The MTIID curriculum is unique among seemingly similar programs at other schools. Students are engaged in activities ranging from custom software design, physical computing for human-computer interaction, electro-mechanical systems for robotic performance, and a smattering of many contemporary music subjects. The program combines and teaches material most often found in disparate departments across traditional universities. With an emphasis on the sonic arts, students take classes covering subjects like electrical engineering, computer science, physics, acoustics, and mathematics, along with many courses emphasizing the program’s core focus in electronic music composition, production, and performance. Students are given a considerable amount of creative freedom to pursue projects in and out of class.The program in Music Technology also fosters collaboration between departments within the music school and CalArts as a whole. MTIID students are often found scoring and sound designing for the animation department, building installations with the art & theater departments, and engaging in musical collaborations with other students studying world music. Performance opportunities are plentiful across the abundance of concerts and events that occur year-round at CalArts.
