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Art gallery director education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become an art gallery director. Art gallery directors usually study fine arts, business, or graphic design. 67% of art gallery directors hold a bachelor's degree, and 15% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 201 real art gallery director resumes to see exactly what art gallery director education sections show.
The most common colleges for art gallery directors are the University of Florida and the University of Florida.
There are also many online art gallery director courses to help get the education required to be an art gallery director.
What education do you need to become an art gallery director?
What degree do you need to be an art gallery director?
- Bachelor's, 67%
- Master's, 15%
- Associate, 12%
- High School Diploma, 3%
- Other Degrees, 3%
What should I major in to become an art gallery director?
- Fine Arts, 29%
- Business, 12%
- Graphic Design, 11%
- Photography, 6%
- Other Majors, 42%
Most common colleges for art gallery directors
| Art gallery director common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| University of Florida | 8.57% |
| Savannah College of Art and Design | 8.57% |
| Southern Utah University | 8.57% |
| Central State University | 5.71% |
| New York University | 5.71% |
Best majors for art gallery directors
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fine Arts | 29.0% |
| 2 | Business | 12.1% |
| 3 | Graphic Design | 11.2% |
| 4 | Photography | 5.6% |
| 5 | English | 5.6% |
Best colleges for art gallery directors
The best colleges for art gallery directors are Northwestern University, Stanford University, and University of Pennsylvania.
An art gallery director with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for art gallery directors. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become art gallery directors.
1. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
2. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
In-state tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
3. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$51,354
Enrollment
7,083
4. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
5. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$50,420
Enrollment
7,582
6. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$55,695
Enrollment
6,596
7. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$53,948
Enrollment
17,238
8. New York University
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$51,828
Enrollment
26,339
9. George Washington University, The
Washington, DC • Private
In-state tuition
$55,230
Enrollment
12,161
10. University of Maryland - Baltimore County
Baltimore, MD • Private
In-state tuition
$11,778
Enrollment
11,156
20 best online courses for art gallery directors
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1. Visual Design (Part Time)
Gain the vocabulary and tools to tackle diverse design challenges on the job. Kickstart your portfolio and create beautiful, responsive designs for the web. This course is offered in person and live online, in a remote classroom setting...
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Welcome to Modern Art & Ideas! This course is designed for anyone interested in learning more about modern and contemporary art. Over the next five weeks, you will look at art through a variety of themes: Places & Spaces, Art & Identity, Transforming Everyday Objects, and Art & Society. Each week kicks off with a video that connects works of art from The Museum of Modern Art’s collection to the theme. You will hear audio interviews with artists, designers, and curators and learn more about...
3. ART of the MOOC: Activism and Social Movements
This course is for activists, artists, and thinkers who wish to better understand and participate in social change. We will focus on the prolific and exciting overlap between socially engaged art and cultural practices generated by recent social movements around the world. Rather than assess the political efficacy of activities like mourning, listening, organizing, dancing, or partying, the lectures examine such cultural activities next to, and within, contemporary art practice. Included in the...
4. Positive Psychology Art Coaching
Art activities for children to help build confidence & selfesteem...
5. Art Therapy: Art Therapy Exercises For Healing In Life
35 Art Therapy exercises for life happiness & stress management. Art therapy with paintings, art & affirmations...
6. Leading Innovation in Arts and Culture
Developed by David Owens at Vanderbilt University and customized for the cultural sector with National Arts Strategies, this course is designed to help arts and culture leaders create an environment where new ideas are constantly created, shared, evaluated and the best ones are successfully put to work. One of the toughest challenges for any leader is getting traction for new ideas. Winning support can be a struggle. As a result, powerful new ideas often get stuck. This is especially true in...
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"Generative art refers to any art practice where the artist creates a process, such as a computer program, which is then set into motion with some degree of autonomy contributing to or resulting in a completed work of art." - Wikipedia In this guided project you will develop an agent-based computer program capable of generating visual art pieces. By doing so you will be introduced to the basics of ABM and NetLogo. Furthermore, at the end of this journey you will be able to share such pieces...
8. The Art of Figure to Ground: Photography's untaught secret
For years, the Art of Figure to Ground was only taught to artists...
9. Pixel Art Fundamentals: Introduction to 2D Game Pixel Art
Make 2D Art for Video Games Using Libresprite / Aseprite. Create icons, images, HUD, simple animations and game scenes...
10. Pixel Art for Video Games
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11. Low Poly Art For Video Games
This course is aimed to give you the tools and knowledge you need to start creating simple 3D art for video games made in the Unity game engine. Through the aesthetic of pixel art we will explore artistic principals like shape language, color theory, and composition as well as show you a step by step workflow for creating assets that you can use to make your own games. The course is broken into 4 main modules, props, environments, characters, and animation. Each of these courses will have a...
12. Art Therapy: Personal Development and Self Healing with Art
Arts Therapy heals ! Improve your Mental Health with 30 Art Therapy Exercises ...
13. Internationally Accredited Certificate in Art Therapy
Therapeutic Art Therapy Course / Masterclass for Healing and Life Coaching...
14. Modern and Contemporary Art and Design
This Specialization will introduce you to the art of our time. Through original films and audio, you will go behind the scenes to look closely at artworks and into studios to hear directly from artists, designers, curators and others. This Specialization is for anyone who would like to learn more about modern and contemporary art. No prior knowledge is required. Enroll to receive invitations to virtual events, gain exclusive access to MoMA resources, and share ideas with an international...
15. Create and Sell Digital Art using AI [Passive Income]
Learn to Generate amazing arts & graphics using AI and turn it into a business by selling art and freelance services...
16. Art History Prehistory to the Renaissance
This is an actual college level course that is taught at several accredited colleges...
17. Learn Pixel Art for Games
Understand creating Pixel Art for use in Games...
18. Art History Renaissance to 20th Century
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19. Sell Your Art Masterclass
Learn how to make a real income by selling your original artwork online to customers all around the world...
20. Learn to Create Pixel Art for your Games
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Top 10 most affordable universities for art gallery directors
The most affordable schools for art gallery directors are University of Florida, suny farmingdale, and fashion institute of technology.
If the best universities for art gallery directors are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for art gallery directors.
1. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Private
In-state tuition
$6,381
Cost of attendance
21,034
2. SUNY Farmingdale
Farmingdale, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$8,306
Cost of attendance
16,091
3. Fashion Institute of Technology
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$5,740
Cost of attendance
17,864
4. Lehman College of the City University of New York
Bronx, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,210
Cost of attendance
14,359
5. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York
Brooklyn, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,240
Cost of attendance
13,991
6. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Cost of attendance
16,714
7. California State University - Dominguez Hills
Carson, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,942
Cost of attendance
14,469
8. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Cost of attendance
18,306
9. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
10. California State University - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,749
Cost of attendance
14,823
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for art gallery directors
The hardest universities for art gallery directors to get into are Northwestern University, Stanford University, and University of Pennsylvania.
Some great schools for art gallery directors are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for art gallery directors based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.
1. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,508
2. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
Admissions rate
4%
SAT average
1,497
3. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
4. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
Admissions rate
5%
SAT average
1,520
5. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
Admissions rate
9%
SAT average
1,516
6. Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
Admissions rate
17%
SAT average
1,507
7. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
13%
SAT average
1,445
8. New York University
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
20%
SAT average
1,419
9. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
19%
SAT average
1,466
10. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
22%
SAT average
1,420
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for art gallery directors
The easiest schools for art gallery directors to get into are Notre Dame de Namur University, wayland baptist university, and mount saint mary's university.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as an art gallery director without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for art gallery directors.
1. Notre Dame de Namur University
Belmont, CA • Private
Admissions rate
82%
SAT average
983
2. Wayland Baptist University
Plainview, TX • Private
Admissions rate
98%
SAT average
1,003
3. Mount Saint Mary's University
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
84%
SAT average
1,031
4. Curry College
Milton, MA • Private
Admissions rate
93%
SAT average
1,026
5. Notre Dame College
Cleveland, OH • Private
Admissions rate
90%
SAT average
994
6. Cardinal Stritch University
Milwaukee, WI • Private
Admissions rate
71%
SAT average
1,035
7. University of the Incarnate Word
San Antonio, TX • Private
Admissions rate
88%
SAT average
1,044
8. LIM College
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
83%
SAT average
1,061
9. Fresno Pacific University
Fresno, CA • Private
Admissions rate
85%
SAT average
1,053
10. Kean University
Union, NJ • Private
Admissions rate
86%
SAT average
991
Average art gallery director salary by education level
| Art gallery director education level | Art gallery director salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $78,771 |
| High School Diploma or Less | $56,880 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $77,159 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $63,547 |
Art gallery director education FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025