- People
- Administration & Staff
- Research faculty
- Gabriela Aceves-Sep煤lveda
- Alissa N. Antle
- Sheelagh Carpendale
- Parmit Chilana
- Jon Corbett
- Steve DiPaola
- Halil Erhan
- Brian Fisher
- Diane Gromala
- Marek Hatala
- Kate Hennessy
- Alireza Karduni
- Sylvain Moreno
- Carman Neustaedter
- Will Odom
- Philippe Pasquier
- Niranjan Rajah
- Bernhard Riecke
- Gillian Russell
- Thecla Schiphorst
- Chris Shaw
- Wolfgang Stuerzlinger
- Ron Wakkary
- 脰. Nilay Yal莽in
- Teaching faculty
- Emeritus
- Adjunct Faculty
- Alumni
- Work at SIAT
- Opportunities
- Research
- Programs
- News & Events
- Spaces & Equipment
- StudioSIAT
- Media
- Showcase
- Contact
- Staff & faculty resources
Degrees
Learn about SIAT's degree and concentrations options.
SIAT Undergraduate Programs
The School of Interactive Arts & Technology offers a number of undergraduate degree programs鈥攎ajor, joint major, and minor鈥攖hat you can explore below.
SIAT Major
All SIAT students complete a common set of first- and second-year courses. In third and fourth year, students begin to take elective courses across the program. Alternatively, students completing a SIAT Major or Joint Major may also choose to focus their coursework on one (or more) concentration(s).
Honours BA/BSc in Interactive Arts + Technology
An honours degree combines a standard major with an honours project. This degree option provides students with an interest in research an opportunity to work closely with a SIAT faculty member. Students will participate in a year-long research project in an area of mutual interest. This degree option is especially helpful for those preparing for graduate school in the future.
Second Degree
A student who already holds a BA or BSc from an approved institution may complete a second or subsequent Bachelor鈥檚 degree (BA or BSc) in Interactive Arts and Technology. Second degree students are required to complete the SIAT upper level course requirements. Completion of lower level prerequisites may be required or waived at the discretion of the department.
Given the complexity of waiving credits, we recommend contacting advising for assistance in planning a second degree.
Communication
The SIAT-Communication Joint Major allows students to enhance their knowledge of art, design and technology with complementary courses in communication. Students in a Joint Major are required to select a concentration and are recommended to contact advising for assistance.
Business
The SIAT-Business Joint Major allows students to enhance their knowledge of art, design and technology with complementary courses in business.
Students in a Joint Major are required to select a concentration and are recommended to contact advising for assistance.
Concentration changes (effective Fall 2024)
A concentration is an area of specialization that approved students in the SIAT Major may pursue within their Bachelor鈥檚 degree. As of Fall 2024, the Design, Media Arts, and Interactive Systems concentrations will not be available to new students. Students already enrolled in SIAT can still complete their degrees with the Design, Media Arts, or Interactive Systems concentrations, or choose to change their graduation requirements and take the new concentrations instead.
SIAT is changing the definition of concentrations (for majors):
- It is a group of related courses that approved IAT majors can pursue within their degree
- Students may complete more than one concentration
- Students may complete no concentrations (if they choose)
- Concentrations will be recognized on your transcript
- There is no GPA requirement to access a concentration
- There are no 鈥榬eserves鈥� or 鈥榬eserved seating鈥� in courses for those declared in a concentration
- Joint majors are required to complete one concentration
The new Fall 2024 concentrations are as follows:
Creative Media
In the Creative Media Concentration, students gain skills in emergent areas such as narrative, interactivity, video, sound design, motion capture, visual effects and immersive technologies to tackle meaningful and critically-engaged stories, preparing them for further work in graduate studies or careers in entertainment, film, media arts, and software media industries.
This concentration includes the following courses:
- Narrative and New Media (IAT 313)
- Sound Design (IAT 340)
- Moving Images (IAT 344)
- Senior Project in Creative Media (IAT 443) (see changes to IAT 443)
Designing Interactions
Designing Interactions develops competencies in interaction design, speculative design and user experience design. Projects develop problem-solving capabilities rigorously tested by critique after framing and research for interventions for people and communities. The role of the designer is explored in a range of contexts. Projects range from screen-based to tangible artifacts, products and services.
This concentration includes the following courses:
- Interaction Design Methods (IAT 333) (see changes to IAT 333)
- Speculative Design (IAT 431) (see changes to IAT 431)
- User Experience Design (IAT 438) (see changes to IAT 438)
Extended Reality & Game Design
The XR & Game Design concentration provides a blend of technical, theoretical, and practical skills in diverse areas of extended reality and game design. Students learn to create compelling gaming and immersive experiences, apply user-centered design, manage projects, work collaboratively, communicate effectively, and engage in critical thinking and ethical practices.
This concentration includes the following courses:
- Foundations of Game Design (IAT 312)
- Animation (IAT 343)
- Advanced Game Design (IAT 410)
- Immersive Environments (IAT 445)
AI and data science for human-centred systems
This concentration is aimed to teach students the skills to extract insights from data, design and build AI systems for interactive technologies, data-driven decision-making, and computer assisted creativity. It emphasizes applying human-centered computing principles and ethical considerations to AI and data science to design, evaluate and deploy state-of-the-art interactive systems.
This concentration includes the following courses:
- Introduction to Visual Analytics (IAT 355)
- Exploring AI: Its Use, Concepts, and Impact (IAT 360) (see more info on the new IAT 360)
- Generative Art and Computational Creativity (IAT 460) (see more info on the new IAT 460)
- Data Science for Human-Centered Systems (IAT 461) (see more info on the new IAT 461)
Design and Development for Web & Mobile
This concentration provides students with the theories, tools and methods for developing digital applications for the web and mobile. There is a heavy focus on modern development practices, accessibility considerations and creating applications tailored to meet the unique needs of the target audience while considering the context of use.
This concentration includes the following courses:
- Web Design & Development (IAT 339)
- Mobile Computing (IAT 359) (see changes to IAT 359)
- Internet Computing Technologies (IAT 459) (see changes to IAT 459)
Concentrations prior to Fall 2024
As of Fall 2024, the Design, Media Arts, and Interactive Systems concentrations will not be available to new students. Students already enrolled in SIAT can still complete their degrees with the Design, Media Arts, or Interactive Systems concentrations, or choose to change their graduation requirements and take the new concentrations instead.
Students who are not accepted into a concentration may take concentration required courses. Students who complete the concentration requirements may choose to apply for recognition of the completed concentration on their transcript at the time of graduation.
Students may complete more than one concentration. All completed concentrations will be recognized on their transcript.
Design concentration
INTERACTIVE SYSTEMS CONCENTRATION
Media Arts Concentration
Applying to a concentration
Applications to concentrations are accepted three times a year.
Deadlines:
- Summer Semester 鈥� February 1st
- Fall Semester 鈥� June 1st
- Spring Semester 鈥� October 1st