FAQ

Answers to common questions can be found here. If you have additional questions, please email itp.admissions@nyu.edu.

WHAT IS ITP, IMA LOW RES, AND IMA?

ITP is the Interactive Telecommunications Program, a two-year graduate program located in the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU whose mission is to explore the imaginative use of communications technologies — how they might augment, improve, and bring delight and art into people’s lives. Founded in 1979, it was the first graduate program of its kind and remains among the most prestigious in the world. Perhaps the best way to describe ITP is as a Center for the Recently Possible.

The new IMA Low Residency (or Low Res) Master’s program founded in 2020 provides an environment for makers of all stripes to explore the application of new technologies in art, science, engineering, design and the humanities. However, the department recognized that the existing ITP graduate program needed to re-examine its accessibility and affordability, and looked to experiment with formats beyond the existing two-year residential masters program. The Low Res program attracts people who need a more affordable and flexible format for graduate study in a series of intensive, immersive residencies across three locations combined with two semesters of online classes and resources.

The intensive in-person, global sessions will involve full-time commitment and expect students to be wholly dedicated to the program during this time. The online sessions, while maintaining a high-level of academic rigor and work-load, aim to allow students to continue professional pursuits in parallel with their studies and course work.

IMA is the Interactive Media Arts Program, which was inaugurated at NYU Shanghai in 2013, initially as an undergraduate major. Developed out of ITP, IMA has distinguished itself within NYU Shanghai’s Liberal Arts curriculum and grown into one of the most popular programs on campus. Since then, IMA sister programs have taken root at NYU New York and at NYU Abu Dhabi.

HOW CAN I FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ITP, IMA, OR IMA LOW RES?

Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to visit the department before applying. Each Fall semester (September through November), ITP, IMA and IMA Low Res host a series of Admissions Open House sessions meant for potential applicants who are interested in learning more about the departments. Midori Yasuda, ITP’s Director of Admissions, provides a tour of the department as well as answers questions about the admissions process. See the open house pages for ITP, IMA, and IMA Low Res. (Due to the Covid-19 restrictions, all open houses are still being hosted in a remote format via Zoom).

If your schedule does not permit you to attend an open house, individual appointments can be scheduled. Please feel free to call or email with questions or to schedule appointments by contacting Midori Yasuda at 212-998-1882 or midori.yasuda@nyu.edu.

In addition, the department hosts student showcases at the end of each semester (May and December) where the department features over a hundred interactive media installations including physical and virtual interaction design demonstrations, sound and video design projects, and screen-based works featured from some of our advanced production courses. ITP/IMA/IMA Low Res shows are the best time to get a sense of the energy, diversity, and spirit of the department.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN IMA LOW RES AND THE ITP GRADUATE PROGRAM?

Both are graduate programs offering master’s degrees. ITP is a 2-year, full-time graduate program which requires 60 credits to complete the Master of Professional Studies (MPS) degree. An MPS is accepted as a “terminal degree” when applying for teaching positions at other universities. The ITP student experience in New York is very community oriented. Classes are small by design (usually 12-16 students) and they all meet in person. Students participate in group work with collaboration and diversity being the cornerstones of the program’s success.

By contrast, the Low Res is a 1-year, 32 credit program that grants a Master of Arts (MA) degree. The Low Res program requires study abroad in 3 different locations (NYC, Berlin and Shanghai) as well as online semesters during the Fall and Spring terms when students return to their home countries. Connecting the global locations increases the value for students as they benefit from the human network and diversity of contexts. Our colleagues across these sites have forged strong, ongoing relationships and community partnerships with local industry, non-profit organizations, cultural organizations, artists, designers, developers, thinkers, maker communities and more.

WHAT KIND OF STUDENT WILL BE BETTER SUITED FOR THE IMA LOW RES PROGRAM?

IMA Low Res is a great option for working professional students who cannot take 2 full-time years away from their careers. It’s also a great option for students who have the desire and flexibility to study in locations around the world and also have the discipline to stay focused during the online semesters to continue with their hands-on project development. The program will serve to enhance and augment an individual’s existing career path as well as lay a foundation to pursue new paths of interest.

Students interested in creative approaches to design and education will find this program especially fertile ground for continued work and research. Also, students who may have an existing area of inquiry or professional goal will be able to leverage the program as scaffolding to offer cross-cultural insights and global context towards their personal interests. Integrating personal and professional experience will be welcomed throughout the program.

MUST I ATTEND ITP FULL-TIME?

Yes. ITP is a 2-year, full-time graduate program. All students must maintain full-time student status, meaning they must take a minimum of 12 credits and no more than 18 credits each semester. (Most of ITP’s courses are 4 credits each; though we do offer some 1 and 2 credit courses). Students are able to drop down to part-time status in their last semester if less than 12 credits are needed to reach the required 60 credits to graduate from the department.

Whereas, the IMA Low Res program is considered to be a part-time program for the 2 online semesters (Fall and Spring). The 3 global sites (NYC, Berlin and Shanghai) tend to require more full-time attention due to the short nature of the terms and the desire to take advantage of the time the students have in person to collaborate.

WHAT ARE THE BACKGROUNDS OF ITP STUDENTS?

The ITP student population is very diverse. Candidates do not need to have prior experience with technology or interactive design. Rather, ITP seeks students from all different educational and professional backgrounds as well as geographic and cultural diversity. Since ITP is such a highly collaborative environment, the diversity of the student population is a very important factor.

A sampling of some of the backgrounds include – film, video, photography, painting, sculpting, architecture, industrial design, theatre, dance, music composition, web and graphic design, creative writing, history, philosophy, political science, urban studies, psychology, non-profit activism, biology, law, advertising, finance, business, computer science and engineering, and more.

The average age of ITP students is approximately 26-27 years old. ITP prefers that candidates have at least a few years of work experience before joining the program. However, we do accept candidates directly out of undergraduate school as well as students well into their 30′s, 40′s, 50′s and 60′s. ITP is equally balanced between men and women in the program.

ITP’s international student population is very diverse – roughly 25 countries are represented each year. We have students from such places as China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, Singapore, India, Australia, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Canada, England, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Lebanon, Slovenia, Russia, Turkey, Israel, Iran, Greece, Cyprus, Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa, Ghana, Pakistan, Dominican Republic, Peru, Austria, Ecuador, Ukraine, Indonesia, New Zealand, and Moldova.

WHAT IS THE DUE DATE FOR THE APPLICATION?

Applications must be received by December 1 for consideration for the following Fall term. Applicants can submit the graduate application earlier but we do not have rolling admissions. Admissions is for the Fall semester only. We do not have Spring admissions. Please note that the department does not have an early decision admissions process. If you are requesting a special exception to the deadline, please contact Midori Yasuda, ITP’s Director of Admissions at midori.yasuda@nyu.edu.

Admissions decisions are emailed from the Tisch Graduate Admissions office by the end of March through early April. Admissions offers are only valid for the semester which is specified on the acceptance letter. Due to the nature of our admissions process, we do not defer admissions (except under extreme circumstances).

WHAT SORT OF FINANCIAL AID IS AVAILABLE?

Scholarships

ITP offers departmental scholarship funds. All accepted candidates are eligible to apply for scholarship aid by filling out the financial aid form that is included in the admissions application. Scholarship consideration is very competitive and we do our best to allocate to the best of our ability based on a combination of need and merit. We consider candidates for scholarship aid based on both need and merit. We do have a few full tuition scholarships available. Our scholarships range from full tuition and all the way down to a few thousand dollars. Scholarship funding can only be used to pay for tuition only. Scholarships cover only up to the 60 credits required to complete the degree. Any additional funds that may be available beyond the 60 credits is forfeited.

Students are considered for the following departmental scholarships:

Tisch School of the Arts Scholarships
Lew Wasserman Scholarships
Elena K Parker Memorial Awards
Michael R Rooney Scholarships
Red Burns Scholarships
May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation Scholarships

Student Loans

All U.S. applicants who are 1) accepted and 2) filed the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), will receive a financial aid package from NYU that will allow them to study at NYU. U.S. applicants are strongly urged to complete the FAFSA by February 15. International students are urged to look for outside sources of funding well in advance of the acceptance notice, but will also be considered for departmental scholarships.

ITP Campus Jobs

ITP offers dozens of student campus jobs on the floor every semester. Students can work up to 20 hours a week, though most work for an average of 10 hours a week to balance out with their schoolwork. We have many student jobs available staffing our equipment room, fabrication shop, helping with our IT staff, social media team, equitable working group, documentation lab, departmental library project, Coding Lab, and Design Lab, and as graduate assistants to help support our IMA undergraduate courses and much more! Jobs are advertised at the beginning of each academic semester and are paid on an hourly basis.

Please refer to the graduate application and Office of Financial Aid for more information.

WHAT MATERIALS DO I HAVE TO SUBMIT AS A PART OF THE APPLICATION?

Application instructions can be found here. All applicants need to submit a completed online application form, personal statement, current resume, 2 letters of recommendations, official transcripts, the application fee, a 2 minute introductory video and an optional creative portfolio. International students must also submit English proficiency test results (TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo).

Through the application system, everything can now be submitted online. Applicants are strongly urged to request that their recommenders file their letters through the online system. If your recommenders are unable to use the system, letters of recommendations and official transcripts can be sent directly to the Tisch Graduate Admissions Office. The applicant’s full name and social security number must be listed on the supporting materials so that Graduate Admissions can accurately match them with the rest of the application file. Please refer to the detailed instructions in the application.

GRE scores are not required for admissions.

DO I HAVE TO SUBMIT A PORTFOLIO? WILL THIS HELP OR HINDER MY APPLICATION?

Submitting a creative portfolio is optional. The portfolio is meant for those applicants who feel that they have something creative to share with the admissions committee.

Applicants can submit professional or personal works, anything that exhibits ideas and a sense of creativity. For example, an applicant who works in a professional field may want to submit a portfolio. On the other hand, an applicant who is an amateur is also welcome to submit a personal portfolio to show your creative explorations.

However, please make sure to include descriptions so the admissions committee understands how to interpret the work – whether it’s professional quality, a class project, or a personal hobby and your involvement in the development.

All portfolios should be submitted online using the online application portal.

WHAT IF I DON’T HAVE A TECHNICAL OR DESIGN BACKGROUND?

It is not necessary to have a technical or interactive design background to attend ITP. In fact, the purpose of the four Foundation courses (which makeup the Tier I group of classes which are required of all students) is to introduce such key concepts and ideas. Foundation courses include Applications of Interactive Technologies, Communications Lab, Introduction to Computational Media and Introduction to Physical Computing. Please refer to our course descriptions.

I AM AN INTERNATIONAL STUDENT. ARE THERE ANY OTHER ISSUES THAT I NEED TO KNOW IN ORDER TO APPLY TO THE PROGRAM?

In order to avoid delays, international students are encouraged to submit all application materials in advance of the deadline to the Tisch Graduate Admissions office.

All international students need to take an English proficiency exam (TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo or PTE). There are special cases where applicants may be able to waive out of this requirement, please refer to the graduate website for more details.

Once an international applicant is accepted to the program, NYU will provide assistance with student visa issues. More information can be found in the graduate application and on the Office of Global Services website.

WHAT CAN I DO IF I CAN’T GET A RECOMMENDATION OR TRANSCRIPT SUBMITTED ON TIME?

The application is designed to allow recommenders to submit letters of recommendation online. Transcripts are now acceptable via scanning and uploading through the online system. It’s okay if your materials are submitted after the December 1 deadline. However, please be mindful that we cannot review your file until your application is complete. Please do everything possible to have the materials submitted in a timely manner. If we are at the conclusion of our review process and your file is still incomplete, you will not be considered. If your file does become complete at a later date, you can be considered for our waiting list.

IS A BACHELOR’S DEGREE REQUIRED FOR ITP?

Yes. You must have a 4-year undergraduate degree to apply to ITP.

I’VE BEEN ACCEPTED BUT CANNOT ATTEND THIS YEAR. CAN I DEFER MY ADMISSION?

Unfortunately we do not grant admission deferments. If you wish to appeal this policy, please contact the department directly with your specific circumstance.

IS HOUSING AVAILABLE TO ITP STUDENTS?

Graduate student housing is limited but available. Applicants who would like to be considered for graduate housing should mark the appropriate box on the graduate application. If accepted into the program, applicants will be emailed the graduate housing application.

CAN I WORK WHILE ATTENDING ITP?

ITP is a 2-year, full-time program. Many ITP students work part-time or as interns while in the program whether it be for financial reasons or to gain valuable experience. However, we highly recommend no more than 20 hours of work per week in addition to the regular full-time ITP class load. Many of the ITP classes require a large number of hours outside of the classroom that require flexibility of time for group collaborative meetings and developing individual projects that are essential to the overall ITP experience.

Special notice to international students: Due to the complex rules and regulations which govern student visa/employment issues, international students must obtain the permission of NYU’s Office of Global Services in order to seek employment, and must maintain full-time student status. International students are eligible for Curricular Practical Training (CPT) after 2 full-time consecutive semesters in the US, and also Optional Practical Training (OPT) for work permission off campus upon graduation for 1 year. ITP also qualifies as a STEM program so students can seek a STEM extension on their visa to prolong work permission in the USA.

IS ITP A QUALIFIED STEM PROGRAM?

Yes! ITP is a qualified STEM program. Please see the following link to NYU OGS for more information. International students can currently apply for a 24 month extension to their visas to work in the US.

WHAT KIND OF CLASSES DOES ITP OFFER?

Please see our website for the current course listing. ITP provides a “hands-on” approach to teaching and classes tend to be project-driven.

ITP courses are divided into 3 Tiers:

Tier 1 are Foundation Courses and are required of all students in the department. If a student has particular knowledge and experience in an area that a Foundation Course covers, then the class may be waived with the approval of an ITP academic advisor. 16 credits.
Tier 2 consists of elective courses, divided between production and design workshops and seminars. 40 credits.
Tier 3 is the final thesis project where students work on semester-long projects which demonstrates competence in the field and is required of all students. 4 credits.

CAN I TAKE CLASSES ON A NON-DEGREE BASIS?

During the academic year, ITP classes are limited to ITP students and other matriculated, degree-seeking students at NYU. We do not allow auditing nor non-degree students.

However, each summer, ITP offers an array of courses that are available to the larger academic community beyond NYU for graduate credit. To inquire about summer courses, please contact the department. Please note that the summer session is a special circumstance where the department allows outside students to take ITP classes. The ITP student status for the summer does not carry over to the academic year unless the student has officially been admitted into the program.

ITP also offers ITP Summer Camp which is a non-degree experience for the entire month of June. Camp is a great opportunity for people who want to experience ITP but within a short period of time.

DOES ITP OFFER ANY ONLINE OR DISTANCE LEARNING COURSES?

ITP does not have any online courses and does not have any plans for any in the near future. Online courses do not share the same general philosophy of the department where collaboration and group work are essential to the learning process.

The IMA Low Res program has a different structure in that it requires 3 global terms (NYC, Berlin and Shanghai) plus 2 fully online semesters.

CAN I TAKE CLASSES IN ANOTHER DEPARTMENT AT NYU?

ITP students can take up to 8 credits outside of the department at NYU. Students need the approval of an ITP academic advisor and approval from the other department. The classes need to be on the graduate level and related to the ITP course of study.

CAN I TRANSFER GRADUATE CREDITS FROM OTHER SCHOOLS?

Students who have graduate credits that have not already been used towards the completion of another degree may be considered for transfer of credits towards ITP. ITP accepts up to 8 transfer credits. These credits need to be on the graduate level and related to the ITP course of study. Students need to have received an excellent grade (A) in any course they wish to transfer. Students need to provide the department with transcripts, course descriptions and syllabi. Acceptance of transfer credits is subject to the approval of the Chair.

WHAT KIND OF PROFESSORS TEACH IN THE DEPARTMENT?

ITP has a core group of exceptional full-time faculty, which is augmented by a wide-ranging community of adjunct faculty members who are new media industry leaders. The faculty come from such areas as art, industrial design, computer science, game design, writing, media theory, and consulting, just to name a few. They bring their expertise from the real world to the collaborative classroom experience.

CAN I COLLABORATE WITH FELLOW ITP STUDENTS? WHAT ABOUT WITH STUDENTS FROM OTHER DEPARTMENTS?

Collaboration with other ITP students is a given, and happens in almost every class. This is an important emphasis of the department. ITP students wishing to foster collaborations with students from other graduate programs may certainly do so, but in such cases they would be expected to make their own connections, sometimes through the Tisch Graduate Student Organization (GSO), a governing body made up of student representatives from all the Tisch graduate departments and elsewhere in the university.

HOW DOES ITP KEEP IN TOUCH WITH THE LARGER INTERACTIVE MEDIA INDUSTRY?

ITP regularly hosts special events that are open to current students, alumni and faculty of the department. A few times a week, guest speakers present to the students on various topics related to the industry. Past speakers have included new media entrepreneurs, multimedia artists, new media lawyers, educators, and alumni. See the News & Events page.

ITP also coordinates recruitment with various new media companies and organizations seeking to hire current students and alumni for intern, freelance, and full-time positions.

WHERE DO ITP ALUMNI WORK AFTER GRADUATION?

ITP alumni tend to find jobs in all industries doing many different kinds of work. Because we have such a diverse population of students coming from all different backgrounds, the type of work that is available to the ITP alumni is equally diverse. Some start their own businesses, others work for web development companies, and others work for large and small agencies in all industries such as the non-profit sector, education, the art world, exhibit design and e-commerce, to name just a few. Check out the ITP Alumni Visualizer for more information on where our graduates go.