Entrepreneurship and Leadership in the Arts and Design Certificate

Coordinator: Karin Tollefson-Hall
Email: tollefkl@jmu.edu

This graduate certificate equips students with the entrepreneurial acumen and resourcefulness needed to turn their artistic and design visions into successful ventures. Graduates will challenge norms, collaborate, lead with a sustainable and inclusive mindset, and succeed in dynamic and ever-changing creative industries.

As a result of completing the requirements for the CVPA online graduate certificate, graduates will:

1. Build comprehensive business plans for arts related ventures including creative and financial elements.
2. Identify opportunities and understand the market dynamics in the arts sector, enabling them to make informed business decisions.
3. Implement marketing strategies specifically tailored for arts organizations including branding, audience engagement and promotional techniques.
4. Articulate current trends within the arts industry, continuously adapting their ventures to remain competitive and relevant.
5. Cultivate professional networking skills to create opportunities for artistic collaboration and career advancement.
6. Identify essential executive functioning skills to build innovative and successful ventures.
7. Acquire essential leadership skills to cultivate creative teams.

Admission Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree
• Official transcript with GPA of 2.75 or higher
• Professional resume
• Personal statement
• One letter of recommendation
• Completed Application to The Graduate School and application fee

Admission decisions are made on a rolling basis. All applications submitted by the below deadlines will be considered for the corresponding semester.

• For Spring admission: December 1
• For Summer admission: April 1
• For Fall admission: August 1