Interactive Media / Bachelor of Arts
Total Credit Hours: 128
Major Credit Hours: 48
Interactive Media is an interdisciplinary program that will prepare students to be successful in an evolving media landscape, pairing web design and development skills with traditional media skills like video, audio, written, and social media skills. This major prepares students for technology positions in the media industry focusing on creating and managing media websites and media web applications. These skills are in high demand: web design positions are expected to increase 13% through 2020 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2012-13 report.
Additionally, technology-focused jobs and technology literacy are both initiatives pushed by the City of Chicago, which expects 24,000 Chicago-area IT jobs over the next decade. This major incorporates courses from Computer Science and Computer Graphic Design in the Communication curriculum to best prepare students for positions in the ever-changing media fields.
Interactive Media majors pursue employment in these areas: web designer, web producer, interactive content developer, digital media producer, user experience designer, social media specialist, online community manager, data journalist, interactive public relations agent, digital advertiser, digital strategist, web developer, and web content manager.
Interactive Media offers two tracks: Media Web Design and Media Web Applications.
Courses in the Media Web Design track are skills-oriented. Students take a combination of Communications and Computer Graphic Design courses that are designed to teach students how to create high quality graphics with a focus on web user experience and aesthetically pleasing media web designs.
Courses in the Media Web Applications track are also skills-oriented. Students take a combination of Communications and Computer Science courses that are designed to teach students how to create media web applications in a variety of languages on both desktop and mobile platforms with a focus on creating applications for media organizations.
Majors in Interactive Media may not double-major in another Communication Department major unless they complete a separate set of 4 upper-division Communication courses (12 hours) in the second major.
Degree Requirements
I. Core Courses (21)
| 10-100 | Introduction to Mass Media | 3 |
| 10-180 | Introduction to Visual Media | 3 |
| 10-206 | Social Media and Online Audiences | 3 |
| 10-271 | Multimedia Journalism | 3 |
| 10-390 | New Media and Society | 3 |
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| OR | |
| 10-480 | Mass Media Ethics | 3 |
| 10-490 | Online Multimedia Practicum | 1-3 |
| 10-498 | Internship | 3 |
II. Track One: Media Web Design (27)
A. Required Courses for Media Web Design (24)
| 01-231 | Introduction to Computer Graphic Design | 3 |
| 01-232 | Intermediate Computer Graphic Design | 3 |
| 01-332 | Typography | 3 |
| 01-333 | 3-D Modeling | 3 |
| 10-372 | Blogging and Mobile Media | 3 |
| 10-382 | Web Design | 3 |
| 10-386 | Advanced Media Web Design | 3 |
| 10-496 | Entrepreneurship in Digital Communication | 3 |
B. Elective Courses for Media Web Design (3)
Choose one of the following courses or an advisor-approved course:
III. Track Two: Media Web Applications (27)
A. Required Courses for Media Web Applications (24)
| 10-372 | Blogging and Mobile Media | 3 |
| 10-386 | Advanced Media Web Design | 3 |
| 10-496 | Entrepreneurship in Digital Communication | 3 |
| 70-200 | Introduction to Computer Science | 3 |
| 70-210 | Programming and Data Structures | 3 |
| 70-247 | Web and Distributed Programming | 3 |
| 70-330 | Database Systems | 3 |
| 70-417 | Mobile Application Development | 3 |
B. Elective Courses for Media Web Application (3)
Choose one of the following courses or an advisor-approved course:
IV. Advanced Writing Requirement
The advanced writing requirement is fulfilled by completion of
10-372 Blogging and Mobile Media with a minimum grade of “C.”