CalArts Roadbook

CalArts

California Institute of the Arts is a community of artists located in greater Los Angeles.

Our programs of study are designed to develop original creative voices and help them find full expression in the wider world. A CalArts education is grounded in openness, experimentation, critical engagement, and creative freedom. Through

artistic practice, CalArtians transform themselves, each other, and the world.

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Community

The CalArts campus is not only a place where art is made. It is a safe, supportive environment in which every individual artist can learn and create as their authentic self. You’ll be joining an open, globally minded student body and benefit from a diverse array of backgrounds and experiences. Adjacent to Los Angeles—a 21st century epicenter for the visual, performing, and media arts—the campus provides a secluded

yet stimulating environment primed for work and collaboration among your community of fellow student artists.

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Los Angeles

In addition to its worldwide reputation, CalArts’ prime location in greater Los Angeles attracts world-class faculty and visiting artists. You will take advantage of lectures, exhibitions, and performances by the most celebrated artists in their fields. CalArts’ Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theater (REDCAT)—the Institute’s performance venue for innovative contemporary arts in downtown LA—features an extensive range of programs drawn from a mix of established artists and emerging voices, alongside original works developed at CalArts. Through programs designed and taught

by CalArts faculty and students, the Community Arts Partnership (CAP) links the Institute with community arts organizations and public schools throughout Los Angeles County. As part of your education, you will connect with career, internship, and artistic opportunities in the creative industries’ primary city.

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— LECIA DOLE-RECIO School of Art faculty

“ONCE STUDENTS GET THEIR footing here, there is a REAL URGENCY TO HOW MUCH they want to push their IDEAS INTO UNDISCOVERED territory.”

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7:00 a.m. Wake up, make coffee, attempt to meditate, water my plants, and eat some chia seed oatmeal with strawberries. Look over today’s schedule—do I need to bring any costume pieces?

9:00 a.m. Movement class. Today we’re outside on one of the grassy glades stretching and continuing to learn the sequence we started last week. The birds are chirping and the grass is still dewy :’) Such a sweet and gentle start to the day.

10:30 a.m. Voice class. Today we have Lady Anne and Hermione (devastating).

1:00 p.m. TA-ing: I help to lead a discussion section where we explore the implications of adaptation, cycles of violence, and the centrality of death and rebirth in Chay Yew’s contemporary adaptation of The House of Bernarda Alba by Federico García Lorca.

3:00 p.m. Grab an iced oat matcha latte at Tatum with my friend MaryKate and sit on the grassy hill to discuss our attachment styles and the upcoming eclipse.

5:30 p.m. Run home to make dinner/prep for rehearsal.

Scroll on Instagram for a while, then work on the musical I will be submitting to Coffee House in the spring. I also use this time to review my lines and blocking for tonight.

7–10 p.m. Rehearsal. Our current scene from Henrik Ibsen’s The Wild Duck involves 7" clear plastic stilettos and thick red and blue plastic tarps.

10:15 p.m. Home for the night! I make microwave popcorn and read for a while before showering and going to bed.

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First-Year Diaries

Keila, Acting MFA

First-Year Diaries

Hayat, Film/Video MFA 8:30 a.m. Wake up, check email, social media, shave, shower, moisturize (rarity).

9:15 a.m. “Cinematography” class. We learn to properly operate the Fisher Dolly with the Red Camera. I can’t drive, but decide to take a chance and operate the rig anyway— I survive! Good times.

12:15 p.m. Grab quick bites from the cafeteria: a hummus cup, smart water, chai tea, and some fruit.

1:00 p.m. “Digital Editing” TA duties. I assist a student with the sequence settings of her Adobe Premiere project, using specs from one of my favorite professors (one of the loveliest people I’ve met; #goals).

4:00 p.m. “Alternative Screenwriting.” We watch Nostalgia de la Luz. It centers on women in search of the remains of their beloved relatives following the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Very moving film.

7:00 p.m. Grab a slice of pizza for dinner from the cafeteria. Would prefer to prepare something with some greens in it—but alas, no time to cook tonight.

7:30 p.m. Head back to the Digital Editing Lab. I’m hoping to finalize the color and some cosmetic edits.

It’s going to be a long night …

10:00 p.m. In the editing lab, I go over moodboard/ mindmaps for a presentation I’m doing tomorrow in my short film workshop class.

11:00 p.m. Return to key-framing heaven in After Effects!

4:00 a.m. Not able to get to color correction, but I am able to finish the composite special effect shots. Not picture-lock-ready, but good enough for a rough cut.

4:30 a.m. Finally get back to my room, shower, and sleep.

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8:00 a.m. Wake up early, shower, tame my mane, check email, and nom on breakfast biscuits before I head out the door.

8:45 a.m. Pick up a care package from my mom at the mailroom—it has snacks and cooking supplies, along with a photo of my kitties as a surprise.

9:00 a.m. Meet with an animator to record some dialogue and singing for their musical animated film in the A112 recording studio.

10:00 a.m. Sing my heart out in CalArts Contemporary Vocal Ensemble rehearsal.

12:00 p.m. Lunch time at Steve’s Café! My partner Evan and I split a trayful of food, and we talk about the musical we’re composing together.

4:00 p.m. CalArts GameMakers Club meets and shows prototypes of the games the different teams have been making. My group has the best music, but Team One has really great graphics and Team Two put hilarious dialogue in theirs.

5:00 p.m. Dinner and CalArts VegeTable meeting.

A bunch of vegans and vegetarians gather to talk about how to promote positive change in the food on campus.

6:00 p.m. “Tonal Skills D Sectionals” with Marc Lowenstein, who somehow makes music theory fun.

7:00 p.m. “Intro to Concert Production” class. Take notes on how to do a stage manager’s job and what to know about putting on my upcoming sound project with Evan.

9:00 p.m. Rehearsal for Opera Theater’s showcase of musical theater and opera scenes. My friend brings popcorn and we have a good time poking fun at our piece.

10:00 p.m. Home sweet dorm! Do homework and snack until I’m tired. Then get under the covers and hit the hay.

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First-Year Diaries

Elizabeth, Music BFA

First-Year Diaries

Jesse, Experimental Animation BFA 9:00 a.m. Wake up and cook a huge breakfast for me and Grandma (she’s been a good college roommate/artistic collaborator).

10:00 a.m. Shoot scenes for my stop-motion horror film.

10:08 a.m. One of the puppets breaks. Solder him back together.

11:00 a.m. Continue shooting—how am I already hungry again? Is this stress eating? Maybe. Luckily I have snacks in the studio. Maybe a “semi” lunch.

12:00 p.m. Realize that my shadow was captured 30 frames ago, which messed up the shot. Re-shoot.

1:00 p.m. Burrito.

2:00 p.m. Advanced electronic music class. It’s refreshing to get away from animating for a bit. Hear a guest speaker called Plaid. They’ve toured and collaborated with Björk! I scream on the inside.

3:00p.m. Struggle with the ceiling in my shot. My professor fixes it easily… and gives me some great lighting tips.

4:00 p.m. I don’t remember 4:00 p.m. Do you remember your 4:00 pms? I didn’t think so.

5:00 p.m. Dinner. I make a fantastic Buddha bowl with jasmine rice, freshly cooked black beans, cucumber, kimchi, red onions, avocado, and topped with liquid aminos, nutritional yeast, and Sriracha.

7:00 p.m. Punk concert. Negotiate with authorities not to shut it down.

8:00 p.m. Punk show successfully not shut down.

1:00 a.m. Sleep.

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Student Population

Fall Semester 2021

TOTAL ENROLLMENT 1,438 66.7% Undergraduate Students, 959

BFA, Certificate

Average age 21 33.3% Graduate Students, 479

MFA, MA, DMA, Adv. Cert.

Average age 28 0.6% Exchange Students, 9

DISTRIBUTION BY SCHOOL 21.4% 3.4% 5.5% 27.7% 21.8% 20.1%

Art Critical Studies Dance Film/Video Music Theater

CLASS SIZES 92.8% 2–20 students, excluding individual lessons

and independent studies 7.2% 20+ students

STUDENT:FACULTY RATIO 7:1

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GENDER 54.8% Female 34.8% Male 10.4% Other gender or undisclosed

GEOGRAPHIC REPRESENTATION 71.2% US students from 42 states,

District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam 28.8% International students from 56 countries

and regions

US ETHNIC DIVERSITY 0.4% 8% 4.3% 12.5% 0.1% 36% 5.6% 4.2% 52%

American Indian or Alaska Native Asian African American Hispanic or Latino Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander White Two or more races Undeclared Students of Color

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— NATAKI GARRETT Theater MFA alum

“CALARTS PUSHED ME TO EXPOSE my weirdness, weakness, and WILDNESS IN MY ART—AND TO express myself fully without APOLOGY OR THE NEED TO FEAR conventional attitudes around MY EXISTENCE.”

Academics

DEGREES Undergraduate BFA–Bachelor of Fine Arts 4 years/8 semesters

Graduate MFA–Master of Fine Arts 2 years/4 semesters or 3 years/6 semesters depending on the individual program DMA–Doctor of Musical Arts 3 years/6 semesters (Performer-Composer Program only) MA–Master of Arts 2 years/2 semesters in full residence, 2 semesters in low residence (Aesthetics and Politics Program only)

Interschool BFA or MFA Available by application to a small number of practitioners whose advanced work warrants study in two programs in different CalArts schools. BFA students may only apply to enter in their third year of study. MFA students may apply to enter in their first year.

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Undergraduate Minors Open to all BFA candidates who wish to develop an accredited body of skills and knowledge in addition to their métier studies. Minors are available in: Digital Arts Music Theory Critical Studies (Creative Writing, Humanities, Social Science, Cultural Studies, Science, and Math)

Graduate Concentration in Integrated Media The Integrated Media concentration is designed specifically for MFA students whose creative use of technology—in particular digital media—goes beyond their primary areas of study.

BFA GENERAL EDUCATION The emphasis on the close relationship between liberal arts and studio practice at CalArts reflects the visionary commitment to cross-disciplinary study on which the Institute was founded. As such, CalArts’ BFA General Education curriculum is designed to enable you to consider aesthetic questions within larger sociocultural, ethical, and political contexts.

MENTORING Whether you are an undergraduate or graduate student, mentorship—close collegial working relationships between faculty and students—is a hallmark of the learning experience at CalArts, with your mentor serving as your primary artistic and career advisor.

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Programs

SCHOOL OF

ART

Art BFA, MFA Photography and Media BFA, MFA Art and Technology MFA Graphic Design BFA, MFA

SCHOOL OF

CRITICAL STUDIES

Creative Writing MFA Aesthetics and Politics MA

THE SHARON DISNEY LUND SCHOOL OF DANCE Dance BFA Choreography MFA

SCHOOL OF

FILM/VIDEO

Film and Video BFA, MFA Character Animation BFA Experimental Animation BFA, MFA Film Directing MFA

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Programs

THE HERB ALPERT SCHOOL OF MUSIC Performer-Composer BFA, MFA, DMA Composition and Experimental Sound Practices BFA, MFA Jazz BFA, MFA INSTRUMENTALARTS: Winds BFA, MFA Brass BFA, MFA Percussion BFA, MFA Guitar BFA, MFA Harp BFA, MFA Piano/Keyboard BFA, MFA Collaborative Keyboard MFA Strings BFA, MFA VoiceArts BFA, MFA WORLD MUSIC: World Music Performance BFA African Music and Dance MFA Balinese and Javanese Music and Dance MFA North Indian Music MFA World Percussion MFA Music Technology: Interaction, Intelligence & Design BFA, MFA Experimental Pop BFA

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SCHOOL OF

THEATER

PERFORMANCE: Acting BFA, MFA Directing MFA EXPERIENCE DESIGN AND PRODUCTION: Experience Design and Production BFA WITH SPECIALIZATIONS IN: Scene Design Costume Design Experience Design Lighting Design Sound Design Stage Management Technical Direction Experience Design and Production MFA WITH SPECIALIZATIONS IN: Interactive Media for Performance Costume Design Lighting Design Producing Scene Design Sound Design Stage Management Technical Direction

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— ABIGAIL SEVERANCE School of Film/Video Interim Dean

“THE CLASSES AND CURRICULUM ARE only part of the experience. The OTHER PART IS THIS IN-DEPTH, INTIMATE conversation you have with your FACULTY MENTOR OVER THE COURSE of your studies. The mentor is a FELLOW ARTIST WHO’S GOING ON THIS journey with you, not just listening, BUT RESPONDING AT EACH STEP WITH what you need.”

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— MINA SHOAIB Art BFA alum

“MY TIME AT CALARTS was extraordinary— FILLED WITH CREATIVITY, friendship, and MENTORSHIP. I COULDN’T have asked for a better EXPERIENCE.”

ADMISSIONS CalArts welcomes applications for admission from individuals engaged in the visual, performing, media, or literary arts.

The main criterion for admission is artistic merit, as assessed directly by the faculty of the individual programs. Applicants are asked to demonstrate their abilities through live auditions or portfolio submissions. Other important considerations include previous educational records, recommendations, and a personal artist’s statement submitted by the applicant.

FINANCIAL AID CalArts is committed to helping students meet their cost of attendance. We offer a variety of financial assistance, including grants, scholarships, student loans, and Federal Work Study. During the 2021–22 academic year, more than 90% of enrolled CalArts students received institutional funding in the form of grants or scholarships. Most students receive financial aid from a combination of sources, including scholarships, grants, and loans. To learn more about financial aid, see calarts.edu/financial-aid.

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ACCREDITATION California Institute of the Arts is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Senior College and University Commission.

CalArts is also an accredited institution member of the National Association of Schools of Dance (NASD).

See wscuc.org to learn more about the WASC accreditation process. For information about NASD, see nasd.arts-accredit.org.

For CalArts consumer information, including our Nondiscrimination Policy, visit calarts.edu/consumer-information.

CREDITS Published by CalArts Enrollment Management Creative Direction and Design: Stuart Smith (Art MFA 02) Editorial: Vanessa Roveto, Jesse Damazo, and Taya Zoormandan Photography: Yasaman Alipour (Art MFA 23) pg. 13; Alejandro Caminos (Art BFA 25) pgs. 12 top, 17 ; Angel Origgi pgs. 3 bottom, 23 top, 34 top, 39 top, front cover, inside front cover; Josh Rose pgs. 10, 18; Marco Zhang (Art BFA 23) pgs. 23 bottom, 30 top right, back cover; all other photographs Rafael Hernandez (Art BFA 11)

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NOTES:

TO DO • Find out which program would be a good fit • Plan a virtual or in-person campus visit • Review application requirements • Prepare your audition, portfolio, or writing sample • Review our financial aid guidance • Send in your application

APPLICATION PROCESS

ATTEND AN EVENT

CALARTS

CalArts

California Institute of the Arts 24700 McBean Parkway Valencia, California 91355