¶¡ÏãÔ°AV

Interactive Arts and Technology Bachelor of Arts Major Program

School of Interactive Arts and Technology | Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology
¶¡ÏãÔ°AV Calendar 2013 Spring

The School of Interactive Arts and Technology (SIAT) offers a bachelor of arts (BA) degree in interactive arts and technology with three concentrations: design, media arts and interactive systems.

¶¡ÏãÔ°AV Requirements

¶¡ÏãÔ°AV is based on a competitive cumulative grade point average. Students whose first admission attempt is unsuccessful may improve their average by completing additional courses. ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV to the school is possible via three routes.

Route 1

These applicants come directly from BC high school 12 or have equivalent high school preparation in accordance with admission requirements.

Route 2

Internal transfer applicants are students who have already been admitted to another ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV program, and now wish to be transfer to the School of Interactive Arts and Technology.

Students apply to the program after completing 18 units of the lower division requirements listed below, or equivalents.

Route 3

These applicants apply to the School of Interactive Arts and Technology for direct transfer from another post-secondary institution.

Students apply to the program after completing 18 units of the lower division requirements listed below, or equivalents.

Prerequisite Grade Requirement

Interactive Arts and Technology course entry requires a grade of C- or better in each prerequisite course.

Students must obtain permission from the department if they wish to complete, for further credit, any course that is a prerequisite for a course the student has already completed with a grade of C- or higher.

Program Requirements

This program requires the completion of

  • lower and upper division requirements of the BA degree program as specified below
  • a total of 30 IAT upper division units
  • a total of at least 120 units including 45 upper division units

Lower Division Requirements

Core Courses

SIAT lower division core requirements are as follows.

Students complete all of

  • CMPT 166 An Animated Introduction to Programming (3) or
  • an equivalent introductory programming course such as CMPT 120, 125, 126, or 128
  • IAT 100 Digital Image Design (3)
  • IAT 102 Graphic Design (3)
  • IAT 103W Design Communication and Collaboration (3)
  • IAT 106 Spatial Thinking and Communicating (3)
  • IAT 167 Digital Games: Genre, Structure, Programming and Play (3)
  • IAT 201 Human-Computer Interaction and Cognition* (3)
  • IAT 202 New Media Images (3)
  • IAT 222 Interactive Arts (3)
  • IAT 233 Spatial Design (3)
  • IAT 235 Information Design (3)
  • IAT 265 Multimedia Programming for Art and Design* (3) or
  • other approved second year programming course
  • IAT 267 Introduction to Technological Systems* (3)

*these courses or their equivalents must have a science designation

Additional Requirements

Students in this BA program will also complete both of

  • IAT 206 Media Across Cultures (3)
  • MATH 130 Geometry for Computer Graphics (3)

Upper Division Requirements

A major in Interactive Arts and Technology comprises 30 units of upper division IAT courses. These may include courses listed in the next section. Directed study and field school courses are not counted as part of the major requirements and are considered electives.

Students in this BA program will complete 24 units chosen from the following

  • IAT 312 Foundations of Game Design (3)
  • IAT 313 Narrative and New Media (3)
  • IAT 320 Body Interface (3)
  • IAT 334 Interface Design (3)
  • IAT 338 Interactive Objects and Environments (3)
  • IAT 343 Animation (3)
  • IAT 344 Moving Images (3)
  • IAT 380 Special Topics in Interactive Arts and Technology (Arts) (3)
  • IAT 431 Speculative Design (3)
  • IAT 443 Interactive Video (3)
  • IAT 445 Immersive Environments (3)
  • IAT 480 Special Topics in Interactive Arts and Technology (Arts) (3)
  • any upper division course from communication (CMNS), publishing (PUB), cognitive science (COGS), contemporary arts (FPA), human geography (GEOG), philosophy (PHIL), business (BUS), or psychology (PSYC).

Concentrations

A concentration is an area of specialization that approved IAT majors may pursue within their bachelor of arts.

Students may choose their area of concentration after completing at least 27 units of lower division core courses. All upper division (300 & 400 level) concentration courses must be completed at ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV.

Areas of concentration are only open to approved IAT majors. Students pursuing an IAT minor may not pursue an area of concentration. Acceptance to some concentrations is limited due to the limited spaces in required courses; students will be accepted to these limited concentrations based on their CGPA and are required to maintain the specified CGPA while pursuing the limited concentration. Students can be accepted only to one concentration at a time. Students in a concentration have priority in registering for courses in that concentration. Students are required to complete all their concentration courses within two years, after this time they will lose their priority for registration in concentration courses.

Students who do not choose a concentration or are not accepted to any concentration may still complete concentration requirements and apply for recognition of the completed concentration on their degrees at the time of graduation.

Students may complete more than one concentration. All completed concentrations will be recognized on their degrees.

Concentration in Media Arts

This concentration studies the creation, analysis and understanding of new media. New media environments are both computational artifacts and cultural experiences that include historical, social, aesthetic, and economic processes.

Graduates will be skilled in the critical analysis and making of new media forms such as electronic games, digital video, computer animation, and interactive multimedia.

Students who choose this concentration must complete all of

  • IAT 313 Narrative and New Media (3)
  • IAT 320 Body Interface (3)
  • IAT 343 Animation (3)
  • IAT 344 Moving Images (3)
  • IAT 443 Interactive Video (3)
  • IAT 445 Immersive Environments (3)

Concentration in Interactive Systems

Students in this concentration learn how to design and program interactive technology used in work, play and learning.

This concentration emphasizes applying human-computer interaction principles to highly interactive applications, devices and systems. Graduates will be able to conceive, design and program applications in areas such as the web, handheld devices and games.

Students who choose this concentration must complete all of

  • IAT 351 Advanced Human-Computer Interaction (3)
  • IAT 352 Knowledge Media Architectures (3)
  • IAT 355 Introduction to Visual Analytics (3)
  • IAT 410 Advanced Game Design (3)
  • IAT 452 Developing Design Tools (3)
  • IAT 455 Computational Media (3)

Concentration in Design

This concentration focuses on the design and use of interactive products and systems. It emphasizes designing and understanding all aspects of successful designs. Graduates will demonstrate ability in contemporary design from requirements through design to critique and evaluation.

Students who choose this concentration must complete all of

  • IAT 333 Interaction Design Methods (3)
  • IAT 334 Interface Design (3)
  • IAT 336 Materials in Design (3)
  • IAT 337 Representation and Fabrication (3)
  • IAT 338 Interactive Objects and Environments (3)
  • IAT 431 Speculative Design (3)

Writing, Quantitative, and Breadth Requirements

Students admitted to ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV beginning in the fall 2006 term must meet writing, quantitative and breadth requirements as part of any degree program they may undertake. See Writing, Quantitative, and Breadth Requirements for university-wide information.

WQB Graduation Requirements
A grade of C- or better is required to earn W, Q or B credit.
Requirement

Units

Notes
W - Writing

6

Must include at least one upper division course, taken at ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV within the student’s major subject
Q - Quantitative

6

Q courses may be lower or upper division
B - Breadth

18

Designated Breadth Must be outside the student’s major subject, and may be lower or upper division
6 units Social Sciences: B-Soc
6 units Humanities: B-Hum
6 units Sciences: B-Sci

6

Additional Breadth

6 units outside the student’s major subject (may or may not be B-designated courses, and will likely help fulfil individual degree program requirements)
Additional breadth units must be from outside the student's major and may be B-designated (B-Hum, B-Soc, B-Sci courses). Students choosing to complete a joint major, joint honours, double major, two extended minors, an extended minor and a minor, or two minors may satisfy the breadth requirements (designated or not designated) with courses completed in either one or both program areas.

 

Residency Requirements and Transfer Credit

The University’s residency requirement stipulates that, in most cases, total transfer and course challenge credit may not exceed 60 units, and may not include more than 15 units as upper division work.

Elective Courses

In addition to the courses listed above, students should consult an academic advisor to plan the remaining required elective courses.

Students may need to take additional electives to bring their total unit count to a minimum of 120, including 45 upper division units.

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