New MET Scholarship Dedicated to Strengthening Inclusion in Arts Administration
In recognition of the need to foster greater diversity and inclusion in leadership across the humanities, Boston University’s Metropolitan College (MET) has established the Advancing the Arts Scholarship for applicants to the Master of Science in Arts Administration degree program. The award is dedicated to US citizens or permanent residents who have dealt with personal challenges or other barriers to their participation in the arts and are committed to making the arts accessible to all. This includes those with demonstrated experience in or a commitment to working with Latinx, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities; those who have faced a physical or mental disability; those who attended historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU); or those who are members of a federally or state-recognized Native American tribe.
Set to launch for the fall 2021 semester, the award is emblematic of a commitment to racial equity and the inclusive values essential to the art field’s capacity to responsibly grow in the future.
“This award is a new opportunity for the Arts Administration program to play a role in helping to encourage more diversity and greater inclusion in arts leadership,” says MET Director of Arts Administration Douglas DeNatale. “Students who are from historically racially marginalized communities have faced distinct challenges in our field, and as we set our sights on the horizon of a more just tomorrow, this scholarship is part of an effort to bring about the changes we know our world needs.”
The scholarship provides a total tuition stipend of $10,000, dispersed in the amount of $2,500 per semester of good academic standing within the Master of Science in Arts Administration degree program. Beginning in their second semester, scholarship grantees also become eligible for employment through teaching assistantships, with the opportunity to cultivate applied skills and networks within the field.
BU MET embraces the values of diversity, inclusion, and equity, and is dedicated to applying these principles and addressing matters of structural inequality. Boston University has a tradition steeped in social justice, and MET serves as BU’s bridge to the wider world, with a mission to extend these values and intellectual achievements to the broader community.
This award is the latest step in the College’s efforts to confront systemic and structural racism and bias in all its forms. In 2020, BU MET launched the Urban Grape Wine Studies Award for Students of Color, aimed at breaking down racial barriers in the beverage and hospitality industry via new opportunities in BU’s Certificate Program in Wine Studies.
Proudly BU’s most diverse College, MET supports educational empowerment and advancement for students of all ages, cultural backgrounds, gender identities, and experiences, and is dedicated to providing its community with a supportive environment in which to learn and thrive.
For more information regarding the Advancing the Arts Scholarship, please contact Sameera Palkar at sameerap@bu.edu.