Students will require a total of nine required credits to graduate – seven core electives. In the first semester, five core graduate level courses will introduce all students to their cohort and build a sense of team. The courses will cover: Foundations, Digital Media Environments, Interaction Design for Digital Media, Digital Media Entrepreneurship, and Interdisciplinary Improvisation, for a total of five core credits. (All courses are graduate level).
Students will choose one of three project streams: Industrial Focus, Entrepreneurial Focus, or Art/Design Focus. This choice will determine options for electives and projects in the second and third semesters.
For the second and third semester, two elective credits are available. Students in the Art/Design Focus project stream choose two elective credits from a list of approved courses. Students in the Industrial Focus project stream choose two electives from the following: Business and Management in the Digital Media Industry, Directed Studies, Selected Topics in Digital Media, or a list of approved courses from outside the program. Students in the Entrepreneurial Focus stream must take Business and Management in the Digital Media Industry.
Finally, there are two project modules:
Project 1 (Intensive Introduction to Project Management/Team Collaboration, 8 weeks); and
Project 2 (a 6 month-long project with an Industrial Focus, Entrepreneurial Focus, or an Art/Design focus).
Students will enrol in both Project 1 and Project 2 at the beginning of the second semester but will complete Project 1 prior to starting Project 2. Project 1 will be a 0.5 credit course and project 2 will be a 1.5 credit course.
CORE ELECTIVES & PROJECT STREAMS:
Business, technological, social, legal and ethical issues and the many forms of digital entertainment are introduced and framed. The emergence and ongoing development of the digital entertainment industry is discussed through a historical exploration and critical analysis of the economics, technical innovations, social demands and ethical constraints that define it. There is a focus on the range of careers and professional opportunities in this rapidly expanding sector. Outcomes are exploration and a critical perspective on digital entertainment and other fields of digital media such as health, education, advertising, and social media. This exploration will act as a common basis for all subsequent discussion and collaboration between students with artistic, technical or interdisciplinary backgrounds.
3 hours/week, 1 Credit
This production-oriented course provides an introduction to the landscape of digital media environments, the audiences they serve, and the platforms through which they are typically delivered. The course then introduces regulations and standards, interaction design and production skills, an exploration of the project development cycle, project management, project evaluation and user testing. Concept design of websites, computer games, and other networked, ambient screen-based and non-screen-based displays, and or mobile applications or appliances, including the general concept of “the internet of things”, are explored through a series of brief, hands-on projects.
3 hours/week, 1 Credit
This course will introduce students to the fundamental frameworks for the design of popular digital media environments. Specifically, the course will analyze formative elements and strategies adopted in game design, social networking and interactive digital media systems, including interaction design with a variety of devices, platforms and media. Key components explored include user engagement, immersion, visual narrative, interactive storytelling, performance, user cognition and perception. Students will develop a solid understanding of how these environments work, inclusive of alternative design strategies, how users interact, and what is required to create such environments. Students will perform project work in small teams.
3 hours/week, 1 Credit
This course will help students better understand digital media industry sectors, basic competitive strategies and business models, and the process of considering, planning for and gathering resources to launch an entrepreneurial start-up company in the digital media sector. Students will develop an understanding of activities involved in developing, producing and marketing digital media to consumers, components of a company’s market and competitive strategic positioning and business model, elements of a viable business plan for a startup company, and how to communicate elements of the business plan to outside parties for support or for provisioning of resources. Students will perform project work in small teams.
3 hours/week, 1 Credit
Techniques of improvisational acting are used to develop collaborative and creative skills. Students learn to rapidly develop dramatic themes, narratives, and characters, 10 engage effectively with challenging situations and build dynamic teams in creative environments. Artists learn how to communicate their vision to engineers and business people, while engineers learn how to communicate technical constraints to artists and marketing moguls. Those with a business background learn how to communicate clearly the economic realities upon which digital media projects must be built. All students also learn how to make pitches, solve workplace issues, and resolve conflict that may occur on the job.
3 hours/week, 1 Credit
This eight-week long, intensive “boot camp” will introduce students to fundamental concepts and skills required to successfully manage projects in dynamic, agile, multidisciplinary team environments relevant to the digital media industry. Course work will be a mixture of classroom instruction and team projects.
0.5 Credits
This 6 month long project will provide students with the team-based opportunity to focus on a major project over the course of one-and-a-half semesters. Students following the Industrial Focus stream will pursue industry relevant projects. Students following the Entrepreneurial Focus stream will work on a project that has the potential to become a commercial product or a service, and that could lead to the development of a standalone company. Those students following the Art/Design stream will work on projects with that particular focus. A written project document will also be a required outcome of this course. Prerequisite: Successful completion of Project 1.
1.5 Credits
This course gives students an overview of the interrelated factors making up the business environment including ethics, operations, marketing, management, leadership, accounting, human resources, finances and information technology management. In addition, the student learns about past, present and future trends in business. The student develops decision-making and problem-solving skills through case studies, group exercises and presentations. Topics covered also include production, delivery and management of digital media and how games, film and music businesses differ from traditional businesses.
3 hours/week, 1 Credit
This course is available to graduate students who wish to gain knowledge in a specific area for which no graduate-level courses are available. The course is taken under the guidance of a faculty member, and students are required to present a formal report, or take a formal examination, at the end of the course. The program of study must be approved by the supervising faculty member and the program director at the beginning of the term of study.
1 Credit
1 Credit
An in-depth analysis of recent developments and topics of current interest in Digital Media. The topic is selected every year in accordance with industry trends, the interest of students and availability of faculty expertise. The course will focus on strategic and novel topics and concepts in Digital Media which may include, but are not limited to: Ambient and Artificial Intelligence, Social Networking Analysis and Design, Social Media and its Frameworks, Advanced Concepts in 3D Graphics and Visual Effects, Multimedia Syndication and Segmentation and Unified Communications in Multimedia Systems, and Information Security and Privacy.
3 hours/week, 1 Credit
