A degree in Arts Technology will prepare students to work in a variety of arts, business, and entertainment industries. Students can earn either a BA or BS degree and can choose an area of concentration from the following:
Concentrations within Major
Find Your Path

Audio Engineering & Production
Bringing together music and technology to make something powerful.

Interactive Media
Learn to design and program a variety of digital solutions such as websites, apps, and other emerging technologies.

Live Event Technology
Craft the experience through light, sound, and projection in theatres, concerts, or tradeshows.

Video Production
Learn production techniques and film theory used to create professional cinema projects.

Visual Media
Learn to create digital media through graphic design, animation, photography, and web publishing.
Come Explore the Creative Careers of the Future
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The Arts Technology major combines dynamic Performance Learning opportunities with a forward-looking classroom experience. Students seeking a career in the arts will hone their artistic, technical and entrepreneurial skills while working for student-run ventures, arts organizations and live events.
Arts Technology’s core courses cover topics in aesthetics and design, teach technical proficiencies in the visual and performing arts, and model sound business practices. This core, combined with skills learned in one of five concentrations, gives students the tools they need as they transition to a life as practicing artists and technicians.
In addition to the University Studies requirements for either a B.A. or B.S. degree, students will complete 30 semester hours in the Arts Technology Core, 12 semester hours in Business Foundations and 18-19 semester hours in a chosen Arts Technology concentration.
Concentrations:
- Audio Engineering & Production
- Interactive Media
- Live Event Technology
- Video Production & Cinema
- Visual Media
Arts Technology Learning Goals
Students will:
- Be conversant in the visual and performing arts, demonstrating an understanding of their aesthetics and discourses.
- Acquire and apply, through Performance Learning, the skills needed to be proficient in essential arts technologies.
- Develop a collaborative, entrepreneurial mindset appropriate to opportunities and accountability at the intersection of arts and technology.
Arts Technology Core Courses (Credits)
AR105: Comprehensive study in black and white of principles and elements of two-dimensional composition. Topics covered include line, shape, texture, value, space, rhythm, balance, unity, variety, repetition, movement, scale and proportion. Color projects are introduced to develop artistic awareness and solutions to color theory. Studio and lecture.
Arts Technology Learning Goals
Students will:
- Be conversant in the visual and performing arts, demonstrating an understanding of their aesthetics and discourses.
- Acquire and apply, through Performance Learning, the skills needed to be proficient in essential arts technologies.
- Develop a collaborative, entrepreneurial mindset appropriate to opportunities and accountability at the intersection of arts and technology.
Requirements for the Arts Technology Major, in addition to the University Studies requirements for either a BA or BS degree, students will complete 30 semester hours in the Arts Technology Core, 12 semester hours in Business Foundations and 18-19 semester hours in a chosen Arts Technology concentration.
Arts Technology Core
TH135. Elements and Principles of Design (3) or AR 105. 2D Design (3)
AT110. Intro to Digital Media (3)
AT151. Arts Tech Essentials: Lighting, Photo, Video (2)
AT153. Arts Tech Essentials: Audio (2)
AT157. Storytelling (3)
AR101. Discourses in Media & Design (3)
AT265. Foundations in Web Design/Development (3)
MC312. Legal Issues in the Arts (3)
AT370. Arts Technology Cornerstone Project (1)
Student-run Ventures (2 credits):
TH390/AR390/MC390/AR325/IS390/MC160/MC210/AT321 and other ventures as approved by the chair
AT470. Internship (1)
AT490. Portfolio and Professional Development (1)
AT496. Arts Technology Capstone Project (3)
Business Foundations
Marketing
MK200. Principles of Marketing (3)
Pick 3 Credits From:
MK363. Brand Loyalty through Digital Media (3)
MK 307 IMC Campaigns
Entrepreneurship
ET340. Foundations of Entrepreneurship (3) or ET380. Art of Entrepreneurship (3)
Administration
AD323. Arts Management (3) or
AD360. Topics in Arts Administration (3)
18-19 Hours In One Of The Following Concentrations
Audio Engineering & Production (19)
Live Event Technology (18)
Interactive Media (18)
Video Production & Cinema (18)
Visual Media (18)
Career Opportunities
With the skills you will develop in Arts Technology, you will be prepared to do creative work for a variety of industries, and to make your own opportunities in the ever-changing creative economy.
- Audio Production Engineer
- Videographer/editor
- Photographer
- Concert/exhibition lighting designer
- Sound reinforcement for performance venues
- Graphic/Interactive designer
- Film soundtrack production
- Audio/video/podcast producer
- Sound/video director or technician
- Website and App Designer/Developer
- Art director for commercial, TV, film, print, web
- Corporate media specialist
- Digital and social media marketing
- Audio production for video
- Animator
- Theatrical projection designer
- Game Designer/Developer
- .....and many more
Student Work
In courses across the major students are challenged to create projects that use visual communication techniques to solve business and artistic problems.
Performance learning is incorporated in courses through student ventures such as the Blue Connection, Millitrax, Ignite Studios, and Pipe Dreams Studio Theatre. The Center for Entrepreneurship helps support these fine art ventures through the Arts Entrepreneurship Program.
Apply today to #MakeItMillikin!
The future is interdisciplinary and with a major in the Arts Technology and Administration Department our Millikin University students will be ready for it.
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”I SEE THE ARTS TECHNOLOGY MAJOR AS BEING THE HEART OF CREATIVITY, INNOVATION, AND TECHNOLOGY ON THIS CAMPUS. Whether you are looking to solve problems in business or with social issues, success comes from a solid understanding of the various tools and software, brainstorming, and storytelling techniques, and the artistic foundation to put these important elements together in a way that communicates. Often solutions that successfully call the viewer to act or make a change require an interdisciplinary approach to thinking and strong technical skills and that is where the Arts Technology major excels.
It is very exciting to think about all of the possibilities for employment with this major: working in an advertising agency, marketing firm, recording or film studio, or even at home to name a few. The industry is changing rapidly and the reality is we are also preparing students for jobs that may yet to be created. Just a few years ago job titles like “User Experience Designer” or “Mobile Marketer” didn’t exist. Students who are studying in a major, like Arts Technology, that pushes them to integrate creativity, innovation, and technology, will be best prepared the next big thing.
My specific expertise is in digital media and design which as a discipline has continually become more integrated with other areas in the professional world. It is essential in my field to be able to collaborate and work outside of the traditional academic silos and that collaboration is one of the greatest strengths of our Arts Tech major.”
~Professor Jessa Wilcoxen, Chair of Arts Technology
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“PROGRAMMERS AND DEVELOPERS CAN MAKE ALL OF THESE THINGS WORK, but it takes the infusion of art, aesthetics, and user design to make it work intuitively and make sense in our minds. Arts Technology is, for our students, the opportunity to gain careers in a 21st century digital economy.”
~Professor RJ Podeschi, Assistant Professor of Information Systems
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“ARTS TECHNOLOGY IS A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY PROGRAM and the faculty are encouraging students to reach outside of their own comfort zones as they learn to collaborate with clients, and to use their artistic skills to contribute to solving real-world problems both in their classes and in student-run business ventures.
With emphases in audio production, lighting and projections for live entertainment, or visual arts technology, students can choose the area they are most interested in pursuing, while also taking classes in a variety of areas of music, theatre, art, video, marketing, and more.”
~Professor Mary Black, Director of the School of Theatre and Dance
Millikin Creates is a student run media firm creates design, videography, photography, interactive, animation, marketing, or audio solutions for clients on campus or in the community. The business also creates custom contents surrounding innovation, creativity, and technology and publishes on a variety of digital platforms.
Learn more about the Millikin Creates media firm.
Already considering graduate school? For students who are interested in furthering their knowledge in leadership and management, the Fast Track M.B.A may be the perfect choice. At Millikin University you can earn a BA or BS in Arts Technology and a MBA in just 5 years.