CLAIRE TREVOR SCHOOL OF THE ARTS
Nohema Fernández, Dean
Arts Student Affairs
101
Mesa Arts Building; (949) 824-6646
World Wide Web: http://www.arts.uci.edu/
The Claire Trevor School of the Arts is dedicated to the study, creation, and performance of the arts within the context of their history and theory. Both undergraduate and graduate degree programs are offered and include extensive studio, workshop, and performing experiences; theoretical and historical studies; and work in arts technology and criticism. The School consists of the Departments of Dance, Drama, Music, and Studio Art; the undergraduate program in Arts and Humanities; the graduate program in Arts Computation Engineering; a minor in Digital Arts; and a concentration in Game Culture and Technology.
The School's departments are located near each other, facilitating daily interaction among student and faculty in all Arts disciplines. Facilities include studios and classrooms, four theatres, a concert hall, the University Art Gallery, the Donald R. and Joan F. Beall Center for Art and Technology, the Visual Resources Collection, the Gassmann Electronic Studio, the Motion Capture Studio, the Arts Media Center, the Arts Computing Laboratory, the Digital Arts Teaching and Research Laboratories, a television studio, and professionally managed and staffed theatrical production shops and publicity and box offices supporting the School's extensive production and performance schedule.
Arts students regularly participate in choirs, instrumental ensembles, drama and dance productions, and art exhibitions. Qualified students from other academic areas also are eligible to participate in many of these activities and are encouraged to do so. Many of the School's productions take place in the Irvine Barclay Theatre, a fully equipped, 756-seat performing facility.
In addition to the artists, scholars, and performers who are members of the Arts faculty, visits by distinguished guest artists/teachers are a feature of the School's activities.
Students receive assistance with program planning and a variety of other support services from the professional staff in the Office of the Arts Student Affairs. The staff also assists the faculty in providing academic counseling to Arts students.
DEGREES
Arts and Humanities |
B.A. |
Dance |
B.A., B.F.A., M.F.A. |
Drama and Theatre |
Ph.D.1 |
Drama |
B.A., M.F.A. |
Fine Arts |
M.F.A.2 |
Music |
B.A., B.Mus., M.F.A. |
Studio Art |
B.A., M.F.A. |
1 UCI
and UCSD joint program.
2 Concentration in Arts Computation
Engineering.
Change of Major
Students who wish to change their major to one offered by the School should contact the Arts Student Affairs Office for information about change-of-major requirements, procedures, and policies. Additionally, students should refer to the information available at http://www.due.uci.edu/Change_of_Major.html.
Special Programs of Study
CONCENTRATION IN MEDIEVAL STUDIES
The concentration in Medieval Studies allows undergraduate students in the Schools of the Arts and Humanities to augment their major by completing a coherent program of courses in the area of medieval studies. See the School of Humanities section for additional information.
MINOR IN DIGITAL ARTS
The minor in Digital Arts provides opportunities to explore creativity through digital media arts for students who want to acquire a working knowledge of how digital content is conceived, constructed, and performed. See below for more information.
MINOR IN RELIGIOUS STUDIES
The interdisciplinary minor in Religious Studies focuses on the comparative study of religions in various cultural settings around the world. The curriculum seeks to provide a wide-ranging academic understanding and knowledge of the religious experience in society through study in the Schools of Humanities, Social Science, Social Ecology, and the Arts. See the School of Humanities section for additional information.
CAMPUSWIDE HONORS PROGRAM
The Campuswide Honors Program is available to selected high-achieving students from all academic majors from their freshman through senior years. For more information contact the Campuswide Honors Program, 1200 Student Services II; telephone (949) 824-5461; e-mail: honors@uci.edu; World Wide Web: http://www. honors.uci.edu/.
EDUCATION ABROAD PROGRAM
Upper-division and, in some cases, graduate students have the opportunity to experience a different culture while making progress toward degree objectives through the Education Abroad Program (EAP). EAP is an overseas study program which operates in cooperation with host universities and colleges throughout the world. See the Education Abroad Program section for additional information.
3-2 PROGRAM WITH THE PAUL MERAGE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Outstanding Arts majors who are interested in a career in arts management may wish to apply for entry into the 3-2 Program with The Paul Merage School of Business. Students normally apply for this program early in their junior year. See The Paul Merage School of Business section for further information.
Honors
Students who have distinguished themselves academically will be considered for honors at graduation. General criteria are that students must have completed at least 72 units in residence at a University of California campus by the end of the winter quarter of the academic year in which they graduate and must have a grade point average of 3.5 or better. More specific criteria include, but are not limited to, cumulative grade point average in the major, curriculum breadth, and extracurricular efforts such as service to the major or the School, and creative/artistic activities; additional information is available from the individual departments. In keeping with the Academic Senate Resolution no more than 12 percent of the graduating seniors may receive honors. Other important factors are considered. (See "Honors Recognition" in the Honors Opportunities information in the Division of Undergraduate Education section).
ArtsBridge Scholarship Program
The innovative ArtsBridge Scholarship Program partners Claire Trevor School of the Arts undergraduate and graduate students with host teachers and their pupils in the Orange County K-6 school system. ArtsBridge Scholars are required to work a minimum of 25 contact hours in the classroom, per ArtsBridge scholarship awarded. ArtsBridge projects integrate an art discipline (Dance, Drama, Music, or Studio Art) into core subject K-6 curricula (including Science, Math, Language Arts, and History). All Claire Trevor School of the Arts students who hold a minimum 3.0 GPA have the opportunity to apply for this scholarship program. Up to 50 scholarships in the amount of $1,500 each are awarded annually.
Scholarships
The Claire Trevor School of the Arts has some scholarship monies available to incoming and to continuing students on both the undergraduate and graduate levels. For complete information, please contact the Arts Student Affairs Office.
Edna Helen Beach Scholarship: Provides $1,000 per year for two years for an incoming freshman student, and $1,000 for one year for an incoming transfer student. Recipient must be gifted and talented, and will be selected from eligible students with special emphasis on those from underprivileged backgrounds who would not otherwise be able to attend a major research institution.
Kris and Linda Elftmann Scholarship: Up to $3,000 awarded to an outstanding student.
Leo Freedman Graduate Fellowship: For outstanding applicants from Orange County, California, preferably from Anaheim; $7,500 covers tuition and fees and includes a small stipend. Two fellowships for two years of graduate study.
Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation Music Scholarship: Up to $500 awarded to a music student in any instrument or voice.
William J. Gillespie Foundation Scholarships: Several scholarships in varying amounts, awarded to outstanding Dance majors.
Alice Lowell Memorial Scholarship: Up to $5,000 awarded to a Music major in any instrument or voice.
Steve Lyle Memorial Scholarship: $2,000 awarded to continuing students in Drama; selected by application and recommendation.
Margie McDade Memorial Scholarship: Up to $500 awarded to a student studying piano.
Marjorie and Robert Rawlins Scholarship: Provides several $5,000 scholarships, renewable for four years of undergraduate study, to be awarded to students majoring in piano, violin, viola, or cello. Recipients must be full-time Music majors and must maintain a 3.2 GPA. By audition with the Music faculty scholarship committee.
Frederick Reines Music Scholarship: Up to $1,500 awarded to a continuing student studying voice.
Harry and Marjorie Ann Slim Memorial Scholarship: Provides up to $2,000 annually to a Music student.
Winifred W. Smith Scholarship: $5,000 awarded to a student studying cello, violin, or piano (preferably cello). Renewable if student meets scholarship criteria.
Elizabeth and Thomas Tierney Scholarship: Up to $3,000 awarded annually to an outstanding student.
UCI Town and Gown Music Scholarships: Up to $1,000 annually; awarded to Music students in any instrument or voice.
Phyllis Kovach Vacca Memorial Scholarship: Up to $1,000 awarded to a student studying cello, piano, or violin.
Bette and Steven Warner Scholarship: Up to $6,000 awarded to outstanding students in the Music Department's voice program and/or the Drama Department.
Undergraduate Program
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE BACHELOR'S DEGREE
University Requirements: See pages 57-62.
School Requirements: None.
Departmental Requirements: Refer to individual departments.
Graduate Program
The primary endeavor of the Claire Trevor School of the Arts is the creative act. Research activities are pursued both as an end in themselves and as a source that can inform both performance and the studio experience. The intellectual activity of theoretical, literary, and historical courses complements the practical work in studio workshops and performance. The aim of the M.F.A. programs in Dance, Drama, Music, and Studio Art is, thus, to produce artists literate in both traditional and digital media who are disciplined, responsive to intellectual stimuli, and capable of integrating existing knowledge into creative projects. The M.F.A. concentration in Arts Computation Engineering provides broad-based, interdisciplinary training at the intersection of digital technology and cultural and artistic practice. The UCI-UCSD joint doctoral program in Drama and Theatre provides opportunity for significant crossover research and teaching between the two campuses in a wide range of areas in drama and the theatre. It is the strong belief of the UCI Claire Trevor School of the Arts that intellectual integrity and creative excellence cannot exist without each other.
ADMISSION TO THE PROGRAM
Applications are accepted for fall quarter admission only, and ordinarily must be completed by January 15 for the Ph.D. in Drama and Theatre, the M.F.A. in Fine Arts with a concentration in Arts Computation Engineering (ACE), the M.F.A. in Dance, and the M.F.A. in Studio Art, and February 1 for the M.F.A. in Music. The number of graduate students that can be admitted to the Claire Trevor School of the Arts is limited. Applicants are advised to arrange for auditions, interviews, and the submission of portfolios, compositions, and dossiers by the appropriate deadlines. Students applying for scholarships and fellowships should do so by January 15, and are also encouraged to apply for financial assistance through the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships. The Claire Trevor School of the Arts has a modest number of teaching assistantships available in all areas, and all candidates are automatically reviewed for teaching assistantship positions; the School informs successful candidates by June 1 for the following academic year.
Upon admission to the program the student is assigned an advisor. Students should discuss with their advisor the scope of undergraduate preparation to determine any areas which may need strengthening if full benefit from graduate study is to be derived.
John Crawford, Director
The minor in Digital Arts provides opportunities to explore creativity through digital media arts. This program is open to students from all areas of UCI who want to acquire a working knowledge of how digital media content is conceived, constructed, and performed. In the studio, students receive hands-on experience with current software tools, creating and sharing digital media art projects, developing an appreciation of digital media aesthetics and conceptual design, and learning the fundamentals of desktop video, audio, and Web authoring software applications. Lectures and discussions examine how today's pervasive digital culture evolves through interdisciplinary collaborations among artists, engineers, scientists, and scholars. Course work considers relationships between digital media practices, touching on such areas as social networking, video/audio podcasting, interface design, digital music, telematic performance, intelligent agents, virtual realities, artificial life, and ubiquitous computing. The program investigates critical issues related to emerging technologies and the arts, and surveys recent works by leading digital media artists.
Prospective students should have basic proficiency with Web, e-mail, word processing, and presentation software. It is highly recommended that students have their own computer. Further information is available at http://digital.arts.uci.edu.
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MINOR
The Minor in Digital Arts consists of a minimum of eight courses which fall into two categories: I. Required and II. Elective.
I. Required: Arts Interdisciplinary 1A, 11 (Digital Media: History and Foundations), 12 (Digital Media: Current Directions), 50 (Digital Media: Experience and Content), 60 (Digital Media: Video/Audio for the Web), and 70 (Digital Media: Interaction Design).
II. Elective. Choose two of the following: Dance 163 (Choreography and Digital Technology); Music 51 (Music Technology and Computers), 147 (Studies in Music Technology), 151 (Computer Music Composition), 152 (Interactive Arts Programming); Studio Art 65A (Introduction to Digital Imaging), 65B (Introduction to Digital Multimedia), 65C (Introduction to the Internet), 81 (Basic Video), 100 (when topic is related to digital arts), 106 (Interactive Digital Media: Sound and Video), 110 (Interdisciplinary Digital Arts), 130 (Projects in New Technologies), 143 (Projects in Computer Painting), 166 (Advanced Collaborative Project), and 175 (Digital Arts Aesthetics).
Each of these courses may be taken one time only for credit toward the minor (with the exception of topic-varies courses, e.g., Studio Art 100). No course in the requirements for the Minor may be taken Pass/Not Pass.
Courses in Arts Interdisciplinary
LOWER-DIVISION
1A-B, C Arts Core (4-4, 4) F, W, S. An introduction to the arts in general, and to the arts at UCI. Concentration on (1) the interdisciplinary nature of the arts, (2) the content of particular arts disciplines, and (3) the departments in the UCI School of the Arts. 1B: Topics in Dance and Studio Art. 1C: Topics in Drama and Music. Prerequisite for 1B and 1C: 1A. (IV)
11 Digital Media: History and Foundations (4). An introduction to the historical and theoretical foundations of digital media art, tracing how information technologies seeded the growth of a new expressive medium. Considers how today's pervasive digital culture evolved through interdisciplinary collaborations between artists, engineers, scientists, and scholars. Formerly Arts 1D.
12 Digital Media: Current Directions (4). An overview of current practice and research in digital media art. Examines the effects of recent technological, scientific, cultural, and political developments. Addresses the increasing overlap of artistic and scientific practices and issues related to new and emerging technologies. Formerly Arts 1E.
40A-B-C Selected Interdisciplinary Topics (4-4-4) F, W, S. Studies in the historic and theoretical interrelationships of artistic disciplines, including such fields as dance, music, art, and/or drama; and investigation of their underlying social and aesthetic bases and the influence of one art upon another. Topics vary.
50 Digital Media: Experience and Content (4). A project-based introduction to tools and approaches for creating and sharing digital media content within Internet-mediated social environments, with a particular emphasis on art-making and personal expression. Includes an overview of basic user experience and interaction design principles. Prerequisites: Arts 1A, 11, 12.
60 Digital Media: Video and Audio for the Web (4). An overview of digital video and audio production for the Web, emphasizing art-making and personal expression. Includes digital media aesthetics and conceptual design, basic audio and video recording, and fundamentals of desktop video, audio, and Web authoring software applications. Prerequisites: Arts 1A, 11, 12, and 50.
70 Digital Media: Interaction Design (4). Principles and practices of interaction design for interactive digital media systems that provide for active involvement of the participant. Students gain experience with interaction design issues through a series of media art projects, emphasizing art-making and personal expression. Prerequisites: Arts 1A, 11, 12, 50, 60.
UPPER-DIVISION
100A-B-C The Senior Thesis (4-4-4) F, W, S. Planning, drafting, writing, and presentation of an academic thesis. Open to Arts Interdisciplinary majors, who will interrelate two or more artistic disciplines, and to Campuswide Honors Program students, who will focus their thesis on one or more major areas in the Arts. Prerequisite for 100B: 100A. Prerequisites for 100C: 100B and satisfactory completion of the lower-division writing requirement.
130 Crossing Boundaries: An Introduction to Interdisciplinary Study (4) F, W, S. Investigation of interdisciplinary thought and action beginning with the nature of discipline and extending to the relationship between science and art, politics/society and art, and struggles within the arts between theory and practice and across apparently segregating boundaries. Prerequisite: upper-division standing. May be taken for credit three times as topics vary.
150 Introduction to the Alexander Technique (2) F, W, S. Group lessons. Applying the principles of the Alexander Technique to all movement, including professional activities. Expanding awareness through development of the kinesthetic sense; exploring choices in movement through recognition of habit patterns. Increased ease of movement, enhanced coordination, stress reduction, poise.
199 Independent Study (1 to 4) F, W, S. Individual study or directed projects as arranged with faculty member. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. May be repeated for credit as topics vary.
M.F.A. in Fine Arts with a Concentration in Arts Computation Engineering (ACE)
Arts Computation
Engineering (ACE) Building; (949) 824-2109
Simon Penny, Co-Director
Robert
Nideffer, Co-Director
Faculty
Beatriz da Costa, Diplôme National Supérieur d' Expression Plastique, École d' Art d' Aix-en-Provence (France), Assistant Professor of Studio Art and of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (robotic art, tactical media, biotech initiatives, urban ecologies, surveillance projects, collaborative practice, social change)
J. Paul Dourish, Ph.D. University College, London, Professor of Informatics (human-computer interaction, computer-supported cooperative work)
Robert Nideffer, M.F.A., Ph.D. University of California, Santa Barbara, Associate Professor of Studio Art and Informatics (electronic intermedia, interface theory and design, technology and culture, contemporary social theory)
Simon Penny, Graduate Diploma in Sculpture, Sydney College of the Arts, New South Wales (Australia), Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Studio Art, and Informatics (electronic media art: practice, history and theory; technologies for embodied interaction; cultural applications of emerging technologies; multi-camera machine vision, immersive environments, robotics and motion control)
Affiliated Faculty
James E. Bobrow, Ph.D. University of California, Los Angeles, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (robotics, applied nonlinear control, optimization methods)
John Crawford, Media Artist and Software Designer, Director of the Digital Arts Minor and Assistant Professor of Dance (interactive performance, dance film, motion capture, documentary, digital arts)
Christopher Dobrian, Ph.D. University of California, San Diego, Professor of Music and Informatics (electronic music, composition)
Antoinette LaFarge, M.F.A. School of Visual Arts, Associate Professor of Studio Art (digital media)
Cristina Videira Lopes, Ph.D. Northeastern University, Associate Professor of Informatics and Computer Science (programming languages, acoustic communications, operating systems, software engineering)
Gloria Mark, Ph.D. Columbia University, Associate Professor of Informatics (computer-supported cooperative work, human-computer interaction)
Gopi Meenakshisundaram, Ph.D. University of North Carolina, Assistant Professor of Computer Science (geometry and topology for computer graphics, image-based rendering, object representation, surface reconstruction, collision detection, virtual reality, telepresence)
Joerg Meyer, Ph.D. University of Kaiserslautern, Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and of Biomedical Engineering (computer graphics, scientific visualization, large-scale rendering, biomedical imaging, virtual reality)
Bonnie Nardi, Ph.D. University of California, Irvine, Professor of Informatics (interactive and collaborative technology: human-computer interaction/computer-supported cooperative work, educational technology)
Lisa Marie Naugle, Ph.D. New York University, Associate Professor of Dance (modern dance, choreography, dance and digital technology, improvisation, motion capture)
Kavita Philip, Ph.D. Cornell University, Associate Professor of Women's Studies (science and technology studies, South Asian studies, political ecology, critical studies of race, gender, colonialism, new media, and globalization)
Mark S. Poster, Ph.D. New York University, Professor of History and of Film and Media Studies (theory and history of the media, theory of technology and culture, and Internet studies)
Bill Tomlinson, Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology; M.F.A. California Institute of the Arts, Assistant Professor of Informatics and Drama (autonomous characters, computational social behavior, interactive media, real-time animation)
As digital technologies infiltrate increasingly diverse aspects of cultural practice, and human culture at large is influenced by the presence of digital technologies, there is a profound need for a new type of professional in the entertainment industry, in education, and in the arts, who can help construct, manage, and monitor these changes. Such a professional must be technically skilled, artistically skilled, and theoretically skilled, all at an equally high and rigorous level. The goal of the M.F.A. in Fine Arts with a concentration in Arts Computation Engineering is to provide students with a broad-based and interdisciplinary training at the intersection of digital technology and cultural and artistic practices. The ACE program is coordinated across the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences, The Henry Samueli School of Engineering, and the Claire Trevor School of the Arts, and places equal emphasis on technical, artistic, and critical proficiency. Strongly practical in composition, it provides students with the opportunity to explore in detail topics such as telematic performance, immersive and augmented environments, embodied interaction, and the cultural impact of new technologies.
Graduation is by publicly presented thesis project and written thesis, in addition to completion of course work.
The ACE concentrations in all three fields consist of a two-year curriculum. The following courses are required:
ACE Core: five ACE interdisciplinary theory seminars (Arts 270), four ACE studio/labs (Arts 271-277), two ACE project internships (Arts 279), and one quarter of ACE thesis research (Arts 278).
(NOTE: A total of 48 units of Core courses must be completed. Any of the ACE core category courses may be reduced by one and replaced with a different ACE core course or an elective, in consultation with the student's advisor.)
Electives: four courses in school-based specialization electives chosen by students in consultation with faculty advisors, consistent with the technical, aesthetic, and theoretical themes of their thesis project; and two breadth electives that may be chosen by students in consultation with an advisor, and/or may be assigned by the ACE program committee in consultation with the student. These courses will compensate for lacunae in the student's background and may include upper-division undergraduate courses when appropriate and approved in advance by the candidate's advisor.
COURSES
270 Arts Computation Engineering Interdisciplinary Theory Seminar: Special Topics (4) F, W, S. Counterposes technological discourses with fine arts discourses and practices, with a focus on historical contextualization, utilizing critical theory and science and technology studies perspectives. Topics vary and are not repeated in any three-year period. May be repeated for credit as topics vary. Same as Engineering 270 and ICS 270.
271 Arts Computation Engineering Studio/Laboratory: Interactive Installation and Performance Design Workshop (4) F, W, S. Designing persuasive spatialized interactive experiences: spatially and temporally distributed narratives. User-system relationships. "Freedom" in interaction: authoriality and control. Audience and the spect-actor. Sensors, behavior logics, and multi-modal output. Machine learning and autopedagogic systems. Training in relevant technologies. May be taken twice for credit. Same as Engineering 271 and ICS 271.
272 Arts Computation Engineering Studio/Laboratory: Games and Algorithmic Systems in Literature and the Arts (4) F, W, S. Explores the cultural tradition of the game and game play with particular reference to the automation of games in computational systems and the close relation between gaming, improvisation, hypertext, and interactive art. Game programming techniques and projects. May be taken twice for credit. Same as Engineering 272 and ICS 272.
273 Arts Computation Engineering Studio/Laboratory: Spatial Interaction: Sensors and Input/Output (4) F, W, S. Designing and building sensor and effector systems for cultural applications. Sensors, sensor combinations, sensor data collection and interpretation, input/output techniques and devices. Same as Engineering 273 and ICS 273.
274 Arts Computation Engineering Studio/Laboratory: Real Space Interaction (4) F, W, S. Designing and building machine artworks, motion control, mechatronic, animatronic, and mobile robotic projects. Mechanics, electromechanics, electronics, microcontrollers, motor control. Aesthetico-critical as well as technical aspects subject to assessment. Same as Engineering 274 and ICS 274.
275 Arts Computation Engineering Studio/Laboratory: Cultural Practice in Immersive Media (4) F, W, S. Examines and moves beyond existing paradigms of virtuality. Sensor and input devices, their logics and limitations. Embodied and symbolic interaction. Panoramic and stereoscopic image technologies. Stereoscopic graphics and spatialized sound. Technical components and their integration. Collaborative projects. Same as Engineering 275 and ICS 275.
276 Arts Computation Engineering Studio/Laboratory: Telematic Performance and Teleoperative Art (4) F, W, S. Art and performance projects utilizing real time and quasi-real time distance interaction. Synchronous performance and distributed choreography. Network technologies and protocols. Speed, bandwidth, latency. Web-based technologies. Video and sound. Teleoperation/remote machine control. Same as Dance 276, Engineering 276, and ICS 276.
277 Arts Computation Engineering Studio/Laboratory: Special Topics (4) F, W, S. Focuses on currently emerging technologies, techniques, and cultural and critical issues. May be repeated for credit as topics vary. Same as Engineering 277 and ICS 277.
278 Arts Computation Engineering Thesis Research (4 to 12) F, W, S. Independent research for thesis and thesis project. May be taken for credit for a total of 36 units. Same as Engineering 278 and ICS 278.
279 Special Topics in Arts Computation Engineering (4) F, W, S. Prerequisites vary. May be repeated for credit as topics vary. Same as Engineering 279 and ICS 279.
399 Arts Computation Engineering: University Teaching (1 to 4) F, W, S. Limited to Teaching Assistants. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.