Interdisciplinary Arts

Interdisciplinary Arts is an exciting major that includes courses in visual arts, music, film / theater, and language studies. As well as the chance to study creative practice across these four main areas, you will also gain valuable cultural experience through our study abroad program and by being immersed in Japanese culture and society.

Interdisciplinary arts is about crossing boundaries, exploring ideas and having new experiences. To facilitate this you can build your degree from a wide selection of courses that best reflect your interests and support your ambitions. You will gain a rich understanding of your chosen subjects and the creative process by exploring these disciplines from practical, theoretical and historical perspectives.

One of the major strengths of iCLA is that you have the freedom to design your degree to suit your own interests and ambitions. You can focus your studies on one area of arts, or ‘mix and match’ across disciplines. Students interested in Japanese art can even focus on specifically Japanese subjects (for example, courses in anime and manga, Japanese art history, Noh and Kabuki theater, classic and modern Japanese literature, and Japanese music, supplemented with studies in ikebana, calligraphy, martial arts and the tea ceremony), to give a unique window into the culture of this extraordinary country.

The Interdisciplinary Arts major at iCLA enables you to deepen your artistic skills and broaden your creative options.  After laying the foundations during the first half of your studies, you will have maximum freedom to discover new fields and cultivate your interests. You are encouraged to supplement your core arts studies with courses from other areas to tailor your degree towards your chosen career. The unique blend of courses offered at iCLA gives you the opportunity to develop your own area of practice while gaining inspiration from related disciplines.

All students are eligible to apply for either one or two semesters of study abroad at one of iCLA’s 70+ partner universities. The study abroad program does not extend the length of your degree as most credits earned can be transferred towards your graduation requirement. All of our exchange partnerships are based on mutual tuition fee waiver. Below are some of the partners most suited to our Interdisciplinary Arts major students.

Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the major, students can work in a variety of fields; fine art, illustration, graphic design, web, music composition for film or game, audio engineering, written content creation, proofreading and translation, acting, directing and dance. In addition, combining art courses with those from other iCLA areas such as Political Science, Economics and Business or Psychology creates a strong foundation for careers like journalism, arts curation and management, and art or music therapy.