Mar 29, 2024  
2015-2016 Graduate Catalog 
    
2015-2016 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]


Intermedia (Studio)



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The MFA in Intermedia is an interdisciplinary creative studio-centered program committed to hybrid creative research, experimental technological production, as well as development and production in hybrid forms of art such as time-based media, digital and video art, installation, performance art, artists’ books and multiples, community-based social art practices, conceptual art, net art, and other new forms that the students may generate from their own Intermedial explorations.  These new forms are however, not without grounding in, or connections to, traditional art forms in music, writing, performance studies, media studies, and the visual arts.

The MFA focuses on the intersection of new technologies and creative production.  The name of the program Intermedia reflects our aim and intent - that is to work with, and study creative processes which fall conceptually and physically between known/used media, as well as between traditional disciplines such as photography and computer science, biology and sculpture, or music and sociology.  Students will develop diverse skills grounded in methodologies from many disciplines that foster innovative, analytic, and speculative thinking necessary for innovative production and creative thinking in Intermedia.

Program Requirements

The three-year MFA degree in Intermedia at the University of Maine provides graduate students with the opportunity to engage in innovative, creative and theoretical work in a flexible program that encourages individual development within an interdisciplinary context.  The 60 credit curriculum is designed for 18 credits per year with 6 credits in summer of the third year for Thesis Exhibition preparation and presentation, but it may also be completed on a part time basis over a longer time period.

Financial Aid

In addition to University fellowships and scholarships listed elsewhere in this catalog, the Intermedia Program and the New Media Department offer graduate assistantships to qualified students, Graduate assistants can take the form of either an RA or a TA position.  RA’s will be involved in a variety of research and program support roles in working with the faculty in the multiple affiliated departments dependent on the student’s background and skills.  TA positions are offered in conjunction with undergraduate New Media classes and thus require specific media and/or programming knowledge.  Teaching assistants are carefully supervised and develop instructional skills that prove useful in later professional careers.  Assistantships are nine-month appointments that include tuition waiver and monthly stipends.  Applicants interested in an assistantship should so indicate in their initial application for admission and contact the Intermedia Program for specific available assistantships.

Course of Study

Given the nature of Intermedia as a non-disciplinary bound, research-based activity it is central that the program be simultaneously structured but flexible to allow for varieties of student choices and areas of study.  The standard conceptual and structural elements of the program consist of the following areas or categories.

  • Basic creative approaches, history and theory
  • Ongoing individualized research and creative production
  • Praxis production and research studio work
  • Individualized technical and theoretical areas
  • Field experience/study abroad experience

Area One


Basic creative approaches, history and theory; consistis of two foundational classes.

Area Two


Ongoing individualized research and creative production; will be facilitated through Intermedia Studio Critique Classes.

Area Three


Praxis production and research studio work; consist of three primary areas taken in three different classes (one taken each year).

Area Four


Individualized technical and theoretical areas: Each semester every full-time student will take one elective course related to their interests and foci. These can be drawn from IMD 520, IMD 530 and IMD 540 topical courses or courses across the campus at a graduate level as they related to the area of work of the individual MFA student.

Area Five


Field Experience / Study Abroad Experience: As part of the Intermedia Program students are expected to take at least one field study course (up to three) that adds to their interdisciplinary study in the MFA Program. This can include study in another subject area, a residency, or an apprenticeship. Students can also choose to take one semester (usually the first semester of the third year) to study or work abroad to meet this requirement.

Applications


Applications are accepted once a year; the priority deadline is January 15th (for consideration for RA/TA Awards) of the year in which you wish to start your graduate studies, but rolling acceptance continues through June until all open positions are filled.  Applicants must complete an application to the Graduate School as well as send a CV, Portfolio and letters of reference to the Intermedia Program.

Correspondence


The Graduate School                                   Intermedia Program
5755 Stodder Hall Room 42                          426 Chadbourne Hall
University of Maine                                      University of Maine
Orono, ME  04469-5755                               Orono, ME  04469-5713
207-581-3291                                             207-581-4389
graduate@maine.edu                                   ofsmith@maine.edu

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