At Northwestern University’s Master’s Program in Sound Arts and Industries, we have pioneered a unique approach to sound. Our focus is on creating professionals who not only specialize in a single sound-based industry but also possess a diverse and expanding range of knowledge and skills applicable to many growing media industries and forms of artistic expression. This program is for students with a deep passion for sound, regardless of their background.
The sound professionals who emerge from our program are incredibly versatile. They develop an understanding of a wide variety of production techniques and workflows, as well as the neurophysiology of hearing, sound electronics, acoustics, and the social and cultural history of the sonic world. They grasp how our values and ideas as a society are intertwined with sonic creations. With hands-on experience using the latest audio technologies and an up-to-date awareness of multiple sound industries, they are ready to add their voice to a new wave of sound art that is echoing across media industry sectors, from podcasting and Hollywood sound design to major museum exhibits and game design.
In the MA in Sound Arts and Industries, you will have the opportunity to become a well-rounded sound professional through interdisciplinary learning, research, and development. The program draws upon Northwestern’s world-class faculty and stimulating creative environment. Students take courses in sound creation and design, sound studies, the science of sound, and many other topics with faculty from departments such as Radio-TV-Film, Performance Studies, Music Theory and Cognition, Communication Sciences and Disorders, African-American Studies, Linguistics, Electrical Engineering, and Computer Science. Our students become members of an intimate community of sound storytellers, scholars, designers, and innovators.
Students also take advantage of Northwestern’s state-of-the-art sound facilities, which include a newly renovated soundstage, multiple sound editing stations with Dolby workflow, and one of the best student radio stations in the country. Our students participate in a vibrant artistic and academic culture, sustained through conferences on emerging topics related to sound, as well as regular visits from world-famous professionals in sound science, sound studies, sound art, aural health, and a range of sound industries.
Northwestern provides extraordinary opportunities for collaboration in sister programs. Our students frequently interact and collaborate with writers, filmmakers, artists, and performers in the MFA in Documentary Media, the MFA in Writing for Screen and Stage, and the MS in Creative Enterprises. The booming culture of sound extends to nearby Chicago, a historical hub of radio production and home to major podcast producers, a vibrant theater and comedy scene, students and practitioners of acoustic ecology, and a world-renowned music scene.
A key component of Sound Arts and industries is the program’s internship requirement. Career services staff collaborate closely with students to identify internship opportunities and provide support throughout the student’s internship search. Students have access to a robust network of faculty, alumni, and industry advisors throughout the program and this network includes executives from major Hollywood film studios, Academy Award-winning sound designers, Pulitzer Prize-winning podcasters, as well as renowned academics, researchers, and entrepreneurs.
At Northwestern, you can become part of a new generation of versatile sound professionals changing how we hear the world.
Prof. Neil Verma
Director