Overview
Jeremy Sarachan (Media and Communication), Program Director
Faculty Advisors: Monica Hodis (Management/Marketing), Elizabeth Leboffe (Mathematical and Computing Sciences), Farrokh Mamaghani (Accounting/Finance), Joellen Maples (Education/Literacy), David Pate (Economics), Bernard Ricca (Mathematical and Computing Sciences), Wendi Sierra (English).
Digital cultures and technologies combines media and communication, English, and coding to create a multidisciplinary course of study in which students critically analyze the effects of emerging media and computing on society. Students also develop a practice of production and innovation through the creation of web and mobile experiences, video games, interactive museum exhibits, multimedia narratives, and computational objects.
Students also may choose to focus on data science, network and web analytics, and data visualization.
Overall, the digital cultures and technologies program offers small classes and a creative and collaborative community. The College's proximity to downtown Rochester allows student participation in internships, service-learning initiatives, and networking opportunities, with students finding summer opportunities in New York City and beyond.
While there are no formal concentrations, students may choose to focus in one of the following areas:
- Interactive Media: Students create responsive websites to prepare for careers as interactive media designers and programmers for a variety of corporate and media-related companies.
- Games: Students study game production to prepare for positions as game designers, programmers, and scriptwriters; to create indie games; to prepare for careers in interactive advertising; and to apply for graduate school in game design.
- New Media Art and Physical Computing: Students develop their skills and aesthetic judgment as new media artists with the opportunity to experiment with computer graphics programming, web technologies, and physical computing (e.g., sensor-embedded installations, wearable computing). After graduation, a student may pursue a master of fine arts degree, or a career as an exhibit designer or an entrepreneur.
- Analytics and Data Visualization: Students study data visualization, data art, social network analysis, statistics, and web analytics to obtain employment as an SEO specialist, infographic designer, or data analyst in a variety of corporate and media organizations.
- Digital Cultural Studies: Students focus on issues related to privacy and community; identity, class, and gender; media industries; and visual rhetoric and communication.
In addition to the career paths described above, students also prepare to enter a variety of graduate programs, including communication, media study, art and technology, rhetoric, information science, visual or game design, law, and business.
Students have 24-hour access to the Gladys Brooks Media Arts Lab with Adobe Creative Suite (After Effects, Photoshop, Premier Pro). They also use professional video and sound equipment, and a state-of-the-art high definition television studio.
The major in digital cultures and technologies leads to a bachelor of arts degree.
The Washington Experience: Fisher Semester in Washington
Digital cultures and technologies majors may take advantage of The Washington Experience, a semester in Washington, D.C. Please refer to The Washington Experience for details.