New Media | Academic Requirements | Courses | Faculty
The New Media Program: Courses
Additional courses may be crosslisted under NME for new media majors: Search the schedule of classes on Student Services. Refer to academic requirements for the full list of interdisciplinary courses, drawn from the natural and social sciences, art history, film music, and visual arts.
Lower level: NME 1000–1999 (freshman)
Lower level: NME 2000–2999 (sophomore)
Upper level: NME 3000–3999 (junior)
Upper level: NME 4000–4999 (senior)
Photography I
NME 1010 Refer to VPH 1010 in Photography Courses (School of Art+Design) for description.
Design I
SOA 1140 Refer to VDE 1140 in Design Courses (School of Art+Design) for description.
Basic Visual Literacy
NME 1150 / 3 credits / Fall
Using semiotics as a point of departure, students explore the language and iconography of visual communication through class discussion. The worlds of art, advertising, publications, television, and the Web serve as source materials for class projects. Emphasis is on still images.
Digital Media Studio
NME 1170 / 4 credits / Every semester
The foundation production course for new media majors and anyone interested in using the computer as a creative tool. Students learn basic digital imaging terminology and are introduced to the field of digital art and its historical contexts. Production assignments include creating bitmap and vector images, animations, and sound. General topics like printing, scanning, and image capturing are also covered. Limited to new media majors.
Shooting and Editing Digital Video
NME 1195 / 4 credits / Spring
An introduction to basic concepts of analog and digital image streams. Students gather still and moving images, primarily using digital video cameras. After an exploration of different distribution formats, students edit a short piece for release on analog videotape or the Web.
Studio Composition I
MCO 1310 Refer to Undergraduate Music Courses (Conservatory of Music) for description.
Programming Games
NME 1420 Refer to MAT 1420 in Mathematics/Computer Science Courses for description.
Computer Science I
NME 1520 Refer to MAT 1520 in Mathematics/Computer Science Courses for description.
New Media Advanced Standing
NME 2100 / 0 credits / Spring
Students take this course in the semester that they apply for advanced standing. Grading is on a pass/no credit basis.
Computers and Culture
NME 2235 Refer to SOC 2230 in Sociology Courses for description.
Creating Web Documents
NME 2730 Refer to MAT 2730 in Mathematics/Computer Science Courses for description.
Cross-Cultural Video Production
NME 3010 / 4 credits / Fall
Students collaborate with students in other cultures, using the Internet to produce videos on subjects of mutual interest. Because the focus is on developing a cross-cultural dialogue, basic video production experience is expected. Before moving to video, the two groups collaboratively write fiction. During the semester, they meet in video conferences with their peers abroad to discuss their productions. Previous semesters have included collaborations with students at universities in Belarus, Turkey, Mexico, Germany, and Lithuania.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
Internet as Public Art
NME 3040 / 4 credits / Spring
A growing dialogue surrounding Internet art echoes the rhetoric of community-oriented art practices and public art movements of the past. Topics include an introduction to the history of public art; current Internet art practice and theory; how networks can serve physical situations or communities, rather than being a purely screen-based phenomenon; policies that are shaping the functionality of the Internet; and new artistic possibilities that arise as ubiquitous computing integrates with public space. Offered as VIS 3040 for visual arts majors.
Information Aesthetics
NME 3050 / 4 credits / Alternate years
A hands-on examination of what it means to live in an information age. Students learn to make sense—and sometimes, new meaning—of data through creative visualizations. The course considers audience together with the politics of information and the persuasion of the visual.
Prerequisite: NME 1170 or 2730 or equivalent
Queer Media Convergence
NME 3160 Refer to MSA 3160 in Media, Society, and the Arts Courses for description.
Digital Dimensions
NME 3300 Refer to VSC 3310 in Sculpture/3-D Media Courses (School of Art+Design) for description.
Graphic Design Survey
VDE 3300 Refer to Design Courses (School of Art+Design) for description.
Design History and Theory: 1750–Today
ARH 3405 Refer to Art History Undergraduate Courses (School of Humanities) for description.
Video Art I
NME 3410 Refer to VSC 3410 in Sculpture/3D Media Courses (School of Art+Design) for description.
Video Art II
NME 3420 Refer to VSC 3420 in Sculpture/3D Media Courses (School of Art+Design) for description.
Video Graphics
NME 3430 / 4 credits / Fall
An exploration of the ways that video artists, animators, and interactive designers can transform live-action video, often making reality seem malleable. Students learn about keying, matting, compositing, and other post-production techniques, and are introduced to the basics of animation. The primary software tool is Adobe After Effects; Flash and Motion may also be explored.
Prerequisite: NME 1195 or equivalent
Creating User Interfaces
NME 3440 Refer to MAT 3440 in Mathematics/Computer Science Courses for description.
Human-Centered Design: Theories, Methods, and Ethics
NME 3465 Refer to SOC 3465 in Sociology Courses for description.
Intermediate Video
NME 3470 / 4 credits / Spring
This intermediate-level course expands students’ understanding of the video medium, its use, and its social, artistic, and cultural contexts. An advanced exploration of personal vision and practical application is also emphasized.
Prerequisite: NME 1195 or equivalent, and permission of instructor
Creating Dynamic Web Documents
NME 3525 Refer to MAT 3525 in Mathematics/Computer Science Courses for description.
Creating Databases for Web Applications
NME 3530 Refer to MAT 3530 in Mathematics/Computer Science Courses for description.
Social Software
NME 3540 Refer to MAT 3540 in Mathematics/Computer Science Courses for description.
Experimental Workshop (Part One and Two)
NME 3611 and 3621 Refer to TFI 3610 and 3620 in Film Courses (Conservatory of Theatre Arts & Film) for description.
Sound/Interactive Media I and II
NME 3630 and 3640 Refer to VSC 3630 and 3640 in Sculpture/3-D Media Courses (School of Art+Design) for description.
Networking and Security
NME 3650 Refer to MAT 3650 in Mathematics/Computer Science Courses for description.
Robotics
NME 3670 Refer to MAT 3670 in Mathematics/Computer Science Courses for description.
The Emerging Web: Collaborations in Web Design Using XML
NME 3760 Refer to MAT 3760 in Mathematics/Computer Science Courses for description.
Experimental Web Practice
NME 3770 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
The Internet is examined as a tool for artistic expression and action. Students consider what is unique about the Internet; exploit its potential as a means for communication, distribution, simulation, and interaction; and experiment with Web production. A wide range of Internet art projects are studied to stimulate ideas and give students an understanding of what is happening in the “Net art” world. Students are expected to challenge standard notions of how the Web functions. Offered as VIS 3770 for visual arts majors.
Prerequisite: NME 2730 or equivalent, and permission of instructor
Junior Seminar in New Media
NME 3880 / 4 credits / Every semester
Students develop a definition of new media through a range of learning experiences. These include a survey of work in the field, with guest artists and class trips to galleries, media production houses, and events; students’ critical writing and interactive discussions about what they are experiencing; and teacher-structured and student-initiated collaborative projects in which students test different creative roles, using various media.
Prerequisite: Advanced standing (NME 2100)
Internship in New Media
NME 3980 / variable credits / Every semester
Internships are an important bridge to a career in the field. The faculty assists students in arranging these opportunities to work on or off campus in their specific area of interest.
Advanced Web Design: Special Projects
NME 4170 Refer to VDE 4170 in Design Courses (School of Art+Design) for description.
New Media and Contemporary Art
ARH 4530 Refer to Art History Undergraduate Courses (School of Humanities) for description.
History of Recorded Music I and II
SOA 4600 and 4610 Refer to School of the Arts Courses (Conservatory of Music) for description.
Senior Seminar I in New Media
NME 4880 / 2 credits / Fall
Students meet weekly to discuss some of the seminal texts in new media and to make presentations on their senior project proposals. By the end of the semester, each student has a Web site describing his or her project and a working timeline.
Senior Seminar II in New Media
NME 4890 / 2 credits / Spring
Students meet weekly to develop their senior projects further, design the new media exhibition, and practice writing proposals to external organizations and preparing their résumés.
Senior Project in New Media
NME 4990 / 4 credits (per semester) / Every semester
Students work with individual members of the faculty to develop their senior projects. These projects, which are interdisciplinary in nature, can involve a collaboration between two or more seniors in the New Media Program. Each student must include a written senior thesis as part of the senior project. Two semesters required (8 credits total).
Updated July 28, 2008