The Theatre School’s graduate degree Arts Leadership is a two-year Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program that combines full-time employment at Chicago Shakespeare Theater with coursework at DePaul University. The program is designed to help students become highly versatile in management, leadership and cultural-decision making, thus the curriculum focuses on courses that provide students with the tools to be successful and competitive the arts leadership field. Course components are complemented by work experience at Chicago Shakespeare Theater in the Management Practicum meant to build upon and support the student's course work.

Students learn from a distinguished faculty of working professionals who posses a wide variety of backgrounds and expertise and receive on-the-job training at the nation’s fastest growing theatre company.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST) is one of the fastest-growing producing and presenting theater institutions in America today. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Barbara Gaines and Executive Director Criss Henderson, CST has achieved its reputation for consistently high production values and artistic standards. In addition to its acclaimed productions of William Shakespeare's canon, CST presents work of the highest quality by some of the most distinguished American and international playwrights and directors. The theater is grounded in a dedication to quality, clarity and integrity, which are the hallmarks of every CST production, from Shakespeare to Sondheim.