Jiawen Wang, a graduate of NYU's Performing Arts Administration PAA program, has made significant strides in her academic career. She completed a second master's degree in quantitative methods at CUNY Graduate Center after her graduation at NYU PAA and is currently pursuing a Sociology Ph.D. program at Emory University.
Reflecting on her experience at NYU, Wang stated, "My time in the PAA program at NYU was essential for my continued academic pursuit, as it trained and prepared me to be both a researcher and a practitioner in the arts and culture sector." She credits the program with developing a deep understanding of cultural industries' functions and operations, enhancing her academic capacity to conduct research studies. "The comprehensive trainings in arts management and cultural policy helped me develop a deep understanding of how cultural industries function and operate," Wang remarked.
Wang also highlighted the interdisciplinary nature of the PAA program, which allowed her to explore courses across various NYU departments and schools, expanding her research into business management, public policy, and higher education. "The interdisciplinary approach of the program allowed me to take courses in other departments and schools at NYU, which expanded my research territory," she explained.
The support from NYU faculty was pivotal in Jiawen Wang's development, particularly highlighting Dr. Maloney and other faculty members for their instrumental role in helping students build networks and secure internships. Wang acknowledged, 'Dr. Maloney and other faculty members were very supportive in helping students build networks and secure internships…More importantly, learning from prominent scholars and professionals, along with an excellent cohort of fellow students from diverse backgrounds, has cultivated me into a more well-rounded individual.' Her academic pursuits are deeply rooted in the ethos she embraced at NYU, driven by 'a can-do attitude, a commitment to lifelong learning, and a spirit to persevere and to excel'—qualities that are pervasive in the NYU community. These values continuously inspire her to think deeply and innovatively, pushing the intellectual boundaries through scholarship.
Her fellowship with the League of American Orchestras, facilitated during her time at NYU, and her subsequent role as a survey administrator and researcher in its Knowledge Center, was her initial exposure to handling large datasets from arts organizations, sparking her interest in further quantitative training through a second master’s program at CUNY Graduate Center.
Now, Jiawen Wang is dedicated to using sociological theories and methodologies to advance research on participants, values, practices, and systems in the cultural sector. Her research areas span culture, organizations, work and occupations, and computational social science. She has a particular interest in understanding how organizational and individual behaviors respond to conflicts and inequalities in the cultural production process, and how patterns of cultural engagement are shaped by social status, networks, and environment.
Upon the completion of her Ph.D. degree, Wang aims to become a faculty member in a sociology or cultural management department at a research university. She is passionate about continuing to investigate questions about culture and society and is committed to educating the next generation of researchers and practitioners. Wang emphasizes, "After all, arts-making is inherently embedded in the broader social setting, with multifaceted interactions between actors and the cultural content and context.”