Program Admission Requirements
The program has financial support available in the form of Graduate Assistantships and Tuition Scholarships. Decisions on offers of support are initiated at the end of March for the following academic year. In order to receive full consideration, applicants are encouraged to submit all materials by February 15th although support is sometimes available for students who apply after that date. Final deadline for applications is March 1st for fall admittance.
All application materials must be sent to the ETSU School of Graduate Studies, Box 70720, Johnson City,TN 37614.
In addition to the materials required by the School of Graduate Studies, applicants for the M.A. in New Studio Art are required to submit the following to the School of Graduate Studies:
- Statement of Purpose. This approximately 1000-1500 word essay describes the applicant’s goals for his or her graduate research and/or creative work. The committee uses this information to determine if faculty skills are a good match for the applicant’s interests and to see if the applicant’s agenda is reasonable;
- Undergraduate Transcript. A GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale is recommended;
- Must have three (3) letters of recommendation submitted on their behalf;
and
- TOEFL scores (if applicable).
Additionally, applicants must submit an electronic portfolio to the M.A. New Media Studio graduate coordinator. The portfolio can take many forms: online, CD, DVD, Flicker, YouTube, etc. Emphasis should be on quality rather than quantity, and breakdowns should be provided if necessary. The quantity of work in the portfolio can vary with the applicant’s discipline, but should be enough to give the admission committee a good idea of the applicant’s skill level and creative direction. For example, graphic designers might submit 10-15 pieces, sculptors 10 pieces, animators and modelers 3-5 pieces, etc.
Students can be admitted conditionally if the committee feels that the applicant has potential even though lacking in some areas. Conditional class work is not counted toward the degree.
Admission to Candidacy
Students are not candidates for a degree until they have passed a review process. Each student in the M.A. in New Media Studio selects a capstone committee and must pass Candidacy Review. Review for admission to candidacy will take place after the student has completed 18 credit hours and prior to completing 24 credit hours of study and is prepared to discuss his or her work and the direction of the final capstone research project. At least one member of the capstone committee must be a graduate faculty member of the New Media Studio program and will serve as chair of the committee. The other committee member must have ETSU graduate faculty status and will be assigned with approval of the graduate program coordinator. The capstone committee members guide the student’s scholarly work for the capstone project.
Graduation Requirements
To graduate, students are required to have finished the following:
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33 credit hours of required class work (see curriculum below).
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Final exhibition of creative work. As would be expected in an interdisciplinary degree, the exhibition may be in many different forms. Each student works with her/his committee to determine a suitable venue.
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Capstone Paper. This paper describes the artwork, processes, methods, and the digital and artistic landscape in which the capstone project takes place.
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Capstone Presentation. This is a professional presentation of the paper and artwork to the student’s graduate committee and others.