🎭💡 New Interdisciplinary Minors in the Arts!
The School of the Arts has just launched exciting new minors that combine artistry and technology, including a brand-new Lighting Minor and a Sound Technologies Minor.
Here’s a quick look:
Lighting Minor
Advisor: Michael Rathbun (mrathbun1@binghamton.edu)“The Lighting Minor offers students an interdisciplinary pathway in lighting, bridging technical and artistic skill sets across the disciplines of theatre, cinema, and studio art. This minor provides students the chance to develop specialized skills in lighting, preparing them for a range of applications across various creative fields, including performance, visual arts, media production, architectural environments, and more. Students will gain hands-on experience in the technical and design aspects of lighting, including theory and execution, supported by foundational and advanced coursework across multiple disciplines.”
Sound Technologies Minor
Advisor: Monteith McCollum (mccollum@binghamton.edu)“The Sound Technologies Minor offers students an interdisciplinary pathway, encompassing perspectives ranging from live applications to fixed media, bridging the disciplines of theatre, music, cinema and studio art. Across these fields, there is demand for understanding in both pre- and post-production audio techniques, original sound composition, live performance, and recording processes that encompass a variety of environments. Students are encouraged to engage with sound as an expressive and technical medium, for use in live performance and visual arts, in recorded media, and as a medium of expression on its own. This minor provides students the chance to develop specialized skills in sound technologies, to include introduction to the theory and practice of sound design, audio production, and sonic arts. This interdisciplinary program encourages exploration of sound through various creative and technical lenses, preparing students for further study towards roles within media, performing arts, and sound design industries. The Sound Technologies Minor students gain experience with digital audio workstations, programming, installation, design, modular synthesis, field recording, foley, music composition, and live mixing. Tools and processes are grounded in both electronic and acoustic concepts.”
📌 The website expands on these descriptions and includes full program requirements — make sure to check it out for the full picture:
🎟️ Lighting Events This Semester
There’s also a special series of lighting-related events happening this semester — a great way to explore the field, learn, and connect with peers and professionals.
💡 Note: Some professional development opportunities may involve costs. Don’t forget you can apply to our Professional Development Fund to help offset expenses. See all the details here.
💼 Career Support
Curious how these minors might connect to your career goals? Want guidance exploring creative pathways in lighting, sound, or the arts more broadly? Don’t hesitate to connect with our office! Check out the resources below for ways to reach us and get support.
Drop-ins: When classes are in session, Monday-Friday, from 12-4 p.m., you can visit our office to schedule a 20-minute drop-in with our staff
Appointments: You can schedule your 30-minute career session on Handshake. These are offered all year and can be done virtually and in person.
Online Resources: Visit uConnect, our virtual career center that is always accessible to support your career needs
- Light and Sound Technologies Minors: Webpage
- The School of Arts
- Michael Rathbun, Professor of Lighting Design
- Theatre List Serve
- Stay in the Loop: Get email alerts when auditions and opportunities are coming up! Join the Theatre Department’s Listserv so you never miss a chance to get involved.
- Photo Source: freepik.com
AI Assistance: Portions of this resource were developed with support from ChatGPT, an AI language model by OpenAI, used to help synthesize research, generate summaries, and refine formatting. All final content was reviewed and customized for Binghamton University students.
