This book investigates how excellence and reputability are formed, performed, and perceived at well renowned international higher education institutions. Along six detailed ethnographic case descriptions including University of Warwick, Goldsmiths, New York University, School of the Art Institute Chicago, Ohio State University, and HEC Montréal it asks how masters programs in arts management and cultural policy achieved reputability and how this affects the everyday academic live. A cross-case analysis revealed a set of overall drivers that seem to have a great impact on the reputation of the studied programs. By focusing on the design and content of the teaching environments as well as on motivational, emotional, and social aspects of the learning situation at these six higher education institutions, the book offers a holistic understanding of reputability and excellence.

Johanna Schindler is a postdoctoral researcher at the WÜRTH Chair of Cultural Production at Zeppelin University, Friedrichshafen, Germany, and Managing Editor of the peer-reviewed Journal of Cultural Management and Cultural Policy. Previously, she worked as a curatorial assistant at Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, Vaduz; a manager of the International Association of Curators of Contemporary Art; and a researcher and coordinator at Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin.Martin Tröndle is the WÜRTH Chair of Cultural Production at Zeppelin University, Friedrichshafen, Germany. He is a principal investigator of Experimental Concert Research, a project that investigates aesthetic experience in classical concerts. He is also Co-Editor in Chief of the peer-reviewed Journal of Cultural Management and Cultural Policy. Previously, he was the principal investigator of eMotion mapping museum experience (200814), a project that experimentally analyzed the experience of the museumgoer.

Excellence and reputation in higher education: What is it about?.- Research setting and methods.- Notes from the field.-Analyzing the cases: Drivers to excellence and reputation.