Overview
ITP is a two-year program of full-time study leading to the Master of Professional Studies (M.P.S.) degree. The degree requires completion of a minimum of 60 graduate credits within a three-tier structure. ITP is a full-time program and thus students must take 12-18 points per semester to maintain full-time status. It is possible to go part-time (below 12 credits) in the last semester to reach the minimum of 60 credits to graduate.
The degree is a terminal degree and also considered a qualified STEM program.
The department brings together smart, passionate people from different disciplines, provokes them with the skills and conceptual understanding necessary to manipulate new media and then supports the applications students dream up. It is sometimes described as an art school for engineers and at the same time an engineering school for artists.
Located in New York City, we constantly attract the best and the brightest faculty to guide our students, making ITP one of the top-ranked departments in the interactive arena.
Tier 1 – Foundation Classes
Foundation classes provide a baseline of technical skills, conceptual understanding and creative process to support and catalyze student projects. Each foundation course will be offered at least once a year. Generally, students will be expected to complete these foundation courses before moving to Tier Two or Tier Three. Sixteen credits in foundation courses are required for completion of the degree program. Due to previous studies or work experience, some students may consider themselves already proficient in a field covered by a foundation course. They may apply to a faculty advisor for permission to waive it. Waiver of a foundation course does not in itself reduce the 60-point requirement for graduation; it means a student will increase the number of elective studies or fieldwork courses taken.
All computing is physical. We work with computational systems by taking action with our bodies, on devices. The construction of computing devices, and their use, consumes raw materials and energy as well. In short, the virtual always has physical consequences. This course is about how to design digital devices for our bodies’ capabilities.
read more »Storytelling is a powerful method of communicating messages and engaging an audience. Whether you are building an expressive narrative world, documenting existing work, or pitching a new project, a carefully crafted story is a powerful way to connect with others. How do new technologies change the way we tell stories?
read more »The goal of this course is to provide students who are new to the principles of visual design with the practical knowledge, critical skills and confidence to effectively express their ideas in a visually pleasing and effective way. Over the course of 7-weeks an overview of the many tools and techniques available to convey an idea, communicate a message and influence an experience will be presented, discussed and applied.
read more »The 17th century philosopher Spinoza described “wonder” as a state of suspension in the mind, a paralysis resulting from a confrontation with something wholly new, disconnected from past experience such that judgements of whether it is good or bad are not possible. At this moment in time, we are caught in such a state of suspension with digital technologies.
read more »This introductory class is designed to allow students to engage in a critical dialogue with leaders drawn from the artistic, non-profit and commercial sectors of the emerging media field, and to learn the value of collaborative projects by undertaking group presentations in response to issues raised by the guest speakers. Interactive media projects and approaches to the design of new media applications are presented weekly; students are thus exposed to both commercial as well as mission-driven applications by the actual designers and creators of these innovative and experimental projects.
read more »Tier 2 Electives
The second tier classes provide students with contexts in which to develop their creative thinking, problem solving and technical abilities. The curriculum changes in response new developments in the field, student interests, opportunities to bring interesting practitioners as teachers and the outcomes of previous semesters. It is a mixture of seminar classes where students read, discuss and write about the implications of new media and production classes where they make things. Students are encouraged to maintain a balance of three production classes and one seminar every semester. Though most classes run for many years, as many as 20% may be experimental. Because failure is a natural outcome of experimentation, students must be prepared to derive value from unexpected outcomes.
Students may also arrange for internship credits. See course listings for more ideas about the types of classes that we have run in the past. The majority of classes are 4 points and students typically take 4 courses each semester. There are a few 2 point classes as well.
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.
Please note: This is a sampling of classes that ITP has offered over the years. It is not a complete list, since our courses change every semester.
Authoritative curriculum information can be found exclusively in the University Bulletin. All other content, including this web-page is for informational purposes only. You can find the curriculum for this program on this page of the Bulletin.
If you are looking for more specific and up to date listings, please visit Albert and then click the “Public Course Search” button. You will find our listing under ITPG-GT – change the year and semester to see a historical log of courses.
Tier 3 – Thesis
Students register for a final project seminar that is designed to help them define and execute their final projects. It is structured as a series of critique and presentation sessions in which various aspects of individual projects are discussed. Critique sessions are a combination of internal sessions (i.e., the class only) and reviews by external guest critics. Students are expected to complete and present a fully articulated thesis project and related documentation by the end of their last semester. Thesis takes place over 2 semesters in the students’ second year (part 1 for 2 credits in the Fall, and part 2 for 2 credits in the Spring semester).
This course focuses on the Design, User Testing, and Production of the final Thesis project. Students will meet with the Thesis Advisor bi-weekly, often in small study groups or 1:1 meetings. Prerequisite: Thesis Part 1: Research and Development. All other students will take the traditional 4.0-unit Thesis course.
read more »Part 1 focuses on research and concept development. Students will have the time to explore deeply into their areas of interest, narrow their focus and, finally, develop a concept and plan for their final thesis project. They will be structured assignments throughout on research methodologies and concept development techniques.
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