Audio Arts
A Joint Masters Program by
THE COLLEGE OF VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS
And
NEWHOUSE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS
Draft (September 27, 2010)
Contents:
Page 2 & 3: Overview
Page 4: Audio Arts Course Content-Requirements and Perspectives
Page 5: Audio Arts Course Content-Electives
Page 6: Logistics
Page 7: Sample Semester Structure
Page 8: Outcomes
Page 9: Careers
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"Music has always driven culture. Immense changes in the media landscape have made music
more prevalent than ever. Young people need skill sets to enhance their creativity and ability to
identify opportunity and execute, in the new paradigm. Syracuse University, as a pioneer in these
fields, should lead the charge into the new music and media business....... "
-Jon Cohen-Co-President and Co-Founder, Cornerstone,
the Fader Magazine and Fader Label and respected futurist-
Overview:
Music and entertainment media will continue to struggle to engage the public’s increasingly
distracted interests. Global consumption of popular arts will continue to increase exponentially.
Implementing Scholarship in Action; Syracuse University’s hands-on, self-designed learning
environment will prepare those with integrity, imagination and initiative to lead.
The major recorded music labels exemplify this struggle. They have been marginalized by new
distributors using digital and mobile delivery. Forward thinkers will take these industries into a
new environment where new technology is friendly to the content creators AND consumers.
In the fall of 2007 Syracuse University launched a campus wide undergraduate inter-disciplinary
major: the Bandier Program for Music and the Entertainment Industries. In May 2011, the
College of Visual and Performing Arts will confer a bachelor of science, with the participation of
the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, the Whitman School of Management and
the College of Arts and Sciences. The logical extension of this undergrad program is a masters
version.
The masters program in the Audio Arts Program at Syracuse University will be a joint venture
with equal involvement from the host colleges: S. I. Newhouse School of Public
Communications and the Setnor School of Music/College of Visual and Performing Arts.
Coursework in the Whitman School of Management, the iSchool, the Maxwell School and other
Colleges; may be included.
The masters program in the Audio Arts Program at Syracuse University will be attractive to
graduates of liberal arts programs from other institutions; who have decided that the
entertainment business is right for them. Students with undergraduate degrees in music industry,
music performance, music technology/engineering, etc.; may find one of the four specializations
compelling. Applicants whose career aspirations are music intensive should have attained a
bachelor of music or its equivalent.
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Students from many backgrounds will be attracted to four curricular directions that will prepare
them for careers at the intersection of music and media: Music Business, Audio Arts, Radio and
Music Video. The curriculum aspires to raise the standard of integrity and build on Syracuse
University’s legacy of leadership in music and entertainment industries. Courses like RAE 501,
Reconciling Arts and Commerce, are meant to heighten a business focused student’s awareness of
the inherent challenges of the artistic life and creative process.
The admissions process for a masters program in the Audio Arts Program will be structured to
identify students who have adequate undergrad coursework, extra-curricular work, or life
experience in areas such as: liberal arts, media studies, music, music industry activities, writing,
digital/interactive media, radio, traditional media, business law, etc. They must be articulate,
focused, ambitious and passionate about music and its function in the entertainment industries,
e.g. recording, film, TV, gaming, wireless, radio, theater, business, etc.
Students can complete the degree in twelve months. Candidates should have a passion for music
media and audio arts. Those who qualify will complete the 36 credit hours required, in two
semesters, two summer or mini semesters, and an internship capstone.
The undergraduate Bandier Program has received approximately 200 applicants for 25 openings
for each of the last two years. The Bandier office fields DAILY inquiries from potential transfer
applicants, which it cannot accommodate.
An outside curriculum consultant, Dr. Steven Marcone, has been engaged to help vet this
proposal. He will also function as the State-mandated outside evaluator.
The masters program in the Audio Arts Program will allow students self-guided specialization
areas such as: music business, sound production and recording arts, music video and radio; based
on their aspirations.
A June 2012 launch is anticipated.
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Audio Arts Course Content: Core and Perspectives
Required Coursework:
Required courses provide foundations common to all directions of audio arts study.
The Audio Arts Program strongly emphasizes experience learning based on the student’s learning
needs. Both a project capstone and an off-campus internship capstone are required.
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RAE 601 Audio Arts Graduate Survey
ICC 565 Designing Interactivity
TRF 637 Telecommunications Law and Policy
EEE 620 Entrepreneurship and Corporate Venturing
RAE/TRF 510 Experience Based Learning Modules (1 credit modules)
RAE/TRF 600 Audio Arts Colloquium
On-campus CAPSTONE project in student’s area of study(see options on Curriculum
Sheet)
RAE 670 a major market CAPSTONE INTERNSHIP in a particular Audio Arts arena
Electives
The heart of the Audio Arts MA is the student’s purposeful selection of FOUR specialization
elective courses (12 credits) from a broad range of topics. A faculty advisor will help to connect
students to coursework that will best meet their individual goals. Advisors will also help students
decide whether they should go DEEP or WIDE in choosing their electives. Most Audio Arts and
Music Industry Masters students will do a little of both.
GOING DEEP: Focusing on a Specialized Field of Study
Audio Arts students can delve deeply in their areas of interest. It is vital for students to enroll in
prerequisite courses in the fall term, so that they can enroll in advance courses in the Spring term.
GOING WIDE: Exploring Electives Across Topics
Some Masters students will find value in creatively blending perspectives over a variety of Audio
Arts areas of study. With faculty advisor approval, students may also count courses not listed in
the Specialized Elective Options as electives in their major. Arbitrary selection of coursework
generally does not deliver maximum value in this approach to study. However, broad
interdisciplinary study may be the best preparation for certain fields, e.g. music production or
digital entrepreneurship.
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Audio Arts Course Content-Electives:
Electives include twelve credits of specialization to focus on an individual’s interests and
strengths. The curriculum will allow for enough elective flexibility to create a “focus area”:
Fields of specialization (see specialization options on the Curriculum Sheet on page seven)
-Audio Studio Arts
-Radio horizons
-Music Industry
-Music Video
Some course options in various specialization fields:
-Music Industry and the Media
-Reconciling Arts and Commerce
-Music History
-Music Theory
-Syracuse University Music Company (and other practica)
-Studio Recording or other fundamentals of audio recording
-Social Media in the Enterprise-a special music business syllabus (iSchool)
Candidates will participate in an on-campus, spring semester capstone in their specialization field
at the intermediate or advanced level.
An MA in Audio Arts will be conferred.
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Logistics:
Students will complete the on-campus component in twelve months.
The final summer internship brings to total duration to approximately fourteen months.
This mirrors the structure of the Newhouse School’s other masters programs.
In order to accommodate newly minted graduates from various institutions, we will open with a
Summer Session II “boot camp” in July to kick off the program
with a total of six credit hours of required courses. The comprehensive theoretical foundation
class “Audio Arts Graduate Survey” will be offered with a practical learning environment e.g. a
hybrid of ICC 565 “Designing Interactivity” with an internet/new media emphasis.
The fall and spring semesters will be made up of requirements and electives totaling 12 credits in
the fall semester and 12 credits in the spring semester. The reduction in credit total for the spring
allows for the time commitment associated with the “Audio Arts Capstone” course. Electives and
specialization courses will largely take place in these two semesters for ease of scheduling.
This will be followed by a required three credit summer internship capstone in the student’s
specialty; to be approved and supervised by the program.
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Audio Arts MA 36 Credit hours-Curriculum Draft:
Summer Session II Bootcamp: (7 Credits)
RAE 601
Audio Arts Graduate Survey .............................................................. 3 credits
ICC 565
Designing Interactivity ...................................................................... 3 credits
RAE/TRF 610
Audio Arts Colloquium (define the culture and community of audio arts) .................1 credit
Fall Semester (14 Credits)
TRF 637
Telecommunications Law and Policy .................................................. 3 credits
EEE 620
Foundations of Entrepreneurship ........................................................ 3 credits
ELECTIVE
Audio Arts Elective I (see course options below)................................. 3 credits
ELECTIVE
Audio Arts Elective II (see course options below) ............................... 3 credits
RAE/TRF 510
Experience Based Modules ……………………………………………1 credit
RAE/TRF 610
(1-credit, 5 week modules covering a broad range professional practices)
Audio Arts Colloquium (finding a place in the communit- identify capstone project)…1
credit
Wintermester (1 Credit)
TRF 600
Industry Seminar (Either New York or Los Angeles).............................1 credit
Spring Semester (11 Credits)
ELECTIVE
Audio Arts Elective III (see course options below) .............................. 3 credits
ELECTIVE
Audio Arts Elective IV (see course options below) .............................. 3 credits
CAPSTONE
Capstone in Audio Arts (Choose One) ................................................ 3 credits
 TRF 600 Content Lab(to be regularized)
 TRF 668 Advanced Audio (Sound, Radio and Music Projects)
 TRF 669 Production Practicum: Filmmaking
 RAE 650 Special Projects
RAE/TRF 510
Experience Based Modules ...................................................................1 credit
RAE/TRF 610
(1-credit, 5 week modules covering a broad range professional practices)
Audio Arts Colloquium (the road ahead-breaking in to the business beyond the academy)1
credit
Summer Session I Finish (3 Credits)
RAE 670
Audio Arts Internship Capstone .......................................................... 3 credits
***
Sample Audio Arts Specialization Electi ve Options
Music Industry
Sound Production and
Recording Arts
Radio
Music Video
MUI 500
Music Industry & Media
TRF 654
Music Recording
TRF 593 Radio Business
TRF 530 Popular Culture
MUI 600
Studio Recording
TRF 656
Sound for Picture
TRF 600 Producing Radio-
TRF 652 TV Production
IST 686
Social Media in the Enterprise
MUI 600
Live Sound & Concert Recording
*HOM664 History of Amer. Popular Music
TRF 657
Music Underscoring
TRF 658 Radio Practicum
TRF 665 Advanced TV Prod.
*HOM 666 History of Jazz
IST 686
Social Media in the Enterprise
IST 686 Social Media in the
IST 686
RAE 501 Reconciling Arts and Commerce
TRF 657
From Broadcast to Broadband
Enterprise
TRF 653 Shortform Production
Social Media in the
Enterprise
Music Underscoring
*Many other HOM grad music electives
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Outcomes:
Music Industry Studies
The current state of the music business demands entrepreneurial leadership in the areas of:
personal management, mobile applications, e-commerce, and licensing monetization (including
branding) and the areas of live/touring/venues/arts organizations. The holder of an MA in the
Audio Arts with specialization in Music Industry will be prepared to enter one of dozens of career
paths. Graduates will embrace the trust relationship they must develop with artists and be able to
think critically and constructively about music and making a market in an art form. The student’s
self directed curricular specialization choices and internship focus will dictate the job options.
For instance, a student that has chosen Music Industry and the Media and interned in marketing
or public relations will be qualified to work in those areas for venues, recorded music companies,
strategic marketing firms or concert promoters.
Sound Production and Recording Arts
The holder of an MA in Audio Arts with specialization in Sound Production and Recording Arts
will have selected several classroom and experience learning options that will determine their
ideal career placement. For example, selecting the MUI 600 Live sound and concert recording
will be best qualified for work with touring artists or live performance venues.
Radio
The holder of an MA in Audio Arts with specialization in Radio Horizons will select electives
between traditional and new media careers. On-campus and internship practica in conjunction
with classroom electives will determine the student’s career focus. However, a student that
selects an “on-air” direction will find options in traditional and new media.
Music Video
The holder of an MA in Audio Arts with specialization in Music Video will explore the dynamic
interplay between music and picture. Coursework will range from critical study of sound and
picture form, to practices involved in music video and live performance capture.
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Careers:
Within each broad category there are frequently several job descriptions, departments or
specialties. Students cannot hope to prepare for multiple career options. Based on their
experience, undergrad and graduate coursework students and their advisors will determine their
preferences and trajectory. They will then make appropriate course, independent study and
internship and career plans.
Music Industry Studies
 Artist manager
 Arts organizations*
 Booking agent
 Branding/sponsorship/strategic marketing executive
 Business manager
 Concert promoter
 Music attorney (law degree required)
 Music merchandiser
 Music Producer*
 Music publications-traditional and new media
 Music publisher
 Music supervisor*
 New media entrepreneur
 Record executive
 Ticketing executive
 Venue manager
Sound Production and Recording Arts
 Audio recording
 Audio mastering
 Live sound design
 Live sound mixing
 Sound for picture , inc. music underscoring*, foley and sound design
Radio Horizons
 Mobile applications
 New technologies
 Satellite radio
 Streaming radio
 Terrestrial radio
Music Video
 Live Concert Video producing directing
 Music Video producing and directing
*Where broad knowledge of music theory and literature is required; ear training and sight
reading must be part of the student’s undergraduate study or graduate elective selections.
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