The online catalog includes the most recent changes to courses and degree requirements that have been approved by the Faculty Senate, including changes that are not yet effective.
Department of Digital Technology and Culture
tricities.wsu.edu/cas/
Campus Registrars Office - Floyd 269
509-372-7351
Associate Professor: A. Plemons; Assistant Professor, Career Track: A. Canales, P. Mudd
Students in Digital Technology and Culture (DTC) develop critical and creative thinking skills, cultural competencies, and digital expertise. The program offers courses in web design, animation, 3D modeling, multimedia and graphic design, social media, video production, game creation, augmented and virtual reality, and other emerging fields of study. Along with technical skills, students gain critical perspectives from diverse sources that prepare them for the complex needs of contemporary society on both a local and global level.
There is a strong focus on praxis – whereby students explore technological, cultural, and media theories and histories alongside multimedia creation. In addition, there is a focus on community-based learning – where students develop digital media projects in a collaborative environment for community-based organizations.
DTC students emerge from the program with diverse technical and media production expertise as well as essential skills like written and oral communication, teamwork, project management, and social ethics.
At the Tri-Cities campus, the Digital Design option allows students to focus on visual communication and adaptive methodologies in design for diverse communities. Students learn about methods and approaches in graphic design, multimedia design, content creation, and information visualization. This option integrates static, moving, and interactive media theories, histories, and production to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the contemporary design field.
Digital Technology and Culture Programmatic Outcomes
A graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Digital Technology and Culture will be able to:
- Demonstrate culturally responsive competencies in working with digital media and technology for ethical and effective human interactions.
- Employ design principles in the creation of various forms of digital media and technology.
- Explore, analyze, and critique the ways digital media and technology function in multiple cultural contexts using diverse methodologies and perspectives.
- Demonstrate understanding of the histories of technological development, from local to global perspectives, and their implications for a variety of mediums.
- Utilize an interdisciplinary perspective to understand contemporary and future cultural impacts of digital media and technology.
- Communicate effectively, to diverse audiences, how and why digital media make meaning.
Schedules of Studies
Honors students complete the Honors College requirements which replace the UCORE requirements.
Digital Design (Pullman and Tri-Cities only) (120 Credits)
This option is available on the Pullman and Tri-Cities campuses. A student may be admitted to the DTC – Digital Design Option upon making their intention known to the department. This option requires 42 credits of major-specific coursework.
| First Year | |
| First Term | Credits |
| DTC 101 [ARTS] | 3 |
| English 101 [WRTG] | 3 |
| Quantitative Reasoning [QUAN]1,2 | 3 |
| Foreign Language, if needed, or Electives | 6 |
| Second Term | Credits |
| Communication [COMM] or Written Communication [WRTG] | 3 |
| DTC 201 | 3 |
| HISTORY 105 [ROOT] | 3 |
| Foreign Language, if needed, or Electives1,2 | 6 |
| Second Year | |
| First Term | Credits |
| Biological Sciences [BSCI] with lab3 | 4 |
| DTC 206 [EQJS] or 475 [DIVR] | 3 |
| Humanities [HUM] | 3 |
| Electives2 | 5 |
| Second Term | Credits |
| DTC 209 or 354 | 3 |
| Physical Sciences [PSCI] with lab3 | 4 |
| Social Sciences [SSCI] | 3 |
| Electives2 | 5 |
| Complete Writing Portfolio | |
| Third Year | |
| First Term | Credits |
| DTC 336 | 3 |
| DTC 355 or 375 [M]4 | 3 |
| Equity and Justice [EQJS] or Diversity [DIVR]5 | 3 |
| Electives2 | 6 |
| Second Term | Credits |
| DTC 301 [M] | 3 |
| DTC Electives6 | 6 |
| Electives2 | 6 |
| Fourth Year | |
| First Term | Credits |
| DTC 436 | 3 |
| DTC Electives6 | 6 |
| Electives6 | 6 |
| Second Term | Credits |
| DTC 497 [CAPS] | 3 |
| DTC 498 or 4787 | 3 |
| Electives2 | 9 |
| Senior Exit Survey | |
Footnotes
| 1 | Two years of high school foreign language or at least two semesters of college-level foreign language are required by the College of Arts and Sciences for graduation. |
| 2 | Electives must include sufficient 300-400-level coursework to meet the University requirement of 40 credits of upper-division coursework. |
| 3 | To meet College of Arts and Sciences requirements, students must complete 1 additional lab credit of [BSCI] or [PSCI] for a total of 8 credits (2 labs). |
| 4 | Students who elect to take DTC 355 for this requirement will need to incorporate another Writing in the Major [M] course into their DTC Electives or General Electives. |
| 5 | Depending on whether a student takes DTC 206 [EQJS] or DTC 475 [DIVR] for their degree requirement, they should take a UCORE option that fulfills the opposite requirement in their third year. |
| 6 | DTC Electives (12 credits): Any DTC course not included in the degree requirements is eligible to be a DTC elective. One DTC elective course (3 credits) may be substituted by DTC 498 or 499. |
| 7 | Students who elect to take DTC 478 need to have taken DTC 355 as a prerequisite. |
Courses
The online catalog includes the most recent changes to courses and degree requirements that have been approved by the Faculty Senate, including changes that are not yet effective. Courses showing two entries of the same number indicate that the course information is changing. The most recently approved version is shown first, followed by the older version, in gray, with its last-effective term preceding the course title. Courses shown in gray with only one entry of the course number are being discontinued. Course offerings by term can be accessed by clicking on the term links when viewing a specific campus catalog.
Digital Technology And Culture (DTC)
101 [ARTS] Introduction to Digital Technology and Culture 3 Inquiry into digital media, including origins, theories, forms, applications, and impact with a focus on authoring and critiquing multimodal texts.
201 [ARTS] Tools and Methods for Digital Technology 3 An introduction to the tools and methods of production for multimedia authoring in digital contexts.
204 Introduction to Text Analysis 3 Introduction to computational and statistical text analysis using the open source programming language R; designed for students with no prior experience with programming but who wish to extend their methodological tool kit to include quantitative and computational approaches to the study of text. (Crosslisted course offered as DTC 204, DATA 204.)
206 [DIVR] Digital Inclusion 3 Examination of global reach of digital environments, structures, and tools with focus on inclusion in terms of access, availability, affordability, adoption, and application across cultures.
209 [COMM] Visualizing Data 3 Introduction to the tools and methods of visually communicating data for diverse audiences and scenarios. (Crosslisted course offered as DTC 209, DATA 209.)
301 [M] Professional Preparation 3 Development of materials and skills to prepare for entry into technology or media professions.
330 Social Media Case Studies 3 Inquiry into ways businesses and individuals use social media as a marketing tool with special emphasis on media impact.
331 Social Media Practices 3 Inquiry into social media practices from a ground-up approach, focusing on social media message creation and consumption; online self-presentation; online relationships; reputation management; social media data analysis.
335 3D Digital Animation 3 3D digital animation for creative and professional productions, art skills, story-telling and team problem-solving techniques.
336 Multimedia Design 3 Course Prerequisite: DTC 201. Design practices and process for composing for a multimedia environment including color, pattern, and shape.
338 Special Topics in Digital Technology and Culture V 1-3 May be repeated for credit; cumulative maximum 6 credits. Major trends or artists in digital technology and culture.
354 [ARTS] [M] Digital Storytelling 3 Nonlinear, multi-linear, and interactive narrative using elements of creative writing such as character, dialog, setting, plot and image. (Crosslisted course offered as DTC 354, ENGLISH 354.)
355 Introduction to Web Design and Development 3 Introduction to design, development, and coding for the world wide web and interactive media.
356 [M] Information Structures 3 Course Prerequisite: DTC 101. Social and cultural role of information; research with electronic sources; production, validation, storage, retrieval, evaluation, use, impact of electronic information.
375 [M] Language, Texts and Technology 3 Course Prerequisite: DTC 101. Relationship between technology and communication; writing practices from a historical point of view.
436 Advanced Multimedia Design 3 Course Prerequisite: DTC 336. Advanced design principles and projects in digital media; projects include visual, sound, haptic, and interactive experiences.
475 [DIVR] Digital Diversity 3 Cultural impact of digital media in cultural contexts; issues of race, class, gender, sexuality online.
476 Digital Strategies 3 Examines multiple digital strategies for engagement with immersive and emerging technologies.
477 Advanced Web Design and Development 3 Course Prerequisite: DTC 355. Advanced web development and coding for creating interactive media and websites.
478 Usability and Interface Design 3 Course Prerequisite: DTC 355. Design of websites using best practices of visual literacy, interface architecture, and usability.
491 Advanced Digital Cinema 3 Course Prerequisite: DTC 201 or 208. Exploration of advanced techniques, theories, and aesthetic strategies of cinema in the age of digital media.
497 [CAPS] Senior Seminar 3 Course Prerequisite: Completion of Junior Writing Portfolio; admitted to the major in Digital Technology and Culture; senior standing. Major multimedia project for nonprofit organization or small business with special focus on project management, planning, and execution.
498 Internship V 1-6 May be repeated for credit; cumulative maximum 6 credits. Course Prerequisite: By department permission; admitted to the major in Digital Technology and Culture; junior standing. Direct professional learning experiences in the area of digital media, technology, and culture. S, F grading.
499 Special Problems V 1-4 May be repeated for credit; cumulative maximum 12 credits. Course Prerequisite: Admitted to the major in Digital Technology and Culture; junior standing. Independent study conducted under the jurisdiction of an approving faculty member; may include independent research studies in technical or specialized problems; selection and analysis of specified readings; development of a creative project; or field experiences. S, F grading.
560 Critical Theories, Methods, and Practice in Digital Humanities 3 History, theory, and practice of digital humanities, with attention paid to how digital humanities are transforming disciplinary knowledge. (Crosslisted course offered as DTC 560, ENGLISH 560.)
561 Studies in Technology and Culture 3 Foundation examination of key concepts, tools, and possibilities afforded by engaging with technology through a critical cultural lens. (Crosslisted course offered as DTC 561, ENGLISH 561.)
- Digital Technology and Culture
Courses
- Digital Technology And Culture
Schedules of Studies
- Digital Design (Pullman and Tri-Cities only)