Undergraduate

Mission Statement: 

Our mission is to study and create new information technologies and to analyze their impact on art, culture, science, commerce, society, policy, and the environment.

Description: 

We believe digital literacy and digital media authorship skills are core competencies for 21st century citizens, whatever paths they take in their lives and work. ISS Students come from a range of background and experiences. Some take individual courses, while others enroll in our Certificate program. This interdisciplinary program is especially relevant to students interested in digital and public humanities, library and information studies, computational media arts, and critical approaches to digital culture and computation, but serves students from around campus. The majors of our Certificate graduates vary from year to year, with good representation from Arts and Humanities, Engineering, Social Sciences, Computer Science, and Physical Sciences. We offer both Certificate 1.0 and Certificate 2.0 (Experiential) options. 

Curricular Model

At the core of the ISS program is its innovative curricular model which focuses on collaborative, interdisciplinary, student-driven courses. ISS courses offer students the opportunity to fully engage with the creation and study of information technologies at macro and micro levels and within many different thematic areas. ISS students not only acquire fluency and familiarity with current information technologies, they also develop a deep understanding of the meaning and utility of such technologies within the contemporary technological landscape.

The ISS curricular model integrates the following skills into each of its course offerings:

  • Hands-on technology exploration combined with critical and analytical meta-analyses of the technologies
  • Collaborative, student-driven original projects and research experiences
  • Course assignments with real-world translational applications that require the development of professional project skills, such as long-term project management, effective communication strategies, and a familiarity of a variety of information solutions and best practices.

What ties our courses and projects together is an interest in how the digital revolution is transforming every aspect of our lives. Check out our course listings and feel free to contact us for more information about our programs!

Certificate Advising Checklist