/Overview
The MFA in Communication Media Arts is a revolutionary degree designed in response to the rapidly evolving communication field. Students in this three-year program will hone new creative production skills, contextualized through hands-on, collaborative projects in order to graduate prepared for the leading edge of industry.
We seek to enroll individuals with a minimum of three years of professional experience in the communication field who have at least one high-level digital production skill.
While in the program, each graduate student will add to their current skill(s) by studying at least two of the following areas:
- Animation
- Audio Production/Sound Design
- Data Visualization and Info Graphics
- Digital Games and Animation
- Documentary
- Interactive Media/Web Design
- Music Production
- Non-fiction Video
- Photojournalism
- Publication Design
- Studio Photography
- Virtual and Augmented Reality
Cognate Area
Experiential Learning
Teaching
/Areas of Study
Each graduate student adds to their pre-existing production skills by selecting two new production areas of study. These production areas become the core of the student’s first two years, with the third being focused on thesis production. An advising committee of faculty members will assist each student in formulating their individual course plans.
Animation
Explore animation for educational, entertainment and game development purposes. Emphasis on 3D computer animation, with classes in 2D and experimental animation. Ancillary
courses/experiences also provide an understanding of the management and leadership roles in these industries, visual storytelling, and sound for moving image.
Audio/Sound Design
Develop the conceptual, technical, and compositional skills of a sound designer that you’ll use to tell stories across a variety of media. By studying sound principles and audio
production techniques including field recording, ADR and Foley, and surround sound, students learn to design sound environments for animation, games, film and video.
Data Visualization and Information Graphics
Gain a comprehensive understanding of information design at the highest level. Learn how to use diagrams, maps and charts to explain and inform, through a multi-platform approach. There will be an emphasis on bridging the gap from big data to compelling and accessible visualizations.
Digital Games and Animation
Emphasizing both the theory and skills needed to create dramatic narrative, nonlinear, and immersive environments. Students work in interdisciplinary, collaborative contexts to explore and produce effective interactive and/or animated work. This holistic approach includes curriculum focused on game design, animation, programming, sound design and entrepreneurship.
Documentary
Theory and production courses in both short- and long-form documentary production. Emphasis on both local and international projects. Professors and students collaborate across the university and the community. Non-fiction production is ubiquitous across campus, with additional faculty and resources in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, WOUB Public Media and the Film Division in the College of Fine Arts.
Interactive Media/Web Design
Study design for web and mobile with a focus on user experience and information architecture. Using current technology, including code and responsive design, students learn to communicate through interactive sites with a focus on the audience and user first, as well as design fundamentals such as typography, project workflow and front-end design. Interactive design combines well with other skills, such as creating interactive narratives or games.
Music Production
Rooted in practices that span the past half century, the art and science of making records remains as cutting-edge as the new technologies and music that emerge on a daily basis. Learn the essentials of analog and digital techniques while capturing, mixing and distributing music for an ever-expanding marketplace, and gain vital knowledge in preparing music for a variety of digital media resources.
Non-fiction Video
Community, corporate and/or educational video production intended for social change and community awareness. Professors and students collaborate across the university and the community. Non-fiction production is ubiquitous across campus, with additional faculty and resources in the Barbara Geralds Institute for Storytelling and Social Impact, the Game Research and Immersive Design Lab, and WOUB Public Media.
Photojournalism
Learn to tell stories through still images and video, focusing on in-depth, intimate storytelling and moments through documentary photography. By photographing single images, documentaries, photo stories and essays, students studying photojournalism learn to use photography and video as a communication tool to show others situations, places, events and people.
Publication Design
Tells stories through design and typography with the goal of creating dynamic and engaging publications that are online, in tablet form or in print. Whether newspaper design or magazine editorials, students learn to communicate with an audience through the combination of strong design fundamentals and storytelling concepts.
Studio Photography
Focuses on advertising photography, product and still-life photography, fashion and portrait photography, architectural and interior design photography, and the business aspects of operating a photographic studio.
Virtual and Augmented Reality
Harness the possibilities of Virtual and Augmented Reality. Virtual Reality [the digital creation of immersive worlds] and Augmented Reality [interactive, digital enrichment of the real world] utilize a variety of tools including immersive and interactive audio, 360-degree video, motion capture and avatar creation, digital game technologies, and both animated and haptic interfaces.
/Course Plan
The MFA in Communication Media Arts requires a total of 90 graduate credit hours of study, taken over three years. Most graduate courses at Ohio University are four credit hours, although some may have adjustable hours. Required areas for courses include:
- 28 credits Media Production/Studio Courses (these stem from your area of study)
- 6 credits Production Seminar (build community and collaboration with MFA cohort)
- 12 credits Contextual Courses (an area of study that supports your future goals)
- 12 credits Experiential Learning (supervised collaborative field experience)
- 7 credits Directed Electives (to enhance production, contextual or experiential areas)
- 25 credits Production Thesis
Sample Three-Year Plan
This plan is specific for students wishing to take courses primarily in the fall and spring, although coursework can be spread between fall, spring and summer semesters.
Teaching Seminar is required during the summer between your first and second year if you receive a teaching stipend. Teaching Seminar is offered for one month, in late summer. You will also be required to attend a two-week teaching forum prior to your first semester.
Year One:
- Fall
- 1 Production Seminar (varying credit hours)
- 2 Media Production/Studio courses
- 1 Elective course
- Spring
- 1 Production Seminar (varying credit hours)
- 2 Media Production/Studio courses
- 1 Contextual course
- Summer
- 1 Teaching Seminar
Year Two:
- Fall
- 1 Production Seminar (varying credit hours)
- 2 Media Production/Studio courses
- 1 Contextual course
- Spring
- 1 Production Seminar (varying credit hours)
- 1 Media Production/Studio course
- 1 Elective course
- 1 Contextual course
Year Three:
- Fall
- Thesis Production
- Spring
- Thesis Production
/Program Costs and Financial Support
Generally speaking, tuition and general fees for the program are approximately $9,500 per year, with an additional fee of approximately $8,000 per year for non-Ohio residents. For specific, itemized costs visit the Graduate College’s Tuition and Fees.
Support: Our program offers financial support at the time of application for students with exceptional portfolios. Select MFA students will receive full coverage of tuition, as well as non-resident fees (for students applying from outside Ohio). This support does not cover general student fees or health insurance.
Ohio University estimates the annual cost of living in Athens, Ohio to be approximately $12,000 per year. This estimate includes room and board, transportation and “personal expenses”, but does not include Health Insurance (which can be purchased from the University for approximately $2,000/year).
Support: For students interested in teaching undergraduate courses, our program offers stipends of up to $12,000 per year to offset the cost of living. In exchange for funding, students are expected to teach or serve as a teaching assistant both fall and spring semester. Additional funding may be available for summer teaching, as needed by the college. The goal of our educational support program is to provide MFA students with teaching guidance and experience, as well as financial support. Students receiving this stipend will be expected to attend a summer training program prior to classes starting in the fall.
The cost for books and educational supplies for MFA students is difficult to estimate. Our program provides equipment and digital workstations for the students, but projects often require additional supplies such as hard drives, digital assets, transportation, crew stipends, etc. Some courses, but certainly not all, require course fees. The cost of books fluctuates from course to course, professor to professor.
The university estimates the cost of educational supplies at $1,000 per year, but we are unable to determine an estimate for MFA students. Some students will spend less than $1,000, but some may spend two or three times that amount depending upon their chosen projects and method of delivery and distribution.
Support: The schools, college and the University offer support for graduate research and creative activity on an individual basis. Awards are available each semester.
/Advising
Students in our MFA program will work closely with faculty advisors from a variety of areas. Based upon the application materials, each student will be assigned an advising team made up of faculty from the Scripps College of Communication and the College of Fine Arts. You can learn more about some of the involved faculty on the About page. During their course of study, students will add faculty members from their cognate area, and can realign their team in accordance to their evolving areas of interests. In their second year, each student will establish a thesis committee representing their creative and cognate interests. This committee will guide the student through, and evaluate, the third-year thesis project.