James D. Kriley, Dean

The School of Fine Arts has a dual responsibility. As the only School of Fine Arts in Montana, it has a primary responsibility through its faculty to provide the finest professional training in Art, Dance, Drama and Music. In addition, it trains serious young people who wish to teach in the fine arts. These two goals are part of a strong professional program, for the faculty of the school feels that the best practitioners make the best teachers and that an honest regard for excellence is best developed through a true involvement in creative experience.

Courses

U=for undergraduate credit only, UG=for undergraduate or graduate credit, G=for graduate credit. R after the credit indicates the course may be repeated for credit to the maximum indicated after the R.

Fine Arts

U 265L The Arts in Culture I 3cr. Offered autumn. Interdisciplinary study of the visual arts, music, theater and dance. Includes encounters with significant artistic works, the development of critical and analytical skills, and the examination of various artistic forms of expression in the cultures from which they come. Historic and thematic approaches to the study of artistic developments.

U 266H The Arts in Culture II 3cr. Offered spring. Continuation of FA 265L.

Media Arts

U 195 Special Topics 1-6 cr. (R-6) Offered intermittently. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one-time offerings of current topics.

U 295 Special Topics 1-6 cr. (R-6) Offered intermittently. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, or one-time offerings of current topics.

G 501 Media Project I 4 cr. Offered spring odd-numbered years. Major project required for completion of the first year of the student's degree program.

G 502 Media Project II 4 cr. Offered spring even-numbered years. Larger project required for completion of the student's second year in the program.

G 508 Media Arts Production 2 cr. (R-8) Offered autumn even-numbered years. Application of theoretical work to specific exercises and projects. Includes digital editing, graphic imaging, and music technology labs.

G 577 Media Arts I 3 cr. Offered autumn even-numbered years. Verbal interaction and the story. Groundwork in narrative and cognitive theory. Exploration of the cultural basis for meaning-making through story and stages of human psychological development. Application of theories to scene work with actors, concentrating on moment to moment work and dramatic action.

G 578 Media Arts II 3 cr. Offered spring odd-numbered years. Prereq., MAR 577. Framing, semiotics and the visual story. Exploration of basic composition and design elements that go into the framing of the visual experience. Introduction to semiotic theory and its relation to understanding and creating meaning within the framed image.

G 579 Media Arts III 3 cr. Offered autumn odd-numbered years. Prereq., MAR 578. Audio, the overlooked component in narrative. Focus on work done with sound and music in conveyance of the narrative. Includes radio drama.

G 595 Special Topics 1-6 cr. Offered autumn and spring. Experimental offerings of visiting professors, experimental offerings of new courses, and one-time offerings of current topics.

G 609 Media Arts Seminar 1 cr. (R-6) Offered autumn even-numbered years. Discussion of issues including ethics, professional development, the collaborative process. Workshops given by visiting professionals in pertinent fields.

G 680 Media Arts IV 3 cr. Offered spring even-numbered years. Prereq., MAR 579. The composite story. Creation of narrative video and study of the structures inherent in the screenplay including plot, character genesis, genre, and dramatic action and its central role in video technology.

G 688 Media Arts Thesis Lab 2 cr. (R-4) Offered autumn even-numbered years. Collaborative work on another student's thesis project. Provides major experience in a secondary area of technological application.

G 699 Media Arts Thesis Project 6 cr. Offered spring. Final project and professional paper for M.F.A. degree