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Whatever your passion, a bachelor’s degree in Interactive Media from Harrisburg University of Science and Technology can help you harness the technical, artistic and management aspects of this dynamic career to maximum impact.

The B.S. in Interactive Media includes the concepts of new media, interactivity, interaction design, human-computer interaction, digital culture, cyberculture, and areas such as interactive narrative, video games, social media, virtual reality, and augmented reality wherein user and machine both take on an active role.  Interactive media is not limited to electronic media, digital media, game design or digital communications.

From needs analysis to deployment, HU’s Interactive Media degree program equips you to deliver interactive solutions throughout the entire development lifecycle of a project. The major exposes you to both the technical and non-technical aspects of interactive development. From mobile, graphic, rich media, web, and interaction design to front-end development, our program combines project management expertise with solid design and technology skills.

Here, you’ll learn what it takes to work with high-performing interactive teams. Our degree program offers hands-on, project-based instruction, and focuses on helping you apply your existing technical skills within high-growth career segments such as training, advertising, and entertainment.

This program also combines media and information technology and platforms, business acumen, and creative expression and prepares students to apply new media theories and practices in a changing digital and media world, combine interactive theory, media production, programming, web design and animation to create multimedia projects and productions, and think innovatively and creatively.

Program Goals

A graduate of the Bachelor of Science in Interactive Media program is prepared to:

Program Concentrations

Advanced Media Production

The Advanced Media Production (AMP) concentration is designed for students with a passion for technology, creativity and problem solving. Drawing from information science, software development and project management, the concentration trains students in the art of digital production, where they learn to develop and deploy digital media assets across the spectrum of interactive products and services. In addition to production skills, students also focus on assessing new and emerging technologies to prepare for careers which require innovative solutions in areas as diverse as mixed reality, 3d printing, interactive kiosks, social media, and mobile devices integration.

User Experience Design

The User Experience Design (UXD) concentration is an interdisciplinary option for technology-focused, creative, and curious design-oriented students. UXD prepares students to design effective and engaging digital products, services, and experiences for the entire gamut of digital technology, including mobile apps, websites, games, kiosks, and other digital systems and services. Through classes and hands-on activities, UXD trains students in multi-method human-centered research, usability testing, business and technology analysis, and design thinking. UX students learn a blend of theory, methods, skills, and processes, in a hands-on real-world studio environment via the university’s User Experience Center. As one of the fastest growing careers in the technology field, the career prospects from the UXD concentration option are enormous: UXD equips students to become qualitative and quantitative UX researchers, interactive systems designers and producers, and system analysts.

Purposeful Game Design

The Purposeful Games Design (PGD) concentration provides an opportunity to focus on creating games that serve a broader purpose than pure entertainment. Students who take this concentration will lead the way in learning creative and innovative ways to deliver purposeful content through creating engaging games designed with a specific goal for player audiences of all ages. In conjunction with the skills required to make video games more generally, purposeful games require an additional focus of study on the different contexts and aims of a specific project, as the purpose (meaning, message or goal) is the guiding design principle of the game. Combined with foundation courses in games studies and design, this concentration focuses on the different types of purposeful games, the different contexts and design requirements to create games for specific audiences and the development of the ability to evaluate the effectiveness in communicating the purpose of a game while maintaining a level of fun and engagement for the player.

Program Lead

 Charles  Palmer

Charles Palmer Program Lead & Associate Professor of Interactive Media, Executive Director, Center for Advanced Entertainment & Learning Technologies

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Full Time Faculty

Nathan Aileo

Assistant Professor of Human Centered Interaction Design

Kelly Boudreau, Ph.D.

Associate Professor in Interactive Media Theory & Design

Lewis Ellis

Instructor in Interactive Media

Sa Liu, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Interactive Media Studies

Charles Palmer

Program Lead & Associate Professor of Interactive Media, Executive Director, Center for Advanced Entertainment & Learning Technologies

Corporate Faculty

Anthony Ortega

Production Coordinator (CAELT) & Corporate Faculty (IMED)

Justin Sabo

Game Designer in Residence

Program Courses

This program requires a total of 50 semester hours: 26 semester hours from the core courses listed below and 24 semester hours completed in one of the following concentrations: Advanced Media Production, User Experience Design, and Purposeful Game Design. The semester hour value of each course appears in parentheses ( ).

CISC 120 – Programming I (4 credits)

This course introduces the concepts and techniques of computer programming. Emphasis is placed on developing the student’s ability to apply problem-solving strategies to design algorithms and to implement these algorithms in a modern, structured programming language. Topics include fundamental programming constructs, problem solving techniques, simple data structures, Object-Oriented Programming (OOP), program structure, data types and declarations, control statements, algorithm strategies and algorithm development.

IMED 110 – Introduction to Digital Design (2 credits)

Digital Design introduces the essentials of visual computing, graphics, web technologies, and the design desciplines (graphic, information, game, social, and interactive) to the student interested in interactive media. Emphasis is placed on image manipulation, HTML/CSS desgin, crafting interactive experiences, and 3D modeling. By reviewing these fields of interest, the student is more prepared to choose a focus for continued study. Offered Semester I (Spring), annually.

IMED 140 – Introduction to Interactive Media (2 credits)

Interactive media encompasses a broad range of disciplines, technologies, processes and experiences. This course will introduce students interested (and enrolled) in the primary areas offered in the Interactive Media program including interactive experience design, media production, and digital games design. This course will be co-taught by several IMED faculty members based on their areas of expertise.

IMED 170 – Visual Design Fundamentals (3 credits)

This course introduces the basic concepts of design or print and time-based digtial media. The principles of composition and color theory, and how these are affected by movement, duration and display, are covered. Vector and bitmap manipulation tools are explored in relation to graphic rpoduction across the design fields. Offered Semester I (Fall), annually.

IMED 240 – Interactive Media I (4 credits)

The fundamental theory and practice of new media is explored in this course. It prepares the student for creative expression and technology application in all aspects of multimedia for effective message communication, whether it is for a specific product, a game or entertainment site, instruction, or eCommerce. New and emerging interactive digital media is used to create, store, transmit and sell products and services. The student may work on a project to enhace a local employer to recruit and expand business. Offered Semester II (Spring), annually.

IMED 340 – Interactive Media II (4 credits)

This course focuses on analyzing, managing, producing, and deploying interative media projects. Topics include: initial planning, proposal writing, information architecture, interface design, project management, user testing, and installation. The student develops various project ideas and presents a final design concept to potential museum, hospitality, theme park or government agency client. Software, hardware, and resources vary based on technical aspects and unique aesthetics of an interactive encounter. Offered Semester II (Spring), annually.

IMED 370 – Producing Creative Projects (3 credits)

This course evaluates design and development procedures used across creative industries. The student is introduced to effective team and process management procedures utilized through the lens of interative experiences and software development. These topics are further developed through guest lectures, collaborative learning exercises and the development of individual project plans, which primarily focus on the people, pixels, and processes used in interactive media development.

IMED 440 – Interactive Studio (4 credits)

This course is an upper-level production course focusing on the creation of innovative, workable prototypes using a variety of interactive techniques and emerging technologies. New media (games, digital simulations, mobile applications, and social experience design) is the latest development genre and are analyzed as cultural artifacts. The aesthetics of user experience, personal interaction, and delivery systems are covered along with an analysis of leadership techniques used in independent and AAA production firms.

SpacEscape

SpacEscape is a problem-solving mobile game created by students and faculty at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. The game provides middle school students an opportunity to learn about space science while practicing their problem-solving skills.

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