Arts Leadership

The application fee for the USC Graduate application is $90. Application fee waivers are available to qualified applicants, and must be requested before submitting the USC Graduate Application. If you plan to apply for a waiver of the USC Graduate Application fee, please do so at least two weeks before the application deadline. The deadline will not be extended for applicants who fail to request a fee waiver in time. Details and instructions can be found here.

All Thornton graduate applicants must upload transcripts into both the USC Graduate Application (Liaison) AND Thornton SlideRoom Application. All transcripts are due December 1st for the priority deadline or May 1st for the final deadline. Please carefully read the instructions below.

Step 1– You must obtain official transcripts from the registrar’s office of each of your prior institutions before you can complete and submit the application forms. This may take some time, please plan accordingly.

Step 2– Upload Scans (PDF format) of official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions you have attended into the “Academic History” section of the USC Graduate application (Liaison).

Step 3– Upload Scans (PDF format) of official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions you have attended into the SlideRoom application where indicated.

Unofficial transcripts or documents printed from an on-line student system will not be accepted. Failure to upload scans of official transcripts in both application forms may significantly delay the release of a final admission decision.

When completing the USC Graduate application, it is important to pay special attention to the following items that you will find in the “program materials” section of the application:

• Thornton SlideRoom portal – A link to access the Thornton SlideRoom portal will be provided in this section.
• The Documents tab – Documents submitted in this section will not be accessible to the Thornton faculty. Thornton faculty will only be able to review documents submitted via the Thornton SlideRoom portal. In order to complete this section, you must check the box indicating that you do not wish to upload documents in this section.
• The Questions tab – Enter your SlideRoom Confirmation number where indicated (you will receive your SlideRoom confirmation number upon submission of the SlideRoom form).

Click here for important additional requirements and instructions.

A link to the SlideRoom portal is located inside the USC Application for Graduate Admission, in the “Program Materials” Section.

The SlideRoom application fee is $25 (fee waivers are not available). Thornton supplemental materials will not be accepted via mail or email.

The SlideRoom form must be submitted before the USC Application for Graduate Admission (Applicants can start both forms and work on them at the same time). Once SlideRoom is submitted, you will need to enter your SlideRoom confirmation number into the “Questions” tab, also located in the “program materials” section of the USC Graduate application.

MS and GCRT applicants must upload the following essay as part of Thornton’s SlideRoom Application:

Answers to the following five questions in essay format. There is no specific length requirement, however applicants are being considered not only for the content of the answers but also their ability to professionally and articulately express their thoughts in written form. The questions are as follows:

• What is your specific field of artistic practice? Why have you chosen to pursue a career in this field? What does success for you look like in this field?
• Identify one truly significant obstacle that you have faced in your life that you overcame to become the person you are today.
• The Arts Leadership course of study recognizes that we are living in a world in which multiple external events – developing technology, mass migrations of people, the climate crisis, and more are rapidly changing the world in which artists and arts organizations must function, now and in the future. Explain which trend you think is most dramatically changing our world and specifically what impact it is having or will have on the arts field.
• Describe a situation in which you believe you demonstrated real leadership and that illuminates your ability to work with others to achieve a shared outcome.
• One of the core elements of the ARTL degree is the Practicum Project; a “real world” organization, project, idea, or venture of your own choosing, that will serve as the focal point of your work throughout your time in the program. Give a brief description of what that would be for you, should you be admitted to the program.

The résumé or curriculum vitae should list musical, professional, and academic experience and is generally 1-2 pages in length.

All Thornton graduate applicants must upload transcripts into both the USC Graduate Application (Liaison) AND Thornton SlideRoom Application. All transcripts are due December 1st for the priority deadline or May 1st for the final deadline. Please carefully read the instructions below.

Step 1– You must obtain official transcripts from the registrar’s office of each of your prior institutions before you can complete and submit the application forms. This may take some time, please plan accordingly.

Step 2– Upload Scans (PDF format) of official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions you have attended into the SlideRoom application where indicated.

Step 3– Upload Scans (PDF format) of official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions you have attended into the “Academic History” section of the USC Graduate application (Liaison).

Unofficial transcripts or documents printed from an on-line student system will not be accepted. Failure to upload scans of official transcripts in both application forms may significantly delay the release of a final admission decision.

1-3 recommendation letters are required from graduate Arts Leadership applicants. Recommendation letters are to be submitted online through the Thornton SlideRoom portal via the “References” section by December 1st for the priority deadline or May 1st for the final deadline. We cannot guarantee the review of any material received after the aforementioned deadlines.

The USC Price School of Public Policy offers a Master of Public Administration with a specialization in Arts Leadership. If interested in this program, applicants must apply for admission to the MPA program through the Price School. Application requirements and deadlines for this program are posted on the Price website.

If admission to the Price School’s MPA is granted, students may then apply to the Arts Leadership specialization. To do so, please submit the following by e-mail directly to the Arts Leadership program director, Kenneth Foster (kjfoster@usc.edu):

1. A resume or curriculum vitae
2. The “Arts Leadership Essay” described above as an attachment to the email
3. A written request for admission to the Arts Leadership specialization
4. Request for an interview

Faculty will coordinate interview dates and times with applicants directly.

Applicants to the Thornton School will be required to complete and upload the following form in SlideRoom:

• Parental Consent Form (if applicant is under 18 years of age by December 1, 2023)

For helpful Slideroom media upload troubleshooting tips, please click here.