Course Requirements

Foundation classes provide a baseline of technical skills, conceptual understanding and creative process to support and catalyze student projects. Each foundation course will be offered at least once a year. Generally, students will be expected to complete these foundation courses before moving to Tier Two or Tier Three. Sixteen credits in foundation courses are required for completion of the degree program. Due to previous studies or work experience, some students may consider themselves already proficient in a field covered by a foundation course. They may apply to a faculty advisor for permission to waive it. Waiver of a foundation course does not in itself reduce the 60-point requirement for graduation; it means a student will increase the number of elective studies or fieldwork courses taken.

The second tier classes provide students with contexts in which to develop their creative thinking, problem solving and technical abilities. The curriculum changes in response new developments in the field, student interests, opportunities to bring interesting practitioners as teachers and the outcomes of previous semesters. It is a mixture of seminar classes where students read, discuss and write about the implications of new media and production classes where they make things. Students are encouraged to maintain a balance of three production classes and one seminar every semester. Though most classes run for many years, as many as 20% may be experimental. Because failure is a natural outcome of experimentation, students must be prepared to derive value from unexpected outcomes.

Students may also arrange for internship credits. See course listings for more ideas about the types of classes that we have run in the past. The majority of classes are 4 points and students typically take 4 courses each semester. There are a few 2 point classes as well. 

ITP students can take up to 8 credits outside of the department at NYU. Students need the approval of an ITP academic advisor and approval from the other department. The classes need to be on the graduate level and related to the ITP course of study.

Students register for a final project seminar that is designed to help them define and execute their final projects. It is structured as a series of critique and presentation sessions in which various aspects of individual projects are discussed. Critique sessions are a combination of internal sessions (i.e., the class only) and reviews by external guest critics. Students are expected to complete and present a fully articulated thesis project and related documentation by the end of their last semester. Thesis takes place over 2 semesters in the students' second year (part 1 for 2 credits in the Fall, and part 2 for 2 credits in the Spring semester).