New MFA

Blends Creativity, Collaboration, and Innovation Skills

Champlain College will offer a Master of Fine Arts in Emergent Media beginning in September to prepare a new generation of designers, artists, technologists, and entrepreneurs for the future.

According to Jeff Rutenbeck, dean of the Communication and Creative Media Division at Champlain College, the new five-semester, on-campus program “is not only about the knowledge we possess, it’s about the processes we use to create new knowledge.”

The MFA in Emergent Media will take full advantage of Champlain’s Emergent Media Center (EMC), which offers undergraduate students work experience designing games and programs for clients such as IBM, the City of Burlington, and the United Nations.

Ann DeMarle, director of the EMC and the MFA program, has assembled a team of top educators and innovators in their fields for the graduate program’s faculty. The 60-credit curriculum includes lectures and seminars exploring digital image making and how technology works as a disruptive force in society as well as individual and group community projects and emerging business models from concept through research and test-marketing products.

“This new curriculum is definitely designed for the creative and curious mind,” DeMarle says.

Augmented Reality

Marketing the new program pushes the boundaries, says Champlain College Marketing Art Director Julia Caminiti. Working with Tag New Media in Burlington, an interactive “augmented reality” Web site was developed with the help of, Senior Art Director and Champlain graduate Jackie Stukey ’05, Champlain Emergent Media Adjunct Professor and Senior Flash Developer Chris Rolfs, and Lead Flash Developer and Champlain Assistant Professor Joe Manley.

By holding the MFA postcard’s “eye” symbol up to a webcam, prospective students make the augmented reality link. Once the link is recognized, an onscreen image pops to life, releasing a stream of words and phrases describing the characteristics of individuals who would benefit from the degree. By tilting the card, users make a video appear on the screen.

“It’s definitely something different. We needed to market the program in a way that reflected the new technologies these students will experience in the program and recognize the innovative ways in which they are now receiving information,” Caminiti says.

Another strong selling point for the on-campus master’s degree program, Rutenbeck notes, is Champlain’s location and proximity to Boston and Montreal, two of North America’s most important cities when it comes to emergent media, and home to a range of companies providing ample opportunities for students to try out their skills and get job.

Visit emergent.champlain.edu to experience augmented reality and to learn more about the program.  For additional information, call (802) 865-5410 or toll-free (866) 282-7259. E-mail gradschool@champlain.edu.