Business of Creative Enterprises M.A.

The master’s program in the Business of Creative Enterprises is a 32-credit online program that can be completed in 12 or 24 months.

The BCE Graduate Program is a unique, insightful master’s program with a mission to educate potential change makers who want to work in the creative economy. Emphasis in curriculum is a new way of thinking about business having a real and positive impact amidst agile shifts, enabling business leaders to achieve equity, empathy and accessibility in creative enterprises of the future. The BCE master’s program focuses on those creators and innovators who have experience in the creative world who see the need for re-making existing businesses with a new found creative thinking committed to social change or those who have started their own businesses or have been involved in other creative business launches.

Following are the Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) for the BCE program:

• Students will analyze and interpret shifts in creative enterprise business models, resulting from major disruptions such as the pandemic, market dynamics, paradigms, economic stress and technology adoption with an eye toward robust, future facing and sustainable constructs.
• Students will evaluate, and design ways to apply the foundations of empathy, equity and accessibility goals for existing or new business structures that have real and measurable impact for social change in the creative economy.
• Students will demonstrate an understanding of the consumer experience, data analysis, buying behaviors, markets and monetization models for a variety of arts and communication enterprises.
• Students will identify leadership qualities, responsibilities and vision that inform drivers for transformative change in the culture, employment, finance and ideation in business and discuss the implicit and explicit values that guide implementation.
• Students will reflect on and develop their own sensibilities around issues of social change to face the challenges of remaking creative businesses, leading existing creative businesses or fueling the creation of new creative businesses in a global economy.

Admission Requirements

Students in the Department of Marketing Communication come from diverse educational and professional backgrounds. The admission committee considers the applicant’s previous academic record, test scores, prior employment experience, recommendations, leadership experiences, and other evidence of maturity and motivation to succeed in graduate studies. Applicants should have an undergraduate grade point average of 3.0 or better. Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) are optional.

Degree Requirements

Students must complete a minimum of 32 graduate credits in order to obtain a Master of Arts. When a student earns a grade of below B- in any course, this course must be repeated and a grade of B- or above must be achieved. Students must successfully complete courses in civic media theory and methods and a yearlong design studio, in addition to three electives and a master’s thesis. Students will successfully complete a master’s thesis that includes both written and produced components.