Technology, Arts, and Media Program

The ever-expanding landscape of the networked age requires new and adaptable skill-sets, within both academic and commercial paradigms. In order to address this need, the Technology, Arts, and Media Program, based within the ATLAS Institute, offers two undergraduate programs: a minor in Technology, Arts, and Media (MTAM) and a smaller Certificate in Digital Media (CDM). The minor is intended for students who wish to pursue research and careers related to digital media, whereas the certificate is intended for students who are interested in the fundamentals of digital media production.

The course code for this program is ATLS.

Minor in Technology, Arts, and Media (MTAM)

The minor in Technology, Arts, and Media (MTAM) provides a broad multidisciplinary perspective that integrates technological skills with a critical, theoretical, and historical understanding of technology, media, and the arts. The MTAM curriculum includes creative production courses, as well as classes that impart foundational knowledge and critical perspectives on the role of technology in society. Students from a wide range of majors receive instruction in digital media production, design, art criticism, computer programming, information technology, data visualization, media and societal analysis, and project development. 

Minor Goals

• to prepare the next generation of artists, designers, and media producers for the networked age
• to give students the necessary technical, theoretical, and historical backgrounds so they can contribute to the development of new functionalities and aesthetics for computer media
• to facilitate the exploration of the intersection of technology and other specific disciplines
• to produce active and critically aware participants and producers of technology

Minor Requirements 

• A minimum of 21 credit hours:
  ATLS 2000 The Meaning of Information Technology
  ATLS 3010 Digital Media 1
  ATLS 3020 Digital Media 2
  ATLS 3030 Fundamentals of Digital Design
  Critical thinking in technology elective*
  Invention and practice elective*
  ATLS 4010 Capstone

• Students must maintain a 2.00 GPA within all MTAM courses.
• Students must earn a minimum grade of C in all courses counted for the minor.
• Students may not take more than one elective course from a single department (this does not apply to ATLS courses).
• Course work used to satisfy MTAM requirements cannot be taken pass/fail.
• ATLS core courses cannot be substituted (ATLS 2000, ATLS 3010, ATLS 3020, ATLS 3030, ATLS 4010).
• A minimum of 15 credit hours must be taken on the Boulder campus.
• Failing to meet the minimum grade for any individual ATLS core course twice will result in automatic removal from the MTAM program.

*See tam.colorado.edu for a current listing of approved elective courses.

Course Substitutions

• Course work not on the approved elective list (including course work from another University of Colorado campus, another institution, Study Abroad, or Semester at Sea) must be approved by the MTAM Faculty committee. Students must complete a Course Substitution Petition Request Form and attach supporting documentation (syllabus).
• Substitution requests will not be considered if the student has already satisfied the requirement with an approved elective course.