Why New Media at FAMU?
Radical VR, conceptual artwork, experimental documentary, intermedia performance, soundart. If these words spark your interest, then look no further. You are one of a few students for whom this program is perfect. Join just a few peers (maximum of 6!) in this intimate program designed for boundary-pushing new media artists at one of Europe’s foremost art schools.
Academics
Semester
Snapshot
- Recommended Credits: 12-18
- Create an audovisual project that guides your semester
- Core courses and electives that support your project
- Work with faculty mentors one-on-one
- Exhibit final project at a local venue
- Host University: The Film and Television School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU)
Curriculum & Syllabi
You take three core courses in new media, one language class, attend intensive workshops, and enroll in one or two FAMU International electives to meet the recommended 12 to 18 total credits. Your Czech language class is taught by CET, while the remainder of your curriculum is taught by experienced FAMU faculty active in their fields.
You take these three core courses at FAMU:
New Media Individual Mentorship | 1.5 credits
Your background and choice of medium are matched with a FAMU faculty mentor that helps guide your projects, both technically and artistically. You have a weekly 60- to 90-minute one-on-one meeting to improve your technical skills in a particular audiovisual medium or software.
New Media Workshop | 3 credits
During this studio course, you create your semester-long project to be exhibited at a gallery at the end of the semester. This weekly practical workshop meets for five hours each week and allows you and your classmates (CET peers and Czech students) to pursue your own interests and projects in conjunction with a thematic or singular approach to a set of particular media. It also offers a constructive space to engage in discourse related to the works of the class.
New Media History | 3 credits
Study the history of new media from the perspective of the art maker, beginning in the 1940’s through present day. You learn a range of technology histories, how new media fits into the traditional art history canon, and even study the counterparts of technologies—can the same result be achieved with a non-technical solution?
These week-long workshops are held throughout the semester and aim to develop technical skills in a particular area of new media practice. Each workshop differs in contact hours, but you can take up to 48 hours for 3 credits. Past workshops have included:
- Intensive Sound Workshop (8 hours)
- Intensive Physical Computing Workshop (20 hours)
- Intensive Web-Based Programming Workshop (12 hours)
- Intensive Site Specific Collaborative Art Practice Workshop (8 hours)
Many electives at FAMU and CAS are open to CET students. Take one or two 1.5-credit electives to meet the total of 12 to 18 recommended credits. Courses differ each term but past students have taken:
- Soundtrack Aesthetics
- Visual Theory
- History of Animation
- Introduction to Film/TV Producing
- Tools of Directing Documentary
- Intermedia Studio
- Advanced Methods of Musical Programming, Synthesis and Live Electronics
Explore more electives at FAMU International.
- Terms: Winter is the FALL semester; Summer is the SPRING semester
You may also substitute one FAMU elective for a CET Prague elective.
You take 20 hours of intensive Czech in the first week, and have reduced class hours after that. Most students are Czech language beginners, but if you’ve taken Czech before, we have a class for you, too. This class is exclusively offered for CET students.
- PR/LANG 101 Beginning Czech Language (3 credits)
A Taste of the Industry
Your Vision, Your Project
You create a new media/audiovisual studies project, and that project guides your semester. The sky’s the limit for your project—use biosensors, video, Arduino, or Raspberry Pi. Experiment with open-source software such as Processing, Blender, or Puredata.
Your classes help you create your project. Take in a new perspective from one of many visiting artists. Bounce ideas off your one-on-one mentor. Take theoretical and practical classes in new media, physical computing, interactive narrative, or even multi-channel sound creation. And at your end-of-semester exhibition, see all your hard work in action.
Cutting-Edge Facilities
Co-Curricular Connections
Eric Rosenzveig
Mentor, CET New Media & Audiovisual Studies at FAMU
Your faculty mentor is Eric Rosenzveig, an accomplished artist and educator. Learn from him in two of your core courses, New Media Workshop and New Media History. In addition to your New Media Individual Mentorship faculty mentor, Eric also serves as a secondary mentor invested in your experience—guiding you and your final project from concept to finished product.
"As a very independent student, this program was a perfect fit for me. The support the program provides greatly helped me as an artist, and tested me to even measure failures as successes. I learned how to push myself to work on my own, how to stand behind my ideas, and how to let them naturally evolve."
Smith College | Spring student
Housing & Meals
COVID Modifications
Because of precautions CET is taking related to COVID-19, your housing experience will look different from standard programming. Please see the COVID playbook page for more information.
- Apartment
- Off-campus housing
- Live with CET peers and local Czech students
- 2-6 people/apartment
- 2-3 people/room
- Kitchen, living room, bathroom, in-unit washer, drying rack
- Wifi , A/C, linens, towels, basic furnishing, kitchenware
Share a conveniently located apartment in downtown Prague with CET peers and local Czech students. Take in the views during your beautiful 20- to 30-minute commute to class, where you either walk or take public transport with your CET-provided pass. Residences have many layouts, but you always have peers around to chat about your day and just relax with after a busy day at FAMU.
Local Czech Roommates
In addition to your peers, CET-picked Czech students also live in your apartment building to help you acclimate to life in a new country. Want to learn about Botas 66, the classic Czech sneakers? Looking for the best spot to have a countryside photoshoot? Try out one of the many Vietnamese restaurants in Prague? They also organize a regular “Czech Table” so you can practice your language skills around the city. You might visit the Prague Zoo, sample various Czech desserts, or visit the hometown of one of your roommates.
Eating in Prague
For meals, take advantage of the city’s vibrant and affordable food scene by trying all the local specialties. Větrník (caramel-dipped profiterole), anyone? What about Smažený Sýr (fried cheese with tartar sauce and potatoes)? Feeling like a home-cooked meal? Grab ingredients at the supermarket and have a night in with your roommates.
Life in Prague
- Known locally as: Praha
- Population: 1.281 million
- Local Currency: Czech Koruna (Kč)
- Famous for: Prague Castle, Charles Bridge, lower cost of living in Europe, great public transport, beautiful architecture, thriving art scene
Once class is out, Prague is waiting for you. Enjoy the perks of living in “the world’s greenest city” by reading in the park. Go paddle boating in the river on a nice day. See a world-class play at one of the city’s many beautiful theaters. Museum hop from the National Gallery to the DOX Center for Contemporary Art, then unwind at a cozy café. Prague has a little something for everybody.
Activities & Excursions
Around Prague
Away from the City
Working on your project and attending courses and workshops at FAMU will take up the bulk of your time, but CET also makes sure you have plenty of opportunities to take a break and see other parts of Central Europe.
- All students visit Český Krumlov during orientation. The area has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site due the town’s architecture, the castle, and the magnificent Baroque theater contained within the castle.
- You also spend a long weekend in Berlin, Germany with other CET at FAMU students. Get a backlot tour of Babelsburg Studio, visit a film museum, and discuss a film with young German filmmakers after a screening.
- Attend a film festival in the Czech Republic with CET. Fall students usually go to the Ostrava Kamera Oko International Film Festival in Ostrava, Czech Republic while Spring students usually attend the One World Fest or Febio Fest in Prague.
- Optional excursions around the Czech Republic help you get to know the country you’re studying in a little bit better. Locations vary from term to term but you might go to Kutná Hora, Jáchymov, Karlovy Vary, or Plzeň.
*The film festival excursion is dependent on local conditions and options in Prague. Excursions to film festivals may not happen every semester.
Giving Back to Prague
Give back to the city that’s hosting you by participating in a weekend of community service. Head outside of the city limits to help further a local NGO’s mission. Working alongside CET students, Czech roommates, and other Czech volunteers, you may help out on an organic farm and education center or help with housing construction projects for those in need. Volunteering is a great way to make local friends and see another side of the Czech Republic.
*The volunteering weekend is dependent on local conditions and options in Prague.
Volunteering weekend may not happen every semester.
"This program is unique for its pairing of students with individual mentors that supervise, guide, and teach each artist throughout the creation of their final work. Nowhere in the US can you find this kind of one-to-one attention and focus on the individual student."
On-site Staff
Jiří Bukovinský
Director of Prague Programs
Kevin Johnson, Ph.D.
Academic Director of Prague Programs
Program Fees
Spring
|
$21,990
Spring: $21,990
Of the total program fee, $19,290 goes to tuition and fees, and $2,700 goes to housing and other student life fees.
All of your classes and program-related learning are included with your tuition.
A budget for your project is included with your program fee. No crowd-sourcing necessary.
From pre-departure to orientation, from on site to re-entry, CET provides you with the support you need every step of the way.
You’re provided with a comprehensive insurance plan through GeoBlue that even includes medical evacuation coverage.
The excursions, workshops, and activities that we arrange are included in your tuition. All you need to do is bring your camera.
If you’re a US citizen, we process your standard visa in Washington, DC. If you’re an international student, you apply independently but we provide the documents you need and are here to answer questions along the way.
Your textbooks and course materials are covered and waiting for you on site.
You receive an official transcript jointly issued by CET and FAMU at the end of the term. You also have the option to request a School of Record transcript from the University of Minnesota for an additional fee if necessary.
Estimated
Out-of-Pocket
Costs
- Round-trip Airfare: $1,000 - $1,500
- Meals: $2,000 - $2,500
- Personal Expenses: $1,300 - $1,500
- Visa Fees: $110
General pre-requisites:
- Must be 18 or older at the time of program participation.
- Open to students from any US college or university
- GPA: 3.0 or higher preferred, but admissions decisions are made on a case-by-case basis; lower GPAs still encouraged to apply
- Language: Open to all levels of Czech, from absolute beginner to advanced
- Experience: Previous academic experience in New Media, Transmedia, or Intermedia is required.
- Submit your application by the deadline.
- CET and the Faculty Advisory Committee begin the review of your application and portfolio.
- Applications that pass through the first stage are sent to the Center for Audiosvisual Studies (CAS) at FAMU, the host university in Prague for review. A CAS faculty member will interview you to determine if your experience is a good match for the New Media program and send their recommendation to CET.
- CET issues admissions decisions approximately 2 to 3 weeks after the application deadline.
Complete the application through your online CET account. This is a brief form that asks for basic information and has a few short answer questions about why you want to study abroad.
All applicants for the CET at FAMU programs are required to submit a portfolio of visual work that will be reviewed by the Faculty Advisory Committee and factored into the admission decision. Learn more about portfolio requirements and the admissions process.
Use the link in your online account to send a recommendation request to one of your previous instructors.
This is an online form that your study abroad office completes to let us know you meet the requirements to study abroad. To send the electronic form request, simply enter the name and email address of your study abroad advisor in the designated fields of your online account.
Your online CET account has specific instructions for submitting an official transcript.
Spring deadline:
October 1st
Price Subject to Change:
CET reserves the right to increase quoted charges at any time without prior notification, based on increased instruction costs, exchange rate fluctuation or other cost increases beyond CET’s control.