Program Structure

The strength of the Interactive Media program ultimately lies in its ability to facilitate a supportive environment where students are encouraged to imagine new possibilities for expression.

Through an ever-evolving project-based curriculum, communal work spaces, and an emphasis on bringing creative ideas to life, the program embodies a culture of collaboration and inclusivity applicable to people of all backgrounds and interests.

Course work routinely involves electronics, programming, practical research, and design. Students create interactive projects and prototypes of their own choosing that involve the creative use of hardware, software, and digital media. Iteration, implementation, and analysis are key factors throughout this active learning process. The intent is not to master any one technical domain, but rather to foster the confidence and literacy to critically engage in a diverse technical landscape. Emphasis is directed towards questioning the socio-cultural roots and effects of the tools as well as their aesthetic, political, and ethical implications.

Study Away Pathway

Students interested in studying away are encouraged to leverage the Interactive Media program’s strong relationships with its sibling programs, Interactive Media Arts, at both portal campuses in New York and Shanghai. If interested in studying away in New York, students are recommended to study there during the fall semester of their Junior year. Interactive Media is also developing both Berlin and Tel Aviv as primary satellite sites.

Prior to studying away, students should have taken at least two Interactive Media courses, one of which must be one of the required foundation courses:

• Introduction to Interactive Media
• Communications Lab
• Communications and Technology
• Understanding Interactive Media — Critical Questions and Theories.

There are currently no restrictions on how many courses at study away sites can be counted towards the major. While the above-listed sites are the recommended locations for Interactive Media majors, the program is amenable to students visiting another site relevant to their specific area of interest pending approval by both the student’s mentor and the program head.