Miami University

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Miami University
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New bachelor of arts in interactive media studies; approved and available beginning in January

12/12/2012

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IMS student in the CAVE, part of the AIMS/Smale Interactive Visualization Center) photo by Scott Kissell

Miami University has received approval from the Ohio Board of Regents to offer a bachelor of arts in interactive media studies (IMS). Created as a transdisciplinary program through the Armstrong Institute for Interactive Media Studies (AIMS), the new IMS degree is a bachelor of arts housed in the School of Creative Arts. Available beginning Jan. 2013, the new major builds on the long-standing program in IMS at Miami, which is the leading undergraduate interactive and emerging media program in the country.

The program spans the entire university, bringing expertise, faculty, facilities, and students from business, the arts, engineering, education, arts and science, and the libraries, according to Glenn Platt, director of IMS and AIMS and the C. Michael Armstrong Chair in Interactive Media. The IMS program now offers the new bachelor of arts major, two minors and other curricular options for students interested in the frontiers of digital media.

IMS students will choose tracks within the major that include game design, interactive business, Web development and design and animation, among others.

Special Programs: Digital Games Design; San Francisco Digital Innovation Center

Special programs offered by IMS in partnership with AIMS include:
The Digital Game Studies Minor, which is recognized as one of the top undergraduate game design programs in the country by The Princeton Review and GamePro Magazine; and

IMS students at the AIMS San Francisco Digital Innovation Center program, spring 2012

AIMS San Francisco Digital Innovation Center, modeled after Miami’s Luxembourg campus, and launched last spring. It offers a semester-long immersive experience for Miami students in the Bay Area . The spring 2012 inaugural cohort included 10 students; registration nearly doubled to 19 students for the spring 2013 cohort. They will be placed in startups – from five-person companies to 300-person companies, from SoMa to Silicon Valley. Read more about the first AIMS Silicon Valley experience in Platt's blog.

Four Parts of the Bachelor of Arts in IMS:

• Foundational knowledge and skills in digital writing, information literacy, programming and design;

• A “making and analyzing” track focused on the ability to make digital products;

• An advanced track based on an individual student’s area of interest such as game design, animation, comparative media studies; and

• Experiential learning opportunities at the upper level, such as courses on project management, a required internship, a client-based capstone experience and a senior thesis.

Career Opportunities for Graduates: Technology-Powered Positions

AIMS open house

Students earning the new bachelor of arts in interactive media studies will be employable as software developers, programmers, social media strategists, social media marketers, digital/Internet marketers, digital designers, game designers, game developers, mobile developer, web developers and other technology-powered positions.

Miami's interactive media studies program was founded in 1996, and in 2008 received a major gift from Miami alumnus and former CEO of AT&T C. Michael Armstrong ('61) to establish the Armstrong Interactive Media Studies program.