Minors

Open to all majors, the Animation minor offers a curriculum focused on production, creative storytelling, social issue documentary, and artistic experimentation. Through a range of techniques and processes, including traditional and digital frame animation, stop-motion animation, keyframe animation, and hybrid media practices, students apply their research to create engaging short, animated projects.

The Animation Minor provides a solid foundation in animation principles and methods that can be applied in the creative arts, humanities, and scientific fields. By honing their skills in visual storytelling and artistic expression, students gain valuable insights into the dynamic intersection of art and technology. 

The Art and Social Change minor is a dynamic program that explores the intersection of art, activism, and social transformation. Through thought-provoking coursework and collaborative projects, students delve into the profound impact of contemporary art on issues such as social justice, sustainability, and cross-disciplinary research. 

With a focus on research, critical analysis, and participatory experiments, students gain a nuanced understanding of art's potential as a catalyst for positive change in society. Learn more below.

The Design Thinking minor is a process that uses interdisciplinary approaches to designing, building, and evaluating user experiences across a range of technologies, systems, and objects. 

People with design thinking skills are in high demand across a range of industries including software and website development, product design, user experience design, instructional design, architecture and planning, global health, global management and consulting, and international development. These skills prepare graduates to be flexible and adaptable in different roles and careers. Learn more, below.

The Digital Media and Web Design minor is an interdisciplinary program (in conjunction with College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the College of Engineering and Computing) designed to equip students with the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in the rapidly evolving field of digital media, web design, and user experience. By combining courses in web design, graphic design, content development, and user experience, students gain hands-on experience and a comprehensive understanding of how to create, manage, and optimize digital media and web interfaces.

The Dynamic Publishing Minor gives students from any major a choice of two interrelated tracks: one in Art and Design, focused on publishing modes ranging from book arts to comics to digital design, and the other in Editorial and Production, focused on core acquisitions, editing, and production processes across a variety of publishing environments. The co-curricular makeup of the minor prepares students for the highly interdisciplinary world of publishing, which requires that its workforce has the ability to collaborate across a wide range of academic disciplines and professional fields. The Dynamic Publishing minor is ideal for students seeking an academic credential for professional or graduate-school work in many different aspects of publishing, and also for artists and writers who want to learn more about the process of publishing from new perspectives.

The Graphic Design minor distills many of the important skills from our BFA Graphic Design program to allow for an understanding of how to deliver information in visual formats, with coursework in typography, web design, and graphic design history. The program also incorporates  Professional Practice training, which prepares students for the demands and expectations of the graphic design profession, including client communication, project management, and ethical considerations. 

The Illustration minor helps students to understand both the artistic and professional demands of Illustration, working to provide the skills to make concepts understandable and powerful in the service of editorial, informational or persuasive goals. Students will begin to discover individually unique methods of problem solving by developing a personal visual vocabulary and relating it to historical and contemporary trends of art, design and illustration.

The Photography Minor offers students a focused and comprehensive exploration of the art and craft of photography. Through this program, students engage in a dynamic learning experience that encompasses various aspects of the field. They gain proficiency in digital photography, learning to master the technical aspects of capturing and editing images using advanced digital tools. Additionally, students have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the rich tradition of darkroom photography, acquiring skills in film development, printing, and traditional darkroom techniques. The minor also includes instruction in professional lighting, enabling students to understand and utilize light effectively in their photographic compositions. By combining theoretical knowledge with hands-on practice in digital photography, darkroom techniques, and lighting, students develop a well-rounded skill set that prepares them to excel in their creative endeavors and apply their photographic expertise in their chosen career paths. 

The Photojournalism minor explores photography as a journalistic storytelling medium. Offered jointly by the Department of Communication and the School of Art, the minor prepares students to bear witness through the lens of a camera; to examine the world around them, pose questions and inform audiences. Students gain proficiency with digital photo technology, develop reporting skills, apply visual storytelling principles, and examine the ethical and legal challenges of capturing stories in a mediated society. 

The Studio Art minor requires 18 credits and offers a core of foundational studies with the opportunity for further study in the following areas: Drawing, Graphic Design, New Media Art, Painting, Photography, Printmaking and Book Arts, and Sculpture. 

The Web Design minor at the School of Art offers students the opportunity to delve into the dynamic world of web design. In an increasingly digital age, web design plays a crucial role in shaping our online experiences. This minor equips students with the skills to craft visually appealing, user-friendly websites that engage audiences and meet the demands of the modern digital landscape.

Web design encompasses visual design, user experience (UX) principles, information architecture, and interactive elements. Through this minor, students gain proficiency in industry-standard tools, learn graphic design principles, and develop an understanding of creating aesthetically pleasing and intuitive websites. Learn more below.

The Arts Management minor will give you the basic management skills and critical thinking needed to understand how arts organizations are managed:

• Gain practical skills through class projects and during an internship;
• Analyze and evaluate models and structures of not-for-profit and for-profit arts organizations;
• Understand the importance of internal and external environments as to how they relate to arts organizations;
• Comprehend mission, vision, and value statements and their core importance;
• Apply assessment and management skills to form and improve the sustainability of arts organizations.   

Learn more below.

The Computer Game Design minor embodies the core components discovered in the larger game design field. It offers a core of foundational studies with intermediate and advanced course options in Game Animation, Game Sound and Music, or Game Design and Development. Students pursuing the minor will also be able to participate in official game design program events and game design competitions.

The Sport and Computer Game Design minor provides a combined, introductory look at both the sports and computer game industries. It’s the first major or minor of its kind and brings together expert faculty from two of George Mason’s highly regarded programs. Register for classes or talk to an advisor to learn how you can distinguish yourself with this exciting, new, and interdisciplinary course of study.

The Dance Appreciation minor offers students the opportunity to study a variety of movement styles and understand dance in its historical and cultural context. 

The Global Dance minor (21 credits) develops knowledge and appreciation of the vast diaspora of the philosophies, history, and cultural diversity of world dance forms.

The Film and Video Studies minor features the core components of Film and Video Studies, including film theory, analysis, and history; practices in cinematic arts; the business of film and TV; and screenwriting and visual storytelling. Fostering creativity, diverse perspectives, professional practice, and socially conscious filmmaking, courses offer instruction in fiction and documentary film, experimental; film, screenwriting, film editing, and interactive storytelling. Most courses in the Minor are offered online.

The Ethnomusicology Minor is designed for students who wish to widen their scope of knowledge about music, while deepening their understanding of the world's peoples. Students learn in the classroom, as well as experientially, in the form of applied studies and exercises in field work, how music-making functions within cultural contexts, conveying varied meanings in bodily action and musical sound worldwide. Students gain skills that will serve them in many fields of endeavor, from developing specific musical expertise to acquiring proficiency with technological and anthropological aspects of ethnographic inquiry.

This Jazz Studies minor is open to music and non-music majors who wish to explore America's unique art form. It is open to all instrumentalists and vocalists, including students who perform on instruments not typically associated with jazz.

The Music minor is open to non-music majors who wish to expand their study of music. Students will be provided with a foundation in performance, theory, keyboard, and aural skills. Opportunities to perform in both large and chamber ensembles, in addition to one-on-one lessons, are part of the program. 

Music Composition minor students are encouraged to study with multiple faculty as they can be exposed to various genres and styles. Students have the opportunity to premiere their compositions with both chamber groups such as our New Sound Collective and with our large ensembles. Capstone experiences include an individual recital of the student’s works.

Students must complete all concentration requirements as well as requirements for one of the following emphases:

• Brass
• Guitar
• Keyboard
• Percussion
• String
• Voice
• Woodwind

The Music Pedagogy minor combines the musical and academic rigor of the BA in Music with specialized instruction in pedagogy through an 18-credit-hour core of courses culminating in an internship. The concentration is designed for students who wish to develop mastery of studio music teaching. Students examine practical and theoretical aspects of pedagogy, teach students at multiple levels in supervised and unsupervised settings, and explore the psychological and physiological challenges of working with learners of all ages. Admission to the concentration is currently limited to students in strings and piano. 

The Music Technology minor introduces students to the technical and theoretical aspects of music recording and production. It acquaints students with the historical and social context of recorded music and electronic music in all of its aspects, from the avant-garde experiments to current styles of electronica. This minor is open to majors from throughout the university who seek to expand their knowledge and skill in this area of study.

The Music for Well-Being minor is designed to allow participation by students with minimal formal musical training. The coursework allows students to explore the connections between music and consciousness and between vibration, mindfulness, and well-being.

The Theater minor is available to all George Mason undergraduate students and offers non-majors the opportunity to study core Theater principles. 

The required courses in this minor provide students with a foundational overview of theater production and performance. Students can complement that knowledge with electives that meet their individual interests.

The Theater Performance minor is available to all George Mason undergraduate students. 

The required courses in this minor provide students with a foundational overview of theater performance. Students choose electives which complement the performance courses and meet their individual interests.

The Music Technology minor is available to all George Mason undergraduate students and offers the opportunity to study audio production for a variety of arts events and spaces. 

The required courses in this minor provide students with a foundational overview of audio engineering and design. Students can complement that knowledge with electives that meet their individual interests in art, film, theater, music, or computer game design.

The Design and Technical Theater minor is available to all George Mason undergraduate students. 

The required courses in this minor provide students with a foundational overview of Technical Theater and Design concepts. Students can complement that knowledge with electives that meet their individual interests in costuming, lighting, makeup, scenic, sound, stage management, technical direction, or a combination of areas.

The Event Technical Production minor is offered jointly with the School of Sport, Recreation and Tourism Management. This minor, available to all Mason undergraduate students, offers the opportunity to study special event management and event technologies, design and production for installations and special events. 

Students will gain insights into industry standards and practices regarding planning, managing, and executing live events and presentations. The required courses in this minor provide students with a foundational overview of management and production. Students can complement that knowledge with specific electives that meet their individual interests in events and areas of design and technology.