Program Overview

Digital Arts, Certificate

The undergraduate Certificate in Digital Arts requires a minimum of 25 s.h. of coursework, including at least 18 s.h. earned at the University of Iowa. Students must maintain a grade-point average of at least 2.00 in coursework for the certificate. Courses taken pass
onpass do not count toward the certificate.

Learning Outcomes

The certificate provides the ability to:

• think about and develop works of art that use digital technology in creative ways;
• participate in critical discourse about such artistic works;
• collaborate across disciplines on artistic projects at the intersection of the physical and digital worlds; and
• use art and digital technology to identify, attract, and interact with audiences in a meaningful and creative way.

Most courses will include a public dimension, where projects are shown to a public audience.

Requirements

The Certificate in Digital Arts requires the following coursework:

• Core Courses: 6 s.h.
• Interactive Sound Course: 3 s.h.
• Electronics/Robotics Course: 4 s.h.
• Capstone Project: 3 s.h.
• Elective Courses: 9-10 s.h.

Core Courses

• DIGA:2880/DANC:2880/THTR:2880: Installations and Interactive Performance (3 s.h.)
• DIGA:3895/DANC:3895/THTR:3895: Performance, Art, and New Technologies in Society (3 s.h.)

Interactive Sound

• One of the following:
  • DIGA:2800/ARTS:2800/CINE:2800/CS:2800/DANC:2800/MUS:2800/THTR:2800: Digital Arts: An Introduction (3 s.h.)
  • DIGA:3285/MUS:3285: New Musical Instruments: From Design to Performance (3 s.h.)

Electronics/Robotics

• One of the following:
  • DIGA:3840/SCLP:3840: Robotic Art Studio (4 s.h.)
  • DIGA:4835/SCLP:4835: Electronic Objects and Spaces (4 s.h.)
  • DIGA:4840/SCLP:4840: Air, Actuators, and Motors (4 s.h.)

Capstone Project

The capstone project must result in a work that is both artistic and digital, and it must be shared in a meaningful way with the public. The project must be informally approved by the certificate director at least one semester before the work takes place.

Elective Courses

• Three of the following:
  • DIGA:2890/DANC:2890/THTR:2890: Producing and Directing Digital Video (3 s.h.)
  • DIGA:3876/CINE:3876/DANC:3876/INTM:3876/THTR:3876: Projection Design (3 s.h.)
  • CINE:1834/THTR:1834: Modes of Film and Video Production (when topic is interactive multimedia programming) (4 s.h.)
  • CS:3980: Topics in Computer Science I (3 s.h.)
  • CW:3218/INTD:3200: Creative Writing for New Media (3 s.h.)
  • DANC:3050: Body/Image: Dance and Media in Discourse and Practice (3 s.h.)
  • ECE:3320: Introduction to Digital Design (3 s.h.)
  • ENGR:2730: Computers in Engineering (3 s.h.)
  • INTM:2710/CINE:2869: Introduction to Intermedia (3 s.h.)
  • JMC:2020: Multimedia Storytelling (3 s.h.)
  • JMC:2030: Visual Communication and Design (3 s.h.)
  • MUS:2820: Electronic Music Production (3 s.h.)
  • MUS:3780: Audio Recording I (3 s.h.)
  • THTR:2690: Sound Excursions: The Evolving Soundscape and the Reverberations of Human Activity (3 s.h.)
  • THTR:3260: Sound Design for the Theatre (3 s.h.)
  • THTR:3270: Entertainment Design (3 s.h.)
  • THTR:3630: Special Topics in Theatre Arts (when topic is audio plays) (3 s.h.)

Sample Plan of Study

The undergraduate Certificate in Digital Arts requires a minimum of 25 s.h. of coursework, including at least 18 s.h. earned at the University of Iowa. Students must maintain a GPA of at least 2.00 in coursework for the certificate. Courses taken pass
onpass do not count toward the certificate.

• First Year:
  • Fall: DIGA:2880: Installations and Interactive Performance (3 s.h.)
  • Spring: DIGA:3895: Performance, Art, and New Technologies in Society (3 s.h.)
• Second Year:
  • Fall: DIGA:4840, DIGA:4835, or DIGA:3840: Air, Actuators, and Motors, Electronic Objects and Spaces, or Robotic Art Studio (4 s.h.)
  • Spring: DIGA:2800 or DIGA:3285: Digital Arts: An Introduction or New Musical Instruments: From Design to Performance (3 s.h.)
• Third Year:
  • Fall: Certificate elective course (3-4 s.h.)
  • Spring: Certificate elective course (3-4 s.h.)
• Fourth Year:
  • Fall: Certificate elective course (3-4 s.h.)
  • Spring: Certificate capstone project (3 s.h.)

Total Hours: 25-28 s.h.