Creatively shape the future of media with a BA in emergent digital practices (EDP). Our EDP program brings together art, design, media, culture and technology studies in a hands-on, project-based, collaborative environment.
You'll learn principles of creative software development, sound design and visual presentation, along with essential skills required to navigate a career in tech or the arts and design.. A BA in emergent digital practices positions you to succeed as an art director, game artist or software designer, among many other positions.
The BA focuses on emerging digital technologies as a broader cultural phenomenon that intersects with a range of other areas of study and career fields. EDP invites students to work together to develop strategies and processes for addressing interdisciplinary topics. Together, EDP faculty and students strive to innovate new forms of art, experiences, media and ways of knowing.
The EDP minor is a strong addition to a number of majors, including computer science, game development, marketing, psychology and anthropology. Minor students build a broad foundation in the digital arts, while also creating their own pathway as they focus on courses related to their interests.
Emergent Digital Practices Provides:
Cutting-edge learning spaces that are equal parts laboratory, studio, think tank and stage
Digital Fabrication technologies, powerful imaging and sonification tools and a variety of interactive flex-spaces that allow students to gain experience with the most current tools
Small class sizes that allow students to work closely with faculty who are innovators in digital arts and design
Collaborations and projects with institutions like the Denver Art Museum, Denver Museum of Nature and Science and more
A broad understanding of new media literacies combined with practical and technical skills
Degree Requirements
- A major in EDP requires 48 credits. These include 16 Foundations credits, eight EDP Cultures credits, 20 upper division elective credits and four capstone credits.
- Students pursuing a BA in EDP are required to also include a minor, secondary major or be enrolled in a dual-degree program in another discipline.
- For distinction in the major you need to maintain a GPA of 3.5 and complete a creative research project, paper and presentation in consultation with a faculty mentor.
- The secondary major is 48 credit hours.
- The minor is 24 credit hours.
See the DU Undergraduate Bulletin for full course requirements.
Featured Courses
EDPX 3350
Sustainable Design
About this Course
This course surveys and functionally implements the foundations of sustainable design strategies as a praxis intersecting the domains of digital media design, dissemination, community organization and networking. The course builds upon the basic paradigms that have coalesced in the organizational and critical platforms of the sustainable design movement including ecology/environment, economy/employment, equity/equality and education/pedagogy/dissemination. The class reviews a wide spectrum of sustainable design strategies including: mapping of consumptive origin-thru-fate, green materials usage, creative commons, open source software/hardware movements, collaborative design, predictive complexity modeling, biomimicry, evolutionary design methods, and greening infrastructure among others.
EDPX 3780
Speculative Cultures: Science Fiction in Emergent Digital Practices
About this Course
This course explores the intersections of emergent digital practices and cultures with extrapolative thought experiments, technical speculations, and social criticisms of science fiction. Students read, discuss, write, and otherwise respond to primary texts by the likes of William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, Cory Doctorow, Philip K. Dick, and Hiroshi Yamamoto. Science fiction studies may also include sub-genres (steampunk, hard science fiction, ecological) and regional categories (Japanese sci-fi), as well as consider science fiction in other media formats (sound recordings, film, games). For output, students produce written materials in a variety of formats, culminating in a formal essay or interactive publication.
EDPX 3100
Programming for Play
About this Course
This course offers an introduction to the creation of games and playful interactive objects. Students explore the space of socially conscious and humane games as well as investigate the creation of compelling interfaces and interactive opportunities. Specific topics will vary each time the course is taught, and the course is repeatable up to two times. Lab fee. Cross listed with EDPX 4100. Prerequisite: EDPX 2100 or permissions of the instructor.
EDP is for critical thinkers who want to expand the potential of technology in art, design and culture.
Are you ready to learn more about Emergent Digital Practices at DU?
