Doctor of Philosophy—Media Arts and Technology (Requirements - PDF)
The Doctor of Philosophy degree in Media Arts and Technology prepares students for academic research and teaching positions, for research and leadership positions in industry and government, and for leadership positions in relevant artistic fields. The MAT Ph.D. curriculum provides a common foundation of the field’s aesthetics, technology, and methods through rigorous coursework, seminars, and active participation with the faculty. Each Ph.D. student participates in interdisciplinary projects and performs innovative research, under the supervision of a faculty advisor and committee, leading to a dissertation that exhibits significant and novel research in the student’s area of specialization.
Admission
Students must fulfill all university requirements for admission to graduate status, described in the “Graduate Education” section of this catalog. MAT Ph.D. applicants must have a bachelor’s or master’s degree in media arts and technology, art, music, computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, or a closely related field. Note that outstanding students with a bachelor’s degree may apply directly to the MS/Ph.D program. Typically, students who enter with a bachelor’s degree will take longer to complete the Ph.D. than those with a master’s degree.
See the MAT website at www.mat.ucsb.edu for detailed admissions requirements including description of online portfolio.
Master of Science—Media Arts and Technology (Requirements - PDF)
The Master of Science program provides advanced training in Media Arts and Technology.
The master’s program typically takes two full-time academic years to complete. The goal of the first year of MAT’s intensive interdisciplinary curriculum is to provide a common foundation of aesthetics, technology, and mathematical and computational methods. In addition, students take graduate courses in their area of research, as well as courses in complementary fields.
The second year electives allow students to focus on their area of research. All candidates are expected to complete an advanced project or thesis in their second year of the program, an artistic production or media research project supervised by MAT faculty
Admission
In addition to fulfilling all university requirements for admission to graduate status, described in the “Graduate Education” section of this catalog, the applicant should present a bachelor’s degree in any of the following majors: art, music, computer science, computer engineering, or electrical engineering. This bachelor’s degree defines the student’s major discipline.
Applicants with related undergraduate majors may be considered, but only if they can demonstrate strong credentials in both the arts and technology. Acceptable credentials include recent University of California or equivalent course transcripts in calculus-level mathematics, computer programming, visual arts, and music. These applicants may be required to take a placement examination or submit additional application materials, such as examples of previous work.
In addition to their major discipline, applicants should also demonstrate a basic level of proficiency in a MAT cross-discipline. For students whose major discipline is in the creative arts, their cross-discipline is engineering. For students whose major discipline is in engineering, their cross-discipline is one of the creative arts. For example, an applicant whose major discipline is in the creative arts could prove cross-disciplinary proficiency by having successfully completed courses, or showing significant experience, in software engineering or signal processing. An applicant whose major discipline is in engineering could prove cross-disciplinary proficiently by having successfully completed courses or significant projects in music or art. Applicants who cannot demonstrate cross-disciplinary proficiency but who show extraordinary promise in the field may be admitted, but must make up this deficiency in the first year of graduate study. In general, this involves taking introductory courses in the cross-disciplines, to be determined in consultation with a faculty advisor. Credits earned in the proficiency courses do not count toward the graduate degree.
See the MAT website at www.mat.ucsb.edu for detailed admissions requirements including description of online portfolio.
Optional Interdisciplinary Emphasis
Students pursuing a doctoral degree in Media Arts and Technology may petition to add the following Optional Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Emphasis: Cognitive Science; Information Technology and Society.
Requirement sheets for each emphasis may be found on this page.