Master of Arts in Media Arts
The MA in Media Arts program in the Department of Performing Arts Technology at the University of Michigan provides extensive training and research opportunities at the intersection of media arts and music technology. Areas of concentration include, but are not limited to, musical interaction design, fabrication, virtual reality, installation and performance art, haptics, artificial intelligence, music production, film and game sound, technology-mediated composition and performance, and musical systems design.
Curriculum
The MA curriculum encourages interdisciplinary collaboration within the School of Music, Theatre & Dance and across the broader University of Michigan. Our core curriculum provides foundational knowledge in aesthetics, histories, theory, and practices in performing arts technology, as well as research methodology and software design. Furthermore, the program offers an extensive selection of PAT electives covering a range of concentration areas. Students also gain access to a broad selection of course offerings across the University.
The Master of Arts in Media Arts requires a minimum of 36 credits.
Coursework
Media Arts:
- Graduate Seminar in Performing Arts Technology
- Research Methods in Performing Arts Technology
- Interdisciplinary Collaboration
Elective areas of study include:
- Interactive media design
- Music technology
- Interdisciplinary collaboration
- Music performance with electronics
- New interfaces for musical expression
- Sound and video art installation
- Acoustic and electro-acoustic music composition
- Sound engineering
- Software design for music and audio
- Psychoacoustics
- Sound for Film cognate courses
- Creative coding
- MOCAP interaction design
- Digital fabrication for acoustics
- Immersive media
- Dialogue of the senses
Final Project
Final project can be a comprehensive thesis project with a written component or a similarly scoped graduation project. The particular graduation path is decided in consultation with faculty advisors and the Director of Graduate Studies. Thesis and graduation projects often involve audio, visual, and interactive performances, system design, and public engagement, although they are uniquely shaped by the students’ academic, artistic, and career interests in collaboration with their faculty advisor.
Silent Advisor
Degree requirements and term-by-term layout for current students.
Faculty
The program boasts a large faculty consisting of world-renowned artists and researchers. With a high faculty-to-student ratio, students receive individualized advising tailored to their unique backgrounds and interests. This allows for collaborative research and artistic partnerships between faculty and students, fostering extracurricular avenues for academic and career development.
Anıl Çamcı
Jason Corey
Hao-Wen (Herman) Dong
Paul Dooley
Jeremy Edwards
Jonathan Edwards
John Granzow
Michael Gurevich
Sile O’Modhrain
Zeynep Özcan
Stephen Rush
Chris Vrenna
Julie Zhu
Funding
The program offers a Graduate Student Research Assistantship (GSRA) that entails tuition support as well as a stipend and benefits. The GSRA position involves working 10 hours per week on research and creative projects based on faculty and departmental needs and the interests of the student.
Career Prospects
Graduates of the program have established successful careers in a range of fields. In addition to those who have furthered their academic pursuits as PhD students and faculty at leading institutions both within and outside the US, our graduates have gone on to build careers in Big Tech, music technology, music and media production, game audio, and software design. Several graduates have also launched their own successful companies in the industry.
Performance and Research Opportunities
In addition to PAT courses that present opportunities for performance, installation, and collaborative projects, students benefit from extracurricular initiatives for performance and collaboration. The University offers support for research in performing arts and technology through such programs as the Arts Initiative and Arts Engine, which have supported the work of our MA students through numerous grant programs. These opportunities are set within the vibrant artistic community of Ann Arbor, which our MA students have traditionally been active members of.
Brehm Technology Suite
Serving as the community hub for PAT students, faculty, and collaborators, this concentrated suite of technologically-rich facilities has had a transformative effect on the PAT Department – building community and supporting a broad range of creative activities.
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Program Costs, Financial Aid & Scholarships
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