Skip to main content
Students standing on a stage at Overture Center.

Bolz Center for Arts Administration

Lead arts and nonprofits with strong business acumen

The Bolz Center for Arts Administration supports the first and longest running graduate program in arts administration in the world.

Our story

A generous gift from Robert, Anne, John, and Marian Bolz, and the Eugenie Mayer Bolz Family Foundation, helped establish the Bolz Center in 1993, which quickly became the leader in arts administration education.

The center serves as a model for exploration through consulting projects, national initiatives, and experiences that engage alumni and colleagues around the world.

The center trains leaders through a focused curriculum, discussion, research, and analysis of arts and cultural nonprofit management, refining management and leadership in this challenging, rewarding, and ever-changing field.

In 1969, Management and Human Resources Professor E. Arthur (Al) Prieve, along with Wisconsin Union Theater Director Fan Taylor, and William Dawson with the Association of College, University and Community Arts Administrators (now Association of Performing Arts Professionals) recognized the need for arts professionals to have business training to lead arts organizations. The center offered a two-year, full-time Master of Arts-Business: Arts Administration degree. In 2004, the two-year, full-time MA program in arts administration transitioned to the MBA. Then in December 2019, the Bolz Center launched a new one-year Master of Arts-Business: Arts and Creative Enterprise Leadership (MA-ACE) degree to reach a wider student audience.

Our future

As part of a shared initiative, the Bolz Center will be relocating from the Wisconsin School of Business to the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education, anticipated Fall 2027.

This new home places the arts administration academic program alongside the largest number of student arts majors on campus including: Art, Art Education, Dance, and Theatre and Drama, and leverages expertise and resources to best support a robust suite of arts management and arts entrepreneurship efforts. This positioning will include a proposed new graduate program in arts administration, offered by the School of Education, in partnership with the Wisconsin School of Business. Please direct all admissions questions to Bolz Center Associate Director, Rebecca Buckman.

Our program

Students talking while sitting at a table

MA in Arts and Creative Enterprise Leadership

This one-year, full-time program helps you build on your creative skills and background to prepare for a career as an innovative arts administrator, nonprofit executive, or social entrepreneur. You will develop a portfolio of strategic abilities rooted in business practice and learn from experts spanning decades of experience in arts and cultural training and leadership.

For questions related to the master’s program, please email Rebecca Buckman.

Taeli Reistad

“I joined the program because I am a lifelong learner who is determined to push forward and improve myself and my understanding of the crucial intersection between the arts and business. I wanted to reinforce my extensive field experience with academically backed expertise so that I can continue to take charge, think creatively, and implement ideas.”

Taeli Turner (MA ’21)

Founder and CEO, Shea Strategy

Student-centered, industry-relevant approach

Four students sitting on chairs with two of the people holding Artists at Work signs.

Interdisciplinary education

Managers and administrative leaders of arts organizations provide a bridge between art, artists, audiences, and the communities they serve.

Our curriculum combines the tools of business: management, marketing, finance, accounting, and operations, with the tools of community building: fundraising, development, education, and outreach.

Students standing on a stage with one person talking in front of them.

Practical hands-on experience

One of the highlights of the Bolz Center is intentional hands-on experiences that complement the formalized classroom experience.

Students participate in applied learning activities, including trips to arts and cultural spaces, attending performances, and pairing with a local organization or municipality on a capstone consulting project. Longtime partnerships with Madison-based organizations provide opportunity to engage with leaders and practitioners who work in museums, orchestras, theaters, dance studios, public media, and city and county governance.

A woman smiling at a man while both are sitting at a table

Individualized student development

A degree in arts and creative enterprise leadership can take you in various professional and creative directions.

Through academic and career advising, we work with you to understand your goals and support your career path. Career outcome after graduation is strong, with the most recent class of 2026 securing $61,200 for median base salary*. Employment opportunities span across the United States in areas such as Marketing and Communications, Fundraising and Development, Events and Operations, Educational Outreach, and Consulting.

*Official figure will be available in December 2026.

Support us

Gifts to the Bolz Center are welcome year-round and make a lasting impact on the experiences that we are able to provide for our students.

Learn more about the gift-giving process

Explore the Bolz Center

Blog

Learn about our students through their individual stories and experiences.

Stay current with the Bolz Center

Events

Check out our student events, guest speakers, conferences, and competitions.

Learn more about these opportunities

Connect with us