Contact

Rebecca Rugie Xu, Program Coordinator
102 Shaffer Art Building, 315-443-1033, rxu@syr.edu

Faculty

Heath Hanlin, Sarah Long, Su Hyun Nam, Rebecca Ruige Xu, Michael Ahearn, Jason Webb

Description

The master of fine arts (M.F.A.) degree program in computer art is an artistic research and development program situated in the context of technology. You are encouraged to develop a diverse set of practices within computer art.

Areas of inquiry may include computer animation, visual effects, physical computing, electronic objects, software art, sonic art, multi-channel installation, and gaming.

Students are expected to develop a strong record of professional practice in a variety of contexts including exhibition, screenings, public intervention, installation, performance, workshops, gaming events, and viral media, among other forms of public engagement.

The M.F.A. computer art program is a supportive, demanding, and highly critical environment. You work with the three full-time computer art faculty, encompassing a wide range of conceptual, theoretical, and technical ground. As the computer art program is located in the Department of Film and Media Arts, you are expected to form relationships with faculty and peers from related disciplines. Expanding outward, the Department of Film and Media Arts has connections with other academic areas at Syracuse University, including women’s studies, architecture, studio arts, and computer science. When selecting courses, you are strongly encouraged to formulate an individual interdisciplinary path of study within the University as a whole.

Master’s degree students are encouraged to develop their personal vision of computer art in areas as diverse as computer animation, physical computing, procedural thinking, net. art, sonic art, multi-channel installation, and gaming. The program’s faculty have wide research and technical interests encompassing all these areas in their professional practices.

In addition to creative work, students are expected to develop a personal exhibition strategy and strong exhibition record. Our alumni follow a variety of career paths, from academia to independent work to industry. We are dedicated to helping you reach these goals in a supportive, but demanding and highly critical, environment.

The curriculum is very open, allowing the opportunity for M.F.A. candidates to make vital connections in other areas of the University, such as women’s and gender studies, studio arts, computer science, and especially the other areas within transmedia: photography, video, and film.

Graduate students have 24-hour access to all computer art facilities, dedicated Apple MacPro workstations, video post-production, audio production, a recording studio, video camcorders, field audio recorders, and an array of physical computing gear.