Skip to main content
College of Design
Media Arts, Design and Technology | College of Design

Graduate Courses and Curriculum

Courses and Curriculum for the Masters of Art + Design Program.

Curriculum Displays

Course Descriptions

  • ADN500: MAD Seminar 01: Platforms, Environments + Networks (Track 01 + Track 02)
    This course will introduce students to foundational theories of new and experimental media art and design, specifically related to the platforms, environments and networks that are guiding our interactions with each other and with information on and through them. Through short and longer-term writing assignments, students will also explore different ways to craft arguments related to new and experimental media and prepare them to use these theories to support project-based work. The goal of this seminar is to help students get more comfortable with writing as a way to process and communicate their understanding of a reading, as well as to build up some foundational knowledge that will continue to be expanded throughout their course and project work.
  • ADN560: MAD Studio 01: Immersive and Experimental Narratives  (Track 01 + Track 02)
    Narrative and Storytelling shape the very core of human existence and communication. Through a series of short and experimental projects, this first semester studio explores different platforms for creating and visualizing narratives. It also explores the very definition of narrative, and the ways that stories might be created from unexpected source material. The goal of this studio is to introduce students to a variety of ways that stories can be created to spark curiosity and interest that students will continue to work through in subsequent studios and into their final project.
  • ADN 501: MAD Seminar 02: Experimental Media Arts as Future-Making  (Track 01 + Track 02)
    The second seminar focuses on new forms of Art, Design and Media practice as they illuminate, augment and ultimately change the world around us. Topics in this seminar will include: virtual, augmented and hybrid realities; artificial intelligence; generative and participatory art and design; art and design activism; and speculative and critical design practice. Students will also gain experience defining and leading discussions, creating reading lists and framing a series of conversations from a wide range of options. Writing in this seminar continues to be a formative activity for synthesizing, interpreting and applying theories to their own work.
  • ADN561: MAD Studio 02: Exploring the HyperReal: Materiality, Reality and Speculation  (Track 01 + Track 02)
    This studio will explore the ways that material, movement, scale and other tangibilities affect engagement in experimental media arts narratives and experiences. Students will work more independently, starting to explore content, materials and techniques that are of particular interest to them, and which might lead to their more comprehensive final project. Depending on the instructor, students might work under a common theme or work collaboratively on a more applied project.
  • ADN510: MAD Seminar 03: Final Project Research Seminar (Track 02)
    Directed research to prepare background documentation for the final project, including historical and contemporary context, formation of project parameters, statement of goals, and documentation/project outline. Students will solidify the context of the project—practice-based or theory-based.
  • ADN570: MAD Studio 03: Final Project Development Studio  (Track 01 + Track 02)
    Studio for students to refine project outline, and begin work on final project through guided instruction from studio instructor. Studio will be structured around the design process—background research, problem definition, ideation, development and refinement, and preliminary testing.
  • ADN511: Final Project Documentation Seminar (Track 02)
    This seminar helps structure the documentation of students’ final research projects. It will follow the final project documentation outline and help students write and get preliminary feedback on their writing. Students opting to do theoretical research will be required to take this course. Students focusing on practical-research will have it as optional.
  • ADN571: Final Project Studio  (Track 01 + Track 02)
    This is a student-driven project studio. Students will work independently with their committee, meet regularly with their chair and be responsible for communicating and showing steady progress on final project. Students are ultimately preparing for their oral examination which will be held during oral exam week and should demonstrate a mastery of the subject matter on the part of the student, and leave the committee feeling confident that the student can accomplish the project and its scope by the end of the semester (see more in the oral examination section).
  • ADN502: Graduate Electives
    Many of the Media Arts, Design and Technology undergraduate 400-level courses have graduate sections of them. Make sure to choose the 500-level section of a course if it exists. This will allow you to take courses like 3D modelling, animation, data visualization, and creative coding for graduate credit.

Electives

Below is a selection of the types of electives that are offered in Media Arts, Design and Technology. These electives are not all offered in a single semester and may or may not be offered during the program depending on faculty workload and obligations

  • Digital Motion
  • Visualizing Narrative
  • Dynamic Data
  • Special Effects
  • Sequential imaging
  • Seminar in Animation
  • Digital Modeling
  • 3D Animation
  • Creative Coding
  • Sculptural Geometry, Creating Patterns for Fabrics
  • Advanced Three Dimensional Fibers, Forms, and Structures
  • Period Inspired Garments
  • Business of Design
  • Mixed media Sewing and Construction