Electronic Integrated Arts

A Master's program embracing emerging technologies

The MFA in Electronic Integrated Arts provides an interdisciplinary context in which to explore interrelationships between emerging forms of electronic and digital technologies. Areas of study include print media, integrative design, video arts, sonic arts and interactive arts. The objective of the Master of Fine Arts degree (MFA) is to prepare you for a career in Electronic Integrated Arts.

School/Division

School of Art & Design
NYS College of Ceramics

Campus Locations

Main Campus - Alfred, NY

Degrees

Electronic Integrated Arts (MFA)

Program Contact

Billie Burns

burns@alfred.edu

607-871-2442

Student in Electronic Integrated Arts print class

Exclusive Program

This two-year program is highly competitive; five Electronic Integrated Arts students are admitted annually. Each accepted MFA candidate is given full tuition funding and a financial stipend, either as a teaching assistant, research assistant, or intern, within the Expanded Media programs.

Example of Integrated Electronic Arts artwork

Outcomes

This MFA program is committed to integrating traditional and emerging practices of art making grounded in new media. After completing the program, you will be prepare to take your place in the world as a practicing artist, educator and leader who will invent new spheres of cultural discourse making significant contributions in the field of emerging digital and new media practices.

ART 501 Studio Elective* (outside major concentration)
ART 523 Work and Analysis
This course functions as the primary forum for group dialogue among Electronic Integrated Arts MFA students. Regular group critiques of student work occur during class, allowing for the development of understanding how artwork is produced and the ability to contribute insight to others. The goal is to provide you with a strengthened sense of context from which to proceed as an artist.
ART 524 Electronic Strategies (non-time based) & ART 526 Electronic Strategies (time based)
This course is required of first-year graduate students working in Electronic Integrated Arts. These courses, each taking place in half-semester intervals, are designed to provide you with experience in the unique studios of Expanded Media. Practices including: video, digital/analog sound, print media, fabric printing, digital drawing, interactive art and installation. The courses focus on the impact of digital media and how it functions in constructing personal languages of contemporary electronic art making. Experimentation is extensively explored.
ART 525 Advanced Electronic Arts*
Required each semester for graduate students working in Electronic Integrated Arts. You will register with the Electronic Integrative Arts faculty on an independent study basis. This course is an opportunity for self-generated studio work. During the third and fourth semesters, the primary emphasis of this course will be thesis preparation.
ART 671 Written Thesis Preparation-EIA
The studio is supported by a written thesis report that includes a detailed statement about the work, a technical documentation of materials and processes used and electronic documentation of thesis work. This documentation is archived in the Scholes Library. The course is structured as a seminar with all second year EIA MFA students participating.
ART 681 Thesis*
ARTH 660 First Year Graduate Seminar
ARTH Minimum one Art History/Criticism course

Degree requirements include two years of residence and a minimum of sixty graduate credit hours. Reviews of work are scheduled at midterm and at the end of each semester.

In addition to studio courses, all graduate students take credits in a series of seminars, art history, studio electives, and technical courses relevant to their area of study.

In the second year, students write a thesis and present a MFA thesis exhibition in the School of Art and Design’s Fosdick-Nelson Gallery, Robert C. Turner Gallery, or an approved alternate site.

Applicants for admission should hold the baccalaureate degree with the equivalent of sixty credit hours in studio courses. A portfolio of completed works could be considered the equivalent of some studio courses.

In addition to the transcripts and letters of recommendation required of all students, applicants to the MFA program must present a portfolio showing competency in the appropriate areas. All applicants must conform to the current area specifications as listed.

The School of Art and Design at Alfred University offers graduate study in multiple divisional areas: Ceramic Art, Electronic Integrated Arts, Sculpture/Dimensional Studies (concentration in either glass art or sculpture) and Painting. Applicants should make clear to which MFA program they are applying.

All applications are made through the Graduate Admissions Office and all supporting documents and the portfolio must be submitted to the Graduate Admissions Office by January 15th of the application year. Only completed applications will be forwarded to the Faculty Review Committee. It is important to clearly indicate which program you want to enter, as documentation and portfolios are only reviewed by the faculty in the specific program indicated on the application form. No applications for January enrollment are considered.

Accepted applicants must make a $200 deposit and return a signed contract as directed in the notification of acceptance or their acceptance becomes void.

In addition to a grant for full tuition waiver for both years of residency in the program, each MFA student is guaranteed an assistantship for every semester of the two-year program. Graduate assistantships consist of three types: a teaching assistantship, a teaching internship, and a facilities coordinator. In all cases, the student receives a stipend of $4,750 for the academic year.

Graduate teaching assistants help faculty members in the performance of their academic duties; a graduate teaching intern teaches one (four credit hour) studio course per semester; and a facilities coordinator works with the division head and technicians to organize and manage studio facilities. All assistants have a commitment of approximately 10 hours/week to meet the requirements of the stipend. Assignments are made in consultation among faculty, students and division chairs at the beginning of each semester.

The Division of Expanded Media supports the multidisciplinary mission of the School of Art & Design by providing an integrative, creative and professional approach to art making using the tools and technologies of print media, video arts, integrative design, sonic art, interactive art and generative art. You will explore both traditional and emerging technologies and synthesize personal understandings between the two.