Dr. Anne Balsamo is dean of the School of Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication.
The School of Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication (ATEC) has rolled out new curricula for all of its degree programs this fall.
The degrees will be known as the Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts, Master of Fine Arts and PhD in arts, technology, and emerging communication. The changes allow students to select a pathway of study.
“The changes to the ATEC curriculum blend history and theory with creative practice and critical analysis,” said Dr. Anne Balsamo, dean of the school.
At the undergraduate level, students earn their bachelor’s degree in ATEC with a focus in one of the following pathways: animation, design and production, critical media studies, games, or mediated communication.
At the graduate level, students earn their Master of Arts in ATEC with a focus in game studies, network cultures or interactive design. Students earning their Master of Fine Arts in ATEC select a focus of game development, animation or creative practice.
The PhD program in ATEC emphasizes the fusion of creative with critical thinking, theory and practice.
“At the undergraduate level, the introduction of ATEC Foundations courses will introduce all ATEC undergraduates to a consistent set of theories and skills, while the newly defined pathways will ground more specific directions of study,” said Balsamo, ATEC Distinguished University Chair and Arts and Humanities Distinguished Chair. “At the graduate level, students deepen their expertise in an area by engaging in interdisciplinary approaches to broad theoretical questions as they study the implications of digital culture and experiment with modes of production to develop emerging media that challenges expectations and assumptions.
“Across all of the programs, students are encouraged to collaborate to produce new knowledge and understandings as they work with research, analysis and creative practice informed by history, theory and aesthetics.”
In the School of Arts and Humanities, one program has been renamed. The Bachelor of Arts in art and performance is now the Bachelor of Arts in visual and performing arts, effective fall 2017.
Additional New Programs for Fall 2017
School of Arts and Humanities
School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences
Naveen Jindal School of Management