User Experience and Interaction Design BS / Digital Media MS
Major: User Experience and Interaction Design and Digital Media
Degree Awarded: Bachelor of Science (BS) & Master of Science (MS)
Calendar Type: Quarter
Minimum Required Credits: 233.0
Co-op Options: One Co-op (Five years); Three Co-op (Five years)
BS Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code: 09.0702
BS Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code: 11-9199
MS Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code: 11.0801
MS Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code: 15-1134
About the Program
The program is a natural extension of our undergraduate program in User Experience & Interaction Design (UXID) and challenges students to push beyond what’s known and into what’s possible. It combines research with applicable skills in 21st century media applications and offers a mix of academic coursework and project-related activities in advanced digital design, including 3D modeling, animation, interactivity, gaming and digital media history, theory and methods.
Additional Information
For more information about this program, please contact Troy Finamore twf23@drexel.edu.
Admission Requirements
Students who wish to enter the accelerated program are required to have a minimum GPA of 3.5 and between 70 and 120 credits of completed undergraduate coursework.
Acceptance into the accelerated program is decided by the program director of the Digital Media MS program in consultation with the undergraduate program director in Interactive Digital Media as well as the Department’s Graduate Admissions Committee.
Main criterium for acceptance is an evaluation of the student’s prior academic performance and the student’s likelihood of success within the program.
Degree Requirements
Required Undergraduate Courses | ||
General Education Requirements | ||
CIVC 101 | Introduction to Civic Engagement | 1.0 |
COM 230 | Techniques of Speaking | 3.0 |
COOP 101 | Career Management and Professional Development * | 1.0 |
ENGL 101 | Composition and Rhetoric I: Inquiry and Exploratory Research | 3.0 |
or ENGL 111 | English Composition I | |
ENGL 102 | Composition and Rhetoric II: Advanced Research and Evidence-Based Writing | 3.0 |
or ENGL 112 | English Composition II | |
ENGL 103 | Composition and Rhetoric III: Themes and Genres | 3.0 |
or ENGL 113 | English Composition III | |
MATH 119 | Mathematical Foundations for Design | 4.0 |
PHYS 170 | Electricity and Motion | 3.0 |
PHYS 171 | Computational Lab for Electricity and Motion | 1.0 |
PHYS 175 | Light and Sound | 3.0 |
PHYS 176 | Computational Lab for Light and Sound | 1.0 |
PSY 330 | Cognitive Psychology | 3.0 |
UNIV A101 | The Drexel Experience | 2.0 |
Arts and Humanities elective ** | 3.0 | |
History (HIST) elective (100-499) | 4.0 | |
Literature (ENGL) elective (100-499) | 3.0 | |
Social Science electives *** | 6.0 | |
Free electives | 23.0 | |
Art and Art History Requirements | ||
ARTH 103 | History of Art III | 3.0 |
ARTH 300 [WI] | History of Modern Design | 3.0 |
ARTH 314 | Contemporary Art | 3.0 |
VSST 108 | Design I for Media | 3.0 |
VSST 109 | Design II for Media | 3.0 |
VSST 110 | Introductory Drawing | 3.0 |
Business & Management Requirements | ||
EAM 211 | Strategic Management for Entertainment and Arts Management | 3.0 |
Media Requirements | ||
FMTV 206 | Audio Production and Post | 3.0 |
INFO 110 | Introduction to Human-Computer Interaction | 3.0 |
PHTO 110 | Photography | 3.0 |
PROD 215 | Design Thinking in Product Design | 4.0 |
WEST 107 | Maker Workshop | 3.0 |
Digital Media Core Requirements | ||
ANIM 115 | Introduction to Production with Animation & VFX | 3.0 |
DIGM 105 | Overview of Digital Media | 3.0 |
DIGM 475 [WI] | Seminar: The Future of Digital Media | 3.0 |
DIGM 490 | Digital Media Senior Project † | 9.0 |
DIGM 491 | Digital Media Senior Project Studio † | 3.0 |
GMAP 260 | Overview of Computer Gaming | 3.0 |
Interactive Digital Media Requirements | ||
IDM 211 | User Interface Design I | 3.0 |
IDM 212 | User Interface Design II | 3.0 |
IDM 213 | Interaction Design | 3.0 |
IDM 214 | Human Factors Engineering | 3.0 |
IDM 215 | User Experience Design I | 3.0 |
IDM 216 | User Experience Design II | 3.0 |
IDM 221 | Web Design I | 3.0 |
IDM 222 | Web Design II | 3.0 |
IDM 231 | Scripting for Interactive Digital Media I | 3.0 |
IDM 232 | Scripting for Interactive Digital Media II | 3.0 |
IDM 241 | Microinteractions | 3.0 |
IDM 250 | Content Management Systems | 3.0 |
IDM 371 | Interactive Digital Media Workshop I | 3.0 |
IDM 372 | Interactive Digital Media Workshop II | 3.0 |
IDM 401 | Professional Practices in Interactive Digital Media | 3.0 |
IDM 418 | Storytelling for User Experience Design | 3.0 |
Select three (3) of the following: | 9.0 | |
Digital Cultural Heritage | ||
Explorations in New Media | ||
Content Strategies for Digital Products | ||
History of Web Development | ||
Interactive Graphics | ||
Web Game Design | ||
User Interface Design for Immersive Media | ||
WebVR | ||
Interactive App Design I | ||
Interactive App Design II | ||
Interactive App Design III | ||
Interactive App Design IV | ||
Experimental Interactive Technologies | ||
Internet of Things | ||
Validating Product Ideas | ||
User Research Methodologies | ||
Independent Study in Interactive Digital Media | ||
Special Topics in Interactive Digital Media | ||
Required Graduate Courses | ||
Digital Media Core | ||
DIGM 501 | New Media: History, Theory and Methods | 3.0 |
DIGM 510 | Designing for Interactivity | 3.0 |
DIGM 511 | Research Methods for Digital Media | 3.0 |
Digital Media Specialization | 18.0 | |
Select 18.0 credits from the following list: | ||
Game Design and Development | ||
Game Design I | ||
Game Design II | ||
Game Development Foundations | ||
Serious Games | ||
Experimental Games | ||
Game Design from the Player’s Perspective | ||
Animation and Immersive Media | ||
Spatial Data Capture | ||
Animation I | ||
Animation II | ||
Organic Modeling | ||
Advanced Concepts and Applications in Interactive 3D Environments | ||
Immersive World Building | ||
UX Design and Digital Cultural Heritage | ||
Digital Cultural Heritage | ||
Interactivity I | ||
Interactivity II | ||
General Digital Media | ||
Digital Media Skills Intensive | ||
Independent Study in Digital Media | ||
Independent Study in Digital Media | ||
Special Topics in Digital Media | ||
Special Topics in Digital Media | ||
New Media Project | ||
DIGM 540 | New Media Project †† | 6.0 |
Thesis | ||
DIGM 680 | Thesis Development | 3.0 |
Directed Studies ± | 9.0 | |
Total Credits | 233.0 |
- *
Co-op cycles may vary. Students are assigned a co-op cycle (fall/winter, spring/summer, summer-only) based on their co-op program (4-year, 5-year) and major.
COOP 101 registration is determined by the co-op cycle assigned and may be scheduled in a different term. Select students may be eligible to take COOP 001 in place of COOP 101.
- **
Select from 100-499 level courses, including T380-T480 in AFAS, ARCH, ARTH, COM, DANC, ENGL, FMST, GST, HIST, INTR, IST, JWST, LANG, LING, MENA, MUSC, PHIL, PHTO, PPE, PBHL, RELS, SCRP, THTR, TVST, VSCM, WGST, WRIT.
- ***
Select from 100-499 level courses, including T380-T480, in AFAS, ANTH, CJS, CS, ECON, ENSS, ENVS, PSCI, PSY, PBHL, SOC, WGST.
- †
DIGM 490 and DIGM 491 are repeated three times each to complete the DIGM Capstone Senior Project sequence.
- ††
DIGM 540 is repeated two times.
- ±
Select from 500-600 level courses, including I599, I699, T580, T680 in ANIM, CS, DIGM, DSRE, GMAP, IDM, INFO.
Writing-Intensive Course Requirements
In order to graduate, all students must pass three writing-intensive courses after their freshman year. Two writing-intensive courses must be in a student's major. The third can be in any discipline. Students are advised to take one writing-intensive class each year, beginning with the sophomore year, and to avoid “clustering” these courses near the end of their matriculation. Transfer students need to meet with an academic advisor to review the number of writing-intensive courses required to graduate.
A "WI" next to a course in this catalog may indicate that this course can fulfill a writing-intensive requirement. For the most up-to-date list of writing-intensive courses being offered, students should check the Writing Intensive Course List at the University Writing Program. Students scheduling their courses can also conduct a search for courses with the attribute "WI" to bring up a list of all writing-intensive courses available that term.
Sample Plan of Study
4+1, 1 co-op (Spring/Summer) (Accelerated program completed in 5 years)
Students complete undergraduate requirements in four years, then convert to graduate status in the fifth and final year.
First Year | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
ENGL 101 or 111 | 3.0 | ENGL 102 or 112 | 3.0 | CIVC 101 | 1.0 | VACATION | |
IDM 211 | 3.0 | IDM 212 | 3.0 | DIGM 105 | 3.0 | ||
INFO 110 | 3.0 | PHTO 110 | 3.0 | ENGL 103 or 113 | 3.0 | ||
PROD 215 | 4.0 | UNIV A101 (Program Specific) | 1.0 | IDM 213 | 3.0 | ||
UNIV A101 (Department Specific) | 1.0 | VSST 109 | 3.0 | MATH 119 | 4.0 | ||
VSST 108 | 3.0 | WEST 107 | 3.0 | VSST 110 | 3.0 | ||
17 | 16 | 17 | 0 | ||||
Second Year | |||||||
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
EAM 211 | 3.0 | ANIM 115 | 3.0 | IDM 215 | 3.0 | ARTH 103 | 3.0 |
FMTV 206 | 3.0 | IDM 214 | 3.0 | IDM 232 | 3.0 | COM 230 | 3.0 |
GMAP 260 | 3.0 | IDM 222 | 3.0 | IDM 241 | 3.0 | COOP 101* | 1.0 |
IDM 221 | 3.0 | IDM 231 | 3.0 | IDM 418 | 3.0 | IDM 216 | 3.0 |
PHYS 170 | 3.0 | PHYS 175 | 3.0 | (UG) Free Elective | 3.0 | IDM 250 | 3.0 |
PHYS 171 | 1.0 | PHYS 176 | 1.0 | (UG) IDM Elective | 3.0 | ||
16 | 16 | 15 | 16 | ||||
Third Year | |||||||
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
ARTH 300 | 3.0 | ARTH 314 | 3.0 | COOP EXPERIENCE | COOP EXPERIENCE | ||
DIGM 475 | 3.0 | IDM 372 | 3.0 | ||||
IDM 371 | 3.0 | (UG) Arts & Humanities Elective | 3.0 | ||||
PSY 330 | 3.0 | (UG) Free Elective | 3.0 | ||||
(UG) IDM Elective | 3.0 | (UG) IDM Elective | 3.0 | ||||
DIGM 501 | 3.0 | DIGM 510 | 3.0 | ||||
18 | 18 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Fourth Year | |||||||
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
DIGM 490 | 3.0 | DIGM 490 | 3.0 | DIGM 490 | 3.0 | Student Classified as Graduate Status | |
DIGM 491 | 1.0 | DIGM 491 | 1.0 | DIGM 491 | 1.0 | ||
IDM 401 | 3.0 | (UG) Free Electives | 9.0 | (UG) Free Electives | 6.0 | ||
(UG) Free Electives | 5.0 | (UG) Social Science Elective | 3.0 | (UG) Literature (ENGL) Elective | 3.0 | ||
(UG) History (HIST) Elective | 4.0 | DIGM 540 | 3.0 | DIGM 511 | 3.0 | ||
(GR) Digital Media Specialization | 3.0 | DIGM 540 | 3.0 | ||||
19 | 19 | 19 | 0 | ||||
Fifth Year | |||||||
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | ||
DIGM 591 | 2.0 | DIGM 591 | 2.0 | DIGM 591 | 2.0 | ||
DIGM 680 | 1.0 | DIGM 680 | 1.0 | DIGM 680 | 1.0 | ||
(GR) Digital Media Specialization | 3.0 | (GR) Digital Media Specialization | 3.0 | (GR) Digital Media Specialization | 3.0 | ||
(GR) Directed Studies | 3.0 | (GR) Directed Studies | 3.0 | (GR) Directed Studies | 3.0 | ||
9 | 9 | 9 | |||||
Total Credits 233 |
- *
Co-op cycles may vary. Students are assigned a co-op cycle (fall/winter, spring/summer, summer-only) based on their co-op program (4-year, 5-year) and major.
COOP 101 registration is determined by the co-op cycle assigned and may be scheduled in a different term. Select students may be eligible to take COOP 001 in place of COOP 101.
5+0 Co-terminal Accelerated Program (Spring/Summer)
First Year | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
ENGL 101 or 111 | 3.0 | ENGL 102 or 112 | 3.0 | CIVC 101 | 1.0 | VACATION | |
IDM 211 | 3.0 | IDM 212 | 3.0 | COOP 101* | 1.0 | ||
INFO 110 | 3.0 | PHTO 110 | 3.0 | DIGM 105 | 3.0 | ||
PROD 215 | 4.0 | UNIV A101 (Program Specific) | 1.0 | ENGL 103 or 113 | 3.0 | ||
UNIV A101 (Department Specific) | 1.0 | VSST 109 | 3.0 | IDM 213 | 3.0 | ||
VSST 108 | 3.0 | WEST 107 | 3.0 | MATH 119 | 4.0 | ||
(UG) Free Elective | 4.0 | VSST 110 | 3.0 | ||||
17 | 20 | 18 | 0 | ||||
Second Year | |||||||
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
EAM 211 | 3.0 | ANIM 115 | 3.0 | COOP EXPERIENCE | COOP EXPERIENCE | ||
FMTV 206 | 3.0 | IDM 214 | 3.0 | ||||
GMAP 260 | 3.0 | IDM 222 | 3.0 | ||||
IDM 221 | 3.0 | IDM 231 | 3.0 | ||||
PHYS 170 | 3.0 | PHYS 175 | 3.0 | ||||
PHYS 171 | 1.0 | PHYS 176 | 1.0 | ||||
(UG) Free Elective | 4.0 | (UG) Free Elective | 4.0 | ||||
20 | 20 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Third Year | |||||||
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
IDM 215 | 3.0 | ARTH 103 | 3.0 | COOP EXPERIENCE | COOP EXPERIENCE | ||
IDM 232 | 3.0 | COM 230 | 3.0 | ||||
IDM 241 | 3.0 | IDM 216 | 3.0 | ||||
IDM 418 | 3.0 | IDM 250 | 3.0 | ||||
(UG) Free Elective | 3.0 | (UG) IDM Elective | 3.0 | ||||
DIGM 501 | 3.0 | DIGM 510 | 3.0 | ||||
DIGM 591 | 2.0 | ||||||
18 | 20 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Fourth Year | |||||||
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
ARTH 300 | 3.0 | ARTH 314 | 3.0 | COOP EXPERIENCE | COOP EXPERIENCE | ||
DIGM 475 | 3.0 | IDM 372 | 3.0 | ||||
IDM 371 | 3.0 | (UG) Arts & Humanities Elective | 3.0 | ||||
PSY 330 | 3.0 | (UG) IDM Elective | 3.0 | ||||
DIGM 540 | 3.0 | DIGM 511 | 3.0 | ||||
DIGM 591 | 2.0 | DIGM 540 | 3.0 | ||||
(GR) Digital Media Specialization | 3.0 | DIGM 591 | 2.0 | ||||
20 | 20 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Fifth Year | |||||||
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | ||
DIGM 490 | 3.0 | DIGM 490 | 3.0 | DIGM 490 | 3.0 | ||
DIGM 491 | 1.0 | DIGM 491 | 1.0 | DIGM 491 | 1.0 | ||
IDM 401 | 3.0 | (UG) Free Electives | 5.0 | (UG) Free Electives | 6.0 | ||
(UG) IDM Elective | 3.0 | (UG) History (HIST) Elective | 4.0 | (UG) Literature Elective | 3.0 | ||
(UG) Social Science Elective | 3.0 | DIGM 680 | 1.0 | DIGM 680 | 1.0 | ||
DIGM 680 | 1.0 | (GR) Digital Media Specialization | 3.0 | (GR) Digital Media Specialization | 3.0 | ||
(GR) Digital Media Specialization | 3.0 | (GR) Directed Studies | 3.0 | (GR) Directed Studies | 3.0 | ||
(GR) Directed Studies | 3.0 | ||||||
20 | 20 | 20 | |||||
Total Credits 233 |
- *
Co-op cycles may vary. Students are assigned a co-op cycle (fall/winter, spring/summer, summer-only) based on their co-op program (4-year, 5-year) and major.
COOP 101 registration is determined by the co-op cycle assigned and may be scheduled in a different term. Select students may be eligible to take COOP 001 in place of COOP 101.