Accepting applications for Fall 2013
Application deadline: December 1, 2012
School of Cinematic Arts
University of Southern California
746 West Adams Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90089-772
The interdivisional Media Arts + Practice PhD program (iMAP) within the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California is now accepting applications for Fall 2013; the deadline is December 1, 2012.
The unique iMAP program offers a rigorous and creative environment for scholarly innovation as students explore the intersection of design, media and critical thinking while defining new modes of research and scholarship for the 21st century.
Core to the program is its transdisciplinary ethos; after completing foundational coursework, students design their own curricula, drawing on expertise across all six divisions within the School of Cinematic Arts. Students also have access to the School’s state-of-the-art facilities and research labs, and they are encouraged to collaborate with students and faculty across the USC campus; current students have strong ties to the School of Architecture, the Roski School of Fine Arts and the Innovation Lab within the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
iMAP students also participate in the numerous research hubs that are core to the School of Cinematic Arts and its role within a leading research university. Research groups include the Mobile and Environmental Media Lab led by Scott Fisher, the Game Innovation Lab led by Tracy Fullerton, the Mixed Reality Lab led by Mark Bolas, and the Digital Teaching and Learning Lab led by Holly Willis.
The areas of research investigated by iMAP students is broad, and currently includes attention to these core themes: interactive architecture; media activism; affect; the city and the book; database documentary; embodiment and tangible interfaces; games and interactivity; digital historiography; neuro-cinematics; expanded and spatialized cinema; multimodal scholarship; performativity; pervasive/locative media; and immersive journalism.
The iMAP program is practice-based, and as such, students are encouraged to be creative and reflective in designing, defining and articulating their research methods. For this reason, the program seeks candidates who are interested in helping define new fields; those willing to combine theory and practice; and those ready to face the challenges of uncharted scholarly territory.
Further information and application materials are available at imap.usc.edu. Email [email protected] with specific questions.
