Program Overview

Doctor of Philosophy in Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication

The PhD program in Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication is designed for those who wish to engage in deep scholarship or to develop artistic, cultural, or commercial applications of digital technology and emerging media. With a diverse group of faculty and a curriculum that integrates scholarly study with creative practice, ATEC cultivates creative scholars, scholarly practitioners, and interdisciplinary researchers. The PhD in ATEC additionally prepares students to teach arts- and technology-related courses in colleges and universities.

Overview

Students seeking a PhD in Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication will normally complete a minimum of 60 semester credit hours (42 semester credit hours in coursework and 18 semester credit hours in dissertation) beyond a master's degree or its equivalent, pass doctoral field examinations, submit a dissertation proposal, and complete and defend a dissertation.

Admission Requirements

In addition to the University's general admission requirements, applicants are required to submit the following materials as part of their application file for holistic admission consideration:

• Two letters of recommendation. Three letters are encouraged.
• A statement of purpose.
• A 10- to 20- page writing sample.
• A curriculum vitae (CV) or resume.
• Optional: Any other evidence of scholarly or creative endeavors you would like to provide.

Program Structure

The program requires:

• Major Core Courses: 9 semester credit hours
  • ATCM 6300 Approaches to Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication
  • ATCM 6301 Aesthetics of Interactive Arts
  • ATCM 7331 Research Methodology in Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication
• Prescribed Electives in ATEC Research Methodologies: 3 semester credit hours
  • ATCM 6361 Design Research Methods
  • ATCM 6376 Media and Cultural Studies Methods
  • ATCM 6390 Social Science Research Methods in Emerging Communication
  • ATCM 7332 Creative Practice Research Methods
• Prescribed Electives in Methods-intensive ATEC Courses: 3 semester credit hours
  • ATCM 6304 Computer Processing for Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication
  • ATCM 6326 Research in Sound Design
  • ATCM 6352 Socially Conscious Games
  • ATCM 6366 Information Architecture and Design
  • ATCM 6371 Visualization Research
  • ATCM 6375 Critical Approaches to Emerging Media Studies
  • ATCM 6377 Creativity as Social Practice
  • ATCM 6386 Digital Textuality
  • ATCM 6387 Emerging Media Studio
  • ATCM 6388 Critical Making
• Recommended Electives: 15 semester credit hours
  • Fifteen semester credit hours in any graduate course in ATEC. The suggested courses below may be of particular interest to doctoral students:
    • ATCM 6322 Experimental Interactive Media
    • ANGM 6335 Game Design and Development
    • ATCM 6371 Visualization Research
    • ATCM 6383 Digital Culture
    • ATCM 6386 Digital Textuality
    • ATCM 6389 Special Topics in Networked Cultures
    • ATCM 6390 Social Science Research Methods in Emerging Communication
    • ATCM 6395 Special Topics in Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication
    • ATCM 7340 Advanced Studies in Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication
    • ATCM 7390 Advanced Special Topics in Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication
    • ATCM 7620 Advanced Projects in Simulation and Game Design
    • ATCM 7V81 Advanced Doctoral Project Workshop
    • ATCM 7V82 Advanced Projects in Interactive Media
• Free Electives: 12 semester credit hours
  • Twelve semester credit hours of electives in any organized graduate-level courses offered by ATEC or in any organized 6000- or 7000- level courses offered by the Harry W. Bass Jr. School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology; Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science; School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences; Naveen Jindal School of Management, School of Economic; Political and Policy Sciences; School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics; or School of Interdisciplinary Studies.

Doctoral Field Examinations

After completing 36 semester credit hours of coursework applicable to the degree plan, students may proceed to the doctoral field examinations, a sequence consisting of three written sections and one oral section that takes place over the course of one month. The exam covers material from the ATEC Common Exam (ACE) list and three field-specific bibliographies. The examining committee, composed of three members of the graduate faculty, oversees definition and preparation of the three examination fields within guidelines established by the program.

Dissertation

Students are formally advanced to PhD candidacy when they have successfully completed the doctoral field examinations and received final approval for their dissertation from the four-person supervising committee and the ATEC Graduate Studies Committee. Each candidate then writes a doctoral dissertation, which is supervised and defended according to general University regulations. Every student must register for a minimum of nine dissertation semester credit hours in two successive semesters and must maintain continuous enrollment thereafter for at least three semester credit hours during consecutive long semesters until the degree is completed. Any exception to this requirement is granted only by petition to the school's Associate Dean of Graduate Studies.