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 credit hours of coursework and an advanced project.
Master of Arts in Arts and Technology
36 semester credit hours minimum
Major Core Courses: 9 semester credit hours
ATEC 6300 Interdisciplinary Approaches to Arts and Technology
ATEC 6331 Aesthetics of Interactive Arts
ATEC 6391 Computer Processing for Arts and Technology
Students are expected to complete these courses as early as possible in their degree plan.
Prescribed Electives: 24 semester credit hours
Twenty-four semester credit hours chosen from the following courses:
ATEC 6332 Design Principles
ATEC 6335 Research in Sound Design
ATEC 6341 Game Design
ATEC 6344 History and Culture of Interactive Media
ATEC 6345 Game Production Lab
ATEC 6346 Game Pipeline Methodologies
ATEC 6347 Serious Games
ATEC 6348 Educational Games
ATEC 6351 Digital Arts
ATEC 6352 Motion Capture
ATEC 6353 Visualization Research
ATEC 6354 Virtual Environments
ATEC 6355 Animation Production Lab
ATEC 6356 Interactive Narrative
ATEC 6357 Animation Studio
ATEC 6358 Concept Development
ATEC 6359 Digital Cinematography
ATEC 6361 Creating Interactive Media
ATEC 6362 Modeling and Simulation
ATEC 6363 Creative Automata
ATEC 6375 Topics in Emerging and Cognitive Design
ATEC 6380 Studies in Art, Science, and Humanities
ATEC 6384 Special Topics in Game Studies
ATEC 6385 Special Topics in Animation
ATEC 6389 Topics in Arts and Technology
EMAC 6372 Approaches to Emerging Media and Communication
EMAC 6373 Emerging Media Studio I
EMAC 6374 Digital Textuality
HUAS 6310 Introduction to Film Studies
HUAS 6312 Art and Society
HUAS 6313 The Business of the Arts
HUAS 6330 Studies in the Visual Arts
HUAS 6339 Painting/Digital Imaging/Video
HUAS 6354 Creating Short Fictions
HUAS 6375 Imagery and Iconography
HUAS 6381 Creating Fiction: Intermediate
HUAS 6391 Creativity: Visual Arts Workshop
HUAS 6392 Creativity: Image/Text Workshop
HUAS 6393 Creativity: Time-Based Arts Workshop
HUSL 6370 Studies in Literature and Ideas
Final Project: 3 semester credit hours
ATEC 6V95 Advanced Project Workshop
Having completed at least 30 semester credit 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 semester credit 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 credit hours of coursework and a substantial advanced project.
Major Core Courses: 6 semester credit 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 semester credit hours
Twenty-four semester credit hours chosen from the following courses:
ATEC 6332 Design Principles
ATEC 6335 Research in Sound Design
ATEC 6341 Game Design
ATEC 6344 History and Culture of Interactive Media
ATEC 6345 Game Production Lab
ATEC 6346 Game Pipeline Methodologies
ATEC 6347 Serious Games
ATEC 6348 Educational Games
ATEC 6351 Digital Arts
ATEC 6352 Motion Capture
ATEC 6353 Visualization Research
ATEC 6354 Virtual Environments
ATEC 6355 Animation Production Lab
ATEC 6356 Interactive Narrative
ATEC 6357 Animation Studio
ATEC 6358 Concept Development
ATEC 6359 Digital Cinematography
ATEC 6361 Creating Interactive Media
ATEC 6362 Modeling and Simulation
ATEC 6363 Creative Automata
ATEC 6375 Topics in Emerging and Cognitive Design
ATEC 6380 Studies in Art, Science, and Humanities
ATEC 6385 Special Topics in Animation
ATEC 6389 Topics in Arts and Technology
ATEC 6391 Computer Processing for Arts and Technology
EMAC 6372 Approaches to Emerging Media and Communication
EMAC 6373 Emerging Media Studio I
EMAC 6374 Digital Textuality
EMAC 6375 Research Methodologies in Emerging Media and Communication
HUAS 6310 Introduction to Film Studies
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 6354 Creating Short Fictions
HUAS 6373 Studies in Film, Television, and Digital Media
HUAS 6375 Imagery and Iconography
HUAS 6381 Creating Fiction: Intermediate
HUAS 6391 Creativity: Visual Arts Workshop
HUAS 6392 Creativity: Image/Text Workshop
HUAS 6393 Creativity: Time-Based Arts Workshop
HUSL 6370 Studies in Literature and Ideas
Free Electives: 9 semester credit hours
Nine semester credit hours of electives in any organized courses.
Independent Study: 9 semester credit hours
Final Project: 6 semester credit hours
ATEC 6V95 Advanced Project Workshop
Having completed at least 45 semester credit 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 semester credit 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 credit hours (42 semester credit hours in coursework and 18 semester credit hours in dissertation) beyond a master's degree or its equivalent, pass doctoral field examinations, and complete and defend a dissertation.
Within the first 18 semester credit hours of coursework applicable to the degree plan, students must successfully complete ATEC 6300, ATEC 6331, ATEC 7331, and EMAC 6375.
Major Core Courses: 12 semester credit hours
ATEC 6300 Interdisciplinary Approaches to Arts and Technology
ATEC 6331 Aesthetics of Interactive Arts
ATEC 6391 Computer Processing for Arts and Technology
ATEC 7331 Research Methodology in Arts and Technology
Recommended Electives: 18 semester credit hours
Eighteen semester credit hours chosen from the suggested courses below:
ATEC 6341 Game Design
ATEC 6351 Digital Arts
ATEC 6353 Visualization Research
ATEC 6361 Creating Interactive Media
ATEC 6389 Special Topics in Arts and Technology
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 8303 Independent Readings in Arts and Technology
ATEC 8305 Independent Research in Arts and Technology
EMAC 6342 Digital Culture
EMAC 6372 Approaches to Emerging Media and Communication
EMAC 6374 Digital Textuality
EMAC 6375 Research Methodologies in Emerging Media and Communication
EMAC 6381 Special Topics in Emerging Media and Communication
HUAS 6375 Imagery and Iconography
HUHI 7387 Science and Technology in Western Culture
HUSL 6384 Digital and Visual Rhetorics
Free Electives: 12 semester credit hours
Twelve semester credit hours of electives in any organized graduate-level courses offered by the School of Arts and Humanities, Erik Jonsson School Engineering and Computer Science, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Naveen Jindal School of Management, School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences, School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, or School of Interdisciplinary Studies. All free electives are subject to approval by the Graduate Advisor.
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 three business 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 semester credit 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 dissertation semester credit hours 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.