Arts Enterprise and Cultural Innovation Minor

College of Fine and Performing Arts

28 credits

Introduction

In the Arts Enterprise and Cultural Innovation Minor (AECI), students explore and articulate their creative self and creative strengths. Students then convert that work into collaboration and team performance by developing emergent leadership frameworks. This allows students to start driving value for their collaborators and audience. Students consider how their creative work delivers value into their networks. In AECI, students connect with others, think and act across disciplines and move rapidly from ideas to outputs. Students learn about the interconnectivity of all aspects of creative enterprise. AECI students are able to lead from anywhere they stand, utilizing their creative attributes to catalyze change. Students in the minor center their creative work and grow their practice beyond the academy. 

The Arts Enterprise and Cultural Innovation (AECI) minor is comprised of seven original courses, each four credits, for a total of 28 credits. At the conclusion of the minor students will integrate Person, Practice and Public into a student-generated culminating project that serves as a bridge to their post-undergraduate work. The concluding capstone has two separate tracks: a product/service track and an arts/performance track. Upon completing a major within the College of Fine and Performing Arts with a minor in Arts Enterprise and Cultural Innovation, students will possess the knowledge of their specific creative disciplines and the knowledge and abilities needed to develop and monetize their own unique creative attributes.

Why Consider an Arts Enterprise and Cultural Innovation Minor?

The contemporary creative professional space requires a broad scope of ability that extends beyond creative talent and is inclusive of high-level professional practices. The Arts Enterprise and Cultural Innovation (AECI) Minor is designed to best prepare students, beyond their discipline, for an entry into a creative career that they design.

The AECI minor will give students the foundational tools needed to be successful in creative self, team and project leadership. Students will achieve the articulation of a personal brand, adopt frameworks for personal and organizational leadership, and gain a foundational understanding of the principals of business entity formation, marketing and finance - each of which are key elements that allow the emergent creative to craft a self-guided career toward maximum opportunity. 

How to Declare (Admission and Declaration Process):

To apply to the AECI Minor, students must be declared as a major or pre-major within the CFPA. Students must be a sophomore to declare and complete the AECI application process. Application deadline for the AECI Minor is May 31 each year. To apply online, go to: cfpa.wwu.edu/apply-aeci.

Grade Requirements

A grade of C- or better is required for a student’s major or minor courses, and supporting courses for majors and minors.