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Media Arts Graduate Program

The Master of Fine Arts in Media Arts is a three-year program committed to the growth of storytellers, artists and designers who are working in one or more areas of the digital media arts. These include: documentary and fiction filmmaking, game construction, digital design, sonic art, animation, interactivity and installation work.

Our students come from a wide range of backgrounds and thrive in a multi-disciplinary environment. Students expand on skill sets they already have while adding new ones. They work on individual projects and collaborate with others. They work to bring a deep foundation of research to their practices as they develop their unique point-of-view and creative voice.

The entire program requires the building of a portfolio that includes artistic and academic work assuring that each student is prepared to leave school and enter the professional world of media in the 21st century.

Meet your Faculty:

Program Head: Michael R. Murphy

Michael Musick—Sonic Arts, Research, Interactive Media
Julia Galloway—Pedagogy, Ceramics, Professional Prep
James Bailey—Printmaking, Pedagogy
Michael Cassens—Game Design, Coding
Tobin Addington—Filmmaking, Screenwriting
Mark Shogren—Cinematography, Animation
Greg Twigg—Digital Design, Animation
Michael Murphy—Filmmaking, Research, Interactive Design and Performance


Careers

Our alumni are highly successful in a wide range of careers across the creative economy. Former students become filmmakers, designers, professors, creative directors, artists and administrators.


Classes

Students work on an individual “studio” project each semester, meeting one-on-one with professors, participating in group critique with peers, and refining skills. Simultaneously, students take core classes with their cohort.

They also construct a path to other classes within the Art and Media Arts programs and across campus to support their technical and research development.

Individual Studio
MART 578 Grad Studio. 3cr
MART 688 Media Practicum. 3cr
ARTZ 501 Grad Critique. 2cr

Core Research

Semester 1: MART 500 Core Research: Digital Technology in the Arts. While researching media history, theory, contemporary and media arts processes, students create projects addressing the possibilities of art and storytelling in the digital age. The emphasis is on exploring a wide range of approaches to art and meaning making in the 21st century.

Semester 2:MART 510 Core Research: Narrative Experimentation. Exploring and expanding the creative process of storytelling through writing, drawing and academic research, resulting in a portfolio of stories, image sequences and short screenplays.

Semester 3: ARTZ 507 Core Research: Beyond Art School. Moving forward in a professional creative career–the development of artist statements, resumes, grant proposal writing skills.

Semester 4: ARTZ 506 Core Research: Pedagogy. The exploration of pedagogical models in arts education.


Many students teach after graduation, and wish to gain experience while in school. We offer several levels of Teaching Assistantships for such students which are competitively awarded each spring semester. Graduates recieve training before entering the classroom, including a pedagogy class, and mentorship by a professor.  

Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA)  These awards provide a stipend and tuition waiver. 

Graduate Assistantships (GA) serve as assistants in lecture classes.

Graduate Instructor (GI) is similar to an adjunct instructor.  There is no tuition waiver associated with this position, but students receive a small salary per class.

TA Application Form 

Recent graduate scholarship awards have averaged $2,000-5,000. Selection is based on the applicant’s creative research and available funding.

First-year students who are accepted into the graduate program are automatically considered for scholarships. Once enrolled, students apply for additional scholarships yearly.

Scholarship Application Form 

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