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New Media

New Media

Degree Awarded: Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA)
Program Website: ryersonrta.ca/programs/bfa-new-media (external link, opens in new window) 
Administered by: RTA - School of Media 
Program Format: Full-time, four-year program.

New Media is a fine arts program that provides a solid theoretical and practical background in creative production methods and techniques employed in interface, interaction, and experience art and design.  

O.S.S.D. with six Grade 12 U/M courses including Grade 12 U English.

Notes:

  1. ENG4U/EAE4U is the preferred English. 
  2. The grade required in the subject prerequisite (normally in the 65-70 percent range) will be determined subject to competition.
  3. Final admission selection will be based on academic performance, proficiency in communication skills, and creative potential, as demonstrated by the applicant’s history and submissions. As part of the admission selection process, applicants must visit the Program (opens in new window)  page for details about the non-academic requirements.
  4. A non-academic assessment fee of $50 CDN (subject to change) is required and will be requested by Ryerson as applicable.
  5. Subject to competition, candidates may be required to present averages/grades above the minimum.

 

Commensurate with the technological challenge it faces within an ever-evolving field, the program uses a variety of innovative teaching approaches to move students through an immersive, hands-on course of study.

Emphasizing creativity, New Media expands the idea of computing. It encourages risk taking and experimentation within a supportive, collaborative environment designed to address the emerging challenges of the communication age. To this end, students engage new technologies not only as a means of art production but as instruments of social, cultural, and artistic change.

The curriculum is unique both in its substance and in its structure, which emphasizes depth as well as breadth and flexibility. The remarkable learning environment offered by the Faculty of Communication and Design, combined with Ryerson's proximity to Toronto's art community, as well as the media production, telecommunications, and cultural industries, provide unparalleled opportunities for developing not only the tools, but an understanding of the medium in a field that is continually in the process of self-invention.

The New Media BFA prepares fine art students to become creators of digital art, mobile media, interactive storytelling and virtual worlds.

Community Practice Hours

To graduate from any of the RTA School of Media Undergraduate Programs, each student must complete a minimum of 60 hours of Community Practice unpaid volunteer work in a qualifying RTA institution or project. This can be done at any time over the four years of the program. This will be considered one requirement of successful completion of RTA 711 or RTA 82A/B or RTA 431

Liberal Studies

Students must take two lower level liberal studies courses and four upper level liberal studies courses to graduate. Students must not choose courses that are restricted for their program or major.

Please refer to the liberal studies section of the calendar for more information on the Liberal Studies Policy. Further information on liberal studies can also be found at the Faculty of Arts/Liberal Studies website (opens in new window) .

Table A - Lower Level Restrictions

IRL 100, NPF 188 are not available for credit.  

Table B - Upper Level Restrictions

IRL 500, PSY 713 and PSY 813 are not available for credit.  

Minors

Students may pursue any Minor offered by Ryerson (with some exceptions). Please refer to the Minors section of this calendar for further information on individual Minor requirements and exclusions.

The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education Certificates

Undergraduate students wishing to pursue a continuing education certificate program should be aware of possible program exclusions. Please refer to the Certificate Registration section (opens in new window)  of the Curriculum Advising website for complete details. 

1st & 2nd Semester

1st Semester

REQUIRED:

RTA 101 Introduction to Media Theory and Practice
RTA 102 Creative Processes
RTA 103 Digital Media Production I
RTA 104 Sound Production


LIBERAL STUDIES:

One course from Table A - Lower Level Liberal Studies.  

2nd Semester

REQUIRED:

RTA 201 Video Art and Production
RTA 220 New Media Art History
RTA 221 Experiential Media/Interdisciplinary Practice
RTA 222 Intro to Computational Arts
RTA 223 Intro to Experience Design

  

3rd & 4th Semester

3rd Semester

REQUIRED:

RTA 321 Intro to Tangible Media
RTA 322 Technology, Identity and Creativity
RTA 323 Digital Narratology


CORE ELECTIVES:
One course from Table I.

LIBERAL STUDIES:
One course from Table A - Lower Level Liberal Studies.  

4th Semester

REQUIRED:

RTA 320 Interactive Storytelling


CORE ELECTIVES:
Two courses from Table I.

OPEN ELECTIVES: One course from Open Elective Table.

LIBERAL STUDIES:
One course from Table A - Lower Level Liberal Studies

  

5th & 6th Semester

First offered 2016-2017.

5th Semester

REQUIRED:

RTA 520 Public Practice


CORE ELECTIVES:
Two courses from Table I.

OPEN ELECTIVES: One course from Open Elective Table.

LIBERAL STUDIES:
One course from Table B - Upper Level Liberal Studies.  

6th Semester

REQUIRED:

RTA 501 Project Development - New Media
RTA 521 #Activism: Media for Social Change


CORE ELECTIVES:
One course from Table I.

OPEN ELECTIVES: Two courses from Open Elective Table

  

7th & 8th Semester

First offered 2017-2018.

7th Semester

REQUIRED:

RTA 82A/B Thesis Project


CORE ELECTIVES:
One course from Table I.

OPEN ELECTIVES: One course from Open Elective Table.

LIBERAL STUDIES:
One course from Table B - Upper Level Liberal Studies.

*RTA 82A/B has a GPA Weight of 3.00 and a Course Count of 2.00. 

8th Semester

REQUIRED:

RTA 82A/B Thesis Project
RTA 821 Issues in Experiential Media Art History


CORE ELECTIVES:
One course required from Table I.

LIBERAL STUDIES:
One course from Table B - Upper Level Liberal Studies.

*RTA 82A/B has a GPA Weight of 3.00 and a Course Count of 2.00. 

A Concentration is a structured plan of study within a program (6 to 12 core or professional electives) that provides an opportunity for advanced or in-depth study in a particular area of interest.

Students may choose to complete one of the following five optional Concentrations from the Core Elective Table I. Concentrations must be formally declared and must be completed before graduation to be noted on the academic transcript

Concentration in Computational Media

Students will complete RTA 222 and RTA 320 plus four (4) of the following:

RTA 922 Transmedia Writing
RTA 923 Intro to Writing for Video Games
RTA 928 Gaming Theory and Practice
RTA 948 Interactive Spaces
RTA 953 Mobility and Mixed Reality
RTA 959 Visualization and Generative Processes

Concentration in Critical Media Theory

Students will complete RTA 101, RTA 220 and RTA 323, plus three (3) of the following:

RTA 903 News and Current Affairs Theory
RTA 938 Digital Popular Cultures
RTA 939 Aboriginal Media
RTA 940 Canadian Televisual Studies
RTA 946 Issues in New Media Theory/History

Concentration in Narrative Media

Students will complete RTA 320, plus five (5) of the following:

RTA 212 Media Writing
RTA 922 Transmedia Writing
RTA 923 Intro to Writing for Video Games
RTA 929 Multi-platform Narrative
RTA 963 Web Design
RTA 975 Video Compositing and Special Effects
RTA 978 Editing Specialty

Concentration in Social Media

Students will complete RTA 521, plus five (5) of the following:

RTA 902 Social Media
RTA 917 Public Relations
RTA 930 Social Practices in Hybrid Media Spaces
RTA 932 Hacking, DIY and Open Source Cultures
RTA 933 Hacking, DIY and Open Source Studio
RTA 934 Virtual Identities and Communities
RTA 935 Institutional/ Personal Media Platforms
RTA 967 Interactivity and Net-working

Concentration in Tangible Media

Students will complete RTA 321 plus five (5) of the following:

RTA 925 Making Objects
RTA 953 Mobility and Mixed Reality
RTA 954 Empathy Machines
RTA 958 Communications within Hybrid Environments
RTA 962 Interaction Design
RTA 968 Malleable Media

A Program Advisory Council (PAC) is a group of volunteers that provides expert advice to a school or department on program related matters such as curriculum, program review, technology and trends in the industry, discipline or profession. For more information, see  (PDF file) Senate Policy #158 (Program Advisory Councils).

Former Curriculum

Students admitted Fall 2013. 

Students admitted Fall 2014 and after see Bachelor of Fine Arts (New Media), above.

  

7th & 8th Semester

First and Last offered 2016-2017.

REQUIRED:

RTA 82A/B* Thesis Project


LIBERAL STUDIES:

Two courses from Table B - Upper Level Liberal Studies.

PROFESSIONAL¶: One or two courses from Table I.

PROFESSIONALLY-RELATED¶:
One or two courses from Table II.

 

* This course has a weight of 3.00.

¶ A total of three single-term courses or equivalent are required between 5th and 8th semesters. Students may take these requirements in any combination. For example: two in 5th and 6th semesters and one in 7th and 8th semesters, or one in 5th and 6th semesters and two in 7th and 8th semesters.