The Curriculum
The iMedia program involves an intensive curriculum designed for students to complete within 10 months because of the rapidly changing world of interactive media. Students take courses beginning in late July or early August. In the fall, students take a broad range of courses in theory and production and are able to narrow their focus in the spring. All students complete a winter term course. Graduation is in May.
Foundation Courses
The iMedia program is open to students with an undergraduate degree in all disciplines. Those who have not completed undergraduate courses in media writing and in media law and ethics are required to successfully complete seminars in these two content areas unless they can prove extensive professional media experience that the School of Communications determines warrants a waiver. The seminars are provided by the School of Communications the week before the program begins and are included in tuition.
iMedia Curriculum
Required Courses (28 hours):
August term
Fall term
| COM 625 | Digital Video Production | 1 sh |
| COM 630 | Theory and Audience Analysis in an Interactive Age | 3 sh |
| COM 640 | Interactive Design | 3 sh |
| COM 650 | Producing Interactive Media | 3 sh |
| COM 660 | Interactive Media Strategies | 3 sh |
| COM 665 | Visual Aesthetics | 3 sh |
Winter term
| COM 670 | Interactive Project for the Public Good | 3 sh |
Spring term
| COM 695 | Interactive Media Capstone | 6 sh |
Elective Courses (Choose three):
(Representative list only; others will be added as needed)
| COM 661 | Intellectual Property Law | 3 sh |
| COM 662 | Multimedia Storytelling | 3 sh |
| COM 663 | Virtual/3D Environments | 3 sh |
| COM 664 | Public Opinion through New Media | 3 sh |
| COM 666 | Interactive Media Management and Economics | 3 sh |
| COM 667 | Application Development | 3 sh |
| COM 691 | Special Topics in Interactivity | 3 sh |
| COM 681 | Professional Apprenticeship | 3 sh |
| COM 672 | Analytics and Search Engine Optimization | 3 sh |
| COM 673 | Data Mining and Visualization | 3 sh |
| COM 674 | Digital Brand Communications | 3 sh |
iMedia Student Status Policy
All iMedia students are considered full time and are expected to take the full course load in order to graduate.
Graduation and Degree Requirements
To earn the M.A. in Interactive Media degree, the graduate student must:
- Successfully complete the 37-hour curriculum with no more than 1 "L" grade per semester and no failing grades. Students who have not taken the prerequisite courses in media law and media writing as undergraduates must complete those respective seminars before beginning the program.
- Successfully complete the capstone project with approval by the instructor of record. The project demonstrates the student’s ability to create an interactive product, communicate clearly, and manage and integrate all aspects of the interactive curriculum appropriately.
It is the student’s responsibility to be familiar with the preceding requirements for graduation.
Grading System for the M.A. in Interactive Media Program
Graduation is dependent upon the quality of work and mastery of material in the 37 hours required to complete the Master of Arts in Interactive Media. Students will be evaluated using the following grade scale:
| Grade |
Evaluation |
Credit |
| H |
Honors |
3 hrs |
| P |
Pass with mastery |
3 hrs |
| L |
Low pass |
3 hrs |
| F |
Failure |
0 hrs |
| I |
Incomplete |
|
| WD |
Medical withdrawal |
|
| W |
Withdrawal |
|
| NR |
No report |
|
If, in the judgment of the academic program director, faculty and administrators of the School of Communications, a student fails to make satisfactory progress toward the completion of the degree or to demonstrate sufficient promise in the discipline, the student will not be allowed to continue in the program. Registration in the following semester for academically ineligible students will be cancelled automatically.
A student becomes academically ineligible to continue in the program for the following reason: the student receives a grade of "F", or more than one grade of "L" per semester. For iMedia, the August and January terms are considered part of the fall and spring semesters, respectively.
Class Schedule and Course Load
The School of Communications schedules classes in the iMedia program in the fall, winter and spring terms according to the undergraduate calendar of the University. The iMedia program is an intensive, full-time program. Students take one all-day, three-week course that begins four weeks before the fall term.
In the fall semester, students take five 3-hour courses. In addition, all students will be enrolled in a one-hour pro-seminar (0 credit hours) and in a one-hour video course (1 credit hour).
In the winter, students take one course that requires them to leave campus. This course has an international component.
The spring semester is comprised of three 3-hour courses and one 6-hour course.
Interactive media courses in the fall and spring semesters may meet once, twice or three times a week.