development and career readiness through guided reflection and planning.

Students who graduate from BU’s Metropolitan College with a master’s in Arts & Cultural Management will benefit from the opportunity to study with leading practitioners in the field, setting them on a path towards a sustainable, rewarding career working in the arts.

Read more about the MS in Arts & Cultural Management.