Our students tell us when they graduate, they’re ready. Not just ready to be done with school, but ready to start that career thing they’ve been studying and pursuing for years. They feel confident in their abilities. That’s enough to make this nearly 150-year-old institution a little teary-eyed. They’re confident, and we’re proud.  

Our students work hard to learn, and we work hard to give them opportunities to do the work before they graduate. Their curriculum is built, so they do their dream jobs before they land their dream jobs, meaning when they graduate, there’s more on their resumes than a degree.  

Learning by Doing

  • 40+

    Exhibitions

    Art and Design students showcase their work in more than 40 exhibitions in four gallery spaces across campus each year, often with participating shows in Cape Girardeau’s monthly First Friday with the Arts museum tour. 

  • 100+

    Productions & Performances

    From music to dance to theatre, there’s almost always a performance occurring in one of our three professional theatres and performance halls. Students begin performing before ticket-buying audiences in their first semester. 

  • 25+

    Masterclasses

    Our faculty are industry experts, but they also know a lot of industry experts. Our students benefit from that network with the opportunity to learn from and collaborate with working professionals year-round. 

  • 1,700+

    Livestreams & Editions

    News is 24 hours these days and our student reporters and crews are hard-working journalists already producing constant digital content, print editions, and weekly livestreams and recorded TV productions. 

Hands-on, Real-world Experiences by Academic Area

 

International Travel 

Faculty in the Department of Art & Design partner with faculty in the General Education Program and the International Business Program to provide students with the opportunity to participate in international travel programs for one-of-a-kind art experiences.  

Internship Experience 

Students in the interior design program are required to complete a 120-work-hour internship. This internship program is a very valuable experience for the student and often leads to full-time employment opportunities.

Journalism Experience 

Southeast’s Department of Mass Media interweaves the work with the curriculum. If you’re a multimedia journalism student, you’ll find yourself working on the award-winning Arrow newspaper (both print and digital editions) or on one of the many TV programs, livestreams, and documentaries produced by the TV/Film students.  

Advertising & Market Research 

Advertising students have their own agency, SECreative, where they have real clients locally for whom they develop multimedia ad campaigns. Riverfront PR and its public relations students also take on real businesses as clients for a variety of projects, including market research. 

Film Festival 

Film students participate in the Faultline Film Festival, an annual Midwest festival open to university and high school students.  

Internships & Practicums  

Whatever your area of interest in media, we have lab work, often for real clients, to complement your classes. Students who take advantage of internships can supplement with a course to get credit for the experience, plus, well experience for the experience. Students who pursue a practicum will complete professional-level work within the University community.  

For musicians, there’s no option but to play. At Southeast, we want you to do just that. Our experiential learning opportunities allow you to perform before audiences in nearly 10 ensembles multiple times per year.  

Festivals & Performance Days 

In addition to the rigorous performance schedule. The Department of Music hosts nine annual festivals each year ranging from the Clark Terry/Phi Mu Alpha Jazz Festival to the Single Reed/Flute Day.  

The department also hosts several guest recitals and the Sundays at Three series annually to bring professional musicians to campus for performance and masterclass opportunities.  

Music Academy 

The Music Academy at Southeast Missouri State gives students the opportunity to offer music instruction to students from the community ranging in ages from pre-K to adult. The Academy has a team of instructors comprised of student faculty, University faculty, and professional faculty.  

Study Abroad 

Study abroad opportunities give students experience performing in a variety of locations that recently have included a performance of the Symphony on the Great Wall of China or student operas in Paris.

If you love the theatre and performing, you know it’s hard work. Before the bright lights of the stage and audience applause, there are rehearsals; sets, costumes, and lighting plans to design and create; choreography to develop; and advertising to execute. At Southeast, that work is done for the most part by our students.  

Main & Second Stage Productions 

With six major, faculty-directed/choreographed productions, four second stage productions, numerous cabarets and showcases, student-directed one-acts and staged readings, and student choreographed dance concerts there’s a lot to be done so that the show can go on. Our courses offer the knowledge and allow you to perfect the technique because you’re doing the work for every production.  

Other Opportunities 

In addition to classes, experiential learning opportunities abound. In summer 2018, our students performed at the prestigious New York Musical Festival an original work written by one of our faculty members and a student that first debuted at the River Campus! And if all that weren’t enough, we still have many more opportunities to put whatever your talent to work, including:  

  • River Campus Summer Arts Festival
  • Outside Professional Employment 
  • Competitive Internships 
  • University photoshoots and videos 
  • Faultline Film Festival 
  • Visiting Guest Artist Master Classes 
  • Professional Residencies 
  • Conventions and Festivals 
  • Annual New York City and Los Angeles Showcases for select graduating seniors 

Where we do the work

You can certainly see we have no shortage of impressive facilities, but sometimes it’s what you get to do in those facilities that matters. We’ve designed areas for you to showcase your creativity and perfect your craft to get career ready

A Campus Dedicated to the Arts

The River Campus is a unique place. It was designed for an immersive arts and experience, and it succeeds. It’s filled with classrooms, galleries, studios, theatres, and halls where our students perform, design, create, sing, dance, and act. It’s where residents and tourists come to see the arts and entertainment in our community. It’s where you’ll do your first professional level work with the support and celebration of the faculty who collaborate with you.

Rust Center for Media

The Rust Center for Media is located in Cape Girardeau’s Media Row, giving students the opportunity to work alongside the city’s media professionals. The 13,000 square foot space provides flexible learning space, television production studios, our newsroom, and podcast studios.

Location
Office
River Campus Seminary 306
Mailing Address
One University Plaza, MS 7895
Cape Girardeau, MO 63701