Curriculum Overview
IMM is a 14-course Bachelor of Arts degree that combines hands-on instruction using industry-standard production tools with in-depth exploration of the cultural impact of digital and interactive technology. IMM emphasizes the process as well as the product, with students acquiring valuable collaboration and project management skills that will benefit them in variety of possible careers.
Our curriculum combines three major areas of interest:
- Digital Media encompasses digital imaging; animation, motion graphics and digital video; digital audio and electronic music, web design and more.
- Interactive Computing explores user experience design, interaction design, interface design, and programming for everything from web sites to video games.
- Professional Writing includes proposal writing, technical writing, online journalism, interactive storytelling, and stories and scripts for movies, animations and video games.
Game Design
The Princeton Review and GamePro magazine recently named us one of the top 50 undergraduate game design programs in North America. We recognize the potential for games to connect all corners of our campus — artists and programmers, storytellers and designers, engineers and musicians, and more. The foundation for studying game design at TCNJ is a major in interactive multimedia, and students may optionally pursue a minor related to programming, design or storytelling for games.
Students starting in the IMM major take core courses focused on digital media, interactive computing, writing for interactive media and graphical communication. A final core core course combines all these areas and explores fundamental issues of collaboration, project management and client-driven design.
IMM Major Requirements
- Five core courses*
- Four intermediate courses
- Two advanced courses
- One intermediate or advanced course
- Two capstone courses
- 14 courses total
Non-Major Requirements
- TCNJ Liberal Learning curriculum, including the Freshman Seminar (FSP)
- Three semesters' proficiency in a foreign language. (Some students may satisfy some or all of this requirement through the TCNJ placement exam, or College Board or AP scores.)
- WRI 102 Academic Writing. (Some students are exempt from this course through SAT, ACT or AP scores.)
- AMM 099 Arts and Communication Seminar (fall semester, freshmen year)
- IDS 102: an online, non-credit course information literacy course
- Students must have at least 128 total credits to graduate (including major courses, non-major courses and transfer credit).
IMM Minor Requirements
- Two of the four introductory courses (IMM110, 120, 130, 140).
- IMM270 - Design Perspectives in Interactive Multimedia.
- Two intermediate or advanced IMM courses.
- Five courses total
Core Courses
Students starting in the IMM major take core courses focused on digital media, interactive computing, writing for interactive media and graphical communication. A final core core course combines all these areas and explores fundamental issues of collaboration, project management and client-driven design.
IMM majors take all five* of the following courses:
- IMM 110 Introduction to Digital Media (typically fall semester, freshmen year)
- IMM 120 Introduction to Interactive Computing (typically fall semester, freshmen year)
- IMM 130 Design Fundamentals for the Web* (typically spring semester, freshmen year)
- IMM 140 Writing for Interactive Media (typically spring semester, freshmen year)
- IMM 270 Design Perspectives for Interactive Media (typically fall semester, sophomore year)
*Please note: IMM 130 is not required for students who started in the major prior to the 2011-12 academic year. Those students take four core courses, not five.
Intermediate and Advanced Courses
The core courses are followed by a range of intermediate and advanced courses. Some allow for more focused study in a particular area — video effects, web development, writing for social media or electronic music, for example. Other courses, such as game design, provide an opportunity to combine media, interactivity and writing in the context of collaborative projects.
IMM majors take four intermediate courses, two advanced courses, then one more intermediate or advanced course, totaling seven Intermediate/Advanced courses altogether.
- IMM 210 Animation 1
- IMM 220 Principles of Interactivity
- IMM 240 Feature Writing
- IMM 320 Information Retrieval
- IMM 340 Technical Writing
- IMM 345 Introduction to Electronic Music Skills and Literature
- IMM 365 Games 1: Design and Architecture
- IMM 370 Special Topics in Interactive Multimedia
- IMM 391 Independent Study in IMM
Advanced
- IMM 310 Animation 2
- IMM 399 Internship in IMM
- IMM 412 Visual Effects and Compositing
- IMM 440 Interactive Storytelling
- IMM 441 Computer-Assisted Reporting
- IMM 465 Games 2: Implementation and Project Management
