School of Arts and Humanities
Graduate Programs in Arts and Technology
The program leading to the MA in Arts and Technology is designed both for individuals engaged in professional practice wishing to enhance their knowledge and skills and for students intending to pursue a doctorate in a related field. It offers advanced studies in interactive media and computer-based arts that emphasize the fusion of creative with critical thinking and theory with practice. Students must complete thirty-six semester hours of coursework and an advanced project.
Master of Arts in Arts and Technology
36 hours minimum
Major Core Courses: 6 hours
ATEC 6300 Interdisciplinary Approaches to Arts and Technology
ATEC 6331 Aesthetics of Interactive Arts
Students are expected to complete these courses as early as possible in their degree plan.
Prescribed Electives: 27 hours
Twenty-seven hours chosen from the following courses:
ATEC 6332 Design Principles
ATEC 6333 Computational Design
ATEC 6334 Information Design for New Media
ATEC 6335 Research in Sound Design
ATEC 6341 Game Design
ATEC 6342 Game Studies
ATEC 6343 Interactive Environments
ATEC 6345 Game Production Lab
ATEC 6351 Digital Arts
ATEC 6352 Motion Capture
ATEC 6353 Visualization Research
ATEC 6354 Virtual Environments
ATEC 6355 Animation Production Lab
ATEC 6361 Creating Interactive Media
ATEC 6372 Approaches to Emerging Media and Communication
ATEC 6373 Emerging Media Studio I
ATEC 6374 Digital Textuality
ATEC 6375 Topics in Emerging & Cognitive Design
ATEC 6376 E-Business Environment Design
ATEC 6382 Special Topics in Interactive Media
ATEC 6383 Special Topics in Sound Design
ATEC 6384 Special Topics in Game Studies
ATEC 6385 Special Topics in Animation
ATEC 6389 Topics in Arts and Technology
HUAS 6313 The Business of the Arts
HUAS 6312 Art and Society
HUAS 6330 Studies in the Visual Arts
HUAS 6339 Painting/Digital Imaging/Video
HUAS 6375 Imagery and Iconography
HUAS 6391 Creativity: Visual Arts Workshop
HUAS 6392 Creativity: Image/Text Workshop
HUAS 6393 Creativity: Time-Based Arts Workshop
HUSL 6308 Studies in Literary Forms and Genres
HUSL 6370 Studies in Literature and Ideas
Final Project: 3 hours
ATEC 6V95 Advanced Project Workshop
Having completed at least 30 hours of coursework, students will complete and present an advanced project in digital arts for evaluation by a master's committee.
Master of Fine Arts in Arts and Technology
54 hours minimum
The program leading to the MFA in Arts and Technology is designed both for students wishing to teach arts-and-technology-related courses in colleges and universities and for those intending to engage in professional studio or design practice. While maintaining a commitment to interdisciplinary education fusing critical with creative thinking, this program places greater emphasis on the creation and application of computer-based arts and narrative. Students must complete fifty-four semester hours of coursework and a substantial advanced project.
Major Core Courses: 6 hours
ATEC 6300 Interdisciplinary Approaches to Arts and Technology
ATEC 6331 Aesthetics of Interactive Arts
Students are expected to complete these courses as early as possible in their degree plan.
Prescribed Electives: 24 hours
Twenty-four hours chosen from the following courses:
ATEC 6332 Design Principles
ATEC 6333 Computational Design
ATEC 6334 Information Design for New Media
ATEC 6335 Research in Sound Design
ATEC 6341 Game Design
ATEC 6342 Game Studies
ATEC 6343 Interactive Environments
ATEC 6345 Game Production Lab
ATEC 6351 Digital Arts
ATEC 6352 Motion Capture
ATEC 6353 Visualization Research
ATEC 6354 Virtual Environments
ATEC 6355 Animation Production Lab
ATEC 6361 Creating Interactive Media
ATEC 6372 Approaches to Emerging Media and Communication
ATEC 6373 Emerging Media Studio I
ATEC 6374 Digital Textuality
ATEC 6375 Topics in Emerging & Cognitive Design
ATEC 6376 E-Business Environment Design
ATEC 6382 Special Topics in Interactive Media
ATEC 6383 Special Topics in Sound Design
ATEC 6384 Special Topics in Game Studies
ATEC 6385 Special Topics in Animation
ATEC 6389 Topics in Arts and Technology
HUAS 6312 Art and Society
HUAS 6313 The Business of the Arts
HUAS 6317 Art and Authorship
HUAS 6330 Studies in the Visual Arts
HUAS 6339 Painting/Digital Imaging/Video
HUAS 6352 Creating Television and Movie Scripts
HUAS 6373 Studies in Film, Television, and Digital Media
HUAS 6375 Imagery and Iconography
HUAS 6391 Creativity: Visual Arts Workshop
HUAS 6392 Creativity: Image/Text Workshop
HUAS 6393 Creativity: Time-Based Arts Workshop
HUAS 6354 Creating Short Fictions
HUSL 6308 Studies in Literary Forms and Genres
HUSL 6370 Studies in Literature and Ideas
Free Electives: 9 hours
Nine hours of electives in any organized courses.
Independent Study: 9 hours
Final Project: 6 hours
ATEC 6V95 Advanced Project Workshop
Having completed at least 45 hours of coursework, students complete and present a substantial advanced project in digital arts for evaluation by a master's committee.
Doctor of Philosophy in Arts and Technology
60 hours minimum beyond the master's degree
The program leading to the PhD in Arts and Technology is designed both for students wishing to teach arts-and-technology-related courses in colleges and universities and those who wish to develop new artistic, cultural or commercial applications of digital technology/emerging media. This program emphasizes the fusion of creative with critical thinking and theory with practice. Students seeking a PhD in Arts and Technology will normally complete a minimum of 60 semester hours (42 hours in coursework and 18 hours in dissertation) beyond a master's degree or its equivalent, pass doctoral field examinations, and complete and defend a dissertation.
Major Core Courses: 9 hours
ATEC 6300 Interdisciplinary Approaches to Arts and Technology
ATEC 6331 Aesthetics of Interactive Arts
ATEC 7331 Research Methodology in Arts and Technology
Students are expected to complete these courses as early as possible in their degree plan.
Prescribed Electives: 21 hours
Twenty-one hours chosen from the following courses:
ATEC 6341 Game Design
ATEC 6351 Digital Arts
ATEC 6361 Creating Interactive Media
ATEC 7340 Advanced Studies in Arts and Technology
ATEC 7V81 Advanced Project Workshop
ATEC 7V82 Advanced Projects in Interactive Media
ATEC 7620 Advanced Projects in Simulation and Game Design
ATEC 8305 Independent Research in Arts and Technology
HUAS 6375 Imagery and Iconography
HUHI 7387 Science and Technology in Western Culture
HUSL 6384 Digital and Visual Rhetorics
Free Electives: 12 hours
Twelve hours of electives in any organized 7000-8000 level courses offered by the Schools of Arts and Humanities, Engineering and Computer Science, Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Management, Economic, Political and Policy Sciences, Natural Science and Mathematics, or Interdisciplinary Studies.
Doctoral Field Examinations
After completing all these requirements, students proceed to the doctoral field examinations, a sequence consisting of three written sections and one oral section. The examining committee, composed of three regular members of the faculty, oversees definition and preparation of the three examination fields within guidelines established by the program. At least seven days before the exams themselves, the faculty members submit examination questions to the Arts and Humanities office, which schedules and administers the examination. The maximum time allowed for a student's completion of the examination sequence is 20 business days.
Dissertation (18 hours minimum)
Students are formally advanced to PhD candidacy when they have successfully completed the qualifying examinations and received final approval for dissertation topics. A four-person supervising committee is formed, normally from the examining committee plus another regular faculty member proposed by the student, to oversee dissertation work.
Each candidate then writes a doctoral dissertation, which is supervised and defended according to general university regulations. Every student must register for a minimum of nine hours of dissertation credit in two successive semesters and must maintain continuous enrollment thereafter for at least three semester hours during consecutive long semesters until the degree is completed. Any exception to this requirement is granted only by petition to the school's Associate Dean for Graduate Studies.