Tell Tomorrow’s Stories
The Visual and Interactive Storytelling (VIS) interdisciplinary program is designed to prepare today’s storytellers to tell tomorrow’s stories. Faculty in VIS are drawn from programs in Art, English, Cinema Studies, and Theater. The program offers UT student artists, storytellers, performers, directors, animators, writers, and designers the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of the traditions and evolution of storytelling and performance while working with new and emerging tools. Students will receive instruction in digital, multimodal, nonlinear, and other storytelling forms with a keen eye to the practices from which these techniques and tools emerge and the role they play in public life today. Students in VIS will be ideally prepared for future work in film, web design, content creation, performance, and other fields in media and entertainment, depending on their area of interest.
Program Highlights
Curriculum
Courses covered in VIS include introductory classes in time-based art (ART 102) and art history (ARTH 173). Students will take classes in literary history (e.g. British Literature and Theatre History), foundational classes in narrative craft (e.g. creative writing and screenwriting), and foundational classes in digital technology (e.g. Animation and Multi-media Storytelling). These classes will serve as the foundation for further classes in Drama, Fiction, and Film Studies. Students will choose electives to further shape their major experience with classes in Animation, Filmmaking and Video Art, Photography, Video Game Art, Literature, Digital Humanities, advanced Creative Writing, Performance, and Design.
These courses challenge students to not only learn how to create work in a variety of narrative forms—both traditional and cutting edge—but to understand the theory and history of these forms. They will have the opportunity to learn a variety of methods and tools for contemporary storytelling in a variety of contexts (digital, stage and film, interactive, and nonlinear), seeing the intersections between fields as varied as sound design, creative writing, and performance and encouraging experimentation within and across these schools.
See Catalog for Visual and Interactive Storytelling program details.
Transfer Students
The School of Art has established pathways with many two-year institutions in Tennessee to make the transition from an associate degree to a BA or BFA degree as straightforward as possible.
Learn more about the Tennessee Transfer Pathway
See admissions requirements for transfer students
Facilities
Discovery requires the freedom to explore, and our undergraduate students have access to extensive facilities and studio spaces around campus.
Scholarships
The School of Art seeks to ease the financial burden of undergraduate studies by awarding scholarships to eligible students.
See our scholarship opportunities for incoming and current students
Internships
Internships are invaluable experiences that help students secure fulfilling employment following graduation. Students can begin their professional journey with the support and resources of the School of Art.
Study Abroad
Learning abroad facilitates personal, educational, and professional growth. We encourage students to pursue international travel and study programs offered by the School of Art and the UT Programs Abroad Office.
See our study abroad opportunities
See other study abroad opportunities offered by the Programs Abroad Office
Artists in Residence and Visiting Artists and Scholars
Our students benefit from frequent interactions with accomplished artists participating in our prestigious Artist-in-Residence Program and Visiting Artists and Scholars Program.
