Closing the Gap Between Education and Career: A Study of Arts Entrepreneurship Curricula

Abstract

Arts Entrepreneurship is a relatively new field that has been growing steadily the past thirty years. There is still much debate over a specific definition of Arts Entrepreneurship, however the purpose and goals of Arts Entrepreneurship and Arts Entrepreneurship Education are clear: to give artists the skills and abilities necessary to achieve a successful career as an artist. This paper examines seven different higher education institutions’ Arts Entrepreneurship programs in a grounded theory analysis to answer the question: What best practices are evident in current Arts Entrepreneurship curricula, and how can schools use this information to transform their existing (or develop a new) Arts Entrepreneurship program.

This study reviewed the selected school’s program information, and collected and compared the requirements for Arts Entrepreneurship minors: required number of credits, field experience, program structure, and collaboration with other departments. These program requirements were coded to analyze the different course requirements and six different types of courses offered within the programs were discovered. The study then applied Roberts’ (2014) institutional models to further analyze the findings. Through this process, the study revealed that Arts Entrepreneurship minors offered at these schools fall into three levels: Level 1, Collaborative; Level 2, Infusing Entrepreneurship; Level 3, Context-Based Model. By identifying these three types of programs, schools can develop a program that best fits the needs of their students and potential students can choose the best program type for them.