Media Arts, B.F.A.

Foundation Year (Art School)

All first-year students are required to complete the foundation program. It consists of four courses taken in tandem. These courses are designed to introduce the students to fundamental processes and principles of artmaking. The objective of the program is to develop the student’s perceptions, sensitivity and technical skills.

The typical first-year schedule is as follows:

Second Year of Study (Art School)

In the second year, students are required to select courses from a variety of studio offerings. The intent of the second year is to introduce specific media skills and processes in depth, and to provide a broad range of artistic experiences for the student prior to the declaration of the major. During the second year, students are required to select one 3-credit course from each of the following categories:

1. ceramics or sculpture
2. painting/drawing, or visual communication design
3. photography or media arts
4. printmaking or illustration

The remaining 12 credits of studio course work in the second year are elective. Students who have determined a major area of study are encouraged to use these elective studios to begin fulfilling the requirements of the major. Students who have not determined a major are encouraged to distribute these electives among different media.

Second-year students intending to major in visual communication design or illustration should consult with those departments prior to choosing studio electives in the second year.

In addition, students in the second year are required to elect at least one academic course each semester in order to maintain a reasonable completion rate of academic requirements.

Required credits: 30

(Taken in media arts and cognate areas as required by the department)

Media Arts is a cross-disciplinary program that reflects the rise of new imaging technologies in studio practice, the expansion of artistic creativity within the digital domain, and the cultural impact of such media. The major is designed to meet the needs of art students interested in the use of digital technology as a sophisticated art-making tool within a broad, cross-disciplinary context. Central to the program is the interdepartmental cooperation and collaboration within the art school between new media and traditional art disciplines. The program combines offerings in studio practice and critical studies of media within the visual arts in the Video/Moving Image, Visual Communication Design, Photography, and Sculpture departments, including sculptural installation, performance art, and Internet projects. This approach provides students with a critical and historical knowledge of the field and technical proficiency in a number of disciplines, and it encourages them to define new artistic directions for themselves and the field in general.

Required Courses for the Major

Core courses: 21 credits

• MDA 210 - Media Arts I 3 credit(s)
• MDA 220 - Media Arts II 3 credit(s)
• PHO 220 - Introductory to Photography 3 credit(s)
• SCL 220 - Introduction to Sculpture 3 credit(s)
• VDO 220 - Introduction to Video 3 credit(s)
• MDA 430 - Visual Culture and Electronic Resources 3 credit(s)
• MDA 450 - Senior Project: Media Arts 3 credit(s)

Plus one of the following 9-credits specialization tracks: