Course

 Requirements  and  Descriptions  

Program  of  Study:  Lighting  Design  

Topics  covered  in  Design  Studio  may  include:  devising  performance,  

designing  new  work,  designing  installation,  designing  for  
Design  Studio  1  (Year  1,  2  Semesters)
architecture,  environment,  visual  storytelling,  practical  and  
Includes  Drawing  Lab.  The  first  year  is  spent  in  Studio  1  with  
technical  application  of  design  ideas,  creative  problem  solving,  
all  new  designers  and  directors.
presentation  skill-­‐building,  collaboration,  critical  thinking,  
engineering  and  constructing  LED  lightscapes.

Studio  Courses  (6  

Each  semester  of  Lighting  Design  may  include:  the  development  of  
Semesters)  
lighting  schemes  for  theatre  in  conventional  and  non-­‐conventional  
venues,  opera,  film,  television,  installation,  architecture,  large  
Lighting  Design  (4  semesters)  (including  Drawing  Lab).  The   events,  gaming  and  entertainment  design.  
Lighting  Design  studio  focuses  on  the  development  of  skills  
and  artistry  directly  related  to  the  work  of  a  lighting  
designer.   Emphasis  is  placed  on  the  communication  of  designs  with  the  use  of  
conventional  and  advanced  technological  lighting  fixtures  using  
rendering  techniques  which  include  traditional  2D  and  3D  digital  
plots,  models  and  pre-­‐visualization  storyboards.

The  student  may  select  from  choices  in  many  alternate  areas  
such  as  projection  design,  scene  painting,  game  design,  
costume  design,  scenic  design,  audio  design,  writing,   Specific  course  examples  include  Lighting  Design  Skills,  Color  in  
pedagogy  and  pre-­‐visualization. Design,  Scene  Painting,  Projection  Design,  Digital  Pre-­‐visualization,  
Skill-­‐Building  Courses   Vectorworks,  Interactive  Media  and  Game  Design,  Digital  
(6  Semesters)   Production  Art,  Game  Development,  Capstone,  Gaming  Technology,  
The  student  with  the  advice  and  guidance  of  the  design   Digital  Rendering,  Costume  Design  Skills,  Scenic  Design  Skills,  Sound  
faculty  and  the  student’s  primary  Lighting  design  mentor   Design
chooses  the  skill-­‐building  courses.

The  student  conceives,  plans  and  realizes  lighting  designs  for  

the  Department  of  Theatre  and  Dance,  the  Butler  School  of  
Theatre  productions  at  the  university  cover  multiple  genres  
Music  and,  upon  arrangement,  the  Department  of  Radio-­‐
Production   including  plays,  musicals,  dance,  opera,  new  work  and  experimental  
Television-­‐Film  productions.  He/she  will  design  the  lighting  
Laboratory  (6   performance.
for  at  least  two  main-­‐stage  productions  with  additional  
Semesters)   Opportunities  in  film  production  design  exist  within  collaborative  
opportunities  in  lab,  events,  the  spring  campus-­‐wide  
arrangements  with  the  Department  of  Radio-­‐Television-­‐Film.  
commencement  and  alternate  venues  including  the  biennial  
Cohen  New  Works  Festival.

Critical  
Thinking/Writing  (1   Courses  may  include  Theatre  History,  Design  Theory,  Reading  the  Canon  and  Research  Methods.
Semester)  

In  addition  to  courses  offered  by  the  Department  of  Theatre  and  Dance,  students  may  also  select  courses  within  the  College  of  
Electives  (3  
Fine  Arts  and  across  the  university,  including  Computer  Science  and  Radio-­‐Television-­‐Film.  Should  students  wish  to  carry  a  
Semesters)  
heavier  credit  load  they  may  take  more  electives,  with  the  consent  of  the  primary  lighting  design  advisor.

The  graduate  Lighting  Design  thesis  serves  as  the  capstone  

of  the  candidate's  graduate  work  at  The  University  of  Texas  
at  Austin.  It  is  the  final  opportunity  for  the  M.F.A.  candidate  
The  thesis  will  be  reviewed  per  the  standards  of:  the  performing  
to  demonstrate  her/his  aesthetic,  artistic,  intellectual  and  
arts  industries  and  the  university’s  standards  of  research.
technical  acumen  relative  to  the  standards  of  the  
Thesis  (2  Semesters)   professional  model.  The  thesis  is  subject  to  the   The  thesis  will  consist  of  three  parts:
requirements  of  the  university  and  the  Graduate  School.   1.  A  demonstration  of  artistry  and  skill  in  lighting  design.
This  means  that  a  Master’s  supervisor,  usually  the  student’s   2.  A  significant  original  project  demonstrating  the  candidate’s  
primary  lighting  design  advisor,  and  an  additional  reader  will   ability  to  generate  new  work.
examine  the  thesis  in  detail.  The  thesis  will  culminate  in  an   3.  A  presentation  of  the  candidate’s  portfolio.
oral  defense  of  the  work.