Design and Computation Arts

Major in Design — 72 credits
Takes an integrative approach to design research and practice across the areas of visual communication, the built environment, and interaction design, with sustainability as its overarching theme. Students acquire a strong foundation in image- and object-making as well as screen-based design, and then specialize according to their interests and abilities. In both the theoretical and practical aspects of the program, the curriculum integrates conceptual experimentation in design with social ecologically oriented and collaborative productions, to underscore designers’ roles as cultural mediators in conjunction with producers and the public at large.

Sample courses include:

Integrative design research, Interpretative public spaces, Print meaning and process, Ecology and 3D design, Discursive design I

Admission Requirements

Design (BFA - Major) requirements: Minimum cut-off averages, admission statistics and program requirements.

Challenges students to re-imagine objects, narratives and environments through the use of emerging digital technologies and prepares students to pursue careers as designers, artists and researchers in a variety of innovative creative industries. The program provides students with a rich foundation in creative work at the intersection of design, art and technology, and guides students in developing media that is aesthetically engaging, conceptually provocative, and technically sophisticated. The program examines how digital media get meaning and seeks to understand how cultural assumptions inform design. The approach emphasizes an awareness of cultural and political implications of a society that is increasingly wired and networked together.

• Specialization in Computation Arts — 60 credits
  Intended for students who are interested in pursuing in-depth studies into the design of digital media with an emphasis on design elements rather than computation elements. The program focuses on design for multimedia, the web and interactive environments and provides a course of study which emphasizes three principal areas of creative production: image, sound and virtual dimension.

• Major in Computation Arts — 45 credits *
  (*Must be combined with Computer Applications Option. Students not interested in computer math and programming should apply to the Specialization in Computation Arts.)
  Combines two core curricula: computer science and the digital media component of design art. Graduates are technically adept in programming, algorithm design and computational theory, and are creatively skilled in image, sound and virtual dimension design. The major must be taken in combination with the Option in Computer Applications offered by the Department of Computer Science.

• Minor in Computation Arts — 24 credits
  Provides students from other departments with the opportunity to explore digital media design and the use of computation for creative expression.

Sample courses include:

Creative computing and network culture, Visual form and communication, New media theory, Digital texts and typography, Tangible media and physical computing, 3D digital production

Admission Requirements

Computation Arts (BFA - Specialization/Major/Minor) requirements: Minimum cut-off averages, admission statistics and program requirements.