Academics

Digital Arts

Digital Arts
Major & Minor

Program Website

If you want to use the latest technology to help you reach your artistic goals, Stetson's Digital Arts major may be for you. We offer coursework on a range of topics including image manipulation, music production, video, interactivity and 3D animation. Majors are encouraged to explore all these areas while they develop a primary set of skills in one of three tracks: Art, Sound or Computer Science.

This interdisciplinary program involves faculty from the Departments of Art and Computer Science and the School of Music, and enriches the curriculum offerings of these contributing disciplines. Students with majors in these departments should consider the Digital Arts minor as a way to investigate the creative applications of digital technology. Because these artistic skills can also be used to interpret ideas or explain concepts, the Digital Arts minor is also well suited for majors in the natural sciences, psychology, sociology, literature, and other disciplines.

Our program fosters collaboration and hybrid forms that combine visual art, music composition, and programming to stretch the boundaries of artistic practice. Students explore the powerful inter-relationships among these disciplines in contemporary creative work. Techniques are largely taught through direct application to projects that are designed and executed by the students.

Faculty
Our faculty members are professional artists and scholars with expertise in computer graphics, interactive performance, music composition, net art, photography, and video. Faculty members and their areas of expertise are:

  • Michael G. Branton, Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; dynamical systems, artificial life and computer graphics
  • Nathan Edwin Wolek, Ph.D., Northwestern University; Music technology, studio production, computer and electronic music, Digital Arts (website)
  • Derek Gunter Larson, MFA, Yale University; Digital video, mixed media, contemporary art (website)
  • Matthew Stephen Roberts, M.F.A.,, University of Illinois at Chicago; digital art, multi-media, net art, video performance (website)
Special Features

The Digital Arts Lab is equipped with 20 MacPro workstations running professional software for students to complete multimedia projects, including ProTools, Max/MSP/Jitter, Final Cut Studio and Adobe Creative Suite.

Our students take advantage of student residencies and internships with companies in Central Florida's growing digital media industry and world-famous tourism industry. Our relationship with the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach allows us to host many of its world-renowned master artists in residence, including visual artists and musicians, giving students frequent opportunities for creative contacts.

Course Information

Students may pursue a Bachelor of Arts in Digital Arts focused on one of three tracks: Art, Computer Science, or Sound. The faculty also oversee a degree for students who have passed a School of Music audition and been accepted as music majors leading to a Bachelor of Music in Music Technology. Students in any degree program may also complement their major studies by choosing to minor in Digital Arts. You will be able to explore your options the first year, then combine them in different ways throughout your studies to give you the broadest background possible -- all while achieving unusual technical depth.

Digital Arts is competitive and requires both academic and creative excellence. Projects will emphasize transferable conceptual skills to prepare you for rapidly changing technologies and a variety of creative environments. Your work should be as intellectually and emotionally rich as it is technically proficient.

In addition to general University admissions requirements, all Digital Arts majors must earn a grade of B- or higher in DIGA101A (Intro to Digital Arts). Applicants wishing to pursue the Bachelor of Music option should consult the School of Music's audition guidelines. All Digital Arts majors complete a Senior Project, the capstone of a Stetson education.

Career Opportunities

Digital Arts prepares students for careers as professional artists, performers, and programmers working with new media. Many of our graduates are successful artists, entrepreneurs and educators. A sampling of recent graduates includes:

  • Megan England, 2008, Ph.D. candidate in Composition and Computer Technologies at the University of Virginia on a full fellowship
  • Derrick Ostrenko, 2008, M.F.A. candidate at the Rhode Island School of Design
  • Julius Santiago, 2004, Interface Designer for Electronic Arts / Tiburon
  • Joseph Trupiano, 2004, completed M.M. in Music Technology at New York University and founded of Sample Logic LLC
  • Kevin Hale, 2003, co-founder of Particletree Inc. and Infinity Box Inc.
  • Patrice Scanlon, 2001, completed M.F.A. in Electronic Music at Mills College and is now Intermedia Arts Technical Director at Mills College and Audio Post Production Lab Instructor for Ex'pression College for Digital Arts
  • Gerard K Marino, 1998 (minor), award-winning composer for video games and film whose credits include God of War I and II and six feature films


Clubs and Organizations
GreenHat Media - GHM's mission is to construct forums that will allow students to produce and share their artwork in an open, public environment, gain experience working with technology, and have a voice in the community all while entertaining the student body at Stetson University. The group is responsible for WHAT radio, Stetson's streaming internet radio station and works closely with Poetry at an Uncouth Hour to host a monthly media showcase of student works. The organization give students valuable experience in staging special events, maintaining a broadcast outlet and the art of self-promotion.

 


Contact:
Nathan Wolek
822-8987
nwolek@stetson.edu

Full Time Faculty: 4

Degrees Offered:
Bachelor of Arts in Digital Arts/Art, Bachelor of Arts in Digital Arts/Computer Science, Bachelor of Arts in Digital Arts/Sound, Bachelor of Music in Music Technology.

Our Graduates Attend:
Mills College, Northwestern University, Rhode Island School of Design, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Virginia.

Our Students Intern at:
GeniusDV, Phat Planet studios, Sentinel Communications, Southeast Museum of Photography, Walt Disney World.

Stetson University
Office of Admissions
Unit 8378
421 N. Woodland Blvd.
DeLand, Florida 32723 29.034476-81.302825

Phone Number : 386.822.7100
Toll-free Number : 800.688.0101

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