Date of Award

8-2026

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

School

Leadership

Committee Chair

Casey Maugh Funderburk

Committee Chair School

Leadership

Committee Member 2

Amin Alizadeh

Committee Member 2 School

Leadership

Committee Member 3

Bret Becton

Committee Member 4

Jonathan Beedle

Committee Member 4 School

Leadership

Abstract

Career success among arts graduates is shaped by a complex interaction between structural labor-market conditions and individual psychological resources. Careers in the fine and performing arts are characterized by oversupply, portfolio-based recruitment, income volatility, and nonlinear career trajectories. Although prior research has examined structural barriers and employment patterns in the arts, limited empirical research has quantitatively examined the role of passion and self-discipline in predicting career success among arts graduates. Grounded in human capital theory, career development theory, and self-determination theory, this quantitative study investigates whether passion and self-discipline influence career success among fine and performing arts graduates. Using a non-experimental correlational design, data were collected from a purposive sample of 426 adults who held a bachelor’s degree or higher in the fine or performing arts and had at least one year of work experience. Participants were recruited through direct email outreach, online social media platforms (Facebook, LinkedIn), and Prolific. Participants completed validated self-report measures assessing passion, self-discipline, and subjective career success. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics: Pearson product-moment correlations and multiple linear regression. Results revealed statistically significant, moderate, positive relationships between passion and subjective career success, r (424) = .515, p < .001, and between self-discipline and subjective career success, r(424) = .505, p < .001. Multiple regression analysis indicated that passion and self-discipline together significantly predicted subjective career success, F (2, 423) = 121.64, p < .001, accounting for approximately 36.5% of the variance in subjective career success (R2 = .365, adjusted R2 = .362). Both (β = .367, .001) and self-discipline (β = .349, .001) emerged as significant positive predictors, with passion demonstrating a slightly stronger predictive contribution. Findings suggest that psychological sustaining factors may play a substantial role in how arts graduates perceive and navigate career success in unstable, self-managed creative industries.

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