Media Study BA Production Concentration / Arts Management MA

T he Media Study BA (Production Concentration)/Arts Management MA deliberately links critical artistic and management inquiry to create a dynamic investigation of media, its production, and media arts environments. The positioning of students between management and production practice/discourse creates a perspective designed to give students the versatility to enter, and then grow in the field, as an artist, a manager, and an artist/manager. The degree increases employment prospects through a divergent set of skills in artistic practice and management, while providing varied perspectives of arts environments.

Students selecting the Production concentration take basic level courses in multiple production areas, covering both camera-based and computer-based arts. It is our philosophy that students should be exposed to multiple media forms and systems to challenge perceptions and encourage experimentation. Through these multiple exposures students broaden their horizons and understand that no medium functions in isolation.

A student interested in film, for example, may value exposure to digital arts (for special effects or to present their work online); similarly, a student in digital arts will value exposure to video (to incorporate time-based imagery in web or virtual reality projects, for example). Students continue to diversify their skills and interests at the intermediate level, and focus on one area at the advanced level.

Students then segue into questions of management and the arts, focusing on the increasingly complex cultural, socioeconomic, legal, and political systems that challenge sustainable arts environments. Students take courses in business and law; cultural theory as a foundation to understand changes in local, national, and international art landscapes; and finish with hands-on, experiential practice with existing arts entities and institutions.

When finished, graduates have developed not only skills in media production, but have accumulated highly sought after skills in writing, technology, presentation, and critical thinking vital to professional success in the 21st century. They emerge ready for a multi-faceted career in media production environments.