Features

School of Visual Arts has made title changes for multiple academic programs, officially effective this fall semester. According to SVA’s provost, Christopher Cyphers, “though rare, an adjustment to a department name is an important part of distinguishing and specifying the curriculum covered therein, and ensures the College is keeping up with an evolving technological and visual art landscape.” The class of 2024 will be the first to graduate from these programs under their new names. The changes are as follows. 

First up is BFA Computer Art, Computer Animation and Visual Effects, which has changed its name to BFA 3D Animation and Visual Effects. This highly regarded program remains a training ground for modelers, compositors, animators, lighters, FX artists, technical directors, VFX supervisors, layout artists, riggers, environment artists, motion designers, 3D generalists, character artists, look, development artists, virtual production artists and previz artists. The name change aims to better capture this wide-ranging and ever-changing program in which a computer is one of many mediums and whose graduates go on to create award-winning work in film, television, video games and commercials.

“While our department name becomes more specific, the interests and artistic methods of our community will continue to be as eclectic as ever,” says program chair Jimmy Calhoun. “As a department, we will continue to experiment and push the boundaries of technology. And the delivery method of those end results will continually grow and change as well, including theater projection, televisions and computers, video games, various mobile screens, virtual and augmented reality, and other user experiences.”

Also at the undergraduate level, BFA Cartooning has changed its name to BFA Comics. This update more accurately and competitively reflects the success of the program’s alumni and faculty in the dynamic universe of the comics industry. To inform the decision, program chair Viktor Koen—also chair of BFA Illustration—looked to the industry’s publications, conferences and festivals, analysis-driven academic symposiums, independent events like MoCCA or SPX, the big ComicCons in San Diego and New York, and the plethora of smaller, grassroots comic book events.

“One easily realizes that comics—other than a powerful industry with some of the most devoted fans—has established itself as a deeply respected language of sequential expression, art discipline, field of study and career,” says Koen.

Elsewhere in the College, MPS Directing has changed to MPS Film Directing, a specification that distinguishes it from other forms of direction, such as theatre or music. Chaired by award-winning director Bob Giraldi, the one-year MPS Film Directing program offers emerging filmmakers the opportunity to immerse themselves in the art and craft of directing film. Students in the program are empowered to direct their own short films using the latest technology and an experienced film crew, with instruction from industry filmmakers. The course of study also addresses film's historical and critical context as an art form, its political and sociocultural dimensions and comparative analysis of theories for understanding film and video.