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California Institute Of The Arts
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California Institute Of The Arts
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24700 W McBean Pky
Valencia, CA 91355-2397 |
General information
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(661) 255-1050
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| Academic year prices for full-time, first-time undergraduate students |
| Tuition and Fees | 2007-2008 | 2006-2007 | 2005-2006 |
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| In-State | $ 32,090 | $ 30,130 | $ 28,090 |
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| Out of State | $ 32,090 | $ 30,130 | $ 28,090 |
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| Books and Supplies | $ 1,584 | $ 1,494 | $ 1,450 |
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| On-Campus |
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| Room and board | $ 8,991 | $ 8,895 | $ 8,095 |
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| Other Expenses | $ 4,173 | $ 3,888 | $ 3,567 |
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| Off Campus |
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| Room and board | $ 9,641 | $ 9,270 | $ 9,000 |
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| Other Expenses | $ 4,018 | $ 3,863 | $ 3,750 |
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| Off Campus w/ family |
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| Other Expenses | $ 4,820 | $ 4,635 | $ 4,500 |
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Financial aid
Financial aid to full-time, first-time undergraduate students
| Type of Aid | Percentage of students receiving aid | Average amount of aid they received |
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| Federal Grants (scholarship/fellowship) |
24% |
$ 4,233 |
| State/Local grants (scholarship/fellowship) |
13% |
$ 6,928 |
| Institutional grants (scholarship/fellowship) |
67% |
$ 5,802 |
| Loans to students |
72% |
$ 8,904 |
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End of file for California Institute Of The Arts.
California Institute Of The Arts
Bachelor degree
Acting (BFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
The Acting Program at CalArts, headed by acclaimed actor Marissa Chibas, offers classically centered training with an eye toward the future, designed for preparing young artists for the performance challenges of the 21st century. The aim of this program is to guide students in becoming versatile, well-rounded theater artists who have the skills to chart their own creative and professional paths. Accordingly, the program seeks talented performers who are engaged with their imaginations, guided by their passions, and compelled to speak their stories.
Reflecting the rapidly evolving landscape of contemporary performance practice, the Acting Program has moved beyond the training structures used for preparing actors for repertory theater companies. Instead, the actor of the 21st century needs to be highly versatile, able to work in any number of forms, styles and settings. This actor must be technologically literate, have a strong command of body, voice and speech, and be equally adept in theater, film, television and emerging media.
The Acting Program provides comprehensive training for sophisticated actors and theater artists who make strong connections between the physical and the mental. Students in this program learn how to analyze texts, understand acting methodologies, and develop their bodies, voices, emotions and minds as instruments for performance. They also come to appreciate the value of hard work, self-discipline and accountability. In addition to coursework, acting students hone their skills by performing in studio projects, student-directed scenes and plays, and full productions directed by faculty, student directors and guest artists. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Bachelor degree
Art (BFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
Encompassing both studio practice and theory, the Program in Art offers instruction in a wide range of media, including painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, digital imaging, sculpture, installation, video, film, writing and performance. The program does not require students to concentrate on a particular medium; instead, it relies on a flexible structure of individualized instruction and mentoring to emphasize the articulation of ideas, the development of working methodologies and the realization of independent studio work.
The four-year BFA curriculum begins with a series of foundation courses in which students investigate various media, art-historical traditions and theoretical positions. Additional coursework includes a combination of seminars, group critique classes and independent studies. With the guidance of faculty mentors, students can concentrate on those areas that best serve their personal goals. By the third year in residence, undergraduates are expected to pursue independent studio projects. To earn the BFA degree, candidates must pass two faculty reviews of their overall artistic and academic progress-once at mid-residence and again prior to graduation. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Bachelor degree
Character Animation (BFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
The Program in Character Animation is designed for students who seek an understanding of the art of acting animation. It provides comprehensive artistic and technical training to help each student to develop as a fully-fledged animation artist within both the traditional and computer-generated (CG) animation environments. To best instruct, guide and mentor students, the program features a faculty of experienced professionals who work at the forefront of traditional, CG and independent animation.
The first year of the program’s intensive four-year curriculum is devoted to courses in life drawing, color and design, storytelling and character animation—both traditional and CG. The second year takes this work to a higher level by incorporating elements such as dialogue, sound effects and music. In the third year, students typically move to the advanced level in their coursework, which can include story classes geared toward short-form traditional animation, 3-D computer animation, and specialized work in painting, illustration, graphic novels and advanced visual design. In the fourth and final year, students move up to the highest level of the core classes and can customize their curriculum according to their own specific areas of interest. During the course of their studies, students develop a professional-caliber portfolio. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Bachelor degree
Composition (BFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
Since its founding, the School of Music has been recognized as a leading center for contemporary composition. The Composition Program continues this legacy by helping each student to develop his or her own artistic voice through the mastery of a broad range of theories, techniques and technologies. In recognition of the enormous expansion in the stylistic breadth of contemporary music during the last century, students are not expected to follow any particular stylistic pathway or school of composition. Rather, the curriculum and pedagogical methods support the acquisition of tools that enable each student to build and sustain his or her own profile as an innovative creative artist. The program also urges students to expand their knowledge of historical and current practices so that they can better contextualize their work and build successful careers. To support these goals, the Composition Program offers an impressive array of courses, plus exposure to the work of many prominent guest composers.
Student composers have the opportunity to write for, and have their work performed by, various student and faculty ensembles and chamber groups, including the New Century Players and the California EAR Unit. Composers also collaborate with faculty and students in the Multi-Focus Programs in Performance, as well as with other performing and visual artists throughout the CalArts community. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Bachelor degree
Costume Design (BFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
The Costume Design Program led by designer Ellen McCartney, the school’s Robert Corrigan Chair in Theater, enables students to develop a unique aesthetic voice and acquire the skills necessary for professional work. Students are encouraged to break with traditional notions of costume design and think instead in terms of garments that expand or otherwise reshape the physical space of performers.
The Costume Design (BFA) program focuses on the application of contemporary arts philosophies to the medium of design and takes a global approach to exploring modes of dress and adornment, including the relationship between new media and the body from the perspective of art, architecture and science. Foundation studies cover the history of clothing, text analysis, construction, new technologies, management, and graphic skills.
The curriculum emphasizes critical thinking and the designer’s contribution to the collaborative process. In addition to theatrical work, students take part in other collaborative projects throughout CalArts such as film and video works, dance performances, and installations. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Bachelor degree
Dance (BFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
The BFA curriculum is a pre-professional training degree that emphasizes strong contemporary technique, creative artistry and dance literacy. The curriculum is designed to provide a developmental path to professional level skills combined with artistic creativity, literacy in the field and self-confidence. Each student works closely with a Faculty Mentor who provides one-to-one artistic mentoring and academic advising. Students progress through a sequence of reviews each semester, including the mid-residency review at the end of the second year.
The BFA curriculum builds a strong foundation in ballet and contemporary dance styles. Two technique classes a day, four days a week provide a consistent means for developing the necessary skills throughout the four year degree program. Dance Composition and Choreography also constitute a steady curricular pathway through the four years. The many concerts provide numerous opportunities for showcasing student choreography as well as providing performance opportunities in student, faculty and guest artist works. In the Fall semester of the second year, all BFA II students present a solo of their own making. In addition, all students are required to choreograph a group work for a school concert during their residency. All students and faculty participate in weekly Dance Showings. This provides a venue for the presentation of works in progress combined with artistic feedback from faculty and fellow students fostering a unique collegial community.
The BFA curriculum offers comprehensive instruction in all areas of dance production. Courses in stagecraft, lighting design, costume design, audio and video production prepare students for a variety of design and production crewing responsibilities. In addition, students take courses in music for dance and dance for camera, gaining theoretical, practical and creative perspectives on the relationships between dance and media. At CalArts, students also benefit from courses offered in the Schools of Visual Art, Theater, Music, and Film/Video, which can be taken to supplement and deepen one’s understanding of dance in relationship to these art forms. Collaborations and multimedia productions are prevalent and encouraged.
The BFA curriculum also offers courses in dance history, dance and world cultures, contemporary dance artists, anatomy and kinesiology. Students also select from courses in history, literature, cultural studies, quantitative studies and writing arts through the School of Critical Studies. Foundation courses through advanced seminars provide a range of opportunities to develop critical thinking skills and to gain a broad perspective on the role of the arts in contemporary society.
Courses in dance improvisation, contact improvisation, Yoga, Pilates, Partnering, Pointe work, Balinese and African dance are also offered regularly. Master classes with guests and visiting artists supplement the roster of regular courses. The School of Dance participates in annual American College Dance Festivals providing opportunities for many of our students to showcase choreography, perform and take master classes at these gatherings. The School of Dance also provides annual funding to assist individual students in attending national and international summer dance festivals and workshops. Qualified students may apply for our International Exchange program with the London Contemporary Dance Center for a semester of study in London. Eligible students are encouraged to apply at the end of the third year of study. Throughout the school year students have access to the school’s studios for rehearsals and composition assignments and are encouraged to pursue individual creative interests above and beyond curricular requirements. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Bachelor degree
Directing (BFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
Dedicated to artistic experimentation, this rigorous three-year MFA program enables talented directors to formulate their personal vision for the theater and redefine the boundaries of performance. Under the leadership of internationally celebrated director Travis Preston, the mission of the Directing Program is to identify and nurture directors who can have a seminal impact on the future of the American theater. To that end, we foster the development of powerful individual visions in an environment of continuous artistic experimentation. This program is specifically designed to respond to the needs and artistic interests of each student, who, in turn, is expected to put forth an ambitious vision for innovative, cutting-edge theater.
With a clear and abiding emphasis on practical experience, students in this program are directing as frequently as possible—in classes, studios, labs and productions at one of the school’s five theaters. The program comprehensively addresses the full spectrum of the dramatic canon while it also recognizes the growing importance of work generated by directors. Additionally, students participate extensively in the Acting Program as well as in the Programs in Design and Production. They are further encouraged to take classes offered by other CalArts schools. Many MFA candidates engage in interdisciplinary collaborations with students throughout CalArts, while others take advantage of our many internship opportunities. Two students are accepted into the program each year, with significant directing experience a prerequisite for admission. This course of study culminates with a thesis project. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Bachelor degree
Experimental Animation (BFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
Fine art principles and practices are the essential forces guiding the mission of the Program in Experimental Animation—a course of study designed for independent and adventurous artists who are interested in personal expression and who regard animation as a highly dynamic, ever-evolving art form. This program offers a framework in which students explore, develop and refine intellectually demanding, aesthetically progressive concepts and professional practices in their personal cinematic artmaking.
The curriculum begins by building a foundation understanding of a variety of animation techniques and concepts. Courses in 2-D drawn and direct animation, stop-motion, and 2-D and 3-D computer animation blend practical knowledge with creative stimulation, while animation history courses provide a detailed examination of all forms of animation art—with a special emphasis on the history of experimental forms. Once foundation studies are completed, students work closely with their mentors and other members of the program’s accomplished faculty as they experiment with and extend their own unique artistic visions. At the advanced levels of the curriculum, students chart a more individualized course of study in consultation with their mentors, who help to custom-tailor coursework according to each student’s particular interests. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Bachelor degree
Film and Video (BFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
The Program in Film and Video is designed for students who use film and video as media for personal expression and exploration—those artists for whom independent film and video is a calling and not simply a mode of production. In the workshop environment cultivated by the program, each student develops and refines his or her practice as a respected member of a community of artists.
Individually and collectively, the program’s faculty is broad in its sympathies and interests. Likewise, the program actively supports and encourages a wide spectrum of personal work—from lyrical and abstract films to political or personal documentaries, from dramatic narratives to emerging forms inspired by new media and technologies.
The faculty maintains that, as filmmaker Fernando Solanas once put it, “the possibility of making a new cinema completely outside the system depends on whether or not filmmakers can transform themselves from ‘directors’ into total filmmakers. And no one can become a total filmmaker without being a film technician, without being capable of handling the production.” To enable students to understand the fundamental processes of film and video production, the first year of both the undergraduate and graduate curricula is devoted to rigorous technical training, including core workshops in 16mm film production, video production, sound production and editing. These workshops also help students to acquire a valuable set of vocational skills—abilities that can serve as a future means of financial support as graduates of the program pursue their own personal work.
Importantly, the Program in Film and Video embraces the rapid technological changes that are broadening and democratizing access to the means of making films and videos. Students are encouraged to develop and utilize these new potentials in order to better control the means of production and thus assert themselves as truly independent artists. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Bachelor degree
General Studies | California Institute Of The Arts |
A CalArts education is based on both artistic and intellectual rigor. To ensure that each undergraduate has the broad knowledge and cultural sophistication needed for successful arts careers in today's world, all candidates for the BFA degree must complete the Critical Studies Undergraduate Requirements in addition to coursework in their individual programs.
Designed to broaden vision and encourage well-informed, innovative artmaking, the Critical Studies Undergraduate Requirements help students develop analytical, writing, quantitative, computing and research skills and learn about aesthetics, history, philosophy, social sciences, cultural studies, science, technology and special topics related to the arts.
BFA candidates are expected to take either three or four Critical Studies classes (6-8 units) per semester as part of the total 48 units required for graduation. Typically, this amounts to 40 percent of each student's overall course load.
Liberal arts/general education credits from other colleges can also count as Critical Studies units. Students with previous bachelor's degrees and those seeking an undergraduate Certificate of Fine Arts only are exempt from the Critical Studies Undergraduate Requirements. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Bachelor degree
Graphic Design (BFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
As the design of visual environments plays an increasingly important role in today's culture, the Program in Graphic Design prepares students for a wide range of professional options-from Web design and motion graphics to editorial design and environmental graphics, from film title and broadcast design to exhibitions and careers in education. The program emphasizes both practical and conceptual skills and enables each designer to integrate a command of visual language with imagination, theory and new technology.
The highly structured BFA curriculum begins with an intensive sequence of courses covering basic design principles, imagemaking, typography and history/theory. These are followed by more specialized classes in areas such as interactive design, motion graphics, type design and publication design as each year in residence builds on the experiences of the last. BFA students are required to pass faculty reviews at the end of every academic year. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Bachelor degree
Jazz Studies (BFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
The Jazz Studies Program is widely noted for its distinguished faculty, successful alumni and award-winning students. This challenging program helps students to develop as performers, improvisers and composers through courses of study that integrate jazz with other musical traditions and the latest innovations in contemporary music. The Jazz Studies Program emphasizes small ensemble performance and improvisation, and offers exceptional performance opportunities as well as the opportunity to work with and observe world-class guest artists on a regular basis.
The curriculum centers on classes in jazz improvisation, composition, performance, history, theory, ear training, and transcription, and offers additional course options through other programmatic areas. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Bachelor degree
Management (BFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
The Management Program provides each student with a well-rounded and extensive understanding of aesthetic issues in theater as well as the skills in organization, communication and problem-solving needed for the creative development of a given production. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Bachelor degree
Management
Stage Management (BFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
The Stage Management (BFA)curriculum, under the direction of Stephanie Young, initially emphasizes stage management for theater, and eventually widens its scope to encompass other arts and performance disciplines. Advanced studies include courses covering management styles, theatrical unions, and special topics related to stage management. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Bachelor degree
Musical Arts (BFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
The Musical Arts Program is designed for undergraduates whose diverse interests and multiple musical talents warrant individualized courses of study. It is especially well suited for students who wish to build strong musical skills while exploring a wide variety of possible artistic syntheses and careers, including work in interdisciplinary settings.
Relying on the BFA Core Curriculum as their foundation, students, with the aid of their faculty mentors, build customized programs of study. Courses can be drawn from the School of Music as well as from other schools at CalArts. Students in the Musical Arts Program also may take private instrumental, vocal or composition lessons, depending on the recommendations of their mentors and the availability of faculty. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Bachelor degree
Performance (BFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
The Multi-Focus Programs in Performance prepare students for the emerging career pathways of the 21st century—characterized by the remarkably eclectic spectrum of professional practices. These programs enable each performer to develop the high-level skills, knowledge and versatility that are required in today’s evolving artistic world. Students are presented with myriad performance opportunities, extensive studies of traditional and experimental music, and an excellent student-faculty ratio. They also have unique opportunities to look beyond the boundaries of music by working in interdisciplinary settings, new genres and previously uncharted areas.
Guided by a faculty of internationally acclaimed artists, students hone their skills through concentrated training and a demanding schedule of formal and informal concerts. These include solo recitals and performances by chamber groups and conducted ensembles (covering orchestral, choral and contemporary music repertoire), plus work in early music, opera, jazz, world music and experimental ensembles. As part of this training, students frequently rehearse and perform with faculty, both on and off campus. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Bachelor degree
Performance
Percussion/World Percussion (BFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
The Percussion/World Percussion Program provides a comprehensive survey of the percussion field. The curriculum covers traditional classical study, intense chamber music and percussion ensemble experience, improvisation, world music (including Persian, Latin, African, North Indian and Indonesian percussion), jazz, and electronic percussion. Students are especially encouraged to pursue their own individual objectives and to engage in creative cross-cultural and cross-stylistic collaborations, skillfully bridging Western classical, new music, jazz and global perspectives on music.
The extensive instrument collection used in this program includes all standard percussion instruments for orchestra and jazz; various world music instruments; and many non-traditional, custom-built and found instruments. Students also design and construct their own specialized percussion instruments. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Bachelor degree
Performance
Piano/Keyboard (BFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
Offering advanced instruction for students of piano and keyboards, this program is structured to refine performing skills, explore new techniques and extend new artistic horizons. Instruction focuses on a broad spectrum of repertoire, from the Baroque to cutting-edge new music. Students enjoy numerous opportunities to perform classical and contemporary music in solo recitals and as part of chamber music groups and large ensembles. The program also encourages students to investigate other keyboard studies such as harpsichord, jazz, systemic improvisation, interactive computer technology, and pedagogy. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Bachelor degree
Performance
Voice (BFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
The Voice Program offers comprehensive training and performing opportunities in classical vocal repertoire and contemporary art music, with a focus on developing a healthy and versatile voice. The flexible curriculum features intensive work on Western classical technique and also allows work with experimental vocal techniques, improvisation and non-Western vocal styles. The program incorporates courses in performance and acting techniques, foreign languages and diction, and vocal literature and pedagogy. The curriculum is further enhanced by coursework in composition and music technology and by frequent workshops with prominent guest artists.
Students routinely perform in recitals, Voice Box concerts, operas and opera scenes, music theater works, chamber music concerts and interdisciplinary projects, as well as with vocal ensembles, contemporary groups and world music ensembles. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Bachelor degree
Performance
Winds/Brass/Strings/Harp (BFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
Students in Winds/Brass/Strings/Harp (BFA) program study a variety of traditional techniques and repertoire, and perform in both solo and ensemble configurations. The curriculum emphasizes contemporary styles, diverse musical cultures, improvisation techniques, electronic and interdisciplinary media, and new hybrid genres. These studies are augmented by weekly seminars/workshops on performance practice and technique that are frequently led by distinguished visiting artists. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Bachelor degree
Photography and Media (BFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
The Program in Photography and Media is committed to educating independent artists in a world where photographic imagery and new media representations and strategies are omnipresent. From foundation work through graduate studies, courses are designed to challenge conventional notions of artistic practice and to question the position of representation within contemporary culture. The program encourages debate and experimentation, since nothing is stable or even particularly comfortable in photography's relation to the other arts-especially in an environment that includes so many new practices. The faculty represents a broad range of those practices, some purely photographic, some entirely digital and others branching off into writing and publishing, painting, video, filmmaking, assemblage, net art, digital media and installation.
The BFA curriculum begins with a year of intensive foundation work. This is followed by a mixture of courses that includes classes on specific issues in photography, video and Internet practice, the histories of photography and film, media theories and semiotics, as well as critique classes, technical workshops and independent studies. Students receive ample feedback through faculty reviews and one-on-one meetings. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Bachelor degree
Scene Design (BFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
Focusing on the development of the skills and knowledge needed for professional scene designers, this program is based on the understanding that the designer’s multifaceted contribution to a production involves much more than providing a visual background. Under the leadership of scenic designer Christopher Barreca, whose teaching is informed by his active design practice in international, regional and Broadway venues, the curriculum explores all aspects of live performance as a collaborative process, giving special attention to the shaping of artistic vision, aesthetic sophistication, critical thinking and craft. Since scene designers are visual artists who work in theater, the program is closely allied with other visual arts programs at CalArts, as well as programs in dance, performance art, and film and video. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Bachelor degree
Sound Design (BFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
Directed by sound designer Jon Gottlieb, the Sound Design Program is devoted to a rapidly evolving field that integrates aesthetic concerns with scientific disciplines and new technological tools. The program can stretch as far as each student’s energy and imagination allows.
Although the curriculum is rooted in text-based theatrical training, sound designers take part in additional projects in experimental theater, multimedia and interactive design and production, concert sound reinforcement, performance art, animation, and live-action film and video. Accordingly, students are strongly urged to utilize all the resources, both artistic and technological, available across the entire CalArts community. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Bachelor degree
Technical Direction (BFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
Designed to strike a balance between technology, management and aesthetics, the Technical Direction Program, under the leadership of head of Technical Direction Michael Darling, provides professional training for those students who wish to contribute to theatrical productions in both technical and artistic areas.
As guided by Head of Technical Direction Michael Darling, the coursework in this program covers history, literature, graphics, crafts, construction, production techniques, and management. Students in this program also investigate the uses of computers and other digital technologies in the performing arts. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Bachelor degree
World Music Performance (BFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
Extending the global reach of the School of Music and all of its programs, the World Music Performance Program allows students to study and learn the music and dance practices of different world cultures—as well as alternate ways of learning music. The program encompasses formal studies in African music and dance, Balinese and Javanese music and dance, and North Indian music. Since the majority of the faculty members in this program are master musicians from Africa, Indonesia and India, students have the opportunity to receive cultural, language and social insights in addition to superb musical training. Instruction is delivered primarily in the oral tradition, and covers individual instruments and ensemble situations.
Studies in the main areas of concentration are augmented by work in other areas such as Persian and Latin percussion and Balkan music. The program also features special performances and workshops with visiting artists from many parts of the world, including Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Tibet, Tuva and the Far East. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
Acting (MFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
The Acting Program at CalArts, headed by acclaimed actor Marissa Chibas, offers classically centered training with an eye toward the future, designed for preparing young artists for the performance challenges of the 21st century. The aim of this program is to guide students in becoming versatile, well-rounded theater artists who have the skills to chart their own creative and professional paths. Accordingly, the program seeks talented performers who are engaged with their imaginations, guided by their passions, and compelled to speak their stories.
The three-year MFA Acting Program is designed for advanced student actors who are adventuresome, imaginative, and highly motivated. The admissions process is very competitive. The program’s curriculum focuses on all facets of each actor’s art and technique. It also strives to question commonly held assumptions about theater while exploring new possibilities. During the first year of the MFA program, students take courses in speech, voice and movement, and clarify and refine acting techniques and personal aesthetics. In the second year, the emphasis is on classical texts, Shakespeare and other style work, while the third and final year is devoted to performance. Additional coursework can include seminars in play analysis, history of the avant-garde, contemporary drama and other topics. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
Aesthetics and Politics (MA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
The School of Critical Studies at CalArts invites applications for a new Master’s Degree program in Aesthetics and Politics. This program embraces an approach that includes many perspectives to the different points at which the aesthetic and the political intersect. First, the MA focuses on what is normally understood as political art – i.e. art-making that chooses to become critical discourse in the public sphere. Second, the program addresses the reverse phenomenon – the famous “aestheticization of politics” that so troubled critical theorists during the twentieth century and that continues to invite further reflection. Finally, the program aims to become a pole of attraction for students, artists, and scholars interested in the type of theorizing – characteristic of continental thought – that contextualizes aesthetic and political phenomena within a dynamic space in which social meanings are generated, renewed and contested. Applicants interested in these fascinating crossroads and increasingly burgeoning fields of study will have the unique opportunity of enjoying the artistic environment and interdisciplinary dialogue offered by CalArts.
The MA is a one-year, full-time year program of study. It will be of particular interest to artists seeking to deepen the theoretical and political elements of their art, and to BA/BFA/MFA graduates who may be considering combining their artistic practice with a scholarly career. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
Art (MFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
Encompassing both studio practice and theory, the Program in Art offers instruction in a wide range of media, including painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, digital imaging, sculpture, installation, video, film, writing and performance. The program does not require students to concentrate on a particular medium; instead, it relies on a flexible structure of individualized instruction and mentoring to emphasize the articulation of ideas, the development of working methodologies and the realization of independent studio work.
The two-year MFA curriculum does not include any course requirements, thereby granting graduate students a great deal of freedom in designing a course of study that best suits their individualized needs. Each student confers closely with his or her mentor, who, in turn, evaluates that student's progress periodically. The program culminates with a final project during the second year of residency, when every MFA candidate must mount an exhibition or equivalent project and pass a faculty review in order to fulfill the requirements for graduation. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
Composition (MFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
Since its founding, the School of Music has been recognized as a leading center for contemporary composition. The Composition Program continues this legacy by helping each student to develop his or her own artistic voice through the mastery of a broad range of theories, techniques and technologies. In recognition of the enormous expansion in the stylistic breadth of contemporary music during the last century, students are not expected to follow any particular stylistic pathway or school of composition. Rather, the curriculum and pedagogical methods support the acquisition of tools that enable each student to build and sustain his or her own profile as an innovative creative artist. The program also urges students to expand their knowledge of historical and current practices so that they can better contextualize their work and build successful careers. To support these goals, the Composition Program offers an impressive array of courses, plus exposure to the work of many prominent guest composers.
Student composers have the opportunity to write for, and have their work performed by, various student and faculty ensembles and chamber groups, including the New Century Players and the California EAR Unit. Composers also collaborate with faculty and students in the Multi-Focus Programs in Performance, as well as with other performing and visual artists throughout the CalArts community. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
Composition
Experimental Sound Practices (MFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
The Specialization in Experimental Sound Practices gives advanced student composers and sound artists the opportunity to explore uncharted sonic domains. The main emphasis is on developing new forms through sound installation, interactive media, digitalization, improvisation, and acoustic experimentation.
This specialization is intended for composition students with strong musical grounding who show an inclination toward experimentation, exploration and crossing methodologies—students who define themselves not strictly as music composers in the traditional sense but, more broadly, as artists experimenting with sound. Coursework focuses on experimental performance practices, interactive performance, digital media, software design and programming, instrument design, installation works, acoustics, and music perception. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
Costume Design (MFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
The Costume Design Program led by designer Ellen McCartney, the school’s Robert Corrigan Chair in Theater, enables students to develop a unique aesthetic voice and acquire the skills necessary for professional work. Students are encouraged to break with traditional notions of costume design and think instead in terms of garments that expand or otherwise reshape the physical space of performers.
The program focuses on the application of contemporary arts philosophies to the medium of design and takes a global approach to exploring modes of dress and adornment, including the relationship between new media and the body from the perspective of art, architecture and science. Foundation studies cover the history of clothing, text analysis, construction, new technologies, management, and graphic skills.
The curriculum emphasizes critical thinking and the designer’s contribution to the collaborative process. In addition to theatrical work, students take part in other collaborative projects throughout CalArts such as film and video works, dance performances, and installations. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
Dance (MFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
The MFA Program in Dance is an intensive two year course of study intended for talented dance artists who wish to pursue professional careers as choreographers and educators. To obtain the MFA degree, students must complete all course requirements and successfully present a Thesis Concert during the second year of residency. Interested and qualified graduate-level applicants to the School may apply to be considered for a supplemental concentration in Integrated Media (IM)--a course of study for interdisciplinary work with digital media.
The MFA curriculum enables each graduate student to develop and refine his or her own personal aesthetic. It includes seminars dealing with topics in professional dance--from organizing concepts in choreography to meeting the practical demands of producing concerts to identifying larger artistic and career goals. The curriculum also features classes in technique composition, dance theory, costume design, dance production, dance on camera, and digital media and editing.
In the first year, students are required to create and present three original works. In consultation with the Dean, students identify a progression of works created for presentation in various concerts through the first year of residency. Works are presented for feedback during Dance Showings, a weekly venue that involves all faculty and students.
The Thesis Concert is produced in the second semester of the second year. A committee consisting of the Dean and at least three faculty members is assigned at the outset of the second year. As part of the preparations for the Thesis Concert, students are required to submit a written proposal, which must be approved by faculty before any thesis work is begun. Each MFA student receives a generous stipend for the thesis project and has the opportunity to collaborate with artists and designers from all the other Schools within the Institute. MFA candidates must hold open auditions for the Thesis Concert.
MFA candidates are given a variety of teaching opportunities during their residency. Institute dance classes are offered regularly. MFA candidates also teach selected classes within the undergraduate curriculum.
MFA students play an integral leadership role within the school. They are expected to set examples in artistic achievement and work ethic for younger dancers to follow. The Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance, MFA Program, is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Dance and by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. It enjoys a national reputation as a leading conservatory-style program with an emphasis in contemporary dance styles and aesthetics. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
Directing (MFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
Dedicated to artistic experimentation, this rigorous three-year MFA program enables talented directors to formulate their personal vision for the theater and redefine the boundaries of performance. Under the leadership of internationally celebrated director Travis Preston, the mission of the Directing Program is to identify and nurture directors who can have a seminal impact on the future of the American theater. To that end, we foster the development of powerful individual visions in an environment of continuous artistic experimentation. This program is specifically designed to respond to the needs and artistic interests of each student, who, in turn, is expected to put forth an ambitious vision for innovative, cutting-edge theater.
With a clear and abiding emphasis on practical experience, students in this program are directing as frequently as possible—in classes, studios, labs and productions at one of the school’s five theaters. The program comprehensively addresses the full spectrum of the dramatic canon while it also recognizes the growing importance of work generated by directors. Additionally, students participate extensively in the Acting Program as well as in the Programs in Design and Production. They are further encouraged to take classes offered by other CalArts schools. Many MFA candidates engage in interdisciplinary collaborations with students throughout CalArts, while others take advantage of our many internship opportunities. Two students are accepted into the program each year, with significant directing experience a prerequisite for admission. This course of study culminates with a thesis project. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
Experimental Animation (MFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
Fine art principles and practices are the essential forces guiding the mission of the Program in Experimental Animation—a course of study designed for independent and adventurous artists who are interested in personal expression and who regard animation as a highly dynamic, ever-evolving art form. This program offers a framework in which students explore, develop and refine intellectually demanding, aesthetically progressive concepts and professional practices in their personal cinematic artmaking.
The curriculum begins by building a foundation understanding of a variety of animation techniques and concepts. Courses in 2-D drawn and direct animation, stop-motion, and 2-D and 3-D computer animation blend practical knowledge with creative stimulation, while animation history courses provide a detailed examination of all forms of animation art—with a special emphasis on the history of experimental forms. Once foundation studies are completed, students work closely with their mentors and other members of the program’s accomplished faculty as they experiment with and extend their own unique artistic visions. At the advanced levels of the curriculum, students chart a more individualized course of study in consultation with their mentors, who help to custom-tailor coursework according to each student’s particular interests. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
Film Directing (MFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
The Film Directing Program is a three-year graduate course of study in narrative film directing. The program's chief objective is to encourage directing students to develop innovative approaches to dramatic storytelling rooted in the enduring traditions of drama that stretch from Sophocles and Aristotle to Shakespeare and Chekhov; from Griffith and Murnau to Ford, Hitchcock, Godard, Peckinpah and von Trier. It focuses on the aesthetic and technical components of film directing, but also includes screenwriting, acting, scene study and directing a one-act play.
The rigorous curriculum consists of film and video production workshops, acting studios, editing classes, seminars in film history and aesthetics, scene study labs, writing workshops and other forums in which students share and examine their own experiences, hone their powers of observation, work closely with actors, develop visual strategies and discover methods for shaping stories—both invented and adapted—that are emotionally true and dramatically credible. This curriculum is enhanced with visiting artist workshops each semester, ranging in form from technical boot camps to critiques of student work.
During the first two years in residence, students write screenplays of varying lengths, shoot short videos and films, and produce a one-act play. By the end of the first year, each student is required to propose a thesis project—usually a short film, preferably 15 to 30 minutes in length—that will be completed by the end of the third year. To meet graduation requirements, the thesis film must have a sound mix and receive unanimous approval from the student’s thesis committee. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
Film and Video (MFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
The Program in Film and Video is designed for students who use film and video as media for personal expression and exploration—those artists for whom independent film and video is a calling and not simply a mode of production. In the workshop environment cultivated by the program, each student develops and refines his or her practice as a respected member of a community of artists.
Individually and collectively, the program’s faculty is broad in its sympathies and interests. Likewise, the program actively supports and encourages a wide spectrum of personal work—from lyrical and abstract films to political or personal documentaries, from dramatic narratives to emerging forms inspired by new media and technologies.
The faculty maintains that, as filmmaker Fernando Solanas once put it, “the possibility of making a new cinema completely outside the system depends on whether or not filmmakers can transform themselves from ‘directors’ into total filmmakers. And no one can become a total filmmaker without being a film technician, without being capable of handling the production.” To enable students to understand the fundamental processes of film and video production, the first year of both the undergraduate and graduate curricula is devoted to rigorous technical training, including core workshops in 16mm film production, video production, sound production and editing. These workshops also help students to acquire a valuable set of vocational skills—abilities that can serve as a future means of financial support as graduates of the program pursue their own personal work.
Importantly, the Program in Film and Video embraces the rapid technological changes that are broadening and democratizing access to the means of making films and videos. Students are encouraged to develop and utilize these new potentials in order to better control the means of production and thus assert themselves as truly independent artists. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
Graphic Design (MFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
As the design of visual environments plays an increasingly important role in today's culture, the Program in Graphic Design prepares students for a wide range of professional options-from Web design and motion graphics to editorial design and environmental graphics, from film title and broadcast design to exhibitions and careers in education. The program emphasizes both practical and conceptual skills and enables each designer to integrate a command of visual language with imagination, theory and new technology.
The MFA curriculum, dedicated to the advanced exploration of theory, methodology and practice, helps designers develop a personal direction within the wider context of design practice. The curriculum consists of a two-year sequence of weekly seminars where studio projects are critiqued. Courses focus on subjects such as type design, motion graphics, theory, writing and Web design. A third year in residence may be required for students with non-design backgrounds. During the final year in residence, MFA candidates must present a major final project and pass a faculty review of this work. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
Integrated Media (MFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
A supplement to many MFA programs at CalArts, the Integrated Media (IM) Program is geared for students whose creative work with technology, in particular digital media, extends beyond their original disciplines. Graduate students from all six schools at CalArts enroll in this program in order to integrate multiple media and disciplines into new forms of expression.
Configured as an interdisciplinary arts laboratory, IM combines art, science and technology with a view toward developing fresh creative strategies. The program supports a wide range of projects involving performative and environmental installations, video, sound, music, robotics, gaming, programming, interactivity, computer graphics and the Internet.
School of Art students in this program must fulfill the requirements of either the MFA Program in Art or the MFA Program in Photography and Media. In addition, they must complete a minimum of six IM courses (one seminar, one critique class and four project classes) and carry out a specific IM project during each year of residency. Further coursework can include independent studies and elective courses on technical and theoretical subjects. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
Jazz Studies (MFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
The Jazz Studies Program is widely noted for its distinguished faculty, successful alumni and award-winning students. This challenging program helps students to develop as performers, improvisers and composers through courses of study that integrate jazz with other musical traditions and the latest innovations in contemporary music. The Jazz Studies Program emphasizes small ensemble performance and improvisation, and offers exceptional performance opportunities as well as the opportunity to work with and observe world-class guest artists on a regular basis.
The curriculum centers on classes in jazz improvisation, composition, performance, history, theory, ear training, and transcription, and offers additional course options through other programmatic areas. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
Lighting Design (BFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
Committed to both artistry and new technology, the Lighting Design Program provides professional training in the craft of lighting design for theater. It also enables students to broaden their experience with additional projects in film, video, dance and art.
Headed by Tony Award-winning lighting designer Don Holder, the curriculum covers text analysis, graphic skills and the use of systems and equipment, including computer-based technologies. Numerous production assignments help students to refine their skills and build substantial portfolios of their work. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
Lighting Design (MFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
Committed to both artistry and new technology, the Lighting Design Program provides professional training in the craft of lighting design for theater. It also enables students to broaden their experience with additional projects in film, video, dance and art.
Headed by Tony Award-winning lighting designer Don Holder, the curriculum covers text analysis, graphic skills and the use of systems and equipment, including computer-based technologies. Numerous production assignments help students to refine their skills and build substantial portfolios of their work. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
Management (MFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
The Management Program provides each student with a well-rounded and extensive understanding of aesthetic issues in theater as well as the skills in organization, communication and problem-solving needed for the creative development of a given production. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
Management
Producing (MFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
Headed by producer Carol Bixler, this graduate-level specialization trains a new generation of producers who have highly developed aesthetics; who can recognize and champion original and important work and envision models for its performance; and who can invent new ways for supporting such work. Placing as much emphasis on artistic issues and theory as on practical business applications and concerns, the core curriculum features seminars in areas such as intellectual property, marketing, public relations, budgeting, fundraising, and textual analysis. Student producers participate in productions presented by both the School of Theater and the Center for New Performance. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
Management
Production Management (BFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
Production manager Gary Kechely heads the Specialization in Production Management, which focuses on the development of skills necessary for managing people, resources and time in a variety of creative environments, where leadership and versatility must be combined with a broad knowledge of design and production issues. The graduate-level curriculum includes studies of management styles and structures, labor relations, and production processes in both live performance and film/video. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
Management
Stage Management (MFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
The Stage Management (MFA)curriculum, under the direction of Stephanie Young, initially emphasizes stage management for theater, and eventually widens its scope to encompass other arts and performance disciplines. Advanced studies include courses covering management styles, theatrical unions, and special topics related to stage management. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
Performance
Guitar (MFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
The Guitar Program features a highly flexible curriculum designed to familiarize students with the possibilities of the instrument and to develop the skills necessary for pursuing a professional career. This curriculum investigates the wide musical range of the instrument and helps each performer to develop a unique and personal style of playing.
Drawing on the resources of experienced faculty, students can create a customized multi-focus course of study drawing from classical guitar, Baroque style and improvisation, traditional and free jazz, composition, electro-acoustic practices, flamenco, traditional and modern Balkan, and traditional rock and blues. Students may study a wide array of instruments, including nylon string, steel string acoustic, electric and MIDI guitars, as well as lute, sarod and sitar. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
Performance
Percussion/World Percussion (MFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
The Percussion/World Percussion Program provides a comprehensive survey of the percussion field. The curriculum covers traditional classical study, intense chamber music and percussion ensemble experience, improvisation, world music (including Persian, Latin, African, North Indian and Indonesian percussion), jazz, and electronic percussion. Students are especially encouraged to pursue their own individual objectives and to engage in creative cross-cultural and cross-stylistic collaborations, skillfully bridging Western classical, new music, jazz and global perspectives on music.
The extensive instrument collection used in this program includes all standard percussion instruments for orchestra and jazz; various world music instruments; and many non-traditional, custom-built and found instruments. Students also design and construct their own specialized percussion instruments. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
Performance
Piano/Keyboard (MFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
Offering advanced instruction for students of piano and keyboards, this program is structured to refine performing skills, explore new techniques and extend new artistic horizons. Instruction focuses on a broad spectrum of repertoire, from the Baroque to cutting-edge new music. Students enjoy numerous opportunities to perform classical and contemporary music in solo recitals and as part of chamber music groups and large ensembles. The program also encourages students to investigate other keyboard studies such as harpsichord, jazz, systemic improvisation, interactive computer technology, and pedagogy. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
Performance
Piano/Keyboard - Collaborative (MFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
This Piano/Keyboard - Collaborative (MFA) specialization allows advanced students to pursue a course of study that concentrates on all aspects of collaborative performance, including work in vocal and instrumental chamber music, conducted ensembles, opera, and repertoire and language studies. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
Performance
Voice (MFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
The Voice Program offers comprehensive training and performing opportunities in classical vocal repertoire and contemporary art music, with a focus on developing a healthy and versatile voice. The flexible curriculum features intensive work on Western classical technique and also allows work with experimental vocal techniques, improvisation and non-Western vocal styles. The program incorporates courses in performance and acting techniques, foreign languages and diction, and vocal literature and pedagogy. The curriculum is further enhanced by coursework in composition and music technology and by frequent workshops with prominent guest artists.
Students routinely perform in recitals, Voice Box concerts, operas and opera scenes, music theater works, chamber music concerts and interdisciplinary projects, as well as with vocal ensembles, contemporary groups and world music ensembles. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
Performance
Winds/Brass/Strings/Harp (MFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
Students in this program study a variety of traditional techniques and repertoire, and perform in both solo and ensemble configurations. The curriculum emphasizes contemporary styles, diverse musical cultures, improvisation techniques, electronic and interdisciplinary media, and new hybrid genres. These studies are augmented by weekly seminars/workshops on performance practice and technique that are frequently led by distinguished visiting artists. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
Photography and Media (MFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
The Program in Photography and Media is committed to educating independent artists in a world where photographic imagery and new media representations and strategies are omnipresent. From foundation work through graduate studies, courses are designed to challenge conventional notions of artistic practice and to question the position of representation within contemporary culture. The program encourages debate and experimentation, since nothing is stable or even particularly comfortable in photography's relation to the other arts-especially in an environment that includes so many new practices. The faculty represents a broad range of those practices, some purely photographic, some entirely digital and others branching off into writing and publishing, painting, video, filmmaking, assemblage, net art, digital media and installation.
The MFA curriculum centers on graduate critiques, seminars and independent studies as students devote most of their time to creating a distinctive body of work. The seminars stress relevant critical theory while the critique classes form the basis for dialogue about ongoing work. During the second year of residency, all MFA candidates must present a final project and pass a faculty review of this work in order to graduate. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
Scene Design
Scene Painting (MFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
Available to applicants to the MFA Scene Design Program, this specialization is under the supervision by scenic artist Mary Heilman, who maintains deep connections to the professional community. The rigorous curriculum combines scene painting coursework with the direct application of new techniques and materials, as well as traditional processes, on a wide range of School of Theater productions.
The training is supported by coursework in design, figure and perspective drawing, lighting, scenery and prop construction, play analysis, and theater history. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
Scene Design
Video for Performance (MFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
This Video for Performance (MFA) specialization is offered to applicants to the MFA Scene Design Program but also open to students in the school’s other graduate design programs. Faculty members Bob and Colleen Bonniol (MODE Studios) lead a course of study that explores the aesthetics and practice of using video both as a “character” in a live performance and as scenery—as one element of the overall presentation but also as an art form in its own right.
Today’s rapidly evolving video technology has now made it possible for artists to realize new creative possibilities for video in live performance. At the same time, performers have begun to use video as an extension of their own ideas, not simply as an extension of the performance design.
Designed to meet the emerging needs of this burgeoning professional field, the curriculum in this specialization focuses on training students to master the full spectrum of languages, aesthetics and unique technological processes of video in the context of all performance disciplines. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
Sound Design (MFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
Directed by sound designer Jon Gottlieb, the Sound Design Program is devoted to a rapidly evolving field that integrates aesthetic concerns with scientific disciplines and new technological tools. The program can stretch as far as each student’s energy and imagination allows.
Although the curriculum is rooted in text-based theatrical training, sound designers take part in additional projects in experimental theater, multimedia and interactive design and production, concert sound reinforcement, performance art, animation, and live-action film and video. Accordingly, students are strongly urged to utilize all the resources, both artistic and technological, available across the entire CalArts community. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
Technical Direction (MFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
Designed to strike a balance between technology, management and aesthetics, the Technical Direction Program, under the leadership of head of Technical Direction Michael Darling, provides professional training for those students who wish to contribute to theatrical productions in both technical and artistic areas.
As guided by Head of Technical Direction Michael Darling, the coursework in this program covers history, literature, graphics, crafts, construction, production techniques, and management. Students in this program also investigate the uses of computers and other digital technologies in the performing arts. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
World Music Performance (MFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
Extending the global reach of the School of Music and all of its programs, the World Music Performance Program allows students to study and learn the music and dance practices of different world cultures—as well as alternate ways of learning music. The program encompasses formal studies in African music and dance, Balinese and Javanese music and dance, and North Indian music. Since the majority of the faculty members in this program are master musicians from Africa, Indonesia and India, students have the opportunity to receive cultural, language and social insights in addition to superb musical training. Instruction is delivered primarily in the oral tradition, and covers individual instruments and ensemble situations.
Studies in the main areas of concentration are augmented by work in other areas such as Persian and Latin percussion and Balkan music. The program also features special performances and workshops with visiting artists from many parts of the world, including Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Tibet, Tuva and the Far East. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
World Music Performance
African Music and Dance (MFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
This African Music and Dance (MFA)specialization focuses on music and dance from the Ewe people of Ghana, with visiting artists covering repertoire from other African cultures. Since music and dance are inseparable in most of West Africa, most classes in this specialization include both disciplines. The coursework also features ethnology, theory, transcription and analysis. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
World Music Performance
Balinese and Javanese Music and Dance (MFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
This Balinese and Javanese Music and Dance (MFA) specialization explores the music and dance of both Bali and Java and features a full instrument collection. It offers courses in Balinese gamelan (orchestra), Javanese gamelan, gadon (small orchestra), gender wayang (metallophone quartet), male and female dances and, periodically, classes in kecak (monkey chant) and gong suling (flute ensemble). In both Javanese and Balinese areas, repertoire encompasses an extensive range of traditional and contemporary works. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
World Music Performance
North Indian Music (MFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
The North Indian Music (MFA)Specialization in North Indian Music delves into the rich Hindustani classical music tradition. Rooted in small ensembles, this music typically features a vocal soloist or a sitar, sarod or flute player who is accompanied by tabla (hand drums) and tambura (a drone instrument). The curriculum helps students to learn advanced aural, rhythmic and improvisational skills and includes studies of North Indian theory and sargam. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
Writing (MFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
The MFA Writing Program is rooted in principles of critical thought, experimentation and innovation. It is designed for graduate students who wish to hone their writing skills while extending both their confidence and range in the uniquely eclectic and vibrant creative environment of CalArts. This flexible program gives writers the opportunity to work in the areas of cultural commentary, fiction, criticism, writing for performance, poetry, playwriting and writing for interactive media.
Although the MFA Writing Program covers traditional forms of literary and scholarly writing in depth, its curriculum also focuses on emerging technologies, new media, revised approaches to genre, and recent shifts in the forms and styles of writing and reading. Specifically, the program aims to address newer hybrid and experimental forms that cut across oppositional categories like "creative" and "critical," "fiction" and "non-fiction."
Students work closely with their mentors to draw on a full range of course offerings. These include classes on fundamental writing techniques and textual strategies; specialized workshops in essay writing, criticism, new fiction, poetry, screenwriting and interactive media; advanced seminars on topics in literature, criticism and cultural studies; and independent studies. | |
| California Institute Of The Arts
Master's degree
Writing Performance (MFA) | California Institute Of The Arts |
Launched by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks and now headed by acclaimed multidisciplinary artist Carl Hancock Rux, this MFA program facilitates the development of unique and original voices in playwriting and other forms of writing intended for performance. The curriculum extends traditional notions of play- and screenwriting into unconventional means of generating texts. It encourages an evolutionary sense of theater as a tool for social critique and activism, and embraces new collaborative ventures. This challenging program accepts two students each year. Applicants must show significant prior experience in theater.
The curriculum revolves around intensive writing classes in which students work closely with the head of Writing for Performance and with their peers and collaborators to develop texts for both stage and screen. During the three-year residency, each student is expected to develop a significant body of work—including at least six plays. Additional coursework consists of classes in voice and movement and in literature and theater history—ranging from the Greeks to contemporary writers. Students in this program also work with visiting artists, and survey and analyze theater productions throughout the Los Angeles area. | |
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