Does creative coursework predict educational, career, and community engagement outcomes for arts alumni?

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Fahsai

The study examines whether exposure to creative coursework during undergraduate arts education predicts multiple outcomes for arts alumni. Using SNAAP data from more than 40,000 undergraduate-level arts alumni across the 2015–2017 administrations, the analysis tests relationships between coursework exposure and institutional connection, job timing and relevance, income, occupational field, and arts community involvement. Regression models control for demographics and satisfaction, finding significant predictive effects.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time13 min

AccessFree to download

Study purpose

Data and sample

Measurement of creative coursework exposure

Analytical approach

Regression controls

Key findings

Positive predictors

Negative predictor for job timing

Implications

11/25/24 , 2:07 PM Does creative coursework predict educational, career, and… | SNAAP MENU VOLUME 11 , NUMBER 1 Does creative coursework predict educational, career, and community engagement outcomes for arts alumni? This article featuring SNAAP data was recently published in Creativity Research Journal. SNAAP research scientist, Angie Miller, at Indiana University Bloomington, used SNAAP data to explore whether exposure to creative coursework during one’s time at their institution was able to predict several different career and arts involvement outcomes for alumni with undergraduate degrees in the arts. This study originated from a presentation in the summer of 2018, at the annual SOU Creativity Conference. There is considerable evidence concerning the effectiveness of creativity training ( Scott et al., 2004), and studies link the behaviors of teachers or instructors to creative outputs ( Sternberg, 2010) . Research with undergraduate students shows that exposure to creative coursework is a predictor of student engagement in various areas, such as academic challenge, learning with peers, experiences with faculty, and perceptions ofthe campus environment (Miller, 2018) . Given recent discussions in higher education regarding the return-on-investment of a college degree, it is [https://snaaparts.org/findings/databriefs/does-creative-coursework-predict-educational-career-and-community-engagement-outcomes-for-arts-alumni](https://snaaparts.org/findings/databriefs/does-creative-coursework-predict-educational-career-and-community-engagement-outcomes-for-arts-alumni) 1/5 11/25/24 , 2:07 PM Does creative coursework predict educational, career, and… | SNAAP important to dive into how different aspects of arts education (in this case creative coursework) might predict career outcomes. This study explored whether exposure to creative coursework during one’s education can influence several different outcomes, including sense of connection to one’s institution, time until first job after graduation, relevance of first job after graduation, relevance of training to current occupation, current income, current occupational field, and arts community involvement. Data from over 40,000 undergraduate-level arts alumni from the 2015, 2016, and 2017 SNAAP administrations was used to investigate these potential relationships. To measure exposure to creative coursework, a set of items was used as a scale. This set of items asked “The coursework at [INSTITUTION] emphasized the following”with response options of not at all, very little, some, and very much. generating new ideas or brainstorming taking risks in your coursework without fear of penalty evaluating multiple approaches to a problem inventing new methods to arrive at unconventional solutions A series of regression models found that creative coursework significantly predicted various desired career and arts-related outcomes. These relationships were apparent even after statistically controlling for gender, race/ethnicity, parent artist status, parent education level, major, overall institutional satisfaction, and self-reported acquired creative thinking. [https://snaaparts.org/findings/databriefs/does-creative-coursework-predict-educational-career-and-community-engagement-outcomes-for-arts-alumni](https://snaaparts.org/findings/databriefs/does-creative-coursework-predict-educational-career-and-community-engagement-outcomes-for-arts-alumni) 2/5 11/25/24 , 2:07 PM Does creative coursework predict educational, career, and… | SNAAP Figure 1 Summary of Regression Results In most cases, exposure to creative coursework was a positive predictor, meaning that the more exposure to creative coursework during time at the institution, the more likely the outcome. This was the case for feelings of connection to the institution after graduation, the relevance of one’s first job as well as one’s current job to their arts training, income, currently working in an arts

FAQs

What question does the study investigate about creative coursework?

It asks whether exposure to creative coursework during arts education predicts educational, career, and community engagement outcomes for arts alumni.

What data is used to analyze the relationships?

The study uses SNAAP data from more than 40,000 undergraduate-level arts alumni from the 2015, 2016, and 2017 administrations.

Which outcomes show a positive relationship with creative coursework exposure?

Creative coursework exposure positively predicts feelings of connection to the institution, relevance of first and current jobs to arts training, income, working in an arts field, and degree of current arts involvement in the community.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Fahsai