Contemporary media practice involves a rigorous investigation of, and engagement with continually evolving technologies. Our digital arts program encourages students to combine an understanding of the theoretical discourses of new media and visual arts with strong technical sophistication, a rich sense of visual design and an ability to articulately express themselves as artists.
We believe in an integrated approach that synthesizes the values of fine arts with possibilities of new methods and practices offered by technological innovation and broad interdisciplinary engagement. Education in the fine arts and design have always valued practice-centered research, innovative methods of communication, and the importance of experimentation in the dynamic construction of meaning. These traditions of visual research within the arts are at the core our approach and are a remarkable standpoint from which to explore and engage the ever-changing and multifaceted territory of media culture.
The Digital Arts program is concerned with the development of graphics, sound, interactivities, and a broad range of creative applications such as web art, expression and personal inquiry. The department offers Bachelor of Art, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Fine Arts, and Masters of Fine Arts degrees in Digital Arts.
The undergraduate program offers a foundation in the conceptualization, invention, and production of converging media forms. A variety of technologies are used with a current focus on digital technologies. Students enrolled in the program share a foundation of Basic Design, Drawing, and Art History with all Art majors--the foundations are the primary strengths of the program and are based in the history and practice of visual art and communication.
At the advanced level, hands-on workshops, studios, in depth critiques, seminars, and internships involve issues of concept, theory, and authoring to guide students in the development of original projects. A focus on interactivity and the user is paramount to many of the projects produced in the program.
The graduate program in Digital Arts is radically different from the undergraduate. The focus is on conceptual, aesthetic, and critical issues related to intermedia. Students are expected to go beyond regular coursework to pursue their independent interests, and in settings where they enroll in courses with undergraduates, graduate students are expected to go above and beyond the material covered to show mastery of conceptual and aesthetic material. Students are expected to participate in the graduate colloquium each term. Collaboration with students or others outside the department, becoming involved in other graduate critique forums, taking on extra responsibilities in classes, grantwriting, and sending materials out for exhibition are expected activities from graduate students.
Students are accepted conditionally into the program and must undergo an intensive reclassification review at the end of the first year in order to be fully accepted into the MFA program. Students meet in the graduate group twice per month in a graduate colloquium course to review their progress and discuss their work with peers and a faculty host. Frequent informal meetings between students are encouraged by the faculty.
The MFA degree requires a minimum of two years of study (most students are here for three years), a final project, and MFA exhibition. Some fellowships for teaching are available for MFA candidates, primarily in their second year.
Admittance to the graduate program is highly competitive. There are from 6 to 12 MFA students in the program at any given time. Terminal MFA projects, shown with the graduates from across the Department of Art in the spring of each year, have included installation, animation, interactive digital projects, video art, site specific performance, interactive sound installations, print design, and a variety of other genres. The public exhibition of the work is required, as are yearly open faculty reviews and exhibitions.
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