The Intermedia + Digital Art [ IMDA ] program has over $400,000 in funds to support Research Assistantships [ RA ] for graduate students who qualify. Half and full financial packages may include tuition remission, health care and stipends. Students fulfill their RA by teaching a course; assisting Faculty on a research project; or working with one of several research centers and partners at UMBC including the Imaging Research Center [ IRC ], the Center for Art Design and Visual Culture [ CADVC ], The Shriver Center, the Department of Visual Arts, and several others. Most IMDA students choose to receive professional classroom teaching-mentoring experience as part of their curriculum. Eligible students have multiple opportunities to independently teach courses during their IMDA studies in an area of their expertise. Additionally, UMBC offers financial aid and the Graduate Student Association [ GSA ] offers opportunities for travel and other support for graduate students to produce their art. MFA applicants who have served in the Peace Corp may apply for additional funding through the Shriver Peaceworker Fellowship program [ note: deadlines may vary ]. MFA graduate students preparing for their thesis exhibition are eligible to apply for the RTKL [ Rogers, Taliaferro, Kostritsky, & Lamb ] merit-based award, Thesis students who are mounting their show are eligible for the K’OD IMDA Award [Kathy O’Dell IMDA Award for Most Outstanding Written Thesis and Exhibition].
IMDA students will receive in-depth feedback on their artwork from engaged Visual Arts Faculty throughout their education, and further benefit from many on-going public programs. This includes the Visiting Artists Lecture Series, which offers graduate students one-on-one feedback during studio visits with prestigious guest artists and critics. Additional related lectures and events are hosted by the Center for Innovation, Research, and Creativity in the Arts [ CIRCA ] and the Dresher Center for the Humanities.
External opportunities include the vibrant Baltimore art scene where students exhibit their work and events, international residencies, Fulbright scholarships, and many other awards, jobs and opportunities. IMDA graduates are successful in academia, industry and are independent artists and community activists and curators. We provide IMDA students and alumni with a variety of external resources, grants, and residencies that will support their creative output and career paths. Each student works closely with both an IMDA Faculty Advisor and a Thesis Advisor on career goals and builds a plan that includes appropriate external opportunities provided during our program.
Images: Ahlam Khamis (2023); Victor Furtado de Medonca Torres (2015); Ghazal Mojtahedi (2022); Danielle d’Amico (2019).