Click on any of the following links to go to right to that information:

Dean: Laurence D. Kaptain, DMA and FRSA
Associate Dean, Academic and Student Affairs: Joann Brennan

Contact

Dean’s Office / Office of Advising and Student Services

Physical Location:
Arts Building, Suite 177
1150 10th Street
303-556-2279 (option 1)
Fax: 303-556-2335

Mailing Address:
College of Arts & Media
Campus Box 162
P.O. Box 173364
Denver, CO 80217-3364

“Art Changing Lives”

Mission: Established in 2001, the College of Arts & Media at the University of Colorado Denver stands at the intersection of arts, technology and commerce. The faculty and staff of this public arts school are committed to providing opportunities and environments where students may learn with purpose and create with passion. Members of this creative community use powerful art making, arts practice, expansive teaching and learning to challenge cultural and social barriers wherever they encounter them, to record and interpret, through their scholarship and art, the vibrant dynamics of our society, and recognize their own accountability as active and necessary contributors to culture. This community of student and faculty creators, designers, entrepreneurs, scholars and leaders connect deeply with the arts disciplines and the creative industries.

College Values

• Experimentation and Innovation
• Excellence and Professionalism
• Community
• Creative Research and Scholarship
• Leadership
• Entrepreneurship
• Technological Innovation
• Critical Thinking
• Diversity, Accessibility and Equity
• Intellectual Freedom and Artistic Integrity
• Sustainability
• Civic Engagement
• Experiential Learning
• Social Responsibility

Programs

The College of Arts & Media (CAM) offers bachelor of science (BS), bachelor of fine arts (BFA) and bachelor of arts (BA) degrees in a wide range of arts disciplines in three departments: Music & Entertainment Industry Studies (MEIS), Theatre, Film & Video Production (TFVP), and Visual Arts (VA). Our vision, mission and values guide our teaching and learning, creative research and scholarly discovery, as well as our engagement with the university, the creative industries and professional fields.

Music & Entertainment Industry Studies  

MEIS offers a BS in music with emphases in performance, singer/songwriter, music business and recording arts.

Department of Theatre, Film & Video Production  

TFVP offers a BFA in theatre, film and television with an emphasis in film and television, and a minor in theatre, film and television.

Department of Visual Arts  

VA offers a BFA in fine arts with emphases in 3D graphics and animation, digital design, illustration, painting/drawing, photography and transmedia sculpture. The department also offers a BA in fine arts with emphases in art history and studio art. And VA offers minors in art history, digital design, photography, studio art and transmedia sculpture, as well as a certificate in computer graphics and visual effects.

Link to details about any of the above emphases, minors and certificate from the Programs  page in this catalog.

Faculty in CAM design their courses with explicit learning outcomes that define knowledge (what students will know) and skills (what students will be able to do). Dispositional outcomes that describe how students will be changed are often included. Sequentially-designed courses enable the scaffolding of knowledge, skills and dispositions while supporting CAM students to engage in art-making of consequence, creative innovations, new technologies and building connections to creative industries. Our faculty infuse real-world knowledge in the classroom and create opportunities for students to develop an understanding of how their own art-making and scholarly pursuits impact others. Opportunities to engage with arts professionals, attend lectures and workshops by visiting artists, work in the creative industries through internships, and participate in other exciting activities help students connect their learning to careers in the arts.

Please see the Graduate Catalog or contact CAMadvising@ucdenver.edu for information about CAM graduate programs in recording arts and media forensics.

Facilities

CAM is committed to both traditional and new technologies and celebrates the dynamic synergy between the two. CAM students can take advantage of superb studios, laboratories, equipment, galleries and performance spaces on campus. Students across all three CAM departments create work in computer labs where equipment and software are upgraded regularly. Most CAM studios are open for use by enrolled CAM major, minor and certificate students when classes are not scheduled.

Music Facilities

• Five recording studios
  • Three studios include Surround Sound capabilities
  • All studios are ProTools HD equipped
• Large inventory of microphones and outboard equipment available
• Vintage keys collection which includes DX-7, ARP Odyssey, ARP 2600, MiniMoog, PolyMoog, D-10, YC-30, B3 and Rhodes
• MIDI lab featuring ProTools, Logic and Ableton; supplemental access to three College of Arts & Media computer labs
• Consoles include SSL AWS 924, Yamaha DM2000, DigiDesign Control 24 and Mackie 32x8 Bus, as well as an Avid Artist Control Surface
• Workstations include ProTools, LogicPro and others for mastering, sequencing and synthesis applications
• 16-station piano lab featuring Apple Macintosh iMac computers with a wide selection of musical and songwriting/composition software applications
• Eight performance teaching studios
• 12 practice suites
• Private teaching studios for voice, piano, guitar, bass, drum kit and percussion
• Audio/video forensics labs at the National Center for Media Forensics
  • Computer lab featuring multimedia analysis and processing software such as Cognitech, Ocean Systems, DAC, Agnitio and MATLAB
  • Security DVR and Camera Lab
  • Digital Evidence Lab featuring EnCase and Cellebrite hardware/software systems
  • Graduate student workstations accessible from anywhere in the world via Remote Desktop Connection
  • Network of ENF (Electric Network Frequency) databases around the US

Visual Arts Facilities

• Photography labs with black-and-white, non-silver, digital imaging and color capabilities, and large-format digital, color, and black and white printing
• Transmedia sculpture lab with wood shop, metal shops and a foundry, as well as digital facilities
• Drawing and painting studios with natural light
• Digital design labs, sound booths, editing suites, and video and digital cameras for student use
• Digital Animation Center computer labs and motion capture studio
• Serigraphy, visual arts foundations and illustration studios
• Auraria Visual Resources Center digital collection of contemporary and historical images, music and video
• Emmanuel Gallery, a tri-institutional arts space for student and faculty exhibitions and special exhibition events
• Partnership Gallery in the Downtown Denver Courtyard by Marriott for rotating exhibitions of faculty and student work

Theatre and Film Facilities

• Two Apple computer labs equipped with a full suite of digital editing software
• Design computer lab and drafting studio
• Two “black box” production studios
• Scenic shops: wood, metal and paint
• Costume shop
• Equipment cage stocked with state of the art tools for video production, including HD cameras, lighting, sound and grip equipment
• Green screen for for virtual sets, visual effects and student projects
• Auraria Media Center, with two 3-camera TV studios with full control rooms, isolation booth and lighting control

Kenneth King Academic and Performing Arts Center

• 520-seat Concert Hall
• 350-seat Eugenia Rawls Courtyard Theatre - proscenium theater with optional thrust stage
• 200-seat Recital Hall
• Fully wheelchair accessible production facilities, including catwalks
• Assisted Listening System available in all venues
• Wireless access

Scholarship Opportunities

Students are encouraged to review scholarship opportunities provided by CAM and the university through the university’s Scholarship/Resource Office. Visit the Tuition/Financial Aid  page in this catalog for more information.

Application Deadlines

In addition to the departmental application deadlines listed below, all students must meet CU Denver Office of Admissions application deadlines. See the Admissions Information  page in this catalog for more information. As noted below, MEIS requires that the university application be submitted by a specific early deadline.

Music & Entertainment Industry Studies (MEIS) Department

Fall admittance only:
  October 1, 2014 - April 10, 2015 - Application Review

  March 27, 2015 - Pre-screening Audition Deadline (audition track applicants only)

  March 27, 2015 - CU Denver Application Deadline (early deadline for MEIS applicants)

  April 10, 2015 - MEIS Department Application Deadline

  April 15, 2015 - April 30, 2015 - Application Review and Notification of Admission Status

See http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/CAM/programs/meis/Pages/index.aspx for additional information about the above undergraduate MEIS application deadlines. See the Graduate Catalog for information about MEIS graduate degree application deadlines and guidelines.

Visual Arts Department

Emphases and minors that require portfolio review:

Digital Design Emphasis and Digital Design Minor only:

Spring admittance only: December 1

Illustration Emphasis, Painting/Drawing Emphasis, Photography Emphasis and Photography Minor only:

          Spring admittance only: November 1

3D Graphics and Animation Emphasis only:

Fall admittance only:  Portfolio review application deadline to be announced in the preceding spring

Students generally apply to the above visual arts emphases and minors after gaining admission to CU Denver and completing initial course work at the university. Link to these emphases and minor pages from the Programs  page in this catalog for more details.

Other visual arts emphases, minor and certificate programs do not require a departmental application or portfolio review.

Theatre, Film & Video Production Department

The Department of Theatre, Film & Video Production offers a cohort-based BFA program and strongly encourages fall admission. Please contact CAMadvising@ucdenver.edu for more information.

Requirements for Undergraduate Admission to the College of Arts & Media

A student wishing to pursue a degree in the College of Arts & Media (CAM) must be admitted at two levels: (1) as a student of CU Denver and (2) as a student in a CAM major, degree and emphasis. Acceptance to majors, degrees and emphases in CAM may be selective based on a variety of factors, which may include:

• Careful evaluation of secondary school records, which may include recommendations from guidance counselors, advisors, teachers and professionals
• Scores on standardized tests
• Creative review in the form of an audition, portfolio review or other evaluation

Formal acceptance into specific degree programs or emphases may be contingent on successful academic and creative college work, assessed following completion of initial courses in the major.

Overview

• Students may enter the college as undecided (or undeclared) or may indicate intended area(s) of study.
• CAM recommends that undeclared students seeking entry into emphases that do not identify a review process declare their areas of study quickly since program emphases are designed sequentially, and many courses are offered in the fall or spring only. CAM recommends that students begin their major sequence of courses in the fall, as many spring-only courses require fall courses as prerequisites.
• Some undergraduate emphases in CAM may require an incoming artistic/creative assessment such as an audition, portfolio review or entrance interview.
• Students may be accepted on a provisional basis for specific programs or emphases, with full acceptance pending satisfactory completion of initial course work and successful review by departmental faculty.
• Some departments/emphases require freshman or sophomore reviews prior to students declaring specific emphases. Please read through the program pages  of this catalog for additional information.
• Artistic/creative reviews are conducted by the appropriate department or area (see specific emphases for details). Both academic and artistic/creative materials are evaluated as a whole to determine admission and must be submitted by the student before an admissions decision can be made. Creative materials should be submitted directly to the specific department or area.

New freshmen and new transfers must meet the university entrance requirements as outlined in the Admissions Information  page of this catalog, in addition to appropriate artistic reviews/assessments, outlined in the program pages  of this catalog.

Admission to the MEIS Department

Acceptance into the CU Denver Department of Music & Entertainment Industry Studies (MEIS) is determined on a competitive basis with specific entrance evaluation requirements for both freshmen and transfer students.  All applicants will be placed in a pool, and admissions decisions will be based on several factors, including an indexed composite score of cumulative GPA, music theory and ear training assessment exam scores, and an audition (if applicable). Application materials must be received by the deadline. No admissions decision will be made for the MEIS program until the candidate’s file is complete and the department has forwarded artistic/creative review results to the Office of Admissions.

Notes:

• Please be aware that neither the university nor CAM returns creative materials and will not assume any liability or responsibility for original materials submitted by an applicant that are lost or damaged while in its possession.
• Candidates are urged to complete and file their applications as soon as possible. Applicants will be notified promptly if additional information is required. No admission decision will be made without complete information.
• Courses reach maximum enrollment quickly; students are encouraged to apply early.
• Candidates are admitted for fall semester only. Students cannot defer their admission to a later academic semester or year under any circumstances. Students who wish to begin in a later fall semester must reapply for admission.
• The music degree’s emphasis in recording arts permits provisional program acceptance only, pending completion of sophomore-level review, including initial course work, entrance examinations, formal application and acceptance by departmental faculty.  Students will not be allowed to take upper-division recording arts courses until they have been formally accepted into the emphasis.

Students who wish to pursue the BS in music with an emphasis in performance or singer/songwriter must pass a sophomore proficiency recital on their primary instrument(s) prior to continuing the program and taking advanced level music courses.

Go to http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/CAM/programs/meis/Pages/index.aspx for more information about the MEIS and recording arts application processes.

Admission into the Visual Arts Emphases and Minors

Admission into the BFA digital design emphasis or minor, illustration emphasis, painting/drawing emphasis, photography emphasis or minor, and 3D graphics and animation emphasis is competitive with specific entrance evaluation requirements.  Please link to these emphases and minor pages from the Programs  page in this catalog for more details.

Admission into Theatre, Film & Video Production Programs

The Department of Theatre, Film & Video Production offers a cohort-based BFA program and strongly encourages fall admission. Please contact CAMadvising@ucdenver.edu for more information.

CAM Undergraduate Academic Advising

Visit the Student Services  page in this catalog for information about College of Arts & Media Advising.

College of Arts & Media Courses

Click here  to see a complete list of undergraduate courses.