Stepping Outside the Classroom: Connecting Contextual Factors of American Universities and Arts Alumni’s Entrepreneurial Intentions

The American creative workforce has reported high levels of self-employment as an important manifestation of entrepreneurship in the arts. Yet graduates of arts programs in higher education have reported gaps in the preparation they received for self-reliant careers, including training in arts entrepreneurship. Moreover, these limitations in self-employment training are further compounded for BIPOC arts students through underrepresentation in the college experience. Data from the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project provides insight into arts alumni’s entrepreneurial intentions, particularly in freelancing and new venture creation, both in the arts and in other fields. This chapter explores these entrepreneurial inclinations with alumni’s perceptions of higher education institutions’ offerings of diversity, professional development outside of the classroom, and community-based experiential learning opportunities. The study found arts alumni who graduated from HEIs offering a diverse socio-cultural environment, and community engagement opportunities are more likely to pursue self-reliant careers regardless of their racial identity. The study also found that the current career development offerings of HEIs reduce the likelihood of alumni’s intention to pursue self-reliant careers. Other findings suggest that American universities need to examine their alumni’s intentions and needs for freelancing and creating new ventures in different ways.