Please note: We are not currently accepting applications for spring 2026 as we work through program and curriculum updates. 

Become a Creative Force

Being a changemaker in the arts and cultural landscape can take many different shapes. You can be a curator, advocate, entrepreneur, artist, producer, or find your own role in the diverse ecosystem of arts and culture. What our arts leadership master’s students have in common is the desire to explore the role that arts and culture play in community engagement, identity, and changemaking.

What Is an Arts and Cultural Leadership Degree?

Our Arts and Cultural Leadership (ACL) master's is a flexible, personalized program. It will prepare you to to become an equitable and inclusive leader in your community, advance the arts, or pursue your own creative endeavors.

The arts and culture degree is:

  • Self-curated—Focus on a specialty through 12 credits of electives.
  • Career-focused—Apply your coursework in a variety of professional areas in the nonprofit sector, government, or corporate space.
  • Expansive—Explore the ways arts and culture intertwine across sectors and diverse communities to make change.
  • Connected—Network with faculty members and experts from the arts, culture, and nonprofit arenas.
  • Immersive—Go behind the scenes of an organization's board of directors, work with a community artist, or develop your own entrepreneurial plan in your practicum.

Courses

The ACL degree consists of 30 total credits (18 required and 12 elective).

Required Courses (18 credits)

  • ACL 5211 – Trends and Impacts in Arts and Cultural Leadership and Management: 3 cr.
  • ACL 5221 – Creative Entrepreneurship and Resource Development: 3 cr.
  • ACL 5231 – Ethical Dilemmas and Legal Issues for Cultural Leaders: 3 cr.
  • ACL 6001 – A Multiplicity of Ways: Epistemologies in the 21st Century: 1 cr.
  • ACL 6201 – Reimagining Cultural Leadership: 3 cr.
  • ACL 6203 – Experiential Leadership Plan: 1 cr.
  • ACL 6204 – Experiential Leadership Practicum: 1 cr.
  • ACL 6002 – Capstone 1: Applied Research Project: 1 cr.
  • ACL 6003 – Capstone 2: Reflections and Presentation: 2 cr.

For more course information, visit the UMN Schedule Builder.

Elective Courses (12 credits)

Working with an advisor, you'll select elective courses from academic departments across the University of Minnesota, forming a specialization in an area of interest. Courses must be taken at the graduate level, approved by the Director of Graduate Studies, and should relate to the professional tasks required of arts and cultural leaders or enhance your understanding of the arts and culture within a broader cultural context.

Electives may include, but are not limited to, the following colleges and departments, such as:

  • Civic Engagement (CIVE)
  • Design (DES)
  • Public Affairs (PA), which includes urban and regional planning, human rights, nonprofit management
  • Heritage Studies and Public History (HSPH)
  • Landscape Architecture (LA)
  • Museum Studies (MST)
  • Organizational Leadership, Policy and Development (OLPD)
  • Journalism and Mass Communication (JOUR)
  • Geography (GEOG)

For detailed course information, visit the U of M Schedule Builder and enter the designator above.

Students are also encouraged to explore ACL elective courses to complement their professional goals and career preparation.

ACL Electives

  • Financial Management for Arts Nonprofits, Community Organizations, and Artists (ACL 5241, 3 cr)
  • Courageous Imagination in Action: Art and Culture as Forces and Resources of Change (ACL 5251, 3 cr)
  • Culture, Place, and Community: Ways of Living Together in the 21st Century (ACL 5261, 3 cr)
  • Special Topics (ACL 5950, 1−4 cr)

Capstone Projects

Arts and Cultural Leadership students complete a comprehensive capstone project as the culmination of their graduate degree. Take a look at some of the wide-ranging capstone projects our ACL students have completed over the years!

Sample Specializations

The focus areas below are just examples of what you can study in the ACL program. You will work closely with your advisor to craft a degree plan that meets your goals.

Mill City Museum

Culture, Place, and Community Leadership
Make an impact on the well-being of people, neighborhoods, and cities. Build your skills to take an active role in creative placemaking, bringing together community members, artists, city leaders, and others to build equitable, quality public spaces and neighborhoods.

 

 

Artist image

Organizational Leadership
Become a better leader no matter where you work. Understand complex environments and the role arts and cultural organizations play in making a difference in their communities. Connect with current leaders and gain a range of technical skills.

 

 

Spoonbridge photo by Lydia Venjohn

Cultural Leadership in the Public Sector
Prepare to take on a leadership role in your city, county, or state that focuses on arts and cultural affairs. Develop and implement artistic and cultural strategies within the public sector. Learn how to work across sectors to support cultural and creative practices.

 

 

Spoonbridge photo by Lydia Venjohn

Creative Entrepreneurial Leadership
Build new skills and connections to launch or rejuvenate your creative endeavors. Whether starting up your own or refreshing an organizational model, these courses help you understand the financial, legal, management, and marketing strategies you’ll need to succeed.

Our Stories

Arts and Cultural Careers

  • $63KMedian income*

Our alumni work in the following areas:

  • Museums
  • Arts Consulting
  • Community Arts/Creative Placemaking
  • Education
  • Media
  • Music
  • Philanthropy
  • Theatre
  • Literary Arts


Some of their job titles include:

  • Consulting Curator
  • Program Officer
  • Director of Research
  • Development Manager
  • Public Engagement Consultant
  • Founder
  • Director of Community Partnerships
  • Project Manager
  • Producer
     

* Burning Glass Technologies: Labor Insights™, accessed 08/6/21

Practicum Sites

As an Arts and Cultural Leadership student, you get to apply what you've learned in a hands-on practicum. The following is a list of places where ACL students have gained professional knowledge and experience:

  • American Swedish Institute
  • Artistry
  • Arts Midwest
  • The Bakkan Museum
  • The Cedar Cultural Center
  • Coffeehouse Press
  • East Side Freedom Library
  • Hennepin History Museum
  • Illusion Theatre
  • In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre  
  • Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts
  • Intermedia Arts
  • James Sewell Dance Company
  • The Loft Literary Center
  • MacPhail Center for Music
  • Metro Regional Arts Council
  • Mixed Blood Theatre
  • Minnesota Children’s Museum
  • Minnesota Opera
  • The Museum of Russian Art
  • Northern Clay Center
  • The Ordway
  • Park Square Theater
  • Penumbra Theatre
  • Public Art St Paul
  • Red Eye Theater
  • Saint John’s Boys Choir
  • Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
  • Schubert Club
  • Steppingstone Theater
  • Springboard for the Arts
  • Ten Thousand Things Theater
  • Theater Latte’ Da
  • VocalEssence

Faculty and Advising

MPS in Arts and Cultural Leadership faculty and advisory board members come from a range of artistic backgrounds and cultural organizations. Their commonality lies in their passion, dedication, and insider knowledge of the industry. They are eager to connect students to valuable, concrete opportunities.

Meet the Faculty

Apply

Please note: We are not currently accepting applications for spring 2026 as we work through program and curriculum updates. 

We strive to be fair in the admissions process. Our program thrives when we have students from different backgrounds and cultural experiences. The admissions committee completes a holistic review of all required application materials to ensure that you will be successful in the program. We do not require standardized test scores from the Graduate Record Exam (GRE).

You will receive an admission decision four to six weeks after the application deadline. If you have questions about the admission requirements or missed the application deadline, please email [email protected].

Admission Requirements

We welcome applications from students who have:

  • a bachelor's degree from an accredited post-secondary US institution or its international equivalent.
  • an undergraduate GPA of 3.0*.
  • professional, volunteer, and/or advocacy work in the arts and cultural fields.

* If you have a GPA below 3.0, please include an explanation in the extenuating circumstances part of your professional statement.

Frequently Asked Questions

These answers will help you get a better sense of how the ACL degree can set you up for immediate success in the arts, cultural, or nonprofit world. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Request Program Information

Do you want to receive:

  • snapshots of how other students put their education to work on the job?
  • ideas about how to fund your program?
  • career-boosting tips and inspiration?
  • stories about key faculty?
  • highlights on core courses?
  • generally interesting news about the program?

You can sign up for periodic updates here and we'll deliver these and more right to your inbox.

Important Links