Interactive Media Arts (BS)
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Program Description
Interactive Media Arts (IMA) is an academic community of artists, thinkers, and makers dedicated to cultivating cutting-edge theory and practice within the field of media arts. We foster interdisciplinary research and encourage critical and artistic exploration. IMA is committed to supporting a diverse and inclusive environment that nurtures creativity, experimentation, and collaboration. Through rigorous intellectual inquiry, dynamic creative expression, and community engagement, we train future generations of artists and scholars who will reshape the ever-evolving landscape of emerging media.
All IMA majors take a required foundation course, What is New Media?, a course designed to give students a strong theoretical and historical background in new media arts. They may then choose between 3 other foundation courses: Interaction Lab, Communications Lab, and Creative Coding Lab. Interaction Lab introduces students to the fields of interaction design, physical computing, and digital fabrication and provides students with foundational skills in electronics prototyping and an introduction to basic computer programming. Communications Lab introduces students to the concepts and tools used to produce multimedia content for print, photography, audio, and video. Creative Coding Lab introduces students to the fundamentals of computation, software design, and web technologies.
Students then choose from a range of electives across the disciplines of art & design, humanities, science, and computation, with great freedom to make selections based on their personal interest and future career goals. Starting from their sophomore year, students are introduced to advanced labs and seminars where they can sharpen their technical skills, learn about professional environments, and develop richer and more complex conceptual frameworks. Every student will receive guidance in their choices and - in their junior and senior years - be encouraged to specialize in a particular area of concentration. All majors finish with a two semester Capstone Studio course based on a topic of their own choosing. The IMA capstone synthesizes theoretical research and practice to produce an emerging media project that is critically informed by a related research essay.
Admissions
New York University's Office of Undergraduate Admissions supports the application process for all undergraduate programs at NYU. For additional information about undergraduate admissions, including application requirements, see How to Apply.