The goal of the Audio Design & Production Program is to prepare students for careers in music recording, audio post-production, audio for multi-media communications, sound design, and sound art. It provides “core” coursework that covers the science of audio, basic and advanced recording, editing, and processing techniques common to all audio production and post-production fields. Students then choose courses that focus on the specific techniques, technologies and aesthetics of the music industry and/or of sound as an independent art form, and become versed in a variety of set-ups, from large-format recording studios to “desk-top” environments.

The specific goal of the program is to provide a foundational understanding of audio theory (Introduction to Audio Theory and Basic Audio Systems), along with production fundamentals (Audio Production I and Audio Production II), supported by relevant Science & Mathematics courses and our Hearing/Psychoacoustics curriculum. Our intermediate courses (Recording I, Recording II, and Live Sound Recording) apply core curriculum theory and practice in the context of studio and live/location recording/production, using both complex and simple microphone techniques as well as “live-to-two-track” and multi-track recording. A selection of advanced courses (two are required) provides capstone, “master class” experiences in the areas of studio recording, live/location recording, sound art, and synthesis/signal processing. In addition, students are required to elect at least three courses in the department, outside of the minimum specified major requirements.

It is important that students recognize the ever-changing and increasingly diverse nature of our technologically sensitive industries. To this end we explore new media forms, in which audio production and post-production are integral parts. These may include web design and authoring, real-time web media, CD/DVD publishing, sound design for theater, broadcast, and multi-media, and sound art as a stand-alone, independent means of artistic expression.

As part of a liberal arts education, this program also supports the development of student communication skills in, and aesthetic understanding of the various related industries, and helps prepare them to interact more effectively with peers and clients.

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