Digital Media (School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design)

The Digital Media (BA) program is Ontario's only degree program integrating audio-visual media and performing arts with computer science and engineering. The innovative program is in collaboration with the York University School of Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD) and the Lassonde School of Engineering. Students define their unique academic and career trajectory by combining skills and disciplines. Students begin with an 18-month common core and then branch into one of three streams in the areas of (1) Digital Media Game Arts; (2) Digital Media Arts; and (3) Digital Media Development.

Digital Media Games Arts Stream

• Video Games are a defining cultural form of the 21st century. Games Arts in Digital Media has a broad and forward-looking perspective on game education with an approach that incorporates interdisciplinary collaboration and new gaming frontiers. The Digital Media Games Arts stream teaches the skills of game development and design from concept to production. Students will gain hands-on experience working with professional game engines across various platforms, including mobile media, web-based, gallery, and urban gaming. The Digital Media Games Arts stream examines emerging trends where the boundaries of games are challenged, including alt gaming, queer games, Not Games, and urban gaming. 

• The Digital Media Arts stream focuses on creating digital media performance and artistic expression through technology. With its blend of offerings in digital performance, physical computing and fabrication, and mixed reality, the program encourages a seamless continuum between virtual reality and the world we inhabit. While emphasizing offerings in AMPD, the stream in Digital Media Arts emphasizes creative coding and computational and systems thinking as methods for creative expression. The Digital Media Arts stream has the most flexibility of the three streams. Students can pursue a range of interests in exploring the cutting edge of new media and new contemporary art forms. 

• The Digital Media Development stream encourages resilience and adaptability in the ever-shifting landscape of new media technology. Emphasizing Electrical Engineering and Computer Science offerings, the Digital Media Development stream provides a specialized track into our most advanced options in Digital Media, such as low-level game development, human-computer interaction, signal processing, virtual reality, and machine learning simulation. Students in this stream are well situated to work in digital media and tool development areas that represent a high-demand sector in the creative industries. Students graduate knowing how to adopt new technologies and paradigms as they arise and keep on the field's cutting edge for the unforeseeable future.