At least a 2.2 honours primary degree in any subject. Also, see Portfolio, Interview and English language issues below.
3 pieces of your own work that you feel demonstrates your creative ability. This can be artwork, websites, CD/CDROM, software, writing, etc.
We accept applications all around the year and we process applications as they come in. Normal closing date is 31st of July. In the case that there are any remaining places, we may accept later applications until start of term. Term starts in September each year.
We normally accept 20 students per year.
All applicants are interviewed and also given the opportunity to ask questions. The interview normally takes 20-30 minutes, and includes review of the applicant's portfolio.
This is a full-time, very intensive, 12 month course. The autumn term starts in September, the spring term starts in January. During the summer students are required to complete a substantial work in Interactive Media and submit a demonstration and dissertation (10,000 - 14,000 words) for examination.
See the detailed course pages for more information.
Examination of each module/course takes place at the end of each semester. Some modules/courses may not use written examination, instead they may require students to submit course work throughout a semester. The final dissertation project is examined by an Examination Board, including External Examiners. Students give a short presentation of their work, followed by questions-and-answers and demonstration of their interactive media project.
After the examination, the students exhibit their dissertation projects to the public. This is an annual exhibition, Digital Arts Week Now.
Students have exclusive access to a purpose-built computer laboratory with one computer workstation per student. Each workstation has a full suite of interactive media software installed, including software from Adobe/Macromedia, Sony, Microsoft, Autodesk, and a number of Open Source packages.
Students have access to a shared pool of high quality digital cameras, video cameras, portable digital sound recording equipment and microphones.
Students also have shared access to a state-of-the-art digital recording studio, including a live room, composers suite and postprocessing room.
This course aims to help redress the serious and growing shortfall in the number of informatics graduates emerging from the third-level sector. This shortfall is seriously inhibiting the development of the Irish multimedia industry. As well as increasing the number of graduates, it is highly desirable to diversify the specializations involved, if we are to compete internationally. Interactive Media is becoming ever more relevant with the rapid convergence of media and computer technologies. The developing digital technologies are re-shaping the economic landscape and creating new risks and opportunities in fields such as traditional media, computer and telecommunication industries. This is a rapidly emerging and hugely important sphere of activity with significant economic impact in the developing information society. The most significant consequence of this is not the replacement of one technology with another, but the totally new possibilities that arise from the 'programmability', 'interactivity', and 'interoperability' of new digital systems. New forms of technology - virtual reality, augmented reality, multimedia, telepresence, ubiquitous and pervasive computing - provide new possibilities for services in many areas, including education, medicine and the arts. A key feature of these developments is interaction and co-operation between people through new media.
Students need to be fluent in English. See the UL International Office page for details.
Students can either study for a Master of Art or a Master of Science degree. What determines if it is an M.A. or M.Sc. is the nature of the student's dissertation project, the domain it is in and the research methods used. For example of past projects, see the DAWN web sites. Projects range from interactive art to sophisticated algorithms for processing audio, video and animation.