Degrees & Majors
The information shared here is intended to provide an overview of Georgia State University’s offerings. For official details on admissions requirements, tuition, courses and more please refer to the university catalogs.
Art Education, M.A.T.
Georgia State University's Master of Arts in Teaching, Art Education (M.A.T.): Students seeking a teaching certification at the graduate level may apply to the M.A.T. in Art Education. Candidates for the M.A.T. may be asked to complete additional coursework as advised by graduate faculty based on the portfolio review. Students in this program may be artists who have worked in the community, experienced art teachers or recent art graduates.
Art History, Dual Undergraduate/Graduate
Art History, Dual Undergraduate/Graduate
The Ernest G. Welch School of Arts & Design and The College of the Arts offer a dual undergraduate/graduate degree program in Art History. The program provides students with the opportunity to complete a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in as short a period as five years.
Acceptance into the dual-degree program does not constitute admission to the graduate-degree program. Admission to the graduate program occurs in the senior year and is contingent upon 1) earning a bachelor’s degree, 2) maintaining the required program grade-point average, 3) performing in the graduate-level courses taken during the bachelor’s degree program and 4) meeting the other admission requirements of the specific program.
Ceramics, M.F.A.
The Georgia State Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) in Ceramics program emphasizes professional skills and achievements and fosters personal direction, diversity, technical proficiency and professional presentation. The Ceramics program offers a highly progressive curriculum that considers ceramics as a broad-based, interdisciplinary practice while providing a strong foundation in the history of the discipline and fostering technical mastery of the material. The individual direction of each student is further developed and focused through intensive time in the studio, group interaction across disciplines and periodic critical reviews. Sensitive handling of material, the integrity of craftsmanship and depth of inquiry are the unifying characteristics of work made in the ceramics M.F.A. program.
The program emphasizes group seminars and critiques to provide a variety of settings for the development and exchange of ideas relevant to the arts in general and ceramics in particular. In the final two semesters of the graduate program, the student completes a thesis exhibition and writes a supporting thesis paper.
A strong component of the graduate program involves assistantships in either studio work or in teaching undergraduate-level courses. Students may teach a variety of courses during their studies, from Foundations to Introductory Ceramics. These experiences in conjunction with the acquisition of professional skills such as resume writing, job application skills and self-promotion prepare the student with the tools to be a professional artist once studies are complete.
Students also gain the experience of organizing events and marketing through their involvement with the student organization, Student League of Independent Potters. The organization is responsible for managing a budget, participating in fundraising through two annual sales of work and coordinating two annual visiting artist workshops.
Choral Conducting Concentration, Master of Music (M.Mu.)
The Georgia State University Master of Music with a concentration in Choral Conducting program offers exceptional training to talented musicians wishing to study choral art at an advanced level. Intensive study with our faculty and regular performance experience is the foundation for developing highly qualified, professional conductors. Students in the program regularly conduct the Master Singers, an auditioned chamber choir of 20 to 30 voices in rehearsal and performance and assist with the other four choral ensembles (Treble Choir, Tenor-Bass Choir, University Singers and Choral Union).
Communication (Film/Video), M.A.
The graduate program in Film/Video/Digital Imaging prepares students for professional activities in all areas of film/video/digital imaging in which the school has emphasis (moving image studies), as well as for continued advanced graduate work at the Ph.D. level. Those in the Moving Image Studies track write research theses examining the problems in the theory and history of moving images. The M.A. track in Moving Image Studies can be pursued as an end in itself (for example, educators in English and the humanities who find themselves increasingly working with moving images in their disciplines), but is often the stepping stone for pursuing the doctorate.
The Moving Image Production emphasis of the MA degree remains a part of the School of Film, Media & Theatre but is primarily designed to support our Dual-Degree program. All applicants who are interested in filmmaking and who were not in the Dual-Degree program at Georgia State as an undergraduate are encouraged to apply to the Filmmaking concentration of the MFA degree in Digital Filmmaking.
Communication Studies - Moving Image Studies, Ph.D.
The Ph.D. in Communication Studies with a concentration in Moving Image Studies is specifically designed to provide students with the conceptual and methodological tools to study the complex and vastly expanded moving image environment of the 21st century, where the boundaries separating cinema, television and new media are breaking down. Moving Image Studies is an outgrowth of cinema studies, television studies, new media studies, cultural studies and critical theory. Many of our core seminars are designed to cut across media boundaries (by examining how models, paradigms and methods are problematized and enriched, as we move across specific media); while other seminars are devoted to intensive examination of problems within a specific media formation.
The doctorate in Moving Image Studies is designed to give students a solid foundation in a specific moving image medium (whether cinema, television, or new media), while at the same time give them the preparation and the confidence to research and write about moving images wherever they circulate. The program encourages innovative new work that challenges existing paradigms of media study, that is theoretically rigorous, and that is aware of historical and cultural specificity.
Composition Concentration, Master of Music (M.Mu.)
The Georgia State University Composition Concentration offers aspiring composers a comprehensive and immersive experience. The curriculum is designed to develop students' artistic expression and compositional skills across various musical genres and styles. Through individualized instruction, students work closely with experienced faculty, honing their composition techniques and exploring their unique creative voices.
The program emphasizes traditional and contemporary composition approaches, fostering a well-rounded understanding of music theory, orchestration and electronic music. Students have access to state-of-the-art facilities and resources, including cutting-edge recording studios and composition software, allowing them to bring their musical ideas to life with professional-level production quality.
The mission of the Georgia State School of Music is to preserve, promote and advance humanity’s rich and expanding tradition of artistic music-making through performance, composition, education and research in accordance with the urban and global initiatives of the university.
The graduate programs in the School of Music offer unparalleled opportunities in one of America’s most vibrant urban centers. The school enrolls about 90 students in Master of Music degree programs, Artist Certificate programs, and Ph.D. and Ed.D. programs in music education.
Students have the opportunity to work with an internationally acclaimed faculty of 40 full-time and 24 part-time faculty in concentrations such as performance, pedagogy, music education, conducting, composition and jazz studies.
Conducting (Low-Residency) Concentration, Master of Music (M.Mu.)
The Master of Music concentration in Conducting (Low-Residency) at Georgia State offers conductors who are already working in the field the opportunity to advance their education and training during the summer. Students must hold a Bachelors in Music degree and have regular access to leading a large ensemble. This degree is offered in a fully online format during the academic year (fall and spring) with an in-person format for the Summer I Session (June). Applicants may apply for fall, spring, or summer admission.
For guidance and feedback, students take the respective conducting course (Choral Conducting or Instrumental Conducting) online in either the fall or spring semester of the program. During the summer, students participate in a six-credit hour conducting seminar that overlaps with the Atlanta Summer Conducting Institute (as auditors only). One additional elective course is also available each summer to round out the needed degree credits.
Curriculum and Instruction, Ed.D.
The Georgia State University Ed.D. program in curriculum and instruction prepares master teachers to become instructional leaders and curriculum specialists who wish to develop expertise in advocacy for equity in teaching and learning, curriculum theory and development and pedagogical leadership.
Our Ed.D. program consists of a rigorous, collaborative, interdisciplinary program that promotes understanding the complex dynamics among theory, research and practice. Our graduates are empowered scholar-educators who advocate for social justice and educational equity at the classroom, school, district and state levels. Grounded in educational research, our interdisciplinary courses offer students the opportunity to conceptualize, theorize, dialogue, problem-pose, problem-solve, create and evaluate a wide range of educational theories, practices and policies related to curriculum and instruction.
Concentrations include art education, middle level, language and literacy education, mathematics education, foreign language education, music education, science education and social studies education.
Education programs leading to professional licensure or certification (nursing, education, social work, counseling, accounting, allied health professions, etc.) may require additional approval from separate licensing boards, depending on the state. Students who live or plan to live outside Georgia and are considering a professional program should contact the appropriate board in their state of residency prior to beginning a course of study. To help students find the best-known contact information for the appropriate state licensing board and for a list of Georgia State program contacts, visit the Student Consumer Information website.
Digital Filmmaking, Filmmaking Concentration, M.F.A.
Launching in fall 2022, the new Georgia State University Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) in Digital Filmmaking program and its Filmmaking concentration leverage the rich curriculum of the School of Film, Media & Theatre to create an ethically sustainable and socially engaged future for film and media production. The program cultivates diverse perspectives in an active and demanding learning environment within Atlanta's vibrant cultural and historical traditions.
The Filmmaking concentration prepares candidates to produce documentary, fiction, experimental, community-based and advocacy media, and 16mm and 35mm filmmaking through a combination of rigorous practice, collaboration and study. The program shapes candidates into well-rounded and skilled individuals with a thorough knowledge of film and media production and may contribute to the ongoing social justice work while developing distinctive styles of visual expression attractive to industry, artistic and activist communities.
Georgia State has been teaching film production at the graduate level for over 25 years, making it the longest-running graduate film school in Georgia.
Students in the Filmmaking concentration will:
- Gain a thorough grounding in the strategies, complexities and varieties of contemporary filmmaking and creative mediamaking.
- Be exposed to new storytelling perspectives to challenge traditional filmmaking structures and realize alternative possibilities to represent the human experience and condition.
- Engage in mentorship with award-winning and internationally recognized faculty filmmakers.
- Become adept in a diverse and expressive range of approaches to do work that synergizes arts-based and industrial practices.
- Partner with critical studies and scholarship in the School of Film, Media & Theatre, including the internationally renowned research group liquid blackness
- Leverage creative opportunities with other arts disciplines across the College of the Arts, including theatre, music, visual arts and design.
- Discover and hone an artistic voice through courses in directing, producing, screenwriting, cinematography, editing, sound design, documentary and experimental media in preparation for each candidate's thesis project.
- Explore filmmaking in multicultural Atlanta, the third-largest media capital in America in the heart of Georgia's booming film and television industries. This unique environment provides filmmakers with access and experience to navigate the demands of a fast-changing and competitive film industry.
- Engage in rigorous, hands-on learning and professional training and develop a rich understanding of cinema and media history, theory and aesthetics while anticipating and developing future media practices.
- Gain practical teaching experience through funded teaching assistantships that prepare candidates for a career in education. The M.F.A. degree is a terminal degree required for most college/university teaching positions in film/media production.
- Acquire industry experience through Georgia Film Academy and Trilith Studios (formerly Pinewood Studios) for specialized technologies and crafts such as post-production, lighting and art direction, etc.
The M.F.A. in Digital Filmmaking offers two concentrations. The Filmmaking concentration is administered through the School of Film, Media & Theatre. The Visual Effects & Virtual Production concentration is offered through the Creative Media Industries Institute (CMII). Applicants applying for the Visual Effects & Virtual Production concentration should visit CMII.
Drawing and Painting, M.F.A.
The Georgia State Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) in Drawing and Painting program supports artists who explore unique approaches to the creative endeavor and who transcend boundaries. We are interested in applicants searching for new insights into our culture and time. The faculty encourages innovative and original ideas.
The curriculum of the Drawing and Painting program ensures a comprehensive exposure to an array of perspectives as represented by the various approaches to media, content, imagery and teaching styles of our faculty. Students are encouraged to explore the traditions of printmaking as well as drawing and painting, and to work in pursuit of new forms and with contemporary issues. While students work in the drawing, painting and printmaking combined seminar for a majority of their studio credit hours, they are highly encouraged to move among media in the discipline, as well as with other studio areas in the Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design.
Film/Media Production, B.A./M.A. Dual Degree
Film/Media Production, B.A./M.A. Dual Degree
The Georgia State University School of Film, Media, & Theater offers a professionalized dual-degree program for current Georgia State bachelor of arts (B.A.) Film students aspiring for advanced honors-level and master of arts (M.A.) thesis production or thesis research. This program is designed to take five years (including a student's freshman and sophomore years), at the end of which, a student will receive both a bachelor of arts degree in film and media and a master of arts degree in communication with a concentration in film, media and digital imaging. The dual-degree program is ideal for enrolled undergraduate students who are sophomores or juniors and want to use their senior year as a segue into graduate work. The senior year would involve advanced coursework that one would usually take in the first year of the M.A. program. The first (and only) year of the M.A. program would involve only advanced coursework and the thesis film.
Graphic Design, M.F.A.
The Georgia State University Design M.F.A. program is for focused, motivated, experienced designers who want to introduce a multidisciplinary perspective to their work by collaborating with graphic designers, interior designers, fine artists, art historians and those from other related disciplines. Based on these experiences, graduate students in design will push their work into compelling and groundbreaking conceptual and visual directions in communication. Graduate students will take pedagogy coursework, shadow other instructors and are expected to teach entry-level design courses or work in a professional capacity for the university.
Guitar Performance Concentration, Master of Music (M.Mu.)
The Georgia State University Master of Music with a concentration in guitar performance provides advanced preparation for a career as a concert performer, as both soloist and chamber musician and as a teacher of guitar. Georgia State’s location in the heart of Atlanta, a cultural gem of the South, allows Master of Music guitar students to take advantage of numerous performing and teaching opportunities on and off campus. Completion of the degree normally necessitates four semesters of full-time study and requires a one-hour solo recital as well as a one-hour chamber recital.
The mission of the Georgia State School of Music is to preserve, promote and advance humanity’s rich and expanding tradition of artistic music-making through performance, composition, education and research in accordance with the urban and global initiatives of the university.
The graduate programs in the School of Music offer unparalleled opportunities in one of America’s most vibrant urban centers. The school enrolls about 90 students in Master of Music degree programs, Artist Certificate programs, and Ph.D. and Ed.D. programs in music education.
Students have the opportunity to work with an internationally acclaimed faculty of 40 full-time and 24 part-time faculty in concentrations such as performance, pedagogy, music education, conducting, composition and jazz studies.
Interior Design, M.F.A.
The curriculum of the Georgia State Interior Design program ensures comprehensive exposure to an array of perspectives as represented by the various approaches to media, conceptual development, content, visual representation and a variety of teaching styles exhibited by our faculty. The program is highly individualized, and ideal candidates will have already completed an undergraduate degree in interior design or a related field, ideally followed by some professional experience on which the graduate student reflects during their time in the program.
Students are encouraged to pursue new forms of expanded interiors practice and research while building on traditional design practice competencies. While students work in the interior design and graphic design combined seminar for a majority of their studio credit hours, they are highly encouraged to move within other studio areas within the Ernest G. Welch School of Art and Design that align with an expanded understanding of contemporary interiors practice, including 3D studies (sculpture, ceramics, and textiles), drawing, painting and printmaking, and photography, to name a few.
Opportunities: A significant component of the Interior Design graduate program revolves around the students’ 10-hour per week paid assistantships, either as graduate research assistants (GRA) assigned to specific faculty research initiatives, as studio lab assistants (GLA) working in essential support areas of the school (e.g., CAD labs, 3D maker spaces, materials resource labs) or teaching undergraduate-level courses as graduate teaching assistants (GTA). Following year-one requisite preparation in instruction, year-two and three GTAs are encouraged to teach a range of undergraduate courses related to their degree. Possible courses include Introduction to Studio, 3D Design, Drafting, and select courses in our CAD sequence. Actual course teaching opportunities will vary depending on departmental needs and specific language and skillsets unique to each GTA. These experiences, in conjunction with the acquisition of professional skills in evidence-based research, prepare the student with the tools to be a professional practitioner or educator once their studies are complete.
Beyond assistantship responsibilities, M.F.A. candidates in Interior Design are encouraged to pursue professional internships with one of the numerous interior design firms in Atlanta. Notably, 9 of the top 10 firms listed in Interior Design magazine’s 2020 Top 100 Giants have offices in Atlanta, with GSU alumni currently employed at 8 of those top 10 firms, including Gensler, Perkins & Will, HOK, Nelson Worldwide, and Hirsch Bedner Associates.
Research Thesis: In addition to the required coursework, M.F.A. candidates must produce a written graduate research thesis with a graphic component. This written document, combined with a specialized design project reflecting the chosen area of research, completes the thesis and is presented in a final M.F.A. thesis exhibition prior to graduation.
Jazz Studies Concentration, Master of Music (M.Mu.)
The Georgia State University Jazz Studies concentration offers a comprehensive approach to developing competence in jazz performance, improvisation and knowledge of jazz history. It also equips students with professional skills in establishing and maintaining high school or college-level jazz programs while nurturing their creative talents in jazz arranging and composing.
The program provides valuable opportunities for students to engage in quality jazz organizations, including large jazz bands and jazz combos. Furthermore, students will enhance their playing by participating in academic jazz courses such as jazz improvisation, jazz arranging and jazz pedagogy, among others. This integrated approach ensures a well-rounded jazz education and fosters both practical and academic growth in the field.
We offer jazz studies degrees in the following areas:
- Instrumental
- Voice
- Piano
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