California Institute of the Arts

Acting

A three-year MFA for advanced, imaginative and highly motivated actors, with rigorous progressive training in acting, voice, speech, movement and theatrical production augmented by performance and production experiences. MFA Actors pass a Graduation Review to complete the program.

Acting

The intensive BFA Acting Program prepares students for a professional acting career across stage, film, television and new-media platforms, based in classical actor training. The curriculum progresses from the American canon and technique in the early years to classical text, modern classics and on-camera work, and all students must pass a Mid-Residence and Graduation Review to obtain the degree.

Aesthetics and Politics

A two-year program (one year full time plus one year low-residency) developing a shared vocabulary and critical framework at the intersection of the aesthetic and the political. Students complete core courses in aesthetic theory, political thought and critical discourse and write a scholarly thesis. Requires 36 credits.

Art

The MFA in Art gives graduate students great freedom to design a course of study suited to their individualized needs, supported through critiques, seminars and independent studio practice. Students must pass two faculty reviews (at mid-residence and at graduation) and present a project or exhibition each year. (2-year program.).

Art

The Art BFA provides training in both critical thinking and artistic process, beginning with foundation courses in various media and moving to individualized studio practice through seminars, group critiques and independent studies. By the third year undergraduates pursue independent studio projects, and students must pass a Mid-Residence Review and a Graduation Review to complete the program.

Art and Technology

The two-year MFA is centered on studio practice, creative research and dialogue at the intersection of art and emerging technologies such as programming, networked systems, interactive media and hybrid performance. Students must pass a Graduate Review, including an exhibition, to obtain the degree.

Character Animation

The Character Animation BFA offers an intensive four-year curriculum devoted to life drawing, color and design, storytelling and both traditional and CG character animation. In later years students advance to specialized work in painting, illustration, graphic novels and visual design and customize their curriculum, developing a professional-caliber portfolio.

Choreography

The two-year MFA enables each graduate student to develop and refine a personal aesthetic, combining seminars, technique, dance theory, production, dance on camera and digital media. Students create and present three original works and produce a Thesis Concert in the final semester.

Composition and Experimental Sound Practices

The BFA in Composition and Experimental Sound Practices comprises a Shared Curriculum required of all music students plus a specialization curriculum in composition. Students develop original work and a cumulative portfolio, with optional concentrations available in areas such as avant-garde rock and noise, electronic music, experimental music, composition for film and video, and instrumental composition.

Composition & Experimental Sound Practices

An MFA in the School of Music emphasizing composition and experimental sound practice, combining composition coursework, ensemble work and studies in music technology, theory, history and world music. All MFA candidates complete a minimum of 60 units.

Creative Writing

A two-year program in which students pursue creative and critical work across genres and media, combining workshopping of student writing with study of the historical and critical contexts of literary work. All candidates give a public reading and produce a substantial manuscript. Requires a minimum of 40 semester units.

Dance

The BFA curriculum builds a strong foundation in ballet, hip hop and contemporary dance styles, with two technique classes a day, four days a week, plus Dance Composition and Choreography throughout the four years. BFA Dance candidates are required to pass a Mid-Residence Review and a Graduation Review to complete the program.

Design and Production

In the first two years, the BFA Design and Production core curriculum is structured around project-driven Theater Studio Labs that explore 'theater' as an expanded field. Upper-division students work with mentors on individualized training and may specialize in areas such as scene design, costume design, lighting design, sound design, technical direction and experience design; all candidates must pass a Mid-Residence and Graduation Review.

Directing

A three-year graduate-only Directing Program in which students participate extensively in the Acting and Design and Production programs and pursue interdisciplinary collaborations across CalArts. MFA Directors pass a Graduation Review and submit a Thesis to obtain the degree.

Experience Design and Production

A three-year MFA specialization in lighting design within Experience Design and Production, centered on developing critical and practical skills including immersive lighting design, AutoCAD, digital rendering and vector works. Lighting Design candidates pass a Graduation Review to complete the program.

Experience Design and Production

The BFA in Experience Design and Production consists of classroom studies and hands-on studio and production work, beginning with a common set of foundation courses covering aesthetics, theory, history, literature, graphics, technology and crafts. Upper-division undergraduates work with mentors on highly individualized training programs tailored to their interests and specialization.

Experimental Animation

A three-year program providing a comprehensive foundation while encouraging poetic, lyrical, structural and other modes of experimentation with the moving image. Students complete a first-year project, a thesis proposal in the second year and an approved thesis project. A total of 60 or more credits is required.

Experimental Animation

The Experimental Animation BFA emphasizes the creative development of a personal aesthetic in an interdisciplinary, artist-centered environment, blending practical knowledge with creative practice and critique across a broad range of animation approaches. Students work closely with a mentor and are required to pass a Graduation Review to complete the program.

Experimental Pop

The Experimental Pop BFA is designed around the concept of the 'Music Artist,' offering core theory and skills studies alongside songwriting, arranging, rock and pop history, recording, producing and individual lessons. Students are encouraged to add classes in non-Western music, experimental composition and music technology, and build a cumulative portfolio evaluated by faculty in their final year.

Experimental Sound Practices

An MFA specialization in the School of Music focused on experimental sound practices, integrating composition lessons, graduate composers' or ESP forums, and studies in music technology, theory, history and world music. Requires a minimum of 60 units.

Film and Video

A three-year program in which graduate students develop technical expertise and historical/critical perspective while producing a substantial body of work. Students complete a first-year project, propose a thesis in the second year, and pass a Thesis Review to complete the program.

Film and Video

The Film and Video BFA is designed to provide students with a full range of technical and practical skills, to teach them to think critically about their chosen mediums, and to guide their artistic growth as they experiment with different forms of cinematic expression. Students must pass a Mid-Residency Review and a Graduation Review in order to complete the program.

Film Directing

The Film Directing Program (MFA only) is a three-year course of study organized into seven metier categories intrinsic to narrative cinema. Students create a deep portfolio of work culminating in an MFA thesis film and must pass a Preliminary Thesis Review and a Graduation Review.

Fine Arts

An Institute-level graduate certificate that schools may award at the graduate level when an undergraduate degree has not been earned but evidence of achievement and capability would otherwise justify admission for regular MFA study. The work completed, units, time in program and review procedures are the same as those required for the MFA degree.

Graphic Design

The MFA focuses on advanced exploration of form, methodology and practice across contemporary design contexts, culminating in a major thesis project. It is offered in two-year and three-year tracks, the latter for students who do not have a graphic design undergraduate degree. Students must pass a Thesis Review to obtain the degree.

Graphic Design

Over the course of the Program, BFA Graphic Design students create a body of work and build an independent path into graphic design practice, supported by a sequence of required and elective classes. Baseline coursework is followed by more specialized classes in areas such as web design, motion graphics and type design.

Instrumental Arts

An MFA specialization in the School of Music's Instrumental Arts Winds program, providing advanced performance training for accomplished bassoonists through lessons, winds ensemble and workshop, chamber and conducted ensembles, and advanced music history and theory. Candidates pass a Mid-Residence Recital and a Graduation Jury and Recital. Requires a minimum of 60 units.

Instrumental Arts

The BFA in Instrumental Arts combines a Shared Curriculum required of all music students with an instrumental performance specialization (offered on instruments including strings, winds, brass, percussion, keyboard, guitar and harp). Students complete private lessons, studio classes, ensembles and a Mid-Residence and Graduation Recital.

Jazz

An MFA in the School of Music's jazz program, anchoring individual study with major lessons, jazz forums and classes in composition, harmonic improvisation, history, theory and analysis, with ensemble work built around student and faculty jazz ensembles. All MFA candidates pass a Mid-Residence Recital and a Graduation Jury and Recital. Requires a minimum of 60 units.

Jazz

The BFA in Jazz pairs the music Shared Curriculum with a jazz performance specialization on the student's instrument, including jazz improvisation, harmonic improvisation, jazz composition/arranging and jazz ensembles. Students complete private lessons, jazz forums and a Graduation Recital.

Music Technology

An MFA in which students concentrate on developing and refining advanced creative engineering skills while working toward a Music Technology MFA Thesis Project. Coursework spans creative technology, programming for electronic music and digital media, sound art, interface design and music technology pedagogy. Requires a minimum of 60 units.

Music Technology: Interaction, Intelligence & Design

The Music Technology: Interaction, Intelligence & Design BFA develops students' creative engineering skills through a broad spectrum of classes at the intersection of art and technology, covering concert production, acoustics, sound synthesis, electronic composition and performance, interface design, audio electronics and interactive media. Students also take part in digital performance ensembles.

Performer-Composer

Designed for advanced students who integrate composition and performance, this MFA structures an individualized course of study across the continuum of creative music-making. Candidates pass a Mid-Residency Recital, a Graduation Jury and Recital and a Graduation Composition Portfolio Review. Requires a minimum of 60 units.

Performer-Composer

A three-year Doctor of Musical Arts program for accomplished composers and performers, holistically combining innovative performance practices with new compositional models through an individualized course of composition and/or performance lessons, doctoral seminars, topic-driven research, performance projects and electives. Includes teaching practicums, qualifying examinations, a First-Year Review, a Doctoral Project and a Final Review. A 60 semester-unit program.

Performer-Composer

The Performer-Composer BFA is designed around the concept of the 'Music Artist,' providing a structured yet highly individualized course of study combining composition and performance practice tailored to each student. Undergraduate performer-composers must pass a Graduation Composition Portfolio Review and a Graduation Jury and Recital to obtain the degree.

Photography and Media

The two-year MFA centers on graduate critiques, seminars and independent studies as students devote most of their time to creating a distinctive body of work. Each year students present an exhibition or other public presentation, with a Mid-Residency review and a Graduation Review.

Photography and Media

The Photography and Media BFA challenges conventional notions of image and art and encourages experimentation with materials and ideas through an evolving suite of technical courses and theoretical coursework. Mentors and program faculty guide students as they develop into professional lens-based artists, and students must pass a Graduation Review to complete the program.

Voice Arts

The Voice Arts BFA trains students in the fundamentals of vocal technique through intensive voice lessons and foundational requisites, including repertoire studies, performance and interpretation, keyboard studies and composition for voice. All undergraduate voice artists are required to pass a Mid-Residence Project/Recital and a Graduation Jury and Project/Recital to obtain the degree.

Voicearts Performance

Enables accomplished voice artists to develop advanced performance techniques and a wider range of stylistic directions, supplemented by graduate studies in music history, literature, theory and vocal physiology. Candidates pass a Mid-Residence Project/Recital, a Graduation Jury and a Graduation Portfolio. Requires a minimum of 60 units.

World Music Performance

A two-year MFA specialization for percussionists developing skills across a broad range of world percussion traditions (African, North Indian, Indonesian, Latin, Brazilian, Persian and more) alongside contemporary experimentation. A final recital is required. Requires a minimum of 60 units.

World Music Performance

The World Music Performance BFA has students study music and dance practices from a variety of world cultures while acquiring solid grounding in music theory, musicianship and history. Focused on high-level solo and ensemble performance in non-Western traditions, it is achieved through close faculty-student instruction, performance projects and classes in world music cultures and ethnology.