Applied Computer Science (BS) Media Arts
Arash Soleimani, PhD
Chair
Introduction
The Applied Computer Science–Media Arts program helps students become designers, thinkers, and leaders of the digital age. It is a hybrid art-and-technology degree that offers opportunities for students to focus on emerging digital practices by working with virtual and immersive environments, experiential design, and human-computer interaction. The program uses computer science as a tool to innovate within the fields of design, entertainment, and digital arts. This STEM degree enables students to develop into creators and innovators, preparing them for some of the most exciting and cutting-edge careers of today, and tomorrow.
Mission
Good design is innovative and experimental. The Bachelor of Science in Applied Computer Science – Media Arts trains innovative professionals who affirm the power of creative technologies to face the demands of the 21st-century marketplace.
The graduates of the program develop software, hardware, and interactive media to generate human-centered design solutions by engaging in iterative prototyping, transdisciplinary collaboration, and project-based research.
Additional Learning Opportunities
The Applied Computer Science–Media Arts program shares the first two-years of curriculum with the Design Computation program. This shared curriculum creates opportunities for collaboration and shared learning between these technology-based programs.
Technology and Computer Requirements
We highly encourage students to purchase a laptop computer. This will be an important part of every project that students work on. While computer labs offer a good supplement, having access to a personal machine will greatly aid in the production to work over the course of the four-year program. We recommend the following specifications for a laptop computer:
| Estimated Cost: |
$1,700 – $2,000 |
| OS: |
Windows |
| Processor: |
Intel i5 – i9 |
| Screen Size: |
17” |
| Memory: |
16 GB |
| Hard Drive: |
1 TB |
| Video Card: |
4 mb Quad Core
(NVIDIA Quadro P620 or better) |
| Mouse: |
3 button Mouse |
| Insurance: |
Four-year full-replacement |
Program Learning Outcomes
The Applied Computer Science–Media Arts Program has five tracks of knowledge that correspond to the following five groups of learning outcomes.
History and Theory
- Enumerate the broad history of computational design and media through analysis of events, figures, and the social and political issues surrounding them.
- Describe the work of others in the fields of computational design and media, position their work within it, and consider the broader consequences of the work within culture and society, particularly as it pertains to questions of economic and social equity and environmental issues.
Technology and Making
- Discuss computational principles such as algorithms, syntax, encapsulation, prototyping, and debugging.
- Create computational strategies using appropriate and up-to-date available technical tools, fabrication methods, and programming languages to address design problems.
Media Computation
- Compose interactive media, user experiences, user interfaces, and software with consideration or aesthetics, efficiency, social, environmental, and political issues.
- Develop and use systems for the sharing code, original ideas, and design strategies amongst other collaborators in the pursuit of a design solution.
Design Media
- Respond to specific design problems with a clear statement of intent and precise framing of the problem.
- Compose interactive media, physical prototypes, and software that respond to a specific design problem.
Professional Practice
- Develop and improve principles of equity and inclusion in the workplace.
- Discuss design strategies in a manner that translates complex technical issues into language understandable by multiple audiences, including designers, engineers, investors, customers, and the general public.
Assessment Process
Formative Assessment Experiences
In conjunction with the Design Computation program, second-year students enroll in a portfolio class to assess the learning outcomes of the first two years of the program.
Summative Assessment Experiences
Thesis 1 and Thesis 2 form a two-semester capstone experience in which students design and execute an art-and-technology project. The project should encapsulate the key learning outcomes of the program.
Program Specific Academic Standards
For Applied Computer Science majors, a minimum grade of “C” is required in all studio courses. Students receiving a grade below a “C” must successfully repeat that course prior to enrollment in the succeeding course.
Curriculum Summary
Program Major Curriculum
| Unit Type (UT) |
Number of Units (U) |
| Major (MA) |
68 |
| General Education (GE) |
49 |
| Unrestricted Electives (UE) |
6 |
| Work Experience (WE) |
0 |
| Minimum Total Units Required |
123 |
Suggested Sequence of Courses
First Year
Fall Semester
| CSMA 100 | ACS Lecture Series | 1 |
| CORE 101 | Computer Science I | 3 |
| GDES 107 | Digital Practice | 3 |
| FOUN 102 | Design and Composition | 3 |
INDS ___
| Interdisciplinary Elective | 3 |
____ ___
| Unrestricted Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 16 |
Spring Semester
| CORE 102 | Computer Science II | 3 |
| CSDC 111 | TECHNOLOGY AND MAKING 1: INTRODUCTION TO DESIGN COMPUTATION | 3 |
____ ___
| Ethics Elective | 3 |
| WRIT 113 | First-Year Academic Writing | 3 |
LSCI ___
| Information Literacy | 1 |
| MATH 249 | College Algebra | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 16 |
Second Year
Fall Semester
Spring Semester
| CSMA 113 | Mixed Reality | 3 |
| CSMA 213 | Artificial Intelligence | 3 |
| CSDC 212 | TECHNOLOGY AND MAKING 2: FABRICATION AND DESIGN COMPUTATION | 3 |
| MATH 252 | Discrete Mathematics | 3 |
| CSMA 112 | Interactive Prototyping | 3 |
| CSDC 250 | PROGRAMMING PORTFOLIO | 1 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 16 |
Third Year
Fall Semester
Spring Semester
| CSMA 311 | Design Technology Exploration | 3 |
| GDES 356 | Interaction Design 2 | 3 |
| WRIT 313 | Advanced Academic Writing | 3 |
| CORE 301 | Applied Artificial Intelligence | 3 |
____ ___
| Natural Science with Lab Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Fourth Year
Fall Semester
| CSMA 401 | Thesis 1 | 3 |
| MDST 120 | Public Speaking | 3 |
____ 3__
| Upper Division Interdisciplinary Elective | 3 |
____ ___
| General Education Elective | 3 |
____ ___
| Social Science Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Type:
CSMA 401: MA.
MDST 120, Upper Division Interdisciplinary Elective, General Education Elective, and Social Science Elective: GE.
Spring Semester
| CSMA 402 | Thesis 2 | 6 |
| CSDC 480 | PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE | 3 |
____ 3__
| Upper Division General Education Elective | 3 |
____ ___
| Unrestricted Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Type:
CSMA 402 and CSDC 480: MA.
Upper Division General Education Elective: GE.
Unrestricted Elective: UE.
Program Minor Curriculum
The Applied Computer Science–Media Arts minor requires five core courses and one additional course as noted below.
Select one of the following courses: