The Media Arts department has launched a new MFA program for Media Arts majors looking to take their craft to the next level.  “We were planning this MFA program since 1999 or 2000” said Joel Katz Chairman of the Media Arts Department.  “At the time, the key factor was that no institution in the state of New Jersey offered an MFA program in Media Arts.  The planning process was an elaborate one, starting with developing curriculums and proposals.  The proposal for the MFA program was approved by the university senate in 2006 and then, at a state level in 2007.

When asked about certain challenges that the program could face, Katz said, “Funding was and is still an issue we constantly face.  Obtaining funds for facilities, equipment and guest speakers is difficult.”  Katz is hoping to recruit more students to attract funding and interest.  “Students also face challenges by either enrolling at the last minute, have financial issues, or get cold feet.”

“We’re the only program in the state” said Marcin Ramocki, professor and Media Arts coordinator.  “We’ve been trying to start this MFA program for 15 years, and have overcome a lot of administrative hurdles.”  Fall 2015 marks the testing phase for this program.  IMAP, which stands for “Integrated Media Arts Program” asks the following questions:  How does one create video, film and photo post internet?  What IMAP offers are infinitely available footage and images to create independent media artists who will in time be able to approach the post-internet universe and try to make sense of it; to show them how to utilize it, via personal websites, blogs, social networks such as Facebook, twitter and Instagram.  He was also in charge of creating the structure for the program, loosely based on graduate programs from other universities across the US.

“I’m responsible for bringing in outside visitors for our lecture series” said Ramocki.  Describing their Outside Visitor lectures as one of the most important functions of the Media Arts department as they have major heavy hitters from MOMA curators to Programmers from the Lincoln Center to come to campus and talk to the students who are interested in Media Arts. “With this series, I’m hoping to attract people from the outside, to help them make a decision whether or not they want to pursue the MFA program.”

“We offer a supportive atmosphere that encourages creative freedom, but at the same time the learning aspect is rigorous without feeling like a vacuum.”  Katz said on the overall atmosphere of the program.  Taking advantage of the proximity to New York City is a huge plus because it encourages visits to media arts centers and exhibits.  The MFA program is a two year program, full time students only, and students can’t enroll in this program part-time, nor in the middle of the year.  Students can expect field visits and visiting artist lecture series.

“The courses we provide in this program are Theory based courses (for academic/ intellectual study) and undergraduate production courses that assist in honing their craft on an MFA level, while creating artists who in time will have a real body of work for their portfolio.   These undergraduate courses are utilized for students who may experience weakness in certain areas, they are offered to improve in areas that they might be lacking in.”  Katz continued.  In all, the MFA program is designed to help cultivate and mentor evolution in media artists; helping and mentoring in an artistically sophisticated process.

“We have an alumni student who works as the head of post-production for MTV.”  Katz said. “The job market is tough if you want to make it as a media artist, though we do have some students working for HBO and CBS.  Another alumnus worked as a programming assistant for the Tribeca Film Festival.  The alumni pool over the years has seen great success in their respective fields.”  Foreign students have seen success working the medium in their respective countries.  Also, students who graduate go on to work in media education.  Some local schools that provide these classes are Snyder High School and Hudson Catholic, and it requires a Board of Education certification.

Currently, Katz and his faculty are looking to push the program further, by diversifying the faculty, or “to have the faculty look more like students” as Katz puts it.  They want to help create a job pool that looks more like the future should look, i.e. current students, to have a melting pot of different colors, races, and creeds and to continue to get students on the forefront of their passions.

“We want our students to accelerate quickly” said Ramocki.  “We want to create a community of media artists through this program.”  He hopes that within the next few years this MFA program will become an international program, attracting students from all over the world.  “I want this to be cosmopolitan.  Where we can learn from each other, different ideas, techniques and make it all our own.”

If you want to know more about this program and what it offers, please visit the website at: http://www.njcu.cc/imap