Meadows School of the Arts - Division Programs and Descriptions of Courses
Temerlin Advertising Institute for Education and Research
Professor Patricia Alvey,
Distinguished Chair and Director
Professors: Alice Kendrick, Carrie La Ferle.
Associate Professor: Steven Edwards.
Assistant Professors: Glenn Griffin, Kartik Pashupati.
Instructor: Yeo Jung Kim.
Lecturers: Mark Allen, Brice Campbell, Kevin Foreman.
Adjunct Lecturers: Janet Bustin, Brenda Demith, Karen Dougherty, Nathan Huey, Christopher Owens.
Master of Arts in Advertising
Advertising as a cultural force can have a powerful impact on societies as well as brands. The M.A. in advertising at SMU will train students to develop critical thinking skills and provide grounding in advertising theory and traditional disciplines such as account management, consumer behavior, research methods and media planning. Additionally, it will provide training in global, social, cultural and technological sensitivity. The industry is actively pursuing rapidly evolving methods of engaging consumers, such as online and personal social networking, cellular placement, cause marketing, viral messaging, advergaming, product placement, branded entertainment, webisodes and a growing array of messaging vehicles. This engagement is morphing exponentially in conjunction with technological changes and requires a broad understanding of consumers as brand partners. Developing strategies for integrating consumers in branding decisions and developing long-term relationships with consumers is key to success.
The Temerlin Advertising Institute invites each participant to share in an ever-evolving discussion about the power of advertising and join an exploration into how it can be channeled for the betterment of a client’s product or service as well as for society. Participants will have the opportunity to explore responsibility issues within traditional core courses, as well in depth during a responsibility cognate, and then again within an account planning, creative or new media specialization.
Because the Temerlin Advertising Institute is the nation’s only endowed advertising institute, it enjoys a strong relationship with the industry in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. DFW is the nation’s seventh largest television and media market and the headquarters for major advertising agencies, national and global corporations, large U.S. media corporations, public relations firms and film production companies. This location affords access to professionals who are of the highest caliber and who serve as class clients, guest lecturers, executives-in-residence, adjunct faculty and practicum sponsors.
That means all students accepted into the institute will have the opportunity for an industry practicum at a national or global agency, client, or media corporation. In addition, all students accepted into the program will study advertising outside the U.S. to further develop the global perspective needed to be successful in today’s business environment.
People graduating from this program will go on to work, either domestically or internationally, in advertising agencies as account executives, art directors, copy writers, media planners, research analysts or account planners. A graduate of the institute should also be attractive to media organizations, marketing firms, the event management field, branded entertainment, advergaming, motion picture marketing and nonprofit organizations.
Program of Study
All students participate in courses that enhance understanding of practices necessary for future advertising leaders. Core courses include ADV 6317 Theories of Persuasion, ADV 6391 Research Assessment, ADV 6383 Creativity as Problem Solving and ADV 6325 Practicum. In addition, all students will be exposed to differing perspectives regarding the power of advertising by exploring advertising courses such as ADV 6371 Advertising as Cultural Force, ADV 6372 Social Responsibility and Entrepreneurship, ADV 6374 International Advertising and ADV 6399 Advertising Campaigns. Most important, the program offers students the ability to customize their program of study by selecting an area of specialization from account planning, management, creative or interactive media tracks.
Admission Requirements
Applicants will be expected to have an excellent undergraduate record in advertising or a related field. Previous work experience is desirable. And, of course, applicants from other disciplines will be considered provided they can show a keen interest in pursuing a career in advertising.
Applicants must demonstrate an acceptable undergraduate grade point average and satisfactory scores on the GRE or GMAT, and they must complete and submit an application to the Temerlin Advertising Institute.
International students will be required to demonstrate English language proficiency through scores on the TOEFL or other equivalent tests.
In addition to the appropriate undergraduate degree, all students admitted to the program must have completed the following courses or their equivalents:
ADV 2374 Survey of Advertising
ADV 3376 Advertising Media
ADV 3393 Advertising Research or a course on consumer research
Students who have not completed these courses or their equivalent(s) will be required to complete them prior to, or while taking, their first year of graduate courses.
All applicants must submit acceptable references and may be asked to participate in a personal interview. Applicants for the creative specialization will be required to submit an additional application and creative samples.
Degree Requirements
Course Descriptions
The Core Courses (ADV)
6317. Theories of Persuasion. This course focuses on applying knowledge from a variety of social sciences to the study of consumers, both as individuals and as members of larger groups. It draws upon theories from many disciplines to study the behavior of consumers from the standpoint of culture, sub-culture, social class, social groups and family, all with a focus on advertising ramifications. Key theoretical topics include motivations, attitudes, beliefs and learning. Also discussed are ethical considerations in cross-cultural advertising.
6325. Practicum. Intensive advertising industry work experience. This term-long placement will be 20 hours per week for 15 weeks. This industry immersion gives agencies and corporations the opportunity to assign students to long-term clients and projects.
Prerequisites: ADV 6372 Responsibility and Social Entrepreneurship and ADV 6374 International Advertising.
6383. Creativity as Problem Solving. A seminar devoted to the understanding and application of creative thinking as a resource in all facets of the industry. This course offers a strong focus on innovation, change, strategic planning and organizational dynamics as they are informed by creative approaches. Study of the important theories about creativity and review of case studies will provide the basis for class discussion. Group projects and industry monitoring will offer opportunities to apply learning.
6391. Research Assessment. This course will focus on the interpretation and application of research information to make decisions about marketing communication strategies. Emphasis will be placed on the use of data as an aid to problem solving and on the need to critically evaluate the quality of different types and sources of data.
Prerequisite: ADV 6374 International Advertising.
Perspectives Courses
6371. Advertising as Cultural Force. Does advertising take its cues from culture or is it a trendsetting change agent that deliberately or unintentionally shapes society based on what is being advertised? Topics include the development of corporate images, racial and gender stereotypes, persuasive strategies and international cultural differences. Pertinent agencies, ideas, movements, events and people from the past and present will be highlighted as well as future trends. Given the industry's power and influence, students will also be asked to consider the potential impact advertising can have on people and cultures, for good or bad, based on real case studies from around the world.
6372. Responsibility and Social Entrepreneurship.A seminar designed to help students answer a variety of questions, including: Who are the agents of change in the industry and what sets them apart? How can responsibility be defined, and where and how does it manifest itself in the field of advertising? Further, how does responsible advertising evolve into an agent of cultural change? Weekly lectures, guest speakers and review of contemporary literature and case studies will assist students in formulating educated responses.
Prerequisites: ADV 6371 Advertising as Cultural Force, ADV 6317 Theories of Persuasion and ADV 6383 Creativity as Problem Solving.
6374. International Advertising. Advertising in today’s global market economy demands a clear understanding of the environmental and cultural influences on the communication process. Specifically, tomorrow’s professionals will come to understand how the rapidly changing global environment influences marketing and advertising decisions about research, management, strategy, media, execution and a host of other important advertising related issues. A detailed examination of the influence of culture on the consumer behavior process and responses to advertising will consume a large portion of the course. Students will know how to recognize and vocalize similarities and differences between countries and consumers based on tangible cultural indicators. At the end of the semester, students will come away from the course with the necessary tools to effectively communicate and advertise products in a global marketplace.
Prerequisites: ADV 6371 Advertising as Cultural Force, ADV 6317 Theories of Persuasion and ADV 6383 Creativity as Problem Solving.
6399. Advertising Campaigns. Integrating major advertising principles, students work directly with an advertising agency to develop and present a real-world advertising campaign project for one of the agency’s clients. Students use knowledge of research, strategy and planning, and media and creative execution, and they develop presentation techniques and team dynamics.
Prerequisite: ADV 6391 Research Assessment.
Specializations
Account Planning and Management
6362. Account Management. This course will enable students to understand what makes advertising agency account managers successful. The personal and performance qualities that characterize successful account managers will be examined. Emphasis will be placed on interpersonal skills, problem-solving skills and discussions of advertising industry situations.
6363. Advertising Agency Management.Successful advertising agency management requires a clear understanding of a broad spectrum of issues involved with the business side of running and managing an advertising agency. This course is designed to allow students to acquire an in-depth understanding of the varied responsibilities of agency management professionals in areas such as agency organization, business planning, organizational growth, client relationships, agency business models, agency positioning, business development, financial management and human resources management. Students will come away from the course with the tools necessary to step into an active managerial role at an advertising agency or to better manage their own agency.
6392. Qualitative/Quantitative Research.Covers the entire research process. Developing research questions; qualitative methods including focus groups, in-depth interviews and participant observation; quantitative methods including surveys and experiments; sampling; data analysis; and communicating the results. The course also addresses important research concepts including validity, reliability and ethics.
6393. Account Planning.The research-based and consumer-centered approach to strategic development of advertising is the focus of this course. Students will review both qualitative and quantitative research practices used in advertising, as well as the planning techniques used by account planners. Course activities will include the creation of strategic briefs, primary research among consumers and reports that contribute to both creative and media elements of an advertising campaign.
6394. Advanced Planning.Advanced techniques for the development of consumer-centric advertising. Exploration of planners as social scientists and the role they play in advertising agencies. Students will actively employ methods by which planners discover consumer insight and contribute to the development of strategies relevant to important audiences.
Creative
6354. Copywriting Seminar. An intensive exploration of the writer's craft across a variety of literary genres. Students will gain an understanding of the power of words and distinctive voices, with implications for their strategic application.
Corequisite: ADV 6385 Portfolio.
6355. Art Direction Seminar. Students apply the fundamentals of advertising layout and design and gain an in-depth understanding of typography, color theory and other related areas of expertise.
Corequisite: ADV 6385 Portfolio.
6384. Concepting. A workshop for developing ideation skills and helping students self-identify as art directors or writers. Students acquire techniques and develop personal discipline inherent to the generation of novel, sophisticated creative work based on a solid concept – the distinctive, guiding idea that drives campaign messages. Assignments are evaluated in group critiques, and each student completes a final portfolio by term's end.
6385. Portfolio. A workshop course devoted to the continued development and professional-level execution of an advertising portfolio reflecting mastery of strategic and conceptual thinking. Work is prepared and evaluated to satisfy the highest industry standards for placement. Portfolios are reviewed by a jury of creative professionals at an end-of-term critique.
6390. Production Studio. Students learn the basic principles of advertising design and production in tandem with the use of industry-standard hardware and software programs, including the Adobe Creative Suite.
6395. Advanced Portfolio. Students continue development of an advertising portfolio. Special focus is given to the development of nontraditional and alternative media strategies. Students are also required to develop self-promotional materials to complement the portfolio. Portfolios are reviewed by a jury of creative professionals at an end-of-term critique.
Interactive and New Media
6320. Message Delivery and Engagement Systems. Students will explore creative ways to deliver messages to audiences using a variety of traditional and nontraditional media. Emphasis will be placed on the development of delivery systems that can maximize consumers’ engagement with marketing messages. Topics covered will include word-of-mouth, viral marketing, social networking, cause-related marketing, product placement and customer relationship management.
6321. Managing Interactive Campaigns. Exploration of current interactive tools and technologies, the interactive industry landscape and the resources available; identifying the right interactive tools for the right purpose based on marketing and business objectives; understanding the technologies and tools currently being used; relating interactive initiatives to measurable return on investment; understanding the tracking tools available and interpreting statistical data; budget planning for interactive initiatives; and other topics. The course also explores the issue of how to manage the power of user-generated content in today’s complex, integrated media environment.
6322. Metrics.Answers why measurement is important. Negotiates the meaning of words like "relevance" and "engagement." Examines how to tackle measurement across multiple media. Discusses who wants to measure what, why it matters and the likely impact of measurement on the evolution of interactive media.
6323. Commercialization of Virtual Space.Helps students understand how humans interact, communicate and consume virtual environments. The goal is to develop commercial and social applications of virtual spaces, both online and offline, including Web spaces such as Second Life and Active Worlds, social media vehicles such as Facebook and MySpace, and video games. The goal also is to understand users in virtual space and explore applications that provide value to these consumers in the virtual and/or real world.
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Professor Michael Corris,
Division Chair
Professors: Barnaby Fitzgerald, Bill Komodore, Laurence Scholder, James W. Sullivan, Mary Vernon.
Associate Professors: Debora Hunter, Noah Simblist, Philip Van Keuren (director, Pollock Gallery).
Assistant Professor: Carola Dreidemie.
Senior Lecturer: Charles DeBus.
The Master of Fine Arts is the terminal degree in studio art. Students who earn the M.F.A. will be able to show a substantial body of work of uniformly high quality and distinct originality. The student will also have an intellectual grasp of the broad context, historical and current, within which the artist functions. The degree program is designed to comprise a two-year focused period of study, terminating with the M.F.A qualifying exhibition and oral exam.
Master of Fine Arts in Art
Graduate-level study is offered in painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, ceramics and photography. These are not so narrowly defined as to preclude development between media or diverse experimentation within disciplines. A goal of the graduate program of the Division of Art is to encourage a wide range of thought in its students, primarily through open, studio-based investigation.
It is expected that the student will clearly state the course of study he or she intends to pursue. Admission is based on the selection committee’s estimation of the applicant’s ability to succeed in the stated field of specialty. This plan may be altered should the work evolve in a manner that necessitates a change.
Degree Requirements
A minimum of 60 term-credit hours of coursework is required. All courses taken in the division must be numbered 5000 or above. A student may be directed by the faculty to take more than this minimum number of credit hours. Thirty-six to 42 credit hours are to be clearly related to the major field of study. Twelve credit hours of graduate-level art history or study in other academic departments are required. Approval for courses outside of art history must be obtained from the graduate adviser. All students participate in the Studio Graduate Seminar (ASAG 6300) each fall term.
Only grades of
B– and above may apply toward the degree. Meadows School of the Arts ordinarily will approve no more than six term hours of transferred credit. Petitions for exceptions may be filed with the dean after the student is enrolled at SMU.
Upon entering the graduate program, candidates will be given, by the graduate adviser, a thorough outline of the expectations a graduate student will meet.
Graduate Committees and Critiques
With the exception of the Graduate Seminar and the required coursework in art history, graduate study proceeds primarily through individual tutorials with members of the faculty, guided by a three-person graduate committee. Upon entering the program, a student will be assigned a major professor by the graduate adviser to serve as the chair of the student’s committee. The student will also select, in consultation with the major professor, two additional faculty members to serve with the major professor on his or her graduate committee. Graduate committees can change beginning with a student’s second or third term. Membership on the graduate committee becomes permanent at the beginning of the student’s second year except for substitutions for faculty who are on leave. Upon the return of a committee member who has been on leave, he or she will resume his or her place on the student’s committee. The faculty reserves the right to appoint at anytime one faculty member to serve on a student’s committee.
This committee will critique the student at least once every month during each term in which he or she is registered for studio credit. These critiques are normally held the first week of each month, and it is the student’s responsibility to arrange these critiques. Students will be expected to submit to the committee a brief written statement outlining their intentions and progress at each critique.
Graduate Reviews
At the end of each term, a selection of completed work and ongoing work and a written statement discussing the term’s progress will be presented for review to the entire faculty of the division. Continuation in the graduate program is on a term-to-term basis and is determined by the graduate committee with the advice of the faculty at the critique at the end of the term.
Facilities and Special Programs
Facilities for the study of art include well-lighted studios, excellent supporting equipment for all media, including digital and video applications, and individual studios for graduate students. The Division of Art will provide every graduate student with dedicated individual or group workspace for his or her studies. Art students work broadly and as experimentally as they wish, surrounded by artists in dance, music, theater, film and communications.
Studio Space
The Division of Art will provide every graduate student with individual workspace. It is the responsibility of each student to make full and proper use of the space provided or lose the privilege. The division has no obligation to provide studio space for longer than two years.
Additional facilities include the Pollock Gallery, the art exhibition space of the Division of Art, located in the Hughes-Trigg Student Center. Exhibitions organized by the Pollock Gallery provide students, faculty, staff and the surrounding community with opportunities to experience a wide and thought-provoking array of exhibitions representing diverse artists, time periods and cultures.
The division also runs two special programs of importance to graduate students: the New York Colloquium (a winter interterm program that fulfills a three hour art history requirement) and a summer program at SMU’s campus near Taos, New Mexico, for which a student can receive up to six hours of graduate studio credit. During the New York Colloquium, students visit a range of New York museums, galleries, artists’ studios and other venues appropriate to the development of their critical and professional studies in art. SMU-in-Taos, the program at Fort Burgwin, near Taos, offers several approaches to independent and directed study each summer, including plein-air painting, an interdisciplinary studio workshop, sculpture, photography and printmaking.
The Dallas-Fort Worth area is one of the nation’s richest cultural centers and comprises a large artistic community with rich and varied resources. These include six internationally significant museums (the Dallas Museum of Art, the Nasher Sculpture Center and the Meadows Museum in Dallas and the Kimbell Art Museum, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth), a number of contemporary exhibition spaces (the McKinney Avenue Contemporary, the Dallas Contemporary and the Arlington Museum of Art) and a strong commercial gallery system.
Admission
Graduate students are admitted into the M.F.A. program only in the fall term. Candidates for the program must complete the online application at applyweb.com/apply/smu. Additionally, candidates must upload a portfolio including 20 selections of their work at smu.slideroom.com.
Portfolio submissions are due by February 15. Students are encouraged, but not required, to seek an interview with the division’s graduate adviser prior to application. Admission to the graduate program is selective. Only those individuals will be admitted in whom the admissions committee recognizes clear prospects for attaining the objectives of the program during the two-year period of graduate study. Admission also is based on the objectives and limitations of the department.
The applicant is required to have a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree equivalent to that offered at SMU (including 60 studio hours and 12 art history hours). In exceptional cases, unusually qualified applicants not holding this degree may be considered for admission. The ranked admission criteria are portfolio, statement of intent, transcript and recommendations.
In general, not more than six term hours of transfer credit apply to the M.F.A. in art. However, if the applicant has an M.A. in studio art, up to 30 term credit hours may be transferred to the SMU program with the approval of the faculty and the head of the graduate program. In any case, a minimum of 36 hours must be taken at SMU.
Scholarships and Financial Aid
Each year up to five Meadows Scholarships are reserved for incoming graduate students, awarded based upon artistic merit. These awards are for up to full tuition and fees remission and include teaching assistant stipends of up to $4,000 per nine-month academic year. A number of other scholarship programs, including the Jones Scholarship Fund and the Rigsby Graduate Scholarship, offer significant funding for projects, materials and travel in support of creative research.
Graduation Requirements
With the approval of the graduate committee, each student will participate in the M.F.A. Qualifying Exhibition. The M.F.A. Qualifying Exhibition is a group show of all graduate student candidates wishing to receive their M.F.A. degree. Approval to exhibit must be obtained in the term prior to the exhibition. This approval usually is given at the critique at the end of the prior fall term.
The quality of this exhibition will be the primary determinant of whether the M.F.A. degree will be granted. Once approved for the M.F.A. exhibition, the student must enroll for ASAG 6301 M.F.A. Qualifying Exhibition and Exam course in the spring term with the chair of his or her graduate committee.
During the period of the graduate exhibition, the entire faculty will interview each student. This examination is to establish that the student’s creative work is of sufficient maturity and that his or her general knowledge of critical and historical issues is at the level expected of a M.F.A. candidate. At this time, the student will be expected to present an oral defense or explanation of his or her work, a slide presentation explaining the nature of the creative process involved in the creation of his or her work, as well as the following: a written statement related to the issues represented in the work, a photographic record (20 slides) of the student’s work, a résumé and a list of work in the graduate exhibition. This information should be presented in a bound folder. Students may not graduate unless this information is accepted and on file.
If the faculty finds the oral and written review to be unsatisfactory, the student will have the option for a single retake within 10 days of the first review. The student will not be eligible to receive his or her degree after a second failure. This oral review (ASAG 6301) may be repeated the following spring term. Once the exhibition and the faculty examination are accepted and the required materials are turned in, the student will receive his or her degree at the graduation ceremony at the end of the term.
Possession of Work
Meadows School of the Arts is entitled to retain as many as two pieces of work by each student. The intention is to honor the successful candidate and to provide evidence of student success in lieu of the usual formal thesis. These works enter the University art collection.
The division also requires submission of a Web page permission sheet allowing the division to display student artwork on the division website.
Art Courses
In registering for courses in art, the course number must be preceded by the appropriate subject code prefix for credit to be properly recorded.
The ASAG sequence of seminars and independent study comprises the core of the graduate curriculum. Courses in individual disciplines, at or above the 5300 level, also are available for graduate credit.
General Studio (ASAG)
5310. Studio Workshop. An intensive investigation in art by students engaged in independent work, group collaboration and analytical study.
Prerequisite: Advanced work in an area of concentration or graduate standing.
6100–6120, 6204–6220, 6303–6320. Graduate Studio. Independent study with individual faculty members. Teaching is essentially through private critiques. Classroom work can be arranged in instances in which regular work from models or specific technical information or equipment is needed. Scheduling of critique of classroom work is the responsibility of the student.
6300. Graduate Seminar. A forum for discussion of current issues in the theory and practice of art. As opportunity presents, students will meet with artists, dealers, curators, critics and collectors.
6301. M.F.A. Qualifying Exhibition and Exam. Preparation for the qualifying exhibition for candidates for the degree of Master of Fine Arts in art and oral presentation/exam.
6321. Studio Workshop. An intensive investigation in art by students engaged in independent work, group collaboration and analytical study.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
Ceramics (ASCe)
5100, 5101, 5200, 5201, 5302, 5303. Directed Studies in Ceramics.
5300, 5301. Advanced Ceramics. Problems in glaze and clay composition, equipment design and theory of operation. Students are expected to define and solve their own creative and technical problems.
5306. Ceramics in Taos. Advanced problems in ceramics studied in the physical and cultural environment of SMU-in-Taos at Fort Burgwin, New Mexico.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
5310. Special Topics in Ceramics. To be announced by the Division of Art.
Prerequisites: ASCE 2312 or 2313, 3312 or 3313 or permission of the instructor.
5312, 5313, 5314, 5315. Advanced Ceramics. Advanced problems in sculptural and wheel-thrown forms. Emphasis on developing a personal point of view regarding material, process and idea.
Prerequisites: ASCE 4312, 4313 or permission of the instructor.
Drawing (ASDr)
5100, 5101, 5200, 5201, 5302, 5303. Directed Studies in Drawing.
5300, 5301. Advanced Drawing.
Painting (ASPt)
5100, 5101, 5102, 5200, 5201, 5202, 5302, 5303, 5304. Directed Studies in Painting.
5300, 5301. Painting. Advanced problems for the senior student.
Prerequisite: ASPT 4300 or 4301.
5107, 5207, 5307, 5308. Studio Workshop in Taos. Advanced problems in painting studied in the physical and cultural environment of SMU-in-Taos at Fort Burgwin, New Mexico. One, two or three term-credit hours.
5305. Studio Workshop. An intensive investigation in painting by students engaged in independent work, group collaboration and analytical study.
Prerequisite: Advanced work in an area of concentration or graduate standing.
5306. Painting in Taos. Advanced problems in painting studied in the physical and cultural environment of SMU-in-Taos at Fort Burgwin, New Mexico.
Photography (ASPH)
5100, 5101, 5200, 5201, 5302, 5303, 5304. Directed Studies in Photography.
5300, 5301. Special Topics in Photography. To be announced by the Division of Art.
5306. Photography in Taos. Advanced problems in photography studied in the physical and cultural environment of SMU-in-Taos at Fort Burgwin, New Mexico.
Printmaking (ASPR)
5100, 5101, 5200, 5201, 5302, 5303. Directed Studies in Printmaking. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
5300, 5301. Printmaking Workshop. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
Sculpture (ASSC)
5100, 5101, 5200, 5201, 5302, 5303. Directed Studies in Sculpture.
5300, 5301. Advanced Sculpture. Advanced techniques in wood fabrication, plastic fabrication, wood carving, stone carving, metal casting and metal fabrication.
5310. Material and Form. An intensive investigation of material processes (specifically construction, metal casting and subtractive techniques) and the ramifications of material choice and method in the formal and stylistic development of sculptural work. Both the traditional development and contemporary practice of each process will be explored.
Prerequisites: ASDS 1301, ASSC 2300 or graduate standing.
5320. Body and Object. The body has been the pre-eminent subject in the history of sculpture, represented in all traditions as a locus of belief and identity. Recent sculpture has seen a resurgence of interest in work both of and about the body, asserting its centrality while at the same time attacking many of the social and psychological assumptions attendant to its history. This course will take a dual approach to the sculptural study of the body and figure: In class, work will focus on careful observation and direct study of the model, working up to life-sized study in clay and plaster. Out of class, students will consider, through independent projects, the question of the body as a metaphoric subject, creating work “about” the figure without literal reference to it. The aim is to address the body both through its objective structure and its social and psychological meanings and to discover how these issues are conveyed through sculpture. This is an intensive class, with a requirement of six hours of studio work outside scheduled meeting times.
Prerequisites: ASDS 1301, ASSC 2300 or graduate standing.
5340. Shelter and Place. An intensive investigation into architectural forms and natural environments in order to question what it is to dwell, how people achieve a sense of place and how natural forms and events can influence and be influenced by structures. Collaborative work, drawing, analytical study of sites and environments, and construction. Paradigm examples are drawn from historical and contemporary building and sculpture. This is an intensive class, with a requirement of six hours of studio work outside scheduled meeting times.
Prerequisite: ASSC 2300.
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Associate Professor Janis Bergman-Carton,
Department Chair
University Distinguished Professor: P. Gregory Warden. University Distinguished Teaching Professor: Karl Kilinski, II. Professor: Randall C. Griffin. Associate Professors: Adam Herring, Pamela A. Patton, Lisa Pon. Assistant Professor: Amy Buono. Adjunct Professor: Eric White.
Adjunct Associate Professor
: Mark Roglán. Tufts Fellow: Youn-mi Kim. Instructor: Eric Stryker.
The M.A. degree in art history is designed to provide a broad but rigorous background in the history of art. It is intended either as a final degree for those who wish to pursue careers in which training beyond the baccalaureate degree is helpful or as a foundation in graduate study for those who wish to continue work toward a Ph.D. at another institution.
Admission and Financial Aid
Admission to the graduate program is selective. Students are expected to have had substantial undergraduate work in the history of art. A minimum of 12 term credit hours of undergraduate art history above the survey level or equivalent is required before a student may begin to accumulate hours for graduate credit. Students who have been admitted without adequate undergraduate preparation will be expected to take the requisite number of undergraduate hours before or during their first term at SMU. The applicant should have a reading knowledge of one foreign language. Applicants must take the GRE test or, in the case of non-U.S. citizens who are residents outside the U.S., have a previous degree from an English-speaking university. An interview with the art history graduate adviser is desirable.
Outstanding students are awarded tuition grants and teaching/research assistantships. These awards are based on merit. Students accepting the offer of a scholarship may not decline the accompanying assistantship. In addition, the division has funds available so that graduate students may travel to conduct research on their thesis topic.
Application for admission with financial aid must be filed in full by February 15 for the fall term and November 1 for the spring term. To receive a graduate application for admission and/or information concerning assistantships and fellowships, scholarships and degree programs, write to the Office of Graduate Admissions and Records, Meadows School of the Arts, SMU, PO Box 750356, Dallas TX 75275-0356.
Master of Arts in Art History
This is a 36-credit hour program. Thirty credit hours are required in coursework; each course is worth three credit hours. Twenty-one of the 30 credit hours must be of seminar standing – that is, ARHS 5303 plus six additional seminars. During the first term of graduate study, a student must enroll in at least two seminar courses. The final six credits must be taken in the form of a major research paper. This thesis must be approved by a committee of three faculty members at the conclusion of the student’s M.A. work. Prior to enrollment in thesis hours, all students must pass a translation exam in a language related to the field of study and their graduate colloquium, which is generally scheduled at the beginning of their third term. If a student does not pass the colloquium, he or she has the opportunity to represent the work one final time. If unable to pass the second colloquium, he or she will be dropped from the program.
Each student will consult with the department’s director of Graduate Studies upon arrival. Subsequently, students will select a permanent adviser and committee in their fields of special interest. Courses numbered 5000 or higher are graduate courses.
The Courses (ARHS)
Directed Topics and Studies
5011, 5012. Museum Internship.
5101, 5201, 5301. Directed Studies in Art History. To be arranged with permission of the adviser and the faculty members directing the studies project.
5303. History and Methods of the History of Art. Introduction to the history of the discipline with discussion of major methodological approaches as they have shaped past scholarship and the present sense of crisis in the discipline. Exercise in methods of research and its presentation in good form. Required of all first-year graduate students.
6101, 6201, 6301. Master’s Thesis.
Ancient Art
5304. Seminar in Ancient Art. Specific topics for investigation chosen by the instructors. Student reports will be discussed by seminar members.
5305. Seminar in Greek Art. Specific topics for investigation chosen by the instructors. Student reports will be discussed by seminar members.
5306. Seminar on Art, Society and Politics in Periclean Athens. The interrelationships among the social and political institutions of Athens and its art and architecture in the Golden Age of Greece are the primary focus of this course. Set against historical currents of the fifth century B.C.E., the art and theater of classical Athens are explored for their social and political relevance. A variety of topics is offered for individual research and classroom presentation, along with a class visit to the Dallas Museum of Art to examine the Greek art collection there. Taught jointly by faculty in art history and history.
5307. Seminar on Classical Art and Theater. A comparative examination of art, architecture and theater in classical Greece, with particular attention to representational structures, topics and designs in classical performance and the visual arts. Topics will include the uses of art and performance as a forum for addressing issues of local and universal concern and for reflecting upon mythic and historical events. Taught jointly by faculty in art history and theatre.
5308. Seminar in Etruscan Art. Specific topics for investigation chosen by the instructors. Student reports will be discussed by seminar members.
5309. Seminar in Roman Art. Specific topics for investigation chosen by the instructors. Student reports will be discussed by seminar members.
5310. Seminar on Classical Myth in Art. The myths of the Greeks and Romans provide a lively commentary on the beliefs and feelings of these people, founders of Western civilization, whose art and literature continue to have profound effects today. The course is designed to study the origins, developments, iconography and interpretations of classical myth through the painting and sculpture of the Greeks and Romans. It also will focus on the treatment of classical myth in subsequent periods of Western art up to and including the 21st century.
5311. Seminar on Classical and Neo-Classical Architecture. A detailed analysis of the “vocabulary” and “syntax” of Greek and Roman architecture and a study of the re-use of classical motifs, symbols and styles by architects from the Renaissance to the 20th century.
6303. Archaeological Field Methods of Italy. Archaeological field experience in classical archaeology in Italy.
6306. Mummies, Myths and Monuments of Ancient Egypt: Art and Expression of Eternal Egypt. Mummies, magic, pyramids and pharaohs provide the focus for a survey of the exotic world of the ancient Egyptians as seen through their brilliantly preserved art and architecture along the banks of the Nile. Egyptian artistic developments from Pre-Dynastic times through the New Kingdom are scheduled for coverage.
6311. Mortals, Myths and Monuments of Ancient Greece. A visual analysis of the rich tapestry of ancient Greek culture, fountainhead of Western civilization, with emphasis on mythological, archaeological and historical settings in which the art and architecture occurred. The course touches on various aspects of ancient Greek life including religious practices, Olympic contests, theatrical performances and artistic perfection.
6312. Etruscan and Iron Age Italy. A survey of the art, architecture and material culture of Etruscan and Roman Italy from about 800 B.C. to the advent of Christianity. Begins with the Etruscans and their neighbors in Iron Age Italy and ends with Roman art in the age of Constantine. Special emphasis placed on the interpretation of art within the historical, social and cultural context of ancient Italy.
6313. The Etruscans and Early Italy: Art and Culture. The art and architecture of early Italy, including Etruscan art, early Roman art and “Italic” art, will be studied with respect to the cultural context and environment.
6314. The Art and Architecture of Ancient Pompeii. A survey of the history, monuments and society of Campania from the Iron Age to A.D. 79 as reconstructed from the excavations of Pompeii, Herculaneum and neighboring sites. The influence of the Pompeian discoveries on 18th- and 19th-century art will also be discussed.
6315. Classical Sculpture. A study of the styles, subjects and techniques of the sculptor’s art during the ancient Greek, Etruscan, Hellenistic and Roman eras. The course focuses on the functions of sculpture in the round and in relief, free-standing and architectural settings, with particular attention to historical background and subject.
6317. Ancient Painting. A study of the painter’s art in the Egyptian, Greek, Etruscan and Roman cultures encompassing murals, mosaics and ceramics. Iconographical and stylistic developments are given equal consideration.
6319. Art of the Roman Empire. The art and architecture of Imperial Rome in relation to the complex artistic traditions of the Roman provinces. The monuments and art of all the provinces of the Roman Empire are surveyed, dealing with the problem of Roman interaction with alien cultures and styles.
Medieval Art
5320. Seminar in Medieval Art. Specific topics for investigation chosen by the instructor.
5321. Seminar in Early Christian Art. Taught jointly by professors in art history and theology, this seminar engages students in both disciplines in examining the emergence of a distinctly Christian visual culture, the functions and communicative strategies of its images and the role they played in both the religious and the cultural development of early Christianity.
5322. Seminar on “Convivencia”: Jewish, Islamic and Christian Art in Medieval Spain. The art and architecture produced by the Christians, Jews and Muslims of Iberia during the 10th through 15th centuries, studying the cultural contacts, conflicts and compromises that affected each culture’s artistic traditions and contributed the diverse heritage of what now is called Spanish art.
5323. Seminar in Byzantine Art. Specific topics for investigation chosen by the instructor.
6320. Medieval Art. An introduction to the art of Byzantium, Islam and the medieval West through study of five genres to which each of these cultures made distinctive contributions: the congregational worship space, imaging the sacred word, the court and its objects, the pilgrimage site and the urban religious complex.
6321. Age of the Crusades. The art of the various Christian cultures that were swept into the Crusades – especially the northern European, Italian, Byzantine and Armenian – and the changes and the interchanges that characterize the period between 1096 and 1291.
6322. Art and the Italian Commune. The interplay of artistic styles, workshop practices,
religious change and political controversy in the century between St. Francis and the Black Death, emphasizing the art of the Pisani, Cimabue, Cavallini, Giotto, Duccio and the Lorenzetti brothers.
6323. Romanesque Art and Architecture. The flowering of art and architecture that appeared throughout Western Europe at the threshold of the new millennium. Emphasis will be placed on issues of cultural exchange and conflict, the intensification of national identities, the role of spirituality and the changing conception of the individual during the 11th and 12th centuries.
6324. Art and Cultures of Medieval Spain. The art architecture of the Iberian Peninsula within its highly diverse cultural context. Hispano-Roman, Visigothic, Romanesque, Gothic, Jewish and Islamic examples will be highlighted. Classroom lectures will be supplemented by direct study of works in the Meadows Museum.
6325. The Gothic Cathedral The social and spiritual centerpiece of medieval European life, the Gothic cathedral was also one of the greatest multimedia creations of its age. This lecture course uses the cathedral as a springing point for the investigation of the rich architectural and artistic traditions of the high and late Middle Ages in Europe.
6328. Byzantine Art. The art of the Byzantine Empire from the end of Iconoclasm through the 14th century, examining both major media – gold mosaics, mural painting, manuscript illumination, ivory carving and enamel – and the role that this art played in the lives, thoughts and writings of its contemporaries.
6399. The Jewish-Christian Dialogue in Art and Text. The mutual perceptions, conflicts and commonalities among medieval European Christians and Jews, as reflected in works of visual art and in philosophical, theological, legal and literary texts.
Renaissance and Baroque Art
5330. Seminar in Italian Renaissance Art. Specific topics for investigation chosen by the instructor.
5331. Seminar in Early Modern Art. Specific topics for investigation chosen by the instructor.
5332. Seminar in Northern Renaissance Art. Specific topics for investigation chosen by the instructor.
5333. Seminar in 18th-Century Art. Specific topics on 18th-century art and/or architecture chosen by the instructor.
5334. Seminar in Italian Art: Rome. Specific topics for investigation chosen by the instructor.
5340. Seminar in Spanish Art. Specific topics for investigation chosen by the instructor.
5341. Seminar on Goya and Spanish Culture in the Age of Reason. The paintings and etchings of Goya and their significance in the Age of Reason. After full discussion of the range of Goya’s diverse work, students may either draw on the rich resources of the Meadows Museum for their reports or research a cultural or ethical topic pertinent to the period.
6330. Renaissance and Baroque Architecture. An introduction to Renaissance and Baroque architecture through a focus on the fashioning of religious spaces in Italy in the 15th to 17th centuries. The work of artists and architects such as Bramante, Sangallo, Raphael, Michelangelo, Vasari, Bernini, Borromini, Tintoretto, Caravaggio and Guarini will be considered.
6331. Art and Culture of the Italian Renaissance. Major artistic developments of the Renaissance (1300–1600), with special attention to the work of Giotto, Donatello, Leonardo, Raphael, Titian and Michelangelo. Includes study of the customs, literature and philosophy of the period through selected readings of primary sources.
6332. Sixteenth-Century Italian Art. Issues to be considered include the dominance of Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael and Titian in the 16th century; the High Renaissance in Florence and Rome and its aftermath, Mannerism, in Catholic courts across Europe; the development of art history as a discipline in conjunction with the rise of academics, art collecting and the search for elevated status; and the challenge of women artists such as Sofonisba Anguissola to prevailing notions of creativity.
6335. Renaissance and Baroque Art in Northern Europe. Survey of major artists and monuments in France, Germany and the Low Countries from 1400 to 1700.
6336. Seventeenth-Century Dutch Art. An examination of visual culture of the Netherlands during the 17th century as an “art of describing” through the work of such painters as Hals, Vermeer and van Ruisdael and a consideration of the major figure of the period, Rembrandt.
6337. The Baroque from a Northern Perspective. The world of Rembrandt, Rubens, Leyster, Vermeer, Van Dyck, De la Tour, Le Brun, Jones and Wren in the context of such contemporary events as the Thirty Years’ War and the Reformation, as well as such issues as art versus craft, nationalism versus internationalism, individual genius versus market, colourism versus classicism, collector versus connoisseur. By considering a broad range of artworks – from tapestry to painting, from etching to architecture – in terms of the maker, patron/client and market, this survey will seek the underlying whys for this absorbing period.
6338. Baroque Art in Italy, Spain and the New World. A survey of artistic currents in Southern Europe and the Americas during the 17th century, concentrating on the achievements of such artistic giants as Bernini, Caravaggio, Artemisia Gentileschi, Murillo and Velázquez, studying the artistic controversies they ignited and placing them in the context of major social movements. Also, the work of artists who are less well known and the development of Baroque styles in Central and South America.
6339. El Greco to Goya: Spanish Painting of the Golden Age. A survey of the incomparable painting traditions of Spain’s 15th through early 19th centuries, including such artists as El Greco, Velázquez, Ribera, Murillo and Goya. Lectures will be supplemented by direct study of Spanish paintings and prints in the Meadows Museum.
6343. Goya and His Time. A study of Goya’s versatile talents as painter, etcher, lithographer, miniaturist and master of drawing. Through Goya’s work, it will be possible to follow the most relevant events of a decisive period for contemporary Spain.
6347. Eighteenth-Century European Art and Theater: Staging Revolution. The repercussions in the visual and dramatic arts of what historian Eric Hobsbawm called the “dual revolution”: the French Revolution of 1789 and the early English Industrial Revolution. This twin upheaval had broad effects on cultural production in ways that can be explored through the interrelations between art and theater in France and England between 1750 and 1848.
6348. Eighteenth-Century Art. A study of European visual culture, 1700–1800, in its many contexts. Topics to be considered include art and the public sphere; the rise of museums, exhibitions, criticism and theory; shifts in patronage and artistic practice; connections between commerce, industry and the arts; questions of identity; stylistic revivals and innovations; explorations of the past; and encounters with cultures outside Europe.
Modern Art
5350. Seminar on Romanticism and the 19th Century. An interdisciplinary investigation of the cultural sources and subject matter of Romanticism in Europe and America. Students will present oral reports on topics of their choice.
5351. Seminar on Art Nouveau and Symbolism. Introductory lectures on centers, sources and styles of the two international art movements with emphasis on parallel manifestations in dance, music, literature, cinema and philosophy.
5352. Seminar on Edvard Munch and the Nordic Impact. The Scandinavian heritage of existential anxiety as voiced by Kierkegaard, Ibsen, Strindberg and Ingmar Bergman, with a focus on the work of Norwegian artist Edvard Munch. Students report on topics of their choice.
5353. Seminar on Vienna: From Facade to Psyche. An interdisciplinary study of the imperial city just before World War I: Klimt, Schiele, Mahler, Schönberg, Schnitzler, Hofmannsthal, Musil, Kraus, Loos, Wittgenstein and Freud. Student oral reports on related topics.
5354. Seminar in 19th-Century Art. Specific topics for investigation chosen by the instructor.
5355. Seminar in 20th-Century Art. Specific topics for investigation chosen by the instructor.
5356. Seminar on Picasso. The styles and personality of this genius whose protean oeuvre anticipated every major art movement of the first half of the 20th century. Lectures cover Picasso in Spain and the early years in France. Student reports on thematic topics.
5357. Seminar on Cubism. A research seminar in the development of what has been called the most significant stylistic revolution since the Renaissance. The course will examine the origins of cubism and its effect on such other styles as orphism, synchronism, constructivism, futurism, dada and abstract art.
5358. Seminar on Modern Art. Specific topics for investigation chosen by the instructor.
5359. Seminar in Contemporary Art.
Specific topics for investigation chosen by the instructor.
5380. Seminar on Portraiture. A study of portraiture from different periods of history and an investigation of the culture and stylistic reasons for the shift in portraiture from façade to psyche.
5382. Museums and Collecting. The history of great collections and the foundation of art museums as public institutions, the role of museums today and possibilities for the future. Field trips, guest lecturers.
5383. Connoisseurship. Focusing on three major categories (style, quality and authenticity), the student will be taught to discriminate between real and false works, evaluate media use, judge relative aesthetic and historical qualities, and assess condition and degrees of restoration.
5390. Spanish Art in the Meadows Museum. Intensive study of original works of Spanish art (14th century to the present) in the world-renowned collection of the Meadows Museum. Discussion and oral and written reports will focus on issues of style, iconography, connoisseurship and historical context. Visits to local public and private collections. Reading knowledge of Spanish is recommended.
6350. Modern Art and Media Culture 1789–1870.The emergence of a public sphere and a culture of looking in the 19th century. European visual art will be discussed in relation to the rise of museum and gallery culture, journalistic illustration, the department store display window, photography and the panorama.
6351. History of Modern Sculpture. A survey of the development of modern European and American sculpture from the late 19th century to the present. The course will also attempt to relate stylistic changes in sculpture to major trends in other mediums of expression and to art theory and criticism.
6352. Normalcy and Deviance in Modern Europe: Impressionism to Surrealism.Examines impressionist, symbolist and surrealist art in relation to the emergence of the modern metropolis and the concept of modernity in Europe from 1870–1940. The discourse of deviance and degeneration that emerged in the context of 19th-century racial theory, criminology and medical science will form the framework for discussion. (also SMU-in-Paris)
6355. History of Photography II: 1940 to Present.A survey of the history of photographic media from 1940 to the present with particular emphasis given to the still photograph in its various uses – as art, document, aide-mémoire, amateur pursuit and social practice. This course examines photographic images and image-makers in relation to the social and historical contexts in which they are produced, as well as the evolution of photographic technologies. The idea of the “photographic image” as it appears in and is transformed through television, video, film, conceptual art and new media will also be evaluated.
6356. Modern Architecture. Western architecture from the late 19th century to the present, focusing on the proto-modern trends of the late 19th century and the major masters of the “modern” movement: Sullivan, Wright, Gropius, Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe.
6357. Women Artists. A study of notable women artists from the Renaissance to the 20th century. Introductory lectures on women artists of the past viewed in their cultural and political context. Student reports on more recent women artists.
6358. Women in the Visual Arts: Both Sides of the Easel. An in-depth study of women in the visual arts in Europe and the Americas. Through introductory lectures, students will examine the historical exclusion of women from the canon. Most of the class will focus on images produced by and of women from 1850 to the present. The topics covered include feminist challenges to the history of art, abstraction and the female nude, the use of one’s “self” as material for art and feminist filmmaking.
6364. History and Theory of Prints. Students are surrounded by printed things: newspapers, postage stamps, maps and works of art. This course offers a chance to be more attentive to how prints are made and how they can function, while providing an overview of the history of printmaking. Students will survey some established and emerging printmakers and major printmaking techniques from the 15th through 21st centuries. They will also consider some fundamental issues regarding originality/copying, uniqueness/multiplicity, display and collecting as raised by the medium of print. First-hand experience with prints, through visits to and looking assignments in local collections as well as in-class exercises, is a vital part of this course.
6367. History of Photography I: Origins to 1940. Examines the origins of photography in the early 19th century, when photography emerged as part of a late Enlightenment scientific discourse. The course explores the myriad uses of photography during the 19th century, when it was interwoven with a wide array of new institutional spaces, including botany, anthropology and geology. It also examines photography on the battlefield and in prisons, the emergence of documentary photography, and the role that the medium played in shaping consumer culture. The course will also examine the emergence of art photography, from Victorian peasant imagery to precisionist portrayals of skyscrapers in the 1930s.
6368. Contemporary Art and Architecture I, 1945–1965. The first of a two-part lecture course that focuses on the history of art and architecture after World War II. The period of focus for this portion of the course is the first 20 years after the war, from 1945 to 1965. In this short span of time, students will see radical transformations in art and architecture: from the triumphalist bravado of the prewar avant-garde to the existential crises of midcentury abstractionists; from Cold War-era American suburbanization to student riots in the streets of Paris in May 1968. Students will investigate the greater political economy of individual objects, buildings and events of the recent past, with the goal of understanding how they are constitutive of the greater political, social and economic network of forces in which they live today.
6369. Contemporary Art and Architecture II, 1965–Present. The second of a two-part lecture course on contemporary art and architecture. It focuses on the history of art and architecture in Europe, the United States and Japan, 1965 to the present. Topics include: the transformation of art as a result of Roland Barthes’ “Death of the Author” and Michel Foucault’s “What is an Author?”; theory and conceptualism in art and architecture; the politics of the body and spatiality; gender and sexuality in the 1970s and 1980s; postmodernism in art and architecture; the philosophy of deconstruction and its effects on art and architecture; video, installation art and British art in the 1990s; the death drive of painting; painting in the new millennium; and the new flatness.
British and American Art
5360. Seminar in British Art. Specific topics for investigation chosen by the instructor.
5361. Seminar in American Art of the 19th Century. Specific topics for investigation chosen by the
instructor.
5362. Seminar in American Art of the 20th Century.Specific topics for investigation chosen by the instructor.
6370. British Architecture. Developments, architects and buildings in Great Britain from the late Middle Ages through the middle of the 19th century, emphasizing Smythson, Wren, Hawksmoor, Adam, Soane and Pugin.
6371. British Art: Elizabethan Through Victorian.The landscape traditions, portraiture and genre painting in England from 1740 to 1860 and their relationship to the literature and politics of the period.
6372. American Architecture. A survey of building types and styles from the first European settlements to postmodernism, emphasizing the Mexican baroque, the American wooden vernacular, Richardson, Sullivan and Wright.
6373. American Art and Architecture to 1865. A survey of American painting, sculpture and architecture from the Colonial period through the Civil War.
6374. American Art and Architecture, 1865–1945. A survey of American painting, sculpture and architecture from the Civil War through World War II.
6375. Arts of the American Southwest. An overview of the visual culture of the region, defined as Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona and California. Focuses on the region’s cultural landscape, its identity past and present as an art colony, art subject and art center. Looks at works produced by indigenous inhabitants, later arrivals and visitors; at cross-cultural connections and disconnections; at the roles played by the arts and tourism in the region’s development; and at the validity of regionalism as a category of investigation.
World Art
5366. Seminar in Pre-Columbian Art. Specific topics for investigation chosen by the instructor.
5368. Seminar on the Maya City: Art and Culture. Specific topics for investigation chosen by the instructor.
5369. Seminar on the Art of the Inca. Specific topics for investigation chosen by the instructor.
5391. Seminar in Asian Art. Specific topics for investigation chosen by the instructor.
6359. Topics in Art History: International Studies. Specific topics for investigation will be chosen by the instructor.
6361. Special Studies in Art History. Specific topics for investigation will be chosen by the instructor.
6363. Colonial Brazil. With new technologies of shipbuilding, navigation and cartography, the Portuguese Empire established or enhanced contact with cultures across the globe in the wake of the “discoveries” of 1492. This course will take Brazil as its case study for understanding Lusophone art production, set within the context of the larger Portuguese Atlantic world. We will explore the history of colonial Brazilian art and architecture from the arrival of Europeans in 1500 to the foundation of Brazil’s first art academy in the 1820s. Topics to be covered include Brazil’s complex tapestry of intercultural relations among Amerindians, Africans and Europeans. The art covered will be very wide ranging, including Tupi-Guarani featherwork, ceramics and weaving; religious art and architecture of the Jesuits, Franciscans, Benedictines and Carmelites; Afro-Brazilian artists; Baroque ensembles of ceiling painting, altarpieces, polychrome sculpture and ecclesiastical furniture; and the formation of art and natural history academies.
6376. Latin American Art. A survey of art and architecture in Latin America from the initial contacts between European and American civilizations until the 20th century.
6379. Power and Spectacle: The Arts of Spain and New Spain. Examines the visual arts of early modern Spain and Colonial Mexico. Emphasis on the interplay and creative synthesis of European and New World visual cultures within the colonial sphere.
6380. Native American Art: The Southwestern Traditions. Surveys, through field trip and lecture-discussion, two major traditions, Native American and Hispanic, which flourish in the American Southwest.
6381. American Indian and Eskimo Art. The ritual and everyday objects of the native inhabitants of North America and the architecture of the Mound Builders and the Southwestern Indians.
6382. Arts of the Ancient Andean Tradition: Chavín to Inca. A survey of the major arts produced between about 1200 B.C. and A.D. 1530 by the indigenous peoples of modern western South America with greatest emphasis on the many successive art-producing cultures of Peru.
6383. The Ancient Maya: Art and History. An introduction to the art and history of the Maya of Central America. The course will address the principal sites and monuments of the ancient Maya civilization, impart a working understanding of the Maya hieroglyphic writing system and survey the political history of the fractious ancient Maya cities.
6385. The Aztecs Before and After the Conquest: Mesoamerica, 1400–1600. The art and cultural history of Mexico in the centuries immediately before and after the Spanish arrival in Mesoamerica. Topics include the art and ceremony of the imperial Aztec state; the nature of the conflict, between 1519 and 1521, that ended in the fall of the Aztec capital to the Spanish; and the monuments of Spanish conquerors, missionaries and native elite in Mexico’s early colonial period.
6390. Traditional Arts of Africa. A survey of the art produced in traditional African societies with special emphasis on the sculpture of West and Central Africa.
6392 (CFA 3313). Islamic Art and Architecture: The Creation of a New Art. Issues significant to the creation and expansion of Islamic art from the seventh to the 15th centuries. Topics include the cultural and political exchange and conflict between Muslims and Christians, religious concerns and the artistic forms created to meet them, the importance of the book in Muslim culture, the distinctions between religious and secular art, and the appropriation of sacred space in Muslim architecture.
6394. Art and Architecture of Japan. Survey of religious and secular arts from prehistoric times through the Edo period. Field trips to Kyoto and Nara. (also SMU-in-Japan)
6395. Art and Architecture of India. An introduction to the major artistic expressions of India from the Indus Valley civilization through the time of the Mughals.
6396. Art and Architecture of China. The important monuments in China, ranging from 2000 B.C. to the present day, in a variety of media including cast bronze, stone, sculpture, painting on silk and paper, porcelain and wooden architecture. Selected objects and sites will illuminate the concept of “monument” from differing perspectives of technology, aesthetics, labor, religion, ethnicity and politics. Also, comparisons to analogous monuments outside China and visits to collections of Chinese art in Dallas and Fort Worth. (also SMU-in-China)
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Professor Zannie Giraud Voss,
Division Chair
Assistant Professor Elisabetta Lazzaro
The Meadows School of the Arts, in conjunction with the Cox School of Business, offers to a limited number of highly qualified candidates this country’s only concurrent dual-degree graduate program in arts administration. Through the Department of Arts Administration, the M.A./M.B.A. program combines development of contemporary general-management skills with in-depth study of today’s professional arts world. This program is offered only on a full-time basis.
The program is five successive terms, including summer. The curricula include instruction from distinguished arts and business professors, continuing seminars with nationally recognized arts administrators, and education abroad and internship components. During the first year, students take arts management seminars and the core-required business curriculum, the basis on which to build for the variety of elective courses scheduled during mornings, afternoons and evenings of the second year. During the summer between the first and second year, students intern full time with a professional arts organization. In the first semester of the second year, students study at Bocconi University in Milan, Italy. Seminars and practica (part-time internships) in the arts tailored to the individual student’s background, experience and career goals round out the education. The Arts Administration graduate office also assists graduates in their career objectives through guidance and assistance with their placement.
The Admissions Committee seeks candidates who demonstrate outstanding academic achievement and potential, leadership qualities and management potential. To assess these characteristics, the committee will look to the following elements to help identify a candidate’s potential to succeed in the program: test scores (GMAT required for all applicants; TOEFL also required for international applicants), previous academic records (If a candidate has not earned a baccalaureate degree in an arts field, a degree in another field combined with significant academic, professional or personal experience in the arts is acceptable), recommendations that speak to a candidate’s professional performance and self-evaluation essays. Personal interviews are conducted at the request of the Admissions Committee after a complete application has been received. Merit-based scholarships are available on a limited basis.
The applications for study in the Arts Administration graduate program are accepted only for fall admission. Students must be accepted by both the Arts Administration program and the Cox School of Business; however, candidates submit only the Cox M.B.A. on-line application and select M.A./M.B.A. as the degree choice. For more information, visit the Meadows website at smu.edu/meadows and select Arts Administration or contact arad@smu.edu. Information can also be found on the Cox website at coxmba.com, or contactmbainfo@cox.smu.edu.
Curriculum
Contact the Edwin L. Cox School of Business for descriptions of the required business courses.
The Courses (ARAD)
The following courses for the M.A./M.B.A. are taught in the Meadows School of the Arts.
6201. Introduction to Arts Management. This course integrates arts management theory and practices from a variety of arts disciplines. The goal of the course is to explore management of arts organizations locally, nationally and internationally.
6202. Strategic Planning in the Arts.This course will focus on the role of long-range planning in arts institutions, including alignment of organizational mission with strategic objectives, organizational capacity and capital structure. Students will analyze an arts organization in-depth, and then they will construct an appropriate, detailed strategic plan.
6205. Nonprofit Financial Management.The primary emphasis is financial and operational management of nonprofit arts organizations. Emphasis will be placed on budgeting as a reflection of the art form; as a means of fiscal prediction and control; and as a vehicle of communication among staff, trustees and the organization’s other constituencies.
6215. Independent Study: In-Depth Industry Exploration. This research course will give students an opportunity to fully explore the structural and managerial specifics of their arts industry discipline of choice, including collective bargaining agreements, current trends and pressing issues, programming management, and technology.
6222. Audience Development and Marketing in the Arts. Development of external and internal marketing plans, including the following topics: audience development, market segmentation, promotional strategies, sponsorships, e-market research, customer service and media relations.
6223. Fundraising in the Arts. Examination of strategies for raising funds in the private and public sectors, including the process of researching, preparing and managing individual and corporate gifts as well as foundation and government grants.
6304. Arts Administration Internship. An internship in the field of the student’s specialty with a professional arts organization. A sampling of past internships includes the American Association of Museums in Washington, D.C.; the Arena Stage; the Art Institute of Chicago; the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota; the Lyric Opera of Chicago; and the Philadelphia Orchestra.
6321. Law and the Arts.Analysis of legal implications of managing an arts institution, including the following topics: tax-exempt structure; contracts; copyright, trademark and ownership for the performing and visual arts; royalties and artist’s economic rights; First Amendment issues; and international regulations.
6331. International Arts Exchange Bocconi.
6332. International Arts Exchange Bocconi.
6333. International Arts Exchange Bocconi.
6334. International Arts Exchange Bocconi.
Required: 0 Credit Hours Each
6051. Practica. 10 hours per week, spring of first year.
6053. Practica. 10 hours per week, fall of second year.
6054. Practica. 10 hours per week, spring of second year.
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Professor Rachel V. Lyon,
Division Chair
Professor: Rick Worland.
Associate Professors: Pamela Elder, Sean Griffin, Kevin Heffernan, Carolyn Macartney, David Sedman.
Assistant Professors: Derek Kompare, Mark Kerins.
Lecturer: Kelli Herd.
Facilities
The Division of Cinema-Television is located in the Umphrey Lee Center, which houses faculty offices, audio and video production areas, and media support areas. These include basic video/audio modules, video logging rooms, off-line editing rooms, nonlinear editing labs, film editing suites, storage and equipment checkout, digital audio rooms, editing labs, a seminar room, a graphics lab, viewing rooms, and TV studio and production classrooms. Two additional screening classrooms equipped for film, video and DVD projection are located in the Greer Garson Theatre.
Admission and Financial Aid
To be admitted to the graduate studies program in the Division of Cinema-Television, an applicant must have obtained a Bachelor’s degree from a four-year accredited college or university, must have achieved a
B average (3.0 on a 4.0 scale) in her or his major during the last two years of undergraduate coursework, must submit recent GRE scores with verbal score achievement of 450 and must have the approval of the graduate faculty in Cinema-Television. An applicant whose grade point average or GRE score is below the required level may be admitted conditionally at the discretion of the graduate faculty in Cinema-Television.
Several types of financial assistance are available to help meet the needs of students admitted to the graduate program in Cinema-Television. In addition, guaranteed student loans and some grants may be available to students with demonstrated need.
Cinema-Television M.A. Curriculum
This 36-hour program in media history, criticism and theory is designed to be completed during a four-term (two-year) period. Within the course requirements, the program is divided into one-third required courses, one-half electives and one-sixth thesis work.
At the end of each student’s first year, he or she will select a committee of at least three faculty members. This committee will monitor the student’s progress, provide feedback as the student moves toward and creates a thesis, and serve as the final examining board after the thesis project has been completed. Additionally, one member of the committee will be selected as the student’s primary adviser; this designation may change during the course of the student’s career. All thesis project credits will be monitored by a faculty adviser, most likely one of the student's committee members.
M.A. candidates are required to register for the critique/presentation course every term that they are enrolled in the program. M.A. students may enroll in two directed studies for credit.
If a student applies with a degree from a field other than television-film, broadcasting or telecommunications, the division has the discretion to require him or her to complete undergraduate courses in film/TV history (which may include CTV 1301 Film and Media Aesthetics, CTV 1302 Media and Culture, CTV 2351 International Film History or CTV 2352 American Film History) or the undergraduate production course CTV 1304 Basic Video and Audio Production. These courses will not count in the degree plan, but are especially helpful in preparing students for advanced study in fields with which they may not be sufficiently familiar. Such courses must be passed with a grade of
C or better.
Graduation Requirements
All M.A. candidates will complete a written thesis project. This project will be a research and theoretical/analytical paper and will have been developed in consultation with the student’s faculty adviser. The completed thesis will be presented to the student’s faculty committee for an oral defense. The defense is to establish that the M.A. candidate’s work is of sufficient depth and rigor, as well as to ensure that the student’s general knowledge of critical and historical issues is at the level expected of a M.A. candidate. After this defense, approval of the thesis may be granted as is or the committee may grant provisional approval contingent on necessary revisions. Once the thesis gets final approval from the committee, the student will receive his or her degree at the graduation ceremony at the end of the term.
Graduate History, Criticism and Theory Courses
CTV 5110, 5210, 5310 Directed Studies
CTV 6000, 6100, 6200, 6300, 6320, 6321 Thesis or Project
CTV 6099 Critique/Presentation
CTV 6305 Motion Picture of Paris
CTV 6310 Screen Artists
CTV 6311 Advanced Directed Studies
CTV 6312 Great Directors
CTV 6313 Introduction to Research Methods
CTV 6315 History of Documentary Film/TV
CTV 6317 Historiography
CTV 6325 Internship
CTV 6328 Media Management
CTV 6330 Media Sales
CTV 6333 Film/Television Genres
CTV 6351 Mapping Modernism
CTV 6353 Seminar in Media Theory I
CTV 6354 Seminar in Media Theory II
CTV 6359 National Cinemas
CTV 6361 Media Programming
CTV 6375 Postwar European Cinema
CTV 6395, 6396, 6397, 6398 Topics in Cinema-Television Studies
CTV 6399 Global Media Systems
Cinema-Television M.F.A. Curriculum
This 60-hour program is designed to be completed over a five-term (two-year) period, although, given the variance in time it takes to complete a film or video project, some students may need a sixth term. Within the course requirements, the program is divided into 40 percent required courses, 35 percent electives and 25 percent thesis work.
At the end of each student’s first year, he or she will select a committee of at least three faculty members. This committee will monitor the student’s progress and provide feedback as the student moves toward and creates a thesis and serve as the final examining board after the thesis project has been completed. Additionally, one member of the committee will be selected as the student’s primary adviser; this designation may change during the course of the student’s career. All thesis projects will be monitored by a faculty adviser, most likely one of the student's committee members.
M.F.A. candidates are required to register for the critique/presentation course every term that they are enrolled in the program. Students may enroll in two directed studies courses for credit. Students may also enroll in two internship courses for credit.
If a student applies with a degree from a field other than television-film, broadcasting or telecommunications, the division has the discretion to require him or her to complete the undergraduate production course CTV 1304 Basic Video and Audio Production. This course will not count in the degree plan, but is especially helpful in preparing students for advanced study in a field with which they may not be sufficiently familiar. This course must be passed with a grade of
C or better.
Graduation Requirements
All M.F.A. candidates will complete a thesis project. This project may be a single film, video or television piece, or a combination of several pieces, and will have been developed in consultation with the student’s faculty adviser. It is expected that students will work collaboratively with other students and/or a professional cast and crew, but the M.F.A. candidate must have served as the director and primary creative force behind all components of the thesis project.
Once the thesis project has been completed, the student’s faculty committee will interview the student. This examination is to establish that the M.F.A. candidate’s creative work is of sufficient maturity, as well as to ensure that the student’s general knowledge of critical and historical issues is at the level expected of a M.F.A. candidate. At this time, students will be expected to present an oral defense or explanation of the thesis project.
After this examination, approval of the thesis project may be granted as is or the committee may grant provisional approval contingent on necessary revisions. Once the thesis committee has approved the finished project, each student must then arrange for a public exhibition of his or her thesis project on campus. This exhibition must include a public screening of the entire thesis project and an opportunity for the audience to question the candidate about the work. After this exhibition, the student must provide the division with a production book for the thesis project and copies of the finished film, video or TV project as specified by the division. Once the exhibition and the faculty examination are completed and approved and the required materials have been turned in, the student will receive his or her degree at the graduation ceremony at the end of that term.
Graduate Production Courses
CTV 5110, 5210, 5311, 5331 Directed Studies
CTV 5312 Media Career Preparation
CTV 6000, 6100, 6200, 6300, 6320, 6321 Thesis or Project
CTV 6099 Critique/Presentation
CTV 6101 TV Ad Concept
CTV 6125, 6225, 6325 Internship
CTV 6201 TV Ad Production
CTV 6301 16mm Production
CTV 6302 Multi-Camera Field Production
CTV 6303 Multi-Camera Studio Production
CTV 6304 New Media Platforms
CTV 6306 Documentary and Reality Production
CTV 6307 Audio Recording
CTV 6308 Editing
CTV 6309 Advanced Post-Production
CTV 6311 Advanced Directed Studies
CTV 6313 Introduction to Research Methods
CTV 6316 Producer's Seminar
CTV 6335 Film Exhibition and Distribution
CTV 6340 Graduate Seminar: Production
CTV 6350 Advanced Screenwriting
CTV 6356 Narrative Production
CTV 6357 Lighting for the Camera
CTV 6358 Directing the Screen Actor
CTV 6370Advanced High Definition Production
CTV 6390Topics in Single-Camera Production
CTV 6391Topics in Single-Camera Specialization
CTV 6392 Topics in Multi-Camera Production
CTV 6394Advanced Audio
The Courses (CTV)
5110, 5210, 5310. Directed Studies. Opportunity for individual studies by advanced students.
6000, 6100, 6200, 6300, 6320, 6321. Thesis or Project in Cinema-Television.
6099. Critique/Presentation.Presentation by students and faculty of analytical and/or creative work in early or final stages, for reaction and comments. Meetings will convene two or three times a term. Graduate students are required to enroll for each term that they are in the program.
6101. TV Ad ConceptUsing a preselected client and working in small groups, students create advertising concepts and develop them into shootable 30- and 60-second television commercials.
6125, 6225, 6325. Internship. Allows students to earn academic credit through practical experience gained by working part-time in the professional media during the fall and spring.
6201. TV Ad Production. Students plan, shoot and complete television commercials based on concepts created in CTV 6301 for ultimate submission to a national competition. May be repeated for credit in different years.
6301.16mm Production. Basic principles and practices of television studio production. Students rotate through the various studio positions in a series of television production exercises.
6302. Multi-Camera Field ProductionBasic principles and practices of electronic multiple camera field production and editing techniques. Students rotate through various exercises to become familiar with many facets of field production by producing, directing and editing entertainment programming.
6303. Multi-Camera Studio Production. Basic principles and practices of electronic multi-ple-camera studio production are taught while rotating students through studio positions in a series of production exercises.
6304. New Media Platforms.Explores contemporary new media content, production and multi-platform distribution modes. Students will research the aesthetics, culture and theories of multi-platform new media, including webisodes, mobisodes, blogs, games and podcasts, and then collaboratively produce their own pieces for on- and off-line distribution.
6306. Documentary and Reality Production. Advanced level course in documentary film/video production, including both conceptual and practical study. Through writing, shooting and editing, individually or in groups, students will create nonfiction productions.
6307. Audio Recording. Survey of the theory, equipment and practice of audio recording for audiovisual media.
6308. Editing. Focuses on the techniques of nonlinear editing and digital post-production in the media world. Teaches the art of editing by using professional digital editing systems like the Avid and Final Cut Pro. Emphasis on cutting scenes, studying major films and reviewing the latest technological advances.
6309. Advanced Post-Production. In-depth exploration of technical and creative aspects of post-production. Topics may include DVD design and authoring, color correction, video codes and formats, project file management, post-production scheduling and budgeting, digital intermediates, animation, titles and credits, and surround sound.
6310. Advanced Screen Artists. An examination of the questions of authorship pertinent to the cinema with a focus on the works of one or more film artists. The specific directors, producers, screenwriters and other artists treated by the course will vary from term to term.
6311. Advanced Directed StudiesIndependent study under the direction and supervision of a faculty member. A directed study is a close collaboration between the professor and an advanced student who conducts a rigorous project that goes beyond the experiences available in the classroom.
Prerequisite: Instructor permission.
6312. Great Directors. Critical and historical review of the world's great directors and their works.
6313. Introduction to Research Methods. Survey of research methods used to analyze film and other media including historical, audience and industry research, as well as the use of research in the media preproduction process. Basic research skills and sources to be used toward completing a graduate thesis or project will be introduced.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
6315. History of Documentary Film and Television. An overview of the development of the documentary mode in cinema and television, offering a survey of the nonfiction film and video provided by newsreels, training films, propaganda movies, wartime documentaries and “reality” TV.
6316. Producers Seminar. Lectures and discussions by both faculty and guest speakers from the industry provide an overview of the basic business and legal aspects of film and television production.
6317. Historiography. The practical and philosophical issues central to writing the histories of film, television and new media. An examination of the formulation of research questions relating to historical investigation, research methods and the use of primary documents, and the ascription of cause and effect to people, events and institutions.
6320. Thesis or Project.
6321. Thesis or Project.
6328. Media Management. An examination of corporations and industries involved in the mass media. Emphasis is on understanding the interplay of markets, buyers, sellers, consumers and costs. Microeconomic and macroeconomic analysis is used in studying media organizations and industries.
6330. Media Sales. An examination of the contemporary world electronic media sales. The goal is to combine strategic thinking with creative thought while keeping the target audience/client in mind.
6333. Advanced Film/Television Genres. Examines questions of genre pertinent to film and/or television by focusing on various generic forms and their history. The specific genres under consideration will vary from term to term.
6335.Film Exhibition and Distribution.Offers a detailed examination of contemporary practices in the distribution and exhibition of theatrical feature films, including the roles of audience survey techniques, booking, publicity and advertising.
6340. Graduate Seminar: Production. Through various exercises and a final project, students share in varied production experiences.
6350. Advanced Screenwriting. Through weekly story conferences with the instructor, each student develops a complete feature-length screenplay ready for submission to a producer or agent.
6351. Mapping Modernism: Artistic Collaborations in Paris and Moscow, 1890–1940.This class examines early 20th-century modernism through the lens of fertile collaborations and exchanges in art, dance, film, music and theater in Paris and Moscow between 1890 and 1940.
6353. Seminar in Media Theory I. Provides an overview of early major theories and philosophies of cinema and mass media (including classical film theory, the Frankfurt School, structuralism and an introduction to poststructuralism) and demonstrates the application of various analytical approaches to specific texts. Must be followed by enrollment in CTV 6354.
6354. Seminar in Media Theory II. Provides an overview of major theories and philosophies of cinema and mass media since the advent of poststructuralist analysis (including psychoanalytic theory, cultural studies, theories of gender, race and sexuality, and new media theory), and demonstrates the application of various analytical approaches to specific texts.
Prerequisite: CTV 6353.
6356. Narrative Production.Introduction to sync sound production practices and equipment. Two in-class projects demonstrate and provide practical hands-on practice in professional crew organization techniques and gear. Additionally, each student conceives, shoots and completes her or his own short film. Scheduling, budgeting and other advanced production skills are covered.
6357. Lighting for the Camera. A study of lighting for the camera intended for those who already have a firm grasp on the basics of film or TV production. Examination and analysis of lighting in selected films and TV shows will be complemented by demonstration of lighting technique and intensive hands-on experience. Other topics relating to the art of cinematography will also be investigated.
6358. Directing the Screen Actor. Theoretical background and practical experience in directing performers for film and television productions. Blocking action, camera placement and movement lines deliveries, action scenes, hitting marks, props, costumes, lighting and makeup, dubbing and the “Method,” and other acting theories will be studied, discussed and practiced on videotape through a series of exercises.
6359. National Cinemas. Examines the social, economic, technological and aesthetic histories of cinema from various nations, as well as the concept of "national cinema." The specific nations under consideration will vary from term to term.
6361. Media Programming. An analysis of the development of program ideas and the research and strategies involved in programming media outlets. Discussions and readings deal with regulatory aspects of broadcasting, cable, telephone and personal communication services, and wireless communications.
6375. Postwar European Cinema, 1945 to Present. Presents an overview of postwar European cinema focusing on major films, directors and national movements. Considers cultural and stylistic features that differ from Hollywood genre models.
6390. Topics in Single-Camera Production. Focuses on a specific topic pertinent to single-camera production. Subjects vary from term to term.
6391. Topics in Single-Camera Specialization. Intensive study of a special topic or area of specialization.
6392. Topics in Multi-Camera Production. Focuses on a specific topic pertinent to multi-camera production. Subjects vary from term to term.
6394. Audio Post-Production. Project-based course on post-production audio techniques for film and television, with an emphasis on the creative aspects of sound design. Includes in-depth training on Pro Tools software/hardware and other equipment.
6395, 6396, 6397, 6398. Topics in Cinema-Television. These courses focus on a specific topic pertinent to film or television study. Subjects vary from term to term and may include the areas of film/TV history, critical theory, the film/TV business, etc.
6399. Global Media Systems. The interrelationship between broadcasting media in various areas of the world and the system of government under which they developed.
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Myra Woodruff,
Chair
Professor: Shelley Berg.
Associate Professors: Danny Buraczeski, Patricia Harrington Delaney, Leslie Peck.
Assistant Professors: Christopher Dolder, Millicent Johnnie.
Musicians: Dick Abrahamson, Jamal Mohamed, Mina Polevoy, Edward Lee Smith, Daniel Sullivan, Janeen Vestal.
Lecturers: Deborah Barr Truitt, Andrew Parker.
Adjunct Lecturers: Mary Condon, Shelley Estes.
The 60-credit program is designed to provide the graduate with a terminal degree in the creative, practical and theoretical aspects of dance. The division has developed a three-streamed approach to the curriculum, emphasizing choreography, Laban Studies, and dance history and performance theory.
Coursework highlights the creation of original choreography, the analysis of repertory masterworks in a variety of dance idioms and styles, and the practice of teaching and coaching skills in the classroom and studio. To add depth and critical perspective to the creative work in the studio, students are exposed to a constellation of critical and theoretical courses, including dance history and criticism, teaching and research methodologies, Laban Movement analysis, and kinesiology and Pilates. Finally, students will present a final concert project, which includes original choreography, a reconstruction from a Labanotation score and an adaptation from a significant work outside the dance idiom.
Instructional Facilities
The Division of Dance has four dance studios, three of which are located in the Owen Arts Center. Each studio is equipped with a sprung floor, vinyl covering, sound system, grand piano, ballet
barres and mirrors. The Charles S. Sharp Performing Arts Studio doubles as a performing space and is equipped with an adjustable black traveler, a control booth, state-of-the-art sound equipment and a theatrical lighting system. Adjacent to the Sharp Studio (B100) is Studio B120. The third facility in the Owen Arts Center is Studio 1430, adjacent to the Margo Jones Theatre and the stage of the Bob Hope Theatre. A fourth studio is located in McFarlin Auditorium. Live accompaniment is provided for all studio classes.
The Owen Arts Center’s performing facilities include the Bob Hope Theatre (a 400-seat proscenium theater), the Greer Garson Theatre (a 350-seat classical thrust stage theater), Caruth Auditorium, the Robert J. O’Donnell Lecture–Recital Hall, and the Jake and Nancy Hamon Arts Library.
Admission and Financial Aid
The Division of Dance admits a small class of graduate students every other year. Admission to the graduate dance program is competitive and highly selective. Students are expected to have had professional or professional-level experience in dance performance and/or choreography and to have successfully completed a B.F.A. or B.A. degree in dance or to hold a professional degree from an accredited college, university or conservatory program. Students who have been admitted without adequate undergraduate preparation may be asked to take requisite undergraduate hours as determined by the admissions committee.
Up to nine hours of advanced placement credit may be awarded for previous professional performing experience and/or choreography. No more than six hours of transfer credit from another university may be applied to the M.F.A. degree. Both advanced placement credit and the acceptance of transfer credit are subject to the approval of the director of graduate studies and the chair of the division.
Financial aid is offered in the form of scholarships and selected appointments to teach nondance majors in the undergraduate college. To be competitive for scholarship opportunities, application materials should be returned to the Graduate Admissions and Records Office as early as possible.
Interview/Audition
A personal interview is required and a teaching audition may be requested by the graduate faculty. Appointments for an interview/audition should be made after all applications materials have been received by the graduate admissions office. The candidate who cannot come to Dallas should make arrangements to meet with the director of graduate studies at a mutually agreed time and location.
In addition to a personal interview, prospective students are asked to submit all transcripts of undergraduate and graduate study, three current letters of recommendation and a personal statement (250 words). The candidate must submit documentation of professional or professional-level experience in dance performance and/or choreography to apply for advanced placement credit. Candidates will be asked to complete a brief essay (750–1000 words) on some aspect of dance; the specific topic will be mutually agreed upon by the candidate and the director of graduate studies.
Degree Requirements
Residency
The Dance Division requires students to be in residence for four terms during the regular academic year. Students are expected to participate in an intensive summer workshop between the first and second year of study.
Coursework
A minimum of 60 term-credit hours of coursework – including the final concert project, thesis and research – is required to complete the M.F.A. in choreographic theory and practice. In order to count toward the degree, all courses must be numbered 5000 or above. Any undergraduate deficiencies will be determined on admission, and the student must satisfactorily complete equivalent undergraduate coursework before enrolling in the appropriate graduate courses.
Evaluation
At the end of each academic term, each student meets with graduate dance faculty for an evaluation. All aspects of the student’s work are discussed and examined. The student and the faculty will assess both progress and potential and determine whether or not the candidate should continue in the program.
Examinations
Candidates must pass a written qualifying exam to be taken in the second year of residency. The exam will consist of three questions submitted by the student’s thesis project committee and will last approximately three hours. If the student fails any portion of the exam, arrangements for retesting must be made.
Graduate Committee
After the first year of study, each student selects a thesis committee of three faculty members. The committee supervises all work on the final thesis project, including the research and written documentation. The thesis project consists of three works: an adaptation from a significant work outside the dance idiom, a reconstruction from a Labanotation score and a work of original choreography. The scope and character of the final project are jointly determined by the student and the graduate committee. Candidates must complete all degree requirements within seven years of the date of initial matriculation.
Degree Program
Master of Fine Arts in Dance
The Courses (DANC)
6011, 6012, 6111, 6112. Ballet Technique. The study of ballet technique with emphasis on refining performance.
6021, 6022, 6121, 6122. Modern Dance. An exploration of contemporary dance with emphasis on refining performance and individual style.
6031, 6032, 6131, 6132. Jazz Dance. Exploration of advanced jazz techniques and styles with emphasis on performance projection and individual style.
6341, 6342, 6343. Advanced Dance Composition. An in-depth examination of choreographic theory and analysis, with emphasis on the development of individual skills and styles. Students are required to accept internships in performance or teaching, subject to availability and/or scheduling conflicts with other SMU courses.
6360. Pilates. A nonimpact body conditioning method based on principles of abdominal (core) and scapular stabilization. Introduction to the essential mat work, which consists of nonweight bearing exercises. Designed to give the student an understanding of the principles behind the Pilates method. Proper alignment, full range of motion and patterned breathing will be emphasized.
6361. Elementary Labanotation. Fundamental Labanotation theory. Motif writing will be used as an introduction to this theory, and reading skills in notation will be emphasized. Students will be exposed to innovative methods for incorporating notation concepts into classroom teaching.
6362. Intermediate Labanotation. The development of intermediate Labanotation skills with an emphasis on reading tap, jazz and modern dance.
6363. Kinesiology. Exploration of basic anatomy and the human body in motion. Normal and deviated structures of the skeletal and muscular systems are examined as well as the cause, treatment and prevention of dance injuries.
6365. Teaching Methodology. An examination of a variety of methods of teaching, including discussion of theories of pedagogy, the structure of lesson plans, and curriculum development and implementation.
6366. Research Methodology. An examination of the problems and possibilities of performing arts research and the development of an approach to academic writing. Includes discussion of a historiography of performance, the evaluation of primary and secondary sources, and methods of documentation.
6371. Dance Criticism and Aesthetics. An introduction to writing about dance performance. Emphasis on developing critical methodologies of movement analysis in examining a variety of dance texts as well as writing skills.
6373. Dance History Seminar I. An in-depth investigation of Western theater dance from the Renaissance to 1900, including critical analysis of primary source material.
6374. Dance History Seminar II. An investigation of the sources and elements of 20th-century dance, including a discussion of dance modernism, the development of the avant-garde and performance art.
6377. Graduate Study: Topics. Various subjects approved by the faculty. May be offered any term.
6378. Thesis and Research. Research, documentation and analysis of materials for the graduate concert.
6381. Choreographic Seminars: Dance Directing and Repertory Project. Analysis of the components of selected dance masterworks to develop interpretation and directing strategies.
6383. Graduate Concert: Repertory and Choreography Performance. Three works to be presented for performance representing one of each of the following: a reconstruction of a repertory piece, a work of original choreography and an adaptation of an established classic of the choreographic canon.
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Professor Samuel S. Holland,
Director ad Interim
Professor Robert Krout,
Associate Director ad Interim for Academic Affairs
Alan Wagner,
Assistant Director for Student Affairs
Artist-in-Residence: Chee-Yun Kim. Joel Estes Tate
Professor of Music: Joaquin Achucarro.
Professors: José Antonio Bowen, Nancy Cochran, Jack Delaney, Virginia Dupuy, Michael Hawn, Samuel S. Holland, David Karp, Robert Krout, Barbara Hill Moore, Alfred Mouledous, Larry Palmer, Paul Phillips, Simon Sargon, Thomas W. Tunks.
Associate Professors: Christopher Anderson, Andés Díaz, Pamela Elrod, Robert Frank, Kevin Hanlon, Carol Leone, David Mancini, Martin Sweidel.
Assistant Professors: Sarah Allen, Hedy Law, Jesus Ramon-Kittrell, Xi Wang.
Senior Lecturer: Joan Heller.
Lecturers: Dale Dietert, Mark Feezell, Gary Foster, Matthew Kline, Catharine Lysinger.
Visiting Assistant Professor: Kevin Salfen.
Visiting Lecturer and Vocal Coach: Jason Smith.
Adjunct Professors: Robert Guthrie, Gregory Hustis.
Adjunct Associate Professors: Christopher Adkins, Thomas Booth, Kalman Cherry, Paul Garner, Matthew Good, Erin Hannigan, Douglas Howard, Diane Kitzman, John Kitzman, Jean Larson, Thomas Lederer, Ron Neal, Wilfred Roberts, Ellen Rose, Barbara Sudweeks.
Adjunct Assistant Professors: Deborah Baron, Barbara Bastable, Kim Corbet, Susan Dederich-Pejovich, Donald Fabian, Brian Merrill, Deborah Perkins, Timothy Seelig, Kara Kirkendoll Welch.
Adjunct Lecturers: Alessio Bax, John Bryant, Mary Cates, Lucille Chung, Martha Gerhart, Kevin Gunter, Haley Hoops, Lynne Jackson, Drew Lang, Jon Lee, Jamal Mohamed, Akira Sato, Edward Smith, James Tran.
Piano Technician: David Porritt. Accompanists: Wesley Beal, Tara Emerson.
Opera Director: Hank Hammett.
Recording Engineer: Roy Cherryhomes.
Facilities
Concert performances are presented in Caruth Auditorium, a 490-seat concert hall; the 168-seat Robert J. O’Donnell Lecture–Recital Hall; and the Dr. Bob and Jean Smith Auditorium in the Meadows Museum. Opera productions are presented in the 295-seat Bob Hope Theatre. The Jake and Nancy Hamon Arts Library houses a collection of more than 110,000 books and scores, more than 30,000 audio and video recordings, and more than 100,000 items in special collections of research materials such as the Van Katwijk Music Collection.
Facilities available to music students include 45 individual practice rooms that were completely renovated by a gift from Jeanne R. Johnson in 2006.
The electronic keyboard laboratory, used for class instruction in piano, theory and improvisation, is equipped with Yamaha 88-key digital pianos; a MLC 100 Communications Center; computers at each station; and a variety of sequencers, tone modules and software applications.
Student recitals and faculty and ensemble performances are digitally recorded and mastered to a CD that is acceptable for auditions, competitions and archival purposes.
The Meadows Center for Instructional Technology in the Arts features some of the most current instructional software in music theory, analytical research, music printing, music therapy and music education.
The Group and Individual Music Therapy Clinics, connected by an observation room, offer student therapists opportunities for clinical practicum experiences under faculty supervision.
The Division of Music maintains an inventory of 30 Steinway grand pianos, three harpsichords and eight pipe organs, including a celebrated three-manual 51-stop tracker organ built by C.B. Fisk in Caruth Auditorium.
The Electronic Music Studio is a digital multitrack facility featuring the latest hardware and software on a Macintosh/ProTools-based platform. The studio is also equipped with a full range of MIDI equipment for synthesis, sampling, sequencing, signal processing, video post scoring and recording (digital and analog).
Performer’s Diploma and Artist Diploma
Performer’s Diploma. The PD program is a two-year program for exceptional performers who already hold a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent conservatory or professional qualifications and who are preparing for a career in performance. The PD is available in piano, strings, voice, harpsichord, organ, woodwind, brass or percussion. By their performance and credentials, applicants must demonstrate that they have the potential to become professional performers and are well on the way to realizing that potential. The program provides intensive studio instruction in performance along with ensemble, chamber music and repertoire coursework related to the major. Applicants are required to present an audition for at least one member of the faculty, supported by recordings for review by an audition committee. The PD normally encompasses a four-term residency. Extensions are rarely granted and funding is limited to four terms. A minimum of 20 credits is required for completion of the diploma. Any student whose first language is not English must either present a minimum TOEFL paper-based score of 550 or an Internet-based score of 80, or enroll in MUAS 6020 Language Skills. Students are required enroll in MUAS 6020 and receive a passing grade in each term of residency until they pass the TOEFL. Additional information is available by request.
Artist Diploma. The AD program is a two-year program for a small number of extraordinary performers who already hold a Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree or equivalent conservatory or professional qualifications and who are on the threshold of a solo career in performance. By their performance and credentials, applicants must demonstrate that they are in the final stages of preparation to enter major competitions and/or to begin a professional solo career. Candidates for the AD must possess not only great talent, but also the ability and determination to realize that talent in the contemporary musical world. Applicants are required to present a substantial personal audition for a faculty committee that governs admission standards.
Admission
Students seeking admission to the graduate programs of the Division of Music must have earned a Bachelor of Music degree (or the equivalent) from an accredited institution and must submit complete transcripts of previous college work, along with three letters of recommendation.
Incoming graduate students are required to take the Graduate Music Diagnostic Examinations upon matriculation. The results of these examinations are used to identify any deficiencies in the area of music history/literature, music theory and aural skills. The results of these examinations will be used to help determine the program of study. Students found to be deficient in the areas of music history/literature, music theory and/or aural skills will be required to take appropriate review courses.
The standard required for admission is a cumulative minimum grade point average of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) in all undergraduate work. Under rare circumstances, acceptance on probation may be granted to a student whose cumulative GPA is less than 3.0. In such instances, nine to 12 credit hours in approved coursework must be completed during the first term of residence and a GPA of 3.0 must be achieved. A student who does not meet these criteria will be dropped automatically from the University and may not enroll in the following term. The student may reapply after a lapse of one term.
No more than six credit hours of transfer credit may be applied to any degree program other than the Master of Sacred Music program. Such credits must have been earned in graduate-level courses and cannot have been taken in order to fulfill undergraduate degree requirements. The acceptance of transfer credits is subject to the approval of the student’s adviser, the director of Graduate Studies and the chair of the department offering the comparable SMU course if it is a required course.
Applicants to the Master of Sacred Music program may apply up to nine credit hours of transfer hours of nonperformance music or theological study. Approval by the director of Graduate Studies of the Division of Music is required if such hours are in music and approval by the Perkins Committee on Academic Procedures is necessary if such hours are in theology.
Applicants should consult the audition information form for material beyond the following guidelines:
A performance audition is required in each field except music education, music composition, music theory and music history. Applicants in these fields may elect to audition for placement in ensembles. Music history, music education, music theory and music composition applicants are required to submit evidence of competency and creativity in the form of term papers, analyses or compositions. Music history majors are expected to have a reading ability in at least one foreign language. Music education applicants are highly encouraged to come to campus for a personal interview.
Piano performance and pedagogy majors are strongly encouraged to audition and interview in person. In addition to a graduate performance audition, applicants to this program are required to present a live or videotaped teaching demonstration.
Choral and instrumental conducting majors are required to submit a video recording of a recent conducting rehearsal. A video recording of a performance will be accepted if a rehearsal is not available. Video recordings should be VHS or DVD format.
Music Therapy Equivalency
The Music Therapy Equivalency Program is fully accredited by the American Music Therapy Association and National Association of Schools of Music. It is designed for students who have a Bachelor’s in music and want to become board-certified music therapists. This equivalency does not earn a second degree, and students enroll through the School of Education and Human Development as nondegree students. Some courses may be taken for graduate credit, and nonmusic therapy courses may be taken at other approved four-year colleges with adviser consent. Required minimum coursework includes 26 credits in music therapy (including 1,200 clinical music therapy practicum and internship hours); 15 credits in psychology; three credits in anatomy and physiology; and coursework or demonstrated competency in piano, voice and guitar. Students usually complete the program part-time in 3.5 years. If the applicant holds a degree in an area other than music or a diploma from a foreign institution, then work equivalent to the Bachelor of Music degree from SMU must be verified and/or courses must be taken prerequisite to or concurrent with courses leading to the Music Therapy Equivalency. Completion of the equivalency provides eligibility for taking the exam offered by the Certification Board for Music Therapists. Completion of the board certification exam earns the credential Board-Certified Music Therapist. An on-campus visit with the music therapy faculty is highly recommended, and review of all transcripts and an in-person or phone interview is required as part of the application process.
Sacred Music Majors
Acceptance by both the Perkins School of Theology and the Division of Music is necessary for admission to the Master of Sacred Music program. The Division of Music requires a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on all undergraduate work and an audition or recent recording demonstrating performance proficiency in voice or organ. Entrance into the M.S.M. program requires acceptance in one of two performing areas: choral conducting or organ. Audition requirements for each of these areas may be obtained through the director of the Sacred Music program. Admission to Perkins School of Theology requires a minimum GPA of 2.5 in 30 credit hours of liberal arts courses and a Bachelor of Music or Bachelor of Music Education degree (or equivalent) that includes credited work in choral conducting. Those seeking admission to the M.S.M. degree program must apply by writing the Director, Master of Sacred Music Degree Program, Southern Methodist University, 100 Kirby Hall, Dallas TX 75275-0133.
Act of Enrollment
When a student enrolls with the Meadows School of the Arts Division of Music for participation in a music course – whether as a music major, music minor or through elective study – by the act of enrollment and in consideration of the right to participate in such course, the student (1) acknowledges his or her willingness to accept and comply with the standards and policies set forth in the Division of Music Handbook, the Graduate Supplement to the Division of Music Handbook and all other University rules and regulations; (2) assigns to the University the exclusive right to use the proceeds from any curricular or extracurricular promotional, publicity or entertainment activities associated with the course, including but not limited to photographs, television, recordings, motion pictures, concerts and theatrical productions, and any right the student may have to receive any royalties and/or other sums that may be due to the student from such activities; (3) releases the University, its trustees, officers, agents, employees and assigns from any obligation to pay any proceeds, royalties and/or other sums that may be due to the student in connection with the course; and (4) agrees, on request of the University, to periodically execute all documents necessary to acknowledge the assignment and release set forth herein.
Degree Requirements
Any required remedial work in music history/literature and/or music theory must be completed before students may enroll in graduate courses in those areas. MUHI 6335 Introduction to Graduate Studies should be taken during the first year of graduate study. Music education majors must take MPSY 6340 Research in Music Psychology instead of MUHI 6335 Introduction to Graduate Studies. Piano pedagogy majors may take either MPSY 6340 Research in Music Psychology or MUHI 6335 Introduction to Graduate Studies.
No electives outside of music or below the 5000 level will be counted toward the degree without prior written approval of the Graduate Records Office. Such courses will be examined for their professional relevance to the student’s course of study. Exceptions to this rule are foreign language courses and courses in the Music Therapy Certification Plan (“equivalency” program).
During the first term of residency, each student must file a proposed course of study with the Graduate Records Office. The proposal should be prepared in consultation with the student’s adviser. It may be altered subsequently if circumstances warrant a change. To change a proposal, the student should make a written request, obtain the adviser’s signature and submit the request to the director of Graduate Studies for approval.
All music majors, with the exception of guitar, piano, organ and composition majors, are required to enroll in one large ensemble (wind ensemble, orchestra or choral ensemble) each term of residence. Wind and percussion students are required to enroll for both Meadows Symphony Orchestra and Meadows Wind Ensemble at the discretion of the directors. Exemptions may be granted by written approval of the ensemble director and the applied faculty in an area. Transfer students will not be exempted from the large ensemble requirement based on transfer credits. Exceptions for music education majors may be considered. A maximum of five credits of chamber ensembles and/or repertory classes will be accepted for graduate elective credit, with approval of the adviser.
Students may obtain two Master’s degrees by combining two major areas. This will result in a program of studies containing a minimum of 10 additional hours beyond the first degree. Master of Music students who have received the Artist Certificate are required to complete only 20 credit hours for the Master of Music.
No more than five credit hours in directed studies will be permitted for any degree program.
Specific courses of study leading to the Master of Music and Master of Sacred Music degrees will be determined by the results of the Graduate Music Diagnostic Examinations and the student’s educational and professional objectives. Requirements for Master’s degrees are stated in terms of minimums.
The Division of Music requires attendance at all scheduled class meetings, lessons and ensemble rehearsals. In all instances, the instructor determines the extent to which absences affect a student’s grade. Students should become thoroughly acquainted with the class attendance policy established by their teachers and ensemble directors. Instructors are not obligated to make special arrangements for the student to accommodate any absence. All reasons for absence should be submitted in advance to the instructor. Failure to do so may result in a student being dropped from a course with a grade of WP (before the calendar deadline to drop) or receiving a grade of F for the course.
Graduation Requirements
All graduate degree programs require the completion of a recital, composition, thesis, professional project and/or formal committee review. With the approval of the adviser, each student selects a committee of at least three faculty members to supervise and evaluate his or her work for this requirement. This committee must be appointed before work on the recital, composition, thesis or professional project has begun.
The thesis project or recital will be conducted under the supervision of the student’s committee. A proposal must be submitted for the committee’s approval by the conclusion of the first term in which the student enrolls for thesis credit. The first draft must be submitted 12 weeks before anticipated graduation. The final draft must be completed eight weeks before graduation. Specific guidelines for the preparation of a thesis or project may be obtained from the Graduate Records Office. Following initial enrollment for thesis, project or recital credit, graduate students are required to enroll for thesis, project or recital each term until the thesis, project or recital has been completed and accepted.
Students in degree programs with a recital requirement are required to perform at least one piece representing each major style period in which solo music was composed for the student’s performing medium. This is meant to encourage performance of contemporary works, including music written during the student’s lifetime.
All candidates must pass a comprehensive review. The policies and procedures regarding these exams are outlined in the Graduate Supplement to the Division of Music Handbook and specifically published by each department. All graduate students are expected to have knowledge of the information presented in the Graduate Supplement to the Division of Music Handbook and the Division of Music Handbook, which are available on the Division of Music website. Students may not take their comprehensive exams before their last term of residency and all required review work has been completed successfully.
Candidates are required to complete all degree requirements within seven years of the initial date of matriculation.
Degree Programs
Graduate degree programs in music are designed to provide increased specialization in the major field beyond the baccalaureate level and, at the same time, to assure that students continue to develop the breadth of competencies required to function as well-rounded musicians. Although specific degree requirements will vary according to the major field pursued, all Master of Music degree programs include the following components in some demonstrable form: performance, research, pedagogy, music history and music theory. Detailed degree plans are presented on the following pages.
Additional Degree Requirement
At least three credit hours of the required coursework in MUHI and/or MUTH must be from 6000-level courses that are not double-listed.
A Piano Proficiency and Score Reading Competency Exam must be passed by the end of the student’s third term. These skills and competencies may be developed through individual preparation or review courses (PERB 5107, 5108 Keyboard Skills for Choral Conductors). The review courses are remedial and do not count toward the degree nor are they funded by scholarship.
Additional Degree Requirements
All graduate voice majors are expected to have English, French, Italian and German diction courses on their undergraduate transcripts. PERB 2106 Italian Diction, PERB 2108 English Diction, PERB 2107 German Diction and PERB 2109 French Diction may be assigned when deficiencies exist. These hours will not count toward the 30-hour Master’s degree program.
All graduate voice majors are expected to have a minimum of three terms of foreign language study on their undergraduate transcripts. Any deficiency can be met during graduate study, with a maximum of six credit hours counting toward the degree.
At least three credit hours of the required coursework in MUHI and/or MUTH must be from 6000-level courses that are not double-listed.
Additional Degree Requirement
At least three credit hours of the required coursework in MUHI and/or MUTH must be from 6000-level courses that are not double-listed.
Additional Degree Requirements
Attendance at regularly scheduled seminars is expected. Failure to attend will be reflected in the grade given in composition courses.
Successful completion of MUTH 6010 or the departmental Keyboard Proficiency Examination is required.
It is expected that the student will actively study composition every term in residence
at SMU.
The thesis work may be for any medium and must be equivalent in complexity and accomplishment to an eight- to 10-minute concert work for orchestra. A brief proposal of the work must be submitted for approval to the thesis committee upon enrollment for thesis credit.
A degree recital (MURE 6001) consisting of works completed during graduate study is to be presented for approval by the student’s committee.
The Master of Music in music education may be earned in the traditional four terms or on a part-time basis (especially for the employed educator). With the guidance of a faculty adviser, the candidate may use elective choices to build a concentration in one of five areas: choral conducting, instrumental conducting, elementary music, piano pedagogy or string pedagogy. All students will complete a professional project or formal committee review.
At least nine credit hours of the required coursework in MUHI, MUTH or electives
must be from 6000-level courses that are not double-listed.
Master of Sacred Music
Program Director: C. Michael Hawn
All M.S.M. students are required to take entrance exams in music history, music theory, choral conducting, and piano proficiency and score reading before beginning their first term of study. Students who do not pass a particular exam are required to take the following course(s) listed below:
MUTH 6023, 6124, 6125 Graduate Theory Review
MUHI 5100 Music History Review
MUCO 3208, 5210 Choral Conducting
PERB 5107, 5108 Keyboard Skills for Choral Conductors (recommended but not required)
Additional Degree Requirement
A Piano Proficiency and Score Reading Competency Exam must be passed by the end of the student’s third term. These skills and competencies may be developed through individual preparation or review courses (PERB 5107, 5108 Keyboard Skills for Choral Conductors). The review courses are remedial and do not count toward the degree nor are they funded by scholarship.
The Courses
Music Pedagogy (MPED)
5114. Organ/Harpsichord Pedagogy. A survey of teaching materials and pedagogical methods, both historical and modern, for organ and harpsichord students. Class projects include compilation of graded repertoire lists and preparation and presentation of a supervised private lesson. Fall term of even-numbered years.
5216. Vocal Pedagogy I. A study of vocal techniques. Information useful to the singer, studio voice teacher and choral director. Vocal acoustics, breathing and laryngeal function are studied. Fall term.
5217. Vocal Pedagogy II. Teaching strategies and philosophies, diagnosis of vocal problems, stage deportment, vocal repertoire and ethics for teachers. Students gain practical, supervised experience in teaching. Spring term.
Prerequisite: PERB 5216.
6184, 6284, 6384. Directed Study – Pedagogy. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
6303. Guitar Pedagogy. Preparation for studio teaching. Spring term of even-numbered years.
6305. Introduction to Instrumental Pedagogy. Preparation of instrumental private teachers for studio teaching. Fall term.
6308. String Pedagogy I. A survey of methods, materials and curriculum for teaching strings at the beginning level. Focus on the philosophical, psychological and developmental bases of string study. Review and evaluation of current educational materials. Additional topics include current trends, history of string education and pedagogical situations.
Prerequisites: Proficiency on a string instrument as a major or techniques courses equivalent to MUAS 3146 Upper Strings and 3147 Lower Strings or permission of the instructor. Fall term.
6309. String Pedagogy II. Continuation of the skills and concepts developed in MPED 6308 String Pedagogy I, as well as an in-depth study of methods, materials and curriculum for teaching strings at the intermediate and advanced levels.
Prerequisite: MPED 6308. Spring term.
Music Psychology (MPSY)
5340. Acoustics of Music. Study of acoustical foundations of music. Topics covered include basic acoustics; acoustics of musical instruments and voice, room and auditorium acoustics; acoustical principles of sound systems; and psychoacoustics. Three hours of lecture and one laboratory period (MPSY 5340–N10) per week. Fall term.
6341. Music Psychology. Study of the acoustical and psychological aspects of musical behavior, with emphasis on perception of and responses to musical stimuli. Interpretation of the interdependence of psycho-socio-physiological processes in musical behavior, such as musical preference and responses to music. Fall term.
Music Repertoire (MREP)
5030, 5130. Guitar Repertoire. Student performances of solo repertoire and individual instruction in a master class setting.
5040, 5140. Orchestral Repertoire – Woodwinds.
5050, 5150. Orchestral Repertoire – Brass.
5060, 5160. Orchestral Repertoire – Strings.
5209. Classical and Romantic Song Literature. An overview of song literature from the Classical and Romantic periods. Students will prepare repertoire for performance in class and make presentations on topics of specialized interest. Lectures will focus on specific developmental trends such as the genesis of the song cycle, the evolution of the piano accompaniment in the 19th century and links between poets and composers.
5210. Twentieth-Century Song Literature. A survey of repertoire and performance practices of song literature from the 20th century. The course is designed to provide a general knowledge of the literature, to acquaint students with performance notational practices and to develop the musical skills necessary to perform this literature.
6114, 6115. Advanced Piano Repertoire. A broad survey of piano literature including lectures and performances by students. Performance styles and practices of every historical period are emphasized. Fall term.
6122, 6222. Chamber Music for Organ or Harpsichord. Intensive research into the chamber literature for organ or harpsichord and from one to four instruments. One or two hours weekly of scheduled rehearsal time with assisting instrumentalists.
6288. Directed Studies in Advanced Organ Repertoire.
Music Accompanying (MUAC)
6001. Techniques of Instrumental Accompanying. A course designed to acquaint pianists with the various skills associated with accompanying and to familiarize them with some of the instrumental repertoire. Students earn one-half credit hour each term. Fall term.
6002. Techniques of Vocal Accompanying. A course designed to acquaint pianists with the various skills associated with accompanying and familiarize them with some of the vocal repertoire. Students earn one-half credit hour each term. Spring term.
6101. Techniques of Instrumental Accompanying. Required of Artist Certificate pianists to acquaint them with the various skills associated with accompanying and to familiarize them with some of the instrumental repertoire. Fall term.
6102. Techniques of Vocal Accompanying. Required of Artist Certificate pianists to acquaint them with the various skills associated with accompanying and to familiarize them with some of the vocal repertoire. Spring term.
6103. Practicum in Collaborative Performance. Practical application of accompanying skills through studio assignments and performance. Fall and spring terms.
Prerequisites: MUAC 6001 and 6002 or 6101 and 6102.
Music Arts and Skills (MUAS)
5110. Computers, Keyboards and MIDI for Musicians. Introductory concepts and functional skills in contemporary electronic music technology. Operation of tone generators/samplers and synthesizers. Digital sequencing and music notation software. Basic applications in composition, performance and pedagogy. Fall term.
5145. Piano Technology for Pianists. Basic skills to enable a pianist to solve problems and tune his or her own piano. Offered irregularly.
5154. Marching Band and Jazz Techniques. Techniques for designing and teaching marching band shows and methods and materials for teaching jazz for music education majors. Resources include state-of-the-art software and audio and video materials. The development of fundamental skills and improvisation on the jazz rhythm instruments will be required. Fall term of even-numbered years.
5320. Recording Technology. A philosophical comparison of approaches to music recording in all forms of mass media. Studio equipment, including digital recording and editing, will be demonstrated.
6010. Recital Attendance. Required of all full-time music majors.
6020. Language Skills. Instruction in the English language for Artist Certificate students who have not passed the Test of English as a Foreign Language.
Conducting (MUCO)
5210. Choral Conducting Practicum. Development of rehearsal techniques in a laboratory setting. Choose, prepare and rehearse music with other students in class to develop skills in error detection, rehearsal pacing, sequencing and ordering of music for optimum rehearsals. Spring term.
5309. Advanced Instrumental Conducting. Stylistic analysis of a range of large ensemble repertoire, with emphasis on historical context, performance practice, interpretive issues, performance techniques and conducting problems. Study of baton and rehearsal technique. Spring term.
6184, 6284, 6384. Directed Study in Conducting. Individual technical development and score preparation for the advanced conductor.
6189, 6289. Conducting Practicum. Preparation and public performance of instrumental or choral ensemble. (may be repeated for credit)
6200. Applied Study in Conducting. Private lessons for conducting majors. Study of historical context, performing practice, interpretive issues, performance techniques, kinetic control, conducting problems and rehearsal techniques.
6209. Choral Conducting II. Further development of conducting techniques as they apply to a variety of repertoires, study and application of rehearsal techniques, and application of vocal and choral techniques. Spring term.
6210. Seminar: Major Choral Works. An in-depth study of selected choral works. Spring term of even-numbered years.
6211. Instrumental Techniques for Choral Conductors. A study of the performance techniques of string, woodwind, brass and percussion instruments in works for chorus and orchestra. Included will be a comprehensive concentration on bowing techniques and methodologies, transposition and historical perspectives. Spring term.
6222. Score Reading. Sight playing in two to four clefs, all transpositions. Piano proficiency is required. Offered irregularly.
6252. Vocal and Choral Techniques. A study of vocal and choral tone, its production and its effect in both solo and choral singing, especially with regard to quality, dynamics, blending, intonation and diction. Fall term of even-numbered years.
6307. Choral Conducting I. Continued development and refinement for choral conducting techniques. Fall term.
Music Education (MUED)
5115. Music Education Methods and Materials in the Church. The principles and practices of music education useful to church music professionals and others who may be interested in church work. Spring term of odd-numbered years.
5149, 5150, 5151, 5152, 5153, 5154. Workshop in Music Education.
5252. Wind Literature for the Secondary School. Survey of new and standard literature suitable for secondary school students. Music for instrumental solo, ensemble, band and orchestra will be examined. Fall term of odd-numbered years.
5253. Vocal and Choral Literature for the Secondary School. Survey of new and standard vocal solo, ensemble and choral literature suitable for the secondary school. Fall term of odd-numbered years.
5257. Computer Applications in Music Education. The investigation of the potential for computer use in music education, including computer-assisted instruction, information storage and retrieval, book and record keeping, and specialized uses such as computer-assisted management of schools of music and the development of basic techniques for designing and implementing such uses. Offered irregularly.
5353. Music in Early Childhood Education. A study of the role of music in teaching young children, including planning music experiences for preschool and early elementary levels. Offered irregularly.
6150, 6250, 6350. Project in Music Education. Independent work on thesis or professional project.
6194, 6294, 6394. Directed Studies in Music Education.
6310. Music Education Methods and Materials. Advanced study of music education methods and materials. Specialized topic will be defined for intense examination. Emphasis is on the development of master teachers in specialized areas of study. Offered irregularly.
6320. Motivation, Discipline and Management. Techniques of classroom discipline and time management using standard behavior modification techniques. Offered irregularly.
6340. Research Methods and Materials in Music Education. A study of representative research approaches and methods in music education and instruction, with emphasis on research designs, methods, materials, and analysis and interpretation of research literature. Spring term.
6352. History and Philosophy of Music Education. Philosophical and historical foundations of music education with implications for organization and curriculum of school music. Fall term.
6354. Special Topics in Music Education. Advanced study of current issues in music education. Specialized topic(s) will be defined for intensive examination. Emphasis is on the practical application of research. Offered irregularly.
Music History and Literature (MUHI)
5100. Music History Review. A review course required of all students scoring below 70 percent on the entrance assessment. Students required to take this course must complete it within their first year of residency. The course must be completed prior to enrollment in any other graduate MUHI course. Fall term.
5206. Performances Practices in Early Music. Studies in the interpretation of Baroque music from a stylistic point of view.
5207. Organ Survey. Organ building – fundamentals of construction and design. Organ history as it relates to the development of a style-conscious concept of enrollment. Recommended elective for M.M. and M.S.M. degree.
5214. Harpsichord in the 20th Century. A survey of the 20th-century harpsichord revival and harpsichord literature, both solo and ensemble, composed from about 1896 until the present.
Prerequisite: MUHI 6335 or instructor permission.
6182, 6282, 6382, 6682. Research in Music History: Thesis. Culminating research project for music history majors. Emphasis is placed upon methodology, stylistic procedures and writing skills. Subject determined by student’s interests, background and availability of source material.
6192, 6292, 6392. Directed Studies in Music History.
6309. Seminar in Medieval and Renaissance Sources and Styles. An examination of the principle genres of composition during the Middle Ages and Renaissance by means of score analysis, listening and contextual readings. Also included are studies in basic notational techniques in both eras with specific transcription exercises.
Prerequisite: MUHI 6335 or instructor permission.
6312. Seminar in Music of the Baroque Period. Rise and evolution of musical forms and compositional procedures from the Venetian School of the late 16th century through the culminating figures of Bach and Handel in 18th century. Interaction with other art forms, political developments, social conditions and religious activities.
Prerequisite: MUHI 6335 or instructor permission.
6313. Seminar in Music of the Classic Period. Musical style from the pre-Classic period through the early works of Beethoven. “Classic” characteristics and compositional procedures as expressed in the symphony, sonata, concerto, opera, chamber music and sacred music.
Prerequisite: MUHI 6335 or instructor permission.
6314. Seminar in Music of the Romantic Age. The Romantic impulse in music as revealed in the works of Beethoven through the music of the “post-Romantic” composers of the early 20th century.
Prerequisite: MUHI 6335 or instructor permission.
6315. Seminar in Contemporary Music. An examination of the various stylistic movements of the 20th century. Representative composers and compositions will be studied.
Prerequisite: MUHI 6335 or instructor permission.
6316. Chamber Music of the 18th and 19th Centuries. An examination of chamber music literature from Haydn to Debussy and Ravel, by means of analysis, recorded performances, open rehearsals and live concerts.
Prerequisite: MUHI 6335 or instructor permission.
6320. Organ History and Literature. A survey of the literature for the organ, Renaissance to contemporary. Required of organ majors and concentrations.
Prerequisite: MUHI 6335 or instructor permission.
6334. Survey of Vocal Literature. This course examines Western secular art song. Representative literature from the Renaissance, Baroque, Classic and Romantic periods and the 20th century in terms of stylistic characteristics, text-music relationships and performance practices.
Prerequisite: MUHI 6335 or instructor permission.
6335. Introduction to Graduate Studies. A course designed to survey and evaluate music reference and research materials, to develop methodology in the use of these materials, and to define and discuss the disciplines related to graduate study and research in music.
Prerequisite: Satisfactory completion of diagnostic exam in music history or MUHI 5100.
6336. Seminar in Music History. Area or topic will be determined each term for intense examination. Emphasis is on the practical application of research techniques, knowledge of materials and sources, and varied methods of presentation.
Prerequisite: MUHI 6335 or instructor permission.
6337. Music, History and Ideas. A broadly based study of the basic elements, ideas and cultural patterns of the Western world as they apply to music from the Middle Ages to today. Summer.
Prerequisite: MUHI 6335 or instructor permission.
6345. Survey of Opera History. A chronological survey of opera, beginning with a brief introduction to Medieval and Renaissance precedents, followed by an in-depth presentation of selected Baroque and Classical masterworks. The study of 19th-century opera will emphasize the many ways Romantic opera served to synthesize music, literature and art, as well as elements of politics and culture. The musical language and dramatic substance of selected works from 20th-century operatic repertoire will be investigated. Students will be expected to spend a significant amount of time viewing operas on video and laser disc and in certain cases making comparative studies of productions.
Prerequisite: MUHI 6335 or instructor permission.
6346. Survey of Piano Literature. Historical and stylistic study of the music for the piano.
Prerequisite: MUHI 6335 or instructor permission.
6347. Symphonic Literature. An examination of representative orchestral works from the late Baroque period to the present day. Attention will be directed to the forms, compositional procedures and orchestration devices employed by selected composers who reflect the various stylistic orientations within this time frame.
Prerequisite: MUHI 6335 or instructor permission.
6348. Guitar History and Literature. The course examines the history of guitar and its music from the early 16th century to the present. Included are the vihuela and Baroque guitar, four-string Spanish guitar and related literature. Emphasis will be given to the evolution of the modern instrument and its repertoire. Spring of odd-numbered years.
Prerequisite: MUHI 6335 or instructor permission.
6384. Survey of Choral Literature. A survey of choral music from the medieval era to the present day. Examination of representative compositions will be made with regard to genre, form, compositional procedures and stylistic aspects. Discussion of the works will also include the social-political conditions, intellectual-artistic states of mind of patrons and composers, and other external influences. Spring term of odd-numbered years.
Prerequisite: MUHI 6335 or instructor permission.
Piano Pedagogy (MUPD)
5103, 5203. Creative Piano Teaching. Pedagogical projects designed to meet the needs of the piano teacher. Offered in conjunction with the National Piano Teachers Institute each July or the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy in August of odd-numbered years. Pedagogy majors are limited to one credit.
5210. Class Piano Procedures. An exploration of the psychological principles operative in group and class environments through student participation and observation, with an emphasis on teacher effectiveness. Survey of college-level keyboard texts. Spring term of even-numbered years.
5312. Survey of Precollege Piano Literature. Survey and performance of standard piano literature in all style periods for precollege students. Emphasis on technical preparation and curriculum building. Spring term of odd-numbered years.
5325, 5326. Piano Pedagogy Internship I and II. Supervised teaching experience. Specific goals and projects are agreed upon for the term. Required of all undergraduate piano pedagogy majors.
6021, 6022, 6121, 6122. Internship/Assistantship in Piano Pedagogy. Required for all graduate assistants in piano pedagogy. Supervised private and group instruction of Piano Preparatory Department and undergraduate students. Includes observation, preteaching conferences with faculty and participation in all phases of departmental activity. Fifteen hours per week as assigned by the department head.
6125, 6126. Piano Pedagogy Practicum. Specific supervised teaching and/or research projects as designed for the term.
6130, 6230. Composition of Pedagogical Music for Keyboard. Development of skills in composition of pedagogically effective keyboard literature. The student will become familiar with a wide gamut of supplementary teaching materials, which will be examined from a pianistic and musical perspective with reference to the various levels of instruction. Directed composition assignments, survey projects, class performance, analysis and discussion. One or two credit hours based on projects undertaken. Spring term of odd-numbered years.
Prerequisites: Successful completion of the Graduate Music Theory Diagnostic Examination or Graduate Theory Review.
6196, 6296. Directed Studies in Piano Pedagogy.
6396. Piano Pedagogy I. An in-depth study of methods and curriculum for teaching piano at the elementary level. Focus on philosophical, psychological and physiological bases of piano study. Survey and evaluation of current educational materials. Fall term of even-numbered years.
6397. Piano Pedagogy II. In-depth study of methods, materials and curriculum for teaching piano at the intermediate and advanced levels. Additional topics: current trends (including technology), professionalism, history of piano pedagogy and employment opportunities. Fall term of odd-numbered years.
Private Studies (MUPR)
The following numbers for private study apply to all instruments and voice.
6100. One-Credit Courses. One-half hour lesson each week (14 per term) with a jury examination at the conclusion of each term. These repeatable course numbers are offered each fall, spring and summer. Students are required to accept internships in performance or private teaching, subject to availability and/or scheduling conflicts with other SMU courses.
6200. Two-Credit Courses. One hour lesson each week (14 per term) with a jury examination at the conclusion of each term. These repeatable course numbers are offered each fall and spring. Students are required to accept internships in performance or private teaching, subject to availability and/or scheduling conflicts with other SMU courses.
The following subject prefixes will be used to designate study in the specific instrument or in voice. Section numbers that indicate the specific teacher with whom the student should enroll are listed in the schedule of classes for each term.
Vocal Coaching (VOIC)
6005, 6106, 6007, 6108. Intensive and detailed work on language inflection and diction. Phrasing, style and interpretation as applied to art songs, Lieder, operatic arias and the concert repertoire.
Recitals (MURE)
6001, 6002, 6101, 6102, 6103, 6104. Graduate Recital. Solo performance of approximately one hour of music. Graded pass/fail by committee.
6201. Graduate Recital. Solo performance of approximately one hour of music. Graded pass/fail by committee.
6202. Graduate Lecture Recital. Option for Piano Performance and Pedagogy candidates. Approximately 30 minutes of music performance with 30 minutes of scholarly presentations as approved by applied teacher and head of Piano Pedagogy. Graded pass/fail by committee.
Music Composition and Theory (MUTH)
5350. Advanced Musicianship. The development of the student’s musicianship skills beyond the level attained in the basic aural skills sequence of courses. Activities of the course include: sight reading and improvisation studies in a range of musical styles for both voice and instruments, advanced melodic and harmonic dictation exercises, aural analysis of musical examples from a wide range of style periods, and the use of the keyboard to support the continued development of skills.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of the Graduate Music Theory Diagnostic Examination or Graduate Theory Review or permission of instructor.
5360. Orchestration and Arranging. The practical fundamentals of orchestration and arranging explored through a series of projects for a variety of ensembles.
5370. Survey of Counterpoint. A study of contrapuntal techniques from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, with emphasis on traditional modal and tonal styles, through exercises in analysis and composition.
6010. Keyboard Skills. A review of basic score reading, keyboard harmony, sight reading and figured-bass realization for graduate students who are studying music theory or composition and who require additional competency in these areas.
6023. Graduate Theory Review I. Intensive work in aural perception and/or music theory for graduate students who must complete 1–7 competencies as determined by the Graduate Music Theory Diagnostic Examination. (one-half credit hour) Fall and summer terms.
6124. Graduate Theory Review II. Intensive work in aural perception and/or music theory for graduate students who must complete 8–12 competencies as determined by the Graduate Music Theory Diagnostic Examination. (one credit hour) Fall and summer terms.
6125. Graduate Theory Review III. Intensive work in aural perception and/or music theory for graduate students who must complete 13–17 competencies as determined by the Graduate Music Theory Diagnostic Examination. (one and one-half credit hours) Fall and summer terms.
6181, 6281, 6381, 6481, 6681. Thesis in Composition or in Theory. Culminating research/creative project for music composition or music theory majors.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
6184, 6284, 6384. Directed Studies in Theory. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
6190, 6290, 6390. Directed Studies in Composition. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
6300. Analysis of Contemporary Music. Detailed analysis of recent music written in a variety of styles and using diverse techniques. The course will also explore early 20th-century antecedents of more recent music. Analysis and discussion will be supported by readings from theoretical articles and composers’ writings.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of the Graduate Music Theory Diagnostic Examination or Graduate Theory Review.
6310. Introduction to Electro-Acoustic Music. An introduction to the historical and emerging techniques, concepts and perspectives of composing, performing and listening to both fixed and interactive electro-acoustic music. Topics covered include basic acoustics; hardware and software tools for the generation, processing and reproduction of musical sound; and the history and literature of electronically generated music. Students will complete individual and collaborative projects applying their studies to the recording, creation and performance of both fixed and real-time interactive creative projects.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
6311. Topics in Electro-Acoustic Music. This course will provide advanced investigation into a variety of topics in electro-acoustic music. The focus will be on practical application and requisite technical understanding. Possible topics include MIDIstration, real-time interactive performance using MAX/MSP/JITTER, signal-processing applications in performance, algorithmic composition and synthesis. Topics will be announced each term the course is offered. Students may take this course more than once.
Prerequisite: MUTH 6310 or permission of instructor.
6326. Seminar in Music Analysis. A study of analytical methods applicable to music from a specific repertoire to be determined with each course offering. Offered irregularly.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of the Graduate Music Theory Diagnostic Examination or Graduate Theory Review.
6328, 6329. Composition. Individual study with the composition faculty and regularly scheduled seminars with faculty and visiting guests. Student will be assigned additional analytical and/or compositional projects. Fall and spring terms.
6330. Analytical Techniques. A survey of analytical methods applicable to music from the Middle Ages to the 20th century.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of the Graduate Music Theory Diagnostic Examination or Graduate Theory Review.
6331. History of Theory. A survey of theoretical writing on music from antiquity through the 20th century. Emphasis on primary sources (in translation) with additional secondary readings.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of the Graduate Music Theory Diagnostic Examination or Graduate Theory Review.
6355. Pedagogy of Theory. A systematic review of materials and resources available to the instructor of theory at various levels, curriculum and syllabus design, practice teaching experience and exploration of philosophies and methods.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of the Graduate Music Theory Diagnostic Examination or Graduate Theory Review.
6360. Analysis of Tonal Music. The study of harmony, voice leading and form with techniques of reduction in music of the Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods. Applications of theoretical ideas to performance and pedagogy are also discussed.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of the Graduate Music Theory Diagnostic Examination or Graduate Theory Review.
Class Instruction for Performance (PERB)
PERB: Harpsichord
5115. Harpsichord: Early Music Workshop. Intensive study of harpsichord and continuo playing for advanced players. Beginning harpsichord classes for those keyboard players who wish to explore the harpsichord, its techniques and its repertoire. Summer session.
5118. Introduction to the Harpsichord. A course designed to present a variety of topics related to the harpsichord and its music. The goal of the course is to provide keyboard musicians, especially pianists, with knowledge and practical experience at the harpsichord to enable them to face future contacts with the instrument in a more informed, confident and artistic manner. Spring term of odd-numbered years.
5213. Studies in Continuo Playing. Designed for the harpsichord major who wants to develop skill in playing Baroque through bass accompaniments from an unrealized figured bass and/or from an unfigured bass, with style performance suitable to the period. Fall term of even-numbered years.
PERB: Organ
6111. Introduction to the Organ. A practical initiation to the organ: its design, sound, liturgical functions and musical capabilities. A hands-on introduction to organ playing technique, easy literature and simple hymn playing. Primarily for students in the choral/vocal track of the M.S.M. program with others admitted by permission of the instructor. Fall term of odd-numbered years.
6212. Improvisation and Service Playing. Practical skills for the church organist; hymn-playing, transposition and anthem accompaniment; hymn-based improvisations in the small forms. Fall term of even-numbered years.
6213. Advanced Organ Improvisation. Development of keyboard and musical skills for hymn-based and free improvisation in various forms.
Prerequisite: PERB 6212 or permission of instructor. Spring term of odd-numbered years.
PERB: Instrumental
5011, 5111. Directed Studies in Music Performance.
5202. Master Class in Classic Guitar. Master classes, lectures, discussions and recitals. Summer session.
6016, 6116. Contemporary Music Workshop. Exploration of contemporary music techniques including improvisation for instrumentalists and vocalists in a workshop setting. Coursework includes master classes on contemporary performance techniques and performance of contemporary chamber works at chamber music recitals and general recitals and in workshop presentations.
PERB: Piano
5107, 5108. Keyboard Skills for Choral Conductors I and II. Keyboard competencies for choral conductors including basic technical patterns, harmonization and relevant score reading. Review course for the M.S.M. and M.M. choral conducting keyboard proficiency requirement. Fall and spring term sequence.
6001. Departmental Performance Class. Departmental recitals, performance classes, master classes, guest artist performances and lectures related to performance specialization. Students enroll concurrently with studies in applied music.
6112. Piano Improvisation. Designed to provide the graduate level student with a pedagogical and musical approach to a fascinating skill. Through class participation and group interaction, students develop their creative capabilities. In addition to developing skill at improvising, students sharpen their skill at harmonizing, transposing, sight reading and playing by ear. Spring term of even-numbered years.
6113. Advanced Piano Improvisation. Refinement and further development of improvisation skills. Offered irregularly.
PERB: Voice
5017, 5117. Meadows Opera Workshop. Exploration of operatic styles, role study, basic acting techniques and dramatic analysis. Eligibility, by audition, for the annual main stage production. Meets concurrently with PERE 6050, 6150 Meadows Opera Ensemble. Open to all undergraduate and graduate voice majors.
5022, 5122. Music Theater Acting and Performance. Fundamentals of acting in musical theater: script analysis, blocking, character development and scene study. Includes introduction to musical theater movement and audition techniques. Students will culminate this course with a series of performed musical scenes.
Prerequisite: By audition.
5101, 5201. Directed Studies in Voice. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
5208. Advanced Acting for Voice Majors. Scene study, character development, preparing and researching repertoire, sets, props and costumes. Fall term. Not repeatable for credit.
Prerequisites: Concurrent enrollment in VOIC, two terms of opera workshop or opera ensemble completed, and consent of applied teacher.
5310. Music Theater Workshop. Preparation and performance of musical theater as an American art form.
Prerequisite: By audition.
6101. Directed Studies in Voice. Reserved for selected graduate and vocal Artist Certificate students. Course content to be determined through consultation with adviser and applied music teacher. Possible areas of study could include opera history, oratorio performance, song literature, and chamber and contemporary music.
Performance Ensembles (PERE)
PERE: Large Ensembles
6012. Mustang Marching Band. Membership is open to both music majors and minors and nonmajors. Experience in preparation and performance of music for field performances. May be taken for large ensemble credit by majors.
6013, 6113. Meadows Chorale. Meadows Chorale is a select mixed ensemble open to all students by audition. Spring term participants in the ensemble will be required to attend an additional 50-minute rehearsal weekly to prepare for a combined choral-orchestra concert.
6014, 6114. Concert Choir. A choral organization open to all students. Nonmusic majors are encouraged to participate. Placement hearings will be held at the beginning of each term. Spring term participants in the ensemble will be required to attend an additional 50-minute rehearsal weekly to prepare for a combined choral-orchestra concert.
6018, 6118. Meadows Symphony Orchestra. The symphony is a large orchestra that performs major repertoire. Nonmajors who wish an orchestral performance experience are invited to audition.
6019, 6119. Meadows Wind Ensemble. The wind ensemble is open to all students on an audition selection basis. Although the majority of the membership is composed of students who are majoring or minoring in music, any University student may audition. The wind ensemble performs a wide variety of literature that encompasses both the symphonic band and wind orchestra idioms.
6050, 6150. Meadows Opera Ensemble. Musical preparation, rehearsal and performance of one-act operas, opera excerpts and/or a complete role. Eligibility, by audition, for the annual main stage production. Dramatic coaching and role study. Meets concurrently with Meadows Opera Workshop. Spring term participants in the ensemble will be required to attend an additional 50-minute rehearsal weekly to prepare for a combined choral-orchestra concert. For senior voice performance and second year Master of Music voice performance majors only.
Prerequisite: Two terms of opera workshop or equivalent previous experience.
6076, 6176. Choral Union. A large, mixed ensemble open to students, faculty, staff and the greater SMU community. Repertoire includes major works with orchestra.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
PERE: Chamber Ensembles
6015, 6115. Meadows Jazz Orchestra. Rehearsal and performance of standard and original works for the large jazz ensemble.
Prerequisite: By audition.
6020, 6120. Meadows World Music Ensemble. Exploration of rhythms, melodies, forms and basic ethnic percussion techniques from a variety of cultures including Africa, Asia and Latin America. Composition, improvisation and performances within forms of ethnic traditions adapted to Western instruments.
Prerequisite: Music major or consent of instructor.
6030, 6130. Chamber Ensemble: Guitar. Preparation and performance of guitar ensemble literature.
Prerequisite: Guitar major or consent of instructor.
6070, 6170. Chamber Ensemble: Winds/Brass. Preparation and performance of repertoire for various ensembles of three to nine mixed instruments, one to a part, without conductor.
6071, 6171. Chamber Ensemble: Keyboard. Preparation and performance of repertoire for ensembles that include keyboard as a member of a trio, quartet, quintet or sextet with mixed instruments, without conductor.
6072, 6172. Chamber Ensemble: Strings. Preparation and performance of repertoire for various ensembles of three to nine mixed instruments, one to a part, without conductor.
6073, 6173. Meadows Percussion Ensemble. Rehearsal and performance of standard percussion ensemble literature.
Prerequisite: By audition.
6074, 6174. Chamber Ensemble: Voice. Preparation and performance of chamber music repertoire that includes a solo singer in a small instrumental ensemble without conductor.
6075, 6175. Collegium Musicum. An ensemble devoted to the performance on period instruments of Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music. Compositional procedures and performance practices also will be examined.
Prerequisite: By audition.
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Professor Cecil O’Neal,
Division Chair
Professors: Rhonda Blair, Kevin Paul Hofeditz, William Lengfelder, Cecil O’Neal, Stan Wojewodski, Steve Woods.
Associate Professors: Michael Connolly, Charles Helfert, Russell Parkman, Sara Romersberger, Gretchen Smith, Claudia Stephens.
Assistant Professors: Leslie Brott,
James Crawford, Jonathan Greenman, Ashley Smith.
Lecturers: Brad Cassil, Marsha Grasselli, Giva Taylor.
Adjunct Lecturers: Dawn Askew, Jason Biggs, Linda
Blase, Stephen Leary, J.D. Margetts, Kathy Windrow.
The Division of Theatre offers three-year specialized professional training programs in acting and stage design leading to the Master of Fine Arts degree. The graduate training programs are committed to professionalism in attitude and practice. Only students with a serious interest in the theater as an art – committed to self-development and prepared to work responsibly and collaboratively in their discipline – should expect to enter and continue in graduate study.
Instructional Facilities
The Division of Theatre is part of the Meadows School of the Arts, housed in the well-equipped facilities of the Owen Arts Center. These include the Bob Hope Theatre (a 400-seat proscenium theater), the Margo Jones Theatre (a 125-seat “black box” theater), the Greer Garson Theatre (a 380-seat theater with a classical thrust stage), the Ruth Collins Sharp Drama Building, and the Jake and Nancy Hamon Arts Library.
The Division of Theatre presents an annual subscription season of full-scale public productions chosen for their suitability for training, timeliness and public appeal. All theater students are considered members of the Division of Theatre, and practical experience is considered a vital part of the theater-training program.
Admission and Financial Aid
The Division of Theatre observes a highly selective admissions policy in its graduate programs. The acting program admits eight students in alternating years. The design program admits approximately four students each year. Prospective students in all areas are strongly encouraged to visit the campus to gain a keener appreciation of the division's training, the environment and the University.
Acting Interview – Audition
The acting faculty auditions applicants for graduate study in acting. Applicants can choose to audition in Dallas, at the University/Resident Theatre Association’s three venues or at a number of the division's own national sites. Appointments for on-campus auditions can be made by contacting the Meadows Student Affairs Office. On-campus auditions require the preparation of two monologues: one taken from a classical play and one from a modern or contemporary play for a total of four minutes or less. Students may sing but are not required to do so.
Stage Design Interview – Portfolio Review
The design faculty interviews applicants for graduate study in scenery, costume and lighting design. Applicants can choose to interview in Dallas, at the University/Resident Theatre Association’s three venues or at a number of the division's own national sites. Appointments for on-campus interviews can be made by contacting the Division of Theatre.
Master of Fine Arts in Theatre
Acting
The M.F.A. acting program balances the development of the actor’s unique skills with the acquisition of technique. The program seeks to train actors of integrity, capable of artistic excellence in a variety of venues. The acting studios form the program’s spine. First-year studio focuses on the actor’s self, identifying habitual performance behaviors and reshaping the instrument to respond more organically and efficiently to psychophysical stimuli. Second-year studio emphasizes the development of classical technique through immersion in Shakespeare and other classical authors. The third year addresses the remaining and unique needs of each class and augments students’ skills with classes in professional development. Comprehensive training in movement, voice, speech and textual analysis augments and enriches every term of the studio process.
Third-year students participate in showcases in New York and Los Angeles. Additional professional outreach is provided by annual professional auditions, in which casting directors, agents and artistic directors from regional and summer theaters audition students in the graduate program. Internships, both formal and informal, with professional theaters in Dallas provide students with significant opportunities for professional growth.
Stage Design
The M.F.A. stage design program is committed to the philosophy of supporting the development of artists who will passionately embrace the interpretation of words into visual imagery. The program emphasizes the process of artistic collaboration, especially with directors; the pursuit of artistic skills, including drawing, painting and drafting, necessary for communication; the development of critical thought and the ability to articulate ideas; and the acquisition of professional standards that prepare the student for a meaningful and productive life in the theater.
Training in design is based on a balance of classroom work and fully realized productions. The first year of study includes extensive classroom projects and the development of foundational artistic and collaborative skills, culminating in the design of the playwrights’ festival,
New Visions, New Voices. All students acquire comprehensive skills in scenery, costume and lighting design. The second year will focus on the student as a theater designer, drawing upon prestigious programs of excellence in the Meadows School of the Arts and including designing in the Theatre Division season. During the third and master year, the student prepares for the professional world with opportunities to exercise collaborative, artistic and management skills not only in the Theatre Division, but also at professional venues that include, but are not limited to, the Dallas Theater Center and the Shakespeare Festival of Dallas.
Degree Requirements
Residency
The Theatre Division normally expects graduate students to be in residence for six terms during the regular academic year. Since the program of study includes both classroom and production activities, graduate students must obtain permission through the division chair before engaging in any other study, production work or outside employment. The M.F.A degree requires a minimum of 66 credit hours.
Graduate Review
At the end of each term, the faculty of the division evaluates the development of each graduate student. All aspects of the student’s work come under scrutiny. The heads of the respective programs oversee and coordinate the review process, collating faculty evaluations into a review document.
The review process culminates in an assessment of the student’s overall progress toward degree completion. Students who receive unsatisfactory reviews will be placed on probation. Failure to address the concerns raised in the review within the following term will result in the probationary student’s dismissal from the program.
At the end of the first year, a faculty evaluation of the progress and potentiality of each student determines whether that student should continue into the second year.
Conferral of Degree
The faculty reserves the privilege of recommending candidates for the M.F.A. degree only when it has been satisfied that students have demonstrated unquestionable professional competencies in the area of study.
The Courses
General Topics (THEA)
5101, 5201, 5301. Directed Studies in Theater.
5398, 5399. Production Research and Development. Script analysis, background research and performance design for actors, designers and directors.
6101, 6201, 6301. Directed Studies in Theater.
6216. Theories of Modern Theater Practice. An examination of the role theory has played in the development of modern and postmodern theater practice. Significant attention will be devoted to theorist/practitioners working prior to 1960: Wagner, Appia, Craig, Stanislavski, Brecht, Artaud, the Prague School and Grotowski. After 1960, readings and viewings will foreground myriad issues, among them the formative impact of theories of textuality, semiotics, colonialism, race and gender on contemporary theater constructs.
6217. Text Analysis II. Development of analytical skills in verse drama from Aeschylus to Derrick Walcott. Focus will rest on the text as a blueprint for action.
6315. Text Analysis I. An interdisciplinary and integrated approach to the analysis of modern and postmodern dramatic literature for acting, design and directing students. Students will acquire the skills necessary to use texts as the blueprints for interpretation and/or departure. Reading, discussion and written analyses of selected texts will form the basis of class interaction, but secondary critical literature will be used selectively to foreground key issues. Texts will range from Dumas
fils(c. 1850) to contemporary dramatists.
6338. Shakespeare in Contemporary Performance. A course that makes the Shakespearean text accessible to the contemporary actor, student and audience through performance. Political, social and humanistic aspects of Shakespearean drama are examined as they relate to contemporary society. Intense scene study workshops culminate in public performance.
Acting (THEA)
5205, 5206. Movement I–II. Exploration of the actor’s self through immersion in physical skills for the theater, including T’ai Chi Ch’uan, corporal mime, improvisation, juggling, hatha yoga, unarmed stage combat, animal-style wu-shu and foil fencing.
5207, 5208. Voice for the Stage I–II. A series of progressive exercises/experiences designed to introduce basic principles of physical, vocal and imaginative freedom, encouraging the removal of psychophysical barriers to sound production and developing the voice’s sensitivity to impulse, power, flexibility and range. Organic exploration of sounds of speech using International Phonetic Alphabet pillows and sound and movement improvisations. Text work includes development of self-scripted solo pieces, exploration of poetry and song, and the application of voice work to modern dramatic texts.
5209. Applied Movement I. Body work as it pertains to economy of movement, alignment, proper use, kinesthetic awareness, strength, flexibility and freeing the physical instrument. This course includes acrobatics, the Lecoq 20 movements and Neutral Mask, as well as physicalization of text, improvisation and ensemble projects employing the physical work investigated throughout the term.
5210. Applied Movement II. Continuation of bodywork as it pertains to economy of movement, alignment, proper use, kinesthetic awareness, strength, flexibility and freeing the physical instrument. This course includes acrobatics, the Lecoq 20 movements and Neutral Mask, as well as physicalization of text, improvisation and ensemble projects employing the physical work investigated throughout the term.
5298, 5299. Production Research and Development. Script analysis, background research and performance design for the actors and designers.
5303. Acting I. Studio focuses on defining a fundamental acting process. Stress is placed on the identification of behavioral blocks, channeling impulses into uncluttered and organic psychophysical connections and using the text as a blueprint for action. A mix of exercise, improvisation and scene study with materials drawn from modern American realism as well as the early modernist plays of Ibsen, Strindberg and Chekhov.
5304. Acting II. Studio focuses on defining a fundamental acting process. Stress is placed on the identification of behavioral blocks, channeling impulses into uncluttered and organic psychophysical connections and using the text as a blueprint for action. A mix of exercise, improvisation and scene study with materials drawn from modern American realism as well as the early modernist plays of Ibsen, Strindberg and Chekhov.
6107. Voice for the Stage V. A continuation of the voice and speech curriculum to further enhance the actor’s technique, reinforce good vocal usage and address any outstanding habits or issues in the actor’s process.
6108. Voice for the Stage VI. A culmination of the voice training with forays into other media. Cold readings and the use of a microphone for commercial and radio work will be addressed to prepare the actor for entry into the profession.
6111. Applied Voice I. The application and acquisition of speech sounds and the International Phonetic Alphabet to expand the actors’ technique, flexibility and range. Ideas of standardization and the identification of habits and regionalisms are addressed.
6114. Improvisation. Graduate-level exercise of actor spontaneity and intuition through theater games and improvisation.
6205. Movement III. The extension of energy and physical listening skills. Skills taught include quarterstaff, rapier and dagger, court sword and broadsword.
6206. Movement IV. An opportunity for the student to process personal experience into the movement and sound of a character. Skills taught include clowning, LeCoq figures and neutral mask.
6207. Voice for the Stage III. Continued exploration and reinforcement of basic physical, vocal and imaginative freeing processes through the classic Linklater voice progression. Introduction to structural analysis of Shakespearean text. Application of voice work to speaking of Shakespeare and other period texts: scenes, monologues and sonnets.
6208. Voice for the Stage IV. Further deepening of the voice foundation work set out in previous terms and expanding the breath connection, range and resonance using a variety of challenging texts. Shakespeare, Shaw and Milton are examples of texts used to enlarge the actor’s palette as well as explore how to use the voice in different venues, spaces and media.
6209. Applied Movement III. Continuation of body work, improvisation and ensemble projects as they apply to acting. This course offers additional Lecoq-based work using character mask; physical inquiry into the young, old and animals; and their relationship to creation of a physical characterization and connectedness (word to action).
6210. Applied Movement IV. Continuation of bodywork as it pertains to economy of movement, alignment, proper use, kinesthetic awareness, strength and flexibility. This course uses character mask, physicalization of text and the Lecoq work with the elements to connect the work to the acting process.
6212. Applied Voice II. An extension from speech sounds and International Phonetic Alphabet into the research and application of dialects and accents.
6214. Acting for the Camera. An intensive approach to acting for film and television. Students will work with actual scripts and copy.
6303, 6304. Acting III–IV. Focus placed on the actor in the classics. Scene study work begins with the Greeks, moves to Shakespeare and culminates with work in Molière, Restoration drama and Shaw.
6313. Business Aspects of the Professional Theater. An introduction to business skills and self-marketing for the professional, including audition preparation – compiling résumés, photographs, cold readings, monologues and scene work for repertory, summer theater and professional theater casting.
6503, 6604. Acting V–VI. The expansion of the actor’s technique through extensive exposure to contemporary dramatic texts and performance demands.
Stage Design (THEA)
5221, 5222. Scene Design I–II. An introductory course for designers, focusing on the communication skills (visual and verbal) necessary for collaborating with the director and the other artists in the theater. Included is a design seminar that explores the text relative to its literary, musical, social and historical influences.
5223, 5224. Costume Design I–II. An introductory course for designers with emphasis on the application of design principles and the use of research materials.
5225, 5226. Lighting Design I–II. Fundamentals of learning how to see, exploring the mind’s eye and painting with light. How to translate theatrical moments and music into lighting sketches, storyboards and atmospheres. Developing points of view and approaches. Fundamentals of the tools of the lighting designer and assistant skills and techniques are studied.
5257, 5258. Designing With Computers. An exploration of the tools for computer image creation and their applications. Software used includes, but not limited to, AutoCad, MiniCad and Adobe Photoshop.
5341. Collaboration: Director and Designer. Team-taught by directing and design faculty, this course emphasizes the building of a collaborative process among theater artists. Students research historical collaborative relationships, create and conceptualize approaches to various texts, and familiarize themselves with the approaches of artists currently working in the theater.
5351, 5352. Scene Design III–IV. A continuation of the study of scene design incorporating individual class projects with the intensive study of style and genre.
5353, 5354. Costume Design III–IV. An intermediate course with emphasis on play analysis, character relationships and techniques of presentation.
5355, 5356. Lighting Design III–IV. Continued study in the art of lighting design. Advanced atmosphere creation, professional techniques and specialized approaches are explored. Professional assistantships are assigned to selected students.
5357. Designing With Computers: Stage Photography. An exploration of the tools for computer image creation and their applications. Software used includes, but is not limited to, AutoCad, MiniCad and Adobe Photoshop.
5375. Theater Technology 5: Lighting Automation. Advanced studies in the field of automated lighting and control systems. Students will explore top brands of intelligent lighting equipment, learning to program and provide simple repair and upkeep of equipment.
5379. Computer Assisted Design. Students will learn the fundamentals of computer-assisted design, using Vectorworks and Spotlight, in application for the theater. Two-dimensional work will be emphasized. Some time will be spent on 3D work as well. Drafting, as such, will not be taught. It is assumed that the student has an understanding of mechanical drawing and its conventions. The course will focus on how to apply that knowledge using a computer.
6119, 6120, 6121, 6122. Drawing for Designers I–IV. Drawing and painting from life with emphasis on developing designers for the stage. Emphasis is on the exploration of various media, development of the individual artist and collaborative projects. Each student advances at her or his own pace.
6215. Text Analysis for Designers. An interdisciplinary and integrated approach to analysis of modern and postmodern dramatic literature. Students will acquire the skills necessary to use texts as blueprints for interpretation and/or departure.
6316. Portfolio. Preparation of the designer’s portfolio for entry into the profession. Presentation, layout and content are discussed, planned and executed according to each student’s primary adviser.
6317. Business Aspects for Designers. An introduction to business skills and self-marketing for the freelance professional designer, including information about union membership, contracts, agents, portfolio presentation, résumés, pension, and health plans and taxes.
6319. History of Design: Fashion, Architecture and Interiors. A historical survey of fashion, interior design and architecture and how they relate to designing costumes and scenery for theater, film and television.
6351, 6352. Scene Design V–VI. Master’s class in scene design. Practical study of the integration, collaboration and exploration of the design process with other theater artists.
6353, 6354. Costume Design V–VI. Master’s class in costume design. An advanced course with emphasis on the design and execution of both theoretical and practical costume projects for the various theatrical media.
6355, 6356. Lighting Design V–VI. Master’s class in lighting design. Practical study of the integration, collaboration and exploration of the design process with other theater artists. Professional assistantships and internships are assigned to select students.
6357. Designing With Computers. Stage projection. Working with the tools necessary to create projected scenery, students learn the fundamentals of creating projected images for the stage.
6361. Textiles. Explores various fabrics and materials used in costume construction, millinery and crafts for theater and film. Skills, such as dyeing, distressing and fabric painting, and various methods of fabrication will be included.
6362. Advanced Skills in Painting. The study of specific technical skills for the practical application of painting on scenery and costumes.
6373. Draping I. A study of pattern making that uses both the three-dimensional approach of draping fabric on a dress form and drafting patterns by formula. Students will learn to drape a basic bodice, skirt and collars. They will create a basic sleeve pattern by formula. They will manipulate these patterns to achieve a variety of shapes.
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