Program Overview

Introduction to IMA

The Interactive Media Arts (IMA) program at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts offers a rigorous and exploratory course of study that teaches students fluency in many forms of digital interactivity, alongside an education in both the arts and liberal arts and sciences.

Program Overview

In the Fall 2018, NYU launched an interdisciplinary undergraduate Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree in Interactive Media Arts (IMA). The IMA program starts from the proposition that computation — the ability to code, learn new software, manipulate data, and create physical + digital interactions — is an essential creative capability, and that students who master those capabilities will be well-placed to invent the future.

Curriculum

The IMA curriculum includes a range of courses, such as:

• Topics in Media Art: Real-Time Social Spaces
• Introduction to Machine Learning for the Arts
• Electronic Rituals
• Paper Art: History & Practice
• Quick Introduction to Physical Computing
• Designing Interfaces for Live Performance
• Topics in Media Art: Critical & Expansive Audio
• Living Archives: Finding Stories of Peoples, Plants and Places
• Video Art
• Politics of Code
• Topics in Programming and Data: New Realities
• Information Design
• Creative Approaches to Emerging Media
• Design Skills for Responsible Media

Capstone

The IMA capstone projects showcase the students' ability to apply their skills and knowledge to real-world problems. Recent capstone projects include:

• The AR Comic
• Edible Arranging
• The Uncanny Sexuality of PostHumanity
• model_minority
• History of Chinatown Integrated Souvenirs
• A gaming social platform for In-home senior rehabilitative care
• How We See It Under Streetlights
• Downsizing Challenge – A Minimalism Game
• Collective History
• monouno
• Dongbei Portrait
• Synthetic Dystopia

The Floor

The IMA space, also known as "The Floor," is located at 370 Jay Street, Brooklyn, on the 4th floor. The space includes:

• The ER (Equipment Room)
• The Shop (with 3D printers, laser cutters, and wood fabrication equipment)
• Doc Lab (a student-run client service for documenting projects)
• Design Lab (a student-run organization for design-related needs)
• Coding Lab (a student-run help desk for coding assistance)
• Micro Studio (a set of small spaces for XR experimentation and project development)

People

The IMA program was founded by Red Burns, a renowned technology pioneer, filmmaker, activist, and educator. The program is led by a team of faculty, admin, and staff, including:

• Faculty
• Admin & Staff
• Residents
• Fellows

News

IMA students, faculty, and alumni have been featured in various news outlets and exhibitions, including:

• ITP Students featured in show at All Street Gallery
• Solo exhibition of ITP alum Marilyn Nance opening in Rotterdam
• ITP Alum Ari Melenciano Featured in "The Age of Black Metal"
• ITP Alum Josephine Wang Featured in Santa Fe Lamp Show
• ITP Faculty Tom Igoe and Student B Wu Present Research at Light Symposium
• ITP Student Sophia Collender's Paper Featured in the 2025 Interledger Summit
• ITP Alumni Tiri Kananuruk & Sebastián Morales Prado's installation "Histolysis"

Events

The IMA program hosts various events, including:

• IMA Low Res Graduate Admissions Secondary Deadline
• ITP Admissions Secondary Deadline
• ITP Camp 2026
• ITP/IMA Winter Show 2025
• IMA Admissions Open House for Undergraduate BFA Studies
• IMA Low Res Open House for Graduate Studies
• ITP Admissions Open House for Graduate Studies
• IMA Admissions Open House for Undergraduate BFA Studies
• ITP Camp Performance Showcase
• ITP Camp Show All Things Show
• IMA Low Res '25 Thesis Show