Curriculum and pathways
A pathway is a visible route from an introduction, through repeated practice, to advanced work and a body of work. The two degree tracks are how students enter IMD. They are not specializations inside it.
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The working definition is the test the committee is using. The full paper records the same standard at greater length, including what the definition does not decide: transcript labels, credit minimums, and which clusters to build first.
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Mechanics, prototyping, and playtesting do not yet have a shared introduction both tracks can enter. CMSC425 is the clearest advanced course, and it is most accessible after the upper-level Computing sequence.
Why this matters for students. A student on the Emerging Creatives track can meet games in studios and in IMDM350, and still lack a stated route into the advanced course.
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There is no shared AI foundation designed for both tracks. The clearest technical sequences require substantial computing prerequisites. Creative and critical work is distributed across courses. It is not yet a progression.
Why this matters for students. Access to relevant CMSC coursework, and what a student can do without that coursework, has to be part of the pathway rather than an unspoken extra.
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The current-state map is the published curriculum: the shared spine, the two tracks, and where depth already exists. It is evidence for the pathway work, not a proposal.
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IMDM101 is where students first encounter the field. The question in front of Specializations is which pathways a student must be able to recognize there, and whether early coding teaches a transferable practice or a single tool. Course design for IMDM101, and the shared coding language, sit with other committees. The coordination paper records that division.