Specializations Committee · September 2026
The Specializations Committee is working on how a student moves through Immersive Media Design: what a specialization is, which pathways can be followed, and what breaks when the sequence does.
The charge has three parts. Define a specialization so it is more than a cluster of electives. Test that definition on game design and artificial intelligence. Improve continuity from the collaborative studios into Capstone. Students can still wander, combine practices, and change direction. A student who finds a direction should have a way to go further.
These pages are a working reading for faculty discussion. They do not adopt a course, a prerequisite, or a transcript label.
Active
Six conditions distinguish a path a student can follow from a set of related courses. The full argument is the working definition.
Why this matters for students. Exploring stays possible. A student who has found a direction can see how to continue, instead of assembling a route from private advice.
Active
Game design and artificial intelligence are the cases. Both are already present as pieces. Neither is yet a path both tracks can enter and continue.
Why this matters for students. The clearest advanced courses sit behind Computing prerequisites. Access, and what the other track is prepared to do, is part of the pathway.
Under discussion
Both tracks require IMDM290, IMDM390, and the two Capstone semesters. Registration lets Capstone begin without Studio II. The account is on Continuity.
Why this matters for students. Studio II can fall in the last semester, beside the showcase. Skills learned then have no later course in which to enter the senior project.
Draft proposal
The offerings paper asks where a missed course produces the longest delay. IMDM227 is the first candidate for fall and spring. IMDM290 is the second, if it becomes the next bottleneck.
Why this matters for students. Transfer students, off-cycle entry, and a missed spring all turn a once-a-year gateway into time-to-degree risk.
The current-state map, known gaps, coordination with the other committees, and the longer essays are in Research. They inform this work. They are not separate projects.