School of Arts, Performance, and the Humanities

Our comprehensive Art Program offers several areas of concentration: art history, ceramics, computer graphics, drawing, design, sculpture, acrylic painting, oil painting, and photography. The program is designed to include pre-professional and professional courses, personal enrichment in specific art areas, and classes for students who plan an art-related career.

The Communication Studies Program at Modesto Junior College offers students a variety of courses which incorporate both theory and performance instruction. These courses include: (1) public speaking; (2) argumentation and debate; (3) organizational communication; (4) intercultural and interpersonal communication; and (5) forensics competition in both debate and individual events. The MJC Speech & Debate Team has nationally renowned and captured a number of state and national championships. The program also offers courses in practical speech communication and voice improvement. Most courses are available to students both day and evening hours as well in a variety of online modalities.

The field of computer graphics encompasses a wide range of visual products created on the computer. From website creation to the design and layout of advertising and packaging to digital illustration and fine art, the computer is an essential tool for today’s graphic designer. For digital photographers, sophisticated software can replace the traditional darkroom allowing powerful control over the manipulation and optimization of imagery. In the realm of film, video and multimedia, non-linear editing and digital effects are now standard. The exciting art of 3D graphics and animation is utilized in feature films, television and scientific visualization. MJC offers students a chance to explore all these fields in our Computer Graphics degree and certificate programs.

The Associate in Arts in Dance is intended for students who plan to enter the workforce as a choreographer, teacher or performing artist. Dance as an academic discipline focuses on dance as a performing art, as well as its social functions in other areas, including education, health, cultural studies, art, history, and the science of human movement. This degree provides an educational and practical foundation for students pursuing a professional career in dance. It is designed to create avenues toward further study in educational dance, intermediate to advanced technique, choreography, and dance performance. The Associate in Arts: Dance will prepare students to gain entry level employment with private dance studios, charter schools, and recreational programs with a dance emphasis. Career opportunities also exist in highly competitive professional dance companies, amusement parks, commercial dance, and teaching. There are choreography opportunities with dance and theatre companies. Students should be aware that career opportunities in dance performance related fields are highly competitive.

The Film, Television, & Electronic Media Certification of Achievement Program prepares students to enter broadcasting, cable, online media, and related industries. Students can pursue degrees in the field of mass or electronic communication for work in audio and video production, radio and television, cable television and media departments of companies and government agencies. This program prepares students for entry level jobs and to enter a two-year degree program for additional study.

This A.A. is designed as a University Preparation, Emphasis in Humanities. The University Preparation degree, distinctive of the University Preparation "pathway," is designed to prepare you for transfer to a California State University (CSU) or University of California (UC) campus. The humanities include, but are not limited to, the history, theory, comparison, and criticism of a broad range of subjects in the liberal arts, including pictorial, plastic, musical, and performance arts; literature; philosophy; foreign languages and cultures; mythology and comparative religion; and those aspects of the social sciences (such as history and cultural anthropology) that use historical and interpretive rather than quantitative methods of inquiry. The humanities enable us to reflect upon our lives and ask fundamental questions of value, purpose, and meaning in a rigorous and systematic way.

The MJC Music Program offers courses for students wishing to earn an associate’s degree in music, general education courses for non-music majors, and courses designed for community members. These include a comprehensive curriculum of music theory and musicianship. Ensemble and production courses include Concert and Symphonic Bands, Day and Evening Jazz Bands, Concert and Chamber Choirs, Masterworks Chorus, Community Orchestra, Guitar Orchestra, opera/musical theatre productions, chamber music performances, and electronic music productions. The program also offers applied studies in piano, organ, harpsichord, guitar, voice, violin/viola, cello/bass, woodwinds, and brass/percussion, as well as survey courses such as Music Appreciation, Introduction to World Music, Introduction to American Popular Music, and History of Western Music.

Prepare yourself for a creative job in the exciting world of live theatre and musical productions. Modesto Junior College's Theatre program offers many opportunities to collaborate on live performance events. The Theatre Program at MJC is designed to prepare students to work in professional or semi-professional theatre situations or to transfer to four-year colleges and universities to pursue additional classes that may include preparation for teaching theatre. The program is designed to teach students the techniques of acting, dance, costuming, directing, playwriting, lighting, make-up, oral interpretation, stage design, and children's theatre. Students have the opportunity to act in major productions. Opportunities also exist for narrators, costume designers, wardrobe workers, make-up and hair stylists, lighting designers, stage managers, and actors. Graduates find marketing and advertising positions, becoming publicists, booking agents, or sales representatives.