MS in Arts & Cultural Management, Marketing Concentration

This course provides students with an opportunity to become familiar with the vocabulary, institutions, processes, forces, and issues that define the landscape of the contemporary art world. An examination of the institutions and actors that comprise the Art World and significant recent trends. This course utilizes a model for the art world that posits an arts ecosystem consisting of four interrelated spheres: 1) Individuals; 2) Government; 3) the Nonprofit Sector; 4) the Private Sector. We will explore how the stakeholders in the art world (critics, curators, historians, administrators, government officials, performers, and artists) connect and interact with each other while engaging with significant institutions (cultural organizations, government, foundations) and the public to affect the cultural history of our time. This is the gateway course in the Arts Administration Program, and is usually taken in the first semester. [Non-Arts Administration students contact the Arts Administration Program at artsad@bu.edu. METAR 520 is a pre-requisite for METAR 615]  [ 4 cr. ]

This course is designed to help students in the MS in Arts and Cultural Management expand their awareness of global arts management practices and policies, and further develop skills in critical thinking and analysis. The course involves on-campus reading and preparation and travel to one or more countries outside of the U.S. for an intensive 7-to-9-day visit. The countries visited will vary from semester to semester. Countries visited in the past have included England, Ireland, France, Belgium, Spain, Cuba, and Thailand.  [ 4 cr. ]

Analyzes issues of accounting, finance, and economics in the context of the nonprofit organization. Stresses understanding financial statements, budget planning and control, cash flow analysis, and long term planning.  [ 4 cr. ]

Prerequisite: MET AR 520. "Arts Administration Law" is not a legal field; rather, it is a series of highly specialized legal analyses lying at the intersection of tax, intellectual property, employment, corporate law, and the law of non-profits that defines the legal status and issues of arts organizations. It is an interdisciplinary area, including all aspects of the law connected with art, artists (both performing and visual), performance and objects. Topics include: nonprofits and tax- exemption, contracts, copyright for performing and visual artists and artifacts, artists' moral rights, employment law, cultural heritage and the First Amendment. The course is taught using case studies and the case method applied to legal decisions, to which legal analytic frameworks will be applied.  [ 4 cr. ]

This course is designed to provide fundamental background in the theory and principles of marketing and audience development used by nonprofit performing and visual arts organizations. Case analysis will be employed to review strategies and practices currently used in the cultural sector. Students will be expected to develop their own marketing plans for an arts organization.  [ 4 cr. ]

Prerequisite: MET AR 540 - This course provides students with advanced training in the methods and best practices of data analytics for arts marketing. Through course exercises and assignments, students gain detailed knowledge of approaches to employing data analytics techniques for marketing and expanding audiences. Topics covered include use of customer surveys and demographics, working with CRMS and databases, building a data-driven organizational mindset, email marketing, social media analytics, attribution models, new-to-file audiences, customer retention, and data visualization.  [ 4 cr. ]

Prerequisite: MET AD 500 or consent of instructor. - The course provides a detailed examination of the history of e-commerce, along with important concepts related to the ways that businesses can successfully use Internet and Web technology. Students are introduced to the concepts and problems associated with electronic commerce. Topics include comparison of e-commerce procedures, payment mechanisms, applications in different industry sectors, security, the challenges of starting and maintaining an electronic business site, as well as a comparison with traditional business practices. The development of a WordPress-themed website is a minor feature of the course.  [ 4 cr. ]

Prereq: METAD 571. Become familiar with the foundations of modern marketing analytics and develop your ability to select, apply, and interpret readily available data on customer purchase behavior, new customer acquisition, current customer retention, and marketing mix optimization. This course explores approaches and techniques to support the managerial decision-making process and skills in using state-of-the-art statistical and analytics tools. Students will have an opportunity to gain a basic understanding of how transaction and descriptive data are used to construct customer segmentation schemas, build and calibrate predictive models, and quantify the incremental impact of specific marketing actions. Python, R, SQL, and Power BI software are used in this course.  [ 4 cr. ]

This course will provide you with the theoretical understanding of the Internet marketplace necessary to adapt to its many changes, while also equipping you with the skills you'll need to perform vital daily functions. The course includes discussions of both B2B and B2C and looks at marketing and communications from an integrated, business-wide perspective. The goal is to appreciate principles and practice of online marketing. Topics include integrated innovative marketing strategy, search engine marketing, email marketing, and social media. 4cr.  [ 4 cr. ]

Prerequisite: MET AR 100 Lab. Promoting a theatrical property extends beyond selling tickets to performances; be it a limited or open-ended engagement. Producers and artists continually seek new opportunities and environments for their properties. This requires strategic planning with a holistic view of a goals, implementing a methodical process of analyzing, decision-making and forecasting business activity to ensure future success.  [ 4 cr. ]

Introduction to basic formats, including news releases, editorials, features, profiles, scripts, and basic copy qualities such as readability, clarity, crispness, color, and organization. Emphasis on developing the ability to write copy for varied audiences. Regular writing assignments; considerable rewriting. Includes lead writing, editing, and interviewing.  [ 4 cr. ]

This course is designed to introduce students to using new media tools for creating media communication. Students build an integrated campaign and web site using software, which includes Photoshop, InDesign, iMovie, Dreamweaver and Flash. Students develop an understanding of the process of design consisting of: ideation, strategy and execution. Permission required for non-MET students. Contact Metropolitan College, 1010 Commonwealth Avenue, Room 124 (617-358-5643) for more information.  [ 4 cr. ]

An overview of the theories, practices, and techniques in the emerging field of interactive marketing communications (IAMC). Students gain an understanding of the strategy and tactics of IAMC and its place in the more comprehensive field of marketing communications. In addition, students review IAMC's relationship to and its effects on society, culture, and the economic system. The course will explore almost all the ways interactive marketing can be practiced via the Internet: historical introduction, dotcom era, basic principles, database marketing, etail, email, search (SEO & SEM/PPC), display advertising, social networking, gaming, mobile, et al.  [ 4 cr. ]

Explores the impact of current advertising/marketing issues from business, economic, political, social, legal, and ethical perspectives. Modified case method, with lectures from experts on selected issues.   [ 4 cr. ]

Undergraduate Prerequisites: MET CM708 - Examines media planning, buying and sales as performed by advertising agencies, clients, and the media. Research sources providing data on media audiences and product usage are evaluated. Examines contemporary trends in communications media and their effects on advertisers.   [ 4 cr. ]

In this course students will become familiar with the basics of Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Advertising and how these new rapidly growing areas fit into the marketing communications planning process. The course will cover topics such as how search engines work, how users search, how to optimize a website for search engines, how to develop a Search Engine Advertising campaign and how to measure success. At the end of the semester students will present a strategically executed Search Engine Marketing plan. Prerequisite for the course is MET CM 719, Interactive Marketing Communication or permission of the instructor.  [ 4 cr. ]

Provides knowledge and practice for effective graphic design for all media. Develops a foundation in design principles and software skills including Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. Students create projects demonstrating how graphic design is used to engage an audience and enhance comprehension of all forms of mass communication from traditional print to new media.  [ 4 cr. ]

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.  [ 4 cr. ]

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.  [ 4 cr. ]