Career Paths

Overview

In New Media, you’ll learn a variety of skills to help you manage the complexities of today’s digital projects, from designing a logo to coding a website to filming and editing a video. Yet the New Media curriculum will also dive you deeply into one or two subjects of your choosing. The result is what employers call a “T-shaped” person: someone with mastery of one specialty as well as a broad array of related skills. A few of the career paths our students pursue are:

Story Design
Web and Mobile Design
Visual  Design

Story Design

▷  DS Recommended Courses

NMD 100 Introduction to New Media • Credits: 3 • Prerequisite: none
NMD 104 New Media Design • Credits: 3 • Prerequisite: none

NMD 105 Creative Coding I • Credits: 3 • Prerequisites: NMD 100 & NMD 104
NMD 106 Time-Based Media • Credits: 3 • Prerequisites: NMD 100 & NMD 104

___

NMD 200 Designing Humane Tech • Credits: 3 • Sophomore Standing
NMD 211 Creative Coding II • Credits:  • Prerequisite:  NMD 105

NMD 341 [Cat 2] Documentary Photography & Storytelling •  Credits: 3
NMD 340 Creating Websites for Clients & Communities • Credits: 3

______

NMD 343 [Cat 2] • Digital Storytelling 1 • Credits: 3 • Prerequisites: NMD 200 or Permission  [GenEd Art & Creative Expression]
NMD 344 [Cat 2]Time Based Art & Design • Credits: 3 • Prerequisites:

NMD 306 Community Collaboration and Development• Credits: 3 • Prerequisites: NMD 200,  NMD 211 and NMD 34x or permission
NMD 443 [Cat 3] Digital Storytelling 2 • Credits: 3 • Prerequisites: NMD 343
NMD 444 [Cat 3] Time Based Art & Design II 3 NMD 344 • Prerequisites: NMD 344

______

NMD 498 New Media Capstone I • Credits: 3 • Prerequisite: NMD senior & C or better in NMD 306
NMD 345 or NMD 442 [Cat 1]
Free Elective (may be NMD elective) • Credits: 3

NMD 499 New Media Capstone II • Credits: 3 • Prerequisite: NMD 498
Free Elective (may be NMD elective) • Credits: 3
Free Elective (may be NMD elective) • Credits: 3

______

Suggested Electives (2-4 courses):

  • NMD 345 – Web Applications
  • NMD 441 – Documentary Photography and Audio
  • NMD 358 – Documentary Film Criticism and Theory
  • NMD 370 – 3D Modeling and Animation
  • NMD 324 – Year in Film I
  • ENG 205: ​Introduction to Creative Writing
  • ENG ​307: Writing Fiction
  • ENG 407: Advanced Fiction Writing
  • ENG 280 – Introduction to Film (Credits: 3)
  • CMJ 245 – Film Criticism and Theory (Credits: 3)

Suggested Minors:

  • Creative Writing
  • Film & Video Studies
  • Folklore & Traditional Arts
  • Maine Studies
  • Anthropology
  • Graphic Design
  • Music
  • Psychology

Suggested Gen Eds:

  • ART 100 Drawing 1 [ACE]
  • ART 110 2D-Design [ACE]
  • ANT 221 – Introduction to Folklore [WCT]
  • ANT 426 – Native American Folklore [CD]
  • ANT 102 – Introduction to Anthropology: Diversity of Cultures [Ethics & CD]
  • ANT 120 – Religions of the World [SC and CD]
  • ANT 426 – Native American Folklore [CD]
  • CLA 400 – Hero: Myth and Meaning [CD and WCT]
  • ENG 205: ​Introduction to Creative Writing [ACE]
  • MES 101 – Introduction to Maine Studies[PE and WI]
  • MES 201 – The Maine Coast [PE and SC and WI]
  • PSY 100 – General Psychology [SC]
  • PSY 230 – Social Psychology [SC]

…

Digital Storytelling

In a world of information overload, companies and causes need creative ways for their signals to stand out from the noise. At the same time, today’s storytellers are increasingly turning to new formats like video games, social media, and virtual reality. This focus combines technical skills in animation, video, and programming with a nuanced understanding of what makes a compelling story to help creators get their message out to today’s media-savvy audiences.

Related careers

  • Digital storyteller
  • Video producer
  • Documentary photographer
  • Documentary videographer
  • Website copy writer
  • Digital marketer
  • Digital fiction author
  • Social media manager

Web and Mobile Design

▷ WM Recommended Courses

NMD 100 Introduction to New Media • Credits: 3 • Prerequisite: none
NMD 104 New Media Design • Credits: 3 • Prerequisite: none

NMD 105 Creative Coding I • Credits: 3 • Prerequisites: NMD 100 & NMD 104
NMD 106 Time-Based Media • Credits: 3 • Prerequisites: NMD 100 & NMD 104

___

NMD 200 Designing Humane Tech • Credits: 3 • Sophomore Standing
NMD 211 Creative Coding II • Credits: • Prerequisite: NMD 105

NMD 345 [Cat 1] – Web Applications • Credits: 3
NMD 340 [Cat1 ] – Creating Websites for Clients & Communities • Credits: 3

______

NMD 445 [Cat 3] • Credits: 3 • Prerequisites:
NMD [Cat 2] • Credits: 3 • Prerequisites:

NMD 306 Community Collaboration and Development• Credits: 3 • Prerequisites: NMD 200, NMD 211 and NMD 34x or permission
NMD [Cat 2] • Credits: 3 • Prerequisites:
NMD [Cat 3] • Credits: 3 • Prerequisites:

______

NMD 498 New Media Capstone I • Credits: 3 • Prerequisite: NMD senior & C or better in NMD 306
Free Elective (may be NMD elective) • Credits: 3
Free Elective (may be NMD elective) • Credits: 3

NMD 499 New Media Capstone II • Credits: 3 • Prerequisite: NMD 498
Free Elective (may be NMD elective) • Credits: 3
Free Elective (may be NMD elective) • Credits: 3
______

Suggested Electives (2-4 courses):

  • ART 110 2-D Design
  • ART 250 Graphic Design I
  • ART 350 Graphic Design 2
  • NMD 442 User Experience Design
  • COS 420 Software Engineering
  • SIE 507: Information Systems Software Engineering / COS 480: Database Management Systems
  • SIE 515: Human Computer Interaction (is there an undergrad version of this?)

Suggested Minors:

Suggested Gen Eds:

  • ANT 102 – Introduction to Anthropology: Diversity of Cultures [Ethics & CD]
  • PSY 100 – General Psychology [SC]
  • PSY 230 – Social Psychology [SC]

…

Web And Mobile Apps

Graduates who can make websites and mobile apps are in high demand. This career path grounds students in graphic design for the digital age, and then trains them to integrate back-end data management in the cloud with beautiful front-end interfaces for the web and mobile devices. Web designers will learn how to code, and programmers how to make an app that’s powerful but fun to use.

Related careers

  • Web designer
  • Graphic designer
  • Front-end developer
  • Mobile app developer
  • Mobile interface designer
  • Mobile game developer
  • Full-stack developer

Visual Design

▷ UX Recommended Courses

NMD 100 Introduction to New Media • Credits: 3 • Prerequisite: none
NMD 104 New Media Design • Credits: 3 • Prerequisite: none

NMD 105 Creative Coding I • Credits: 3 • Prerequisites: NMD 100 & NMD 104
NMD 106 Time-Based Media • Credits: 3 • Prerequisites: NMD 100 & NMD 104

___

NMD 200 Designing Humane Tech • Credits: 3 • Sophomore Standing
NMD 211 Creative Coding II • Credits:  • Prerequisite:  NMD 105

NMD 340 Creating Websites for Clients & Communities
OR
NMD 342[Cat1] – Interaction Design and Physical Computing •  Credits: 3 • Prerequisite NMD 211 or permission

______

NMD 442[Cat1] – User Experience Design • Credits: 3 • Prerequisite NMD 211 or permission
NMD 345[Cat1] – Web Applications • Credits: 3• Prerequisite NMD 200 or permission
NMD 34X [Cat 2] • Credits: 3 • Prerequisites:

NMD 306 Community Collaboration and Development• Credits: 3 • Prerequisites: NMD 200,  NMD 211 and NMD 34x or permission
NMD 44X [Cat 3] • Credits: 3 • Prerequisites:
NMD 44X [Cat 3] • Credits: 3 • Prerequisites:

______

NMD 498 New Media Capstone I • Credits: 3 • Prerequisite: NMD senior & C or better in NMD 306
NMD 34X [Cat 2] • Credits: 3 • Prerequisites:
Free Elective (may be NMD elective) • Credits: 3

NMD 499 New Media Capstone II • Credits: 3 • Prerequisite: NMD 498
Free Elective (may be NMD elective) • Credits: 3
Free Elective (may be NMD elective) • Credits: 3
______

Suggested Electives (2-4 courses):

  • NMD 445 – Mobile Applications
  • SIE 515 Human Computer Interaction
  • COS 417/ SIE 517 ??
  • PSY 350 Cognition
  • PSY Senses & Perception

Suggested Minors:

Suggested Gen Eds:

  • ANT 102 – Introduction to Anthropology: Diversity of Cultures [Ethics & CD]
  • PSY 100 – General Psychology [SC]
  • PSY 230 – Social Psychology [SC]

…

User Experience Design

Computers and the Internet have become a primary means of home and workplace communication, and to be appealing and functional those interfaces need a good designer. This career path blends strengths from computing, psychology, and design to serve an increased need for software and devices that are intuitive, usable, and desirable, with a focus on humans as individuals and in social contexts, and their behavior with technology.

Related careers

  • User experience (UX) designer
  • User interface (UI) designer
  • Human-computer interface developer
  • Product designer
  • Information architect
  • Front-end developer