Immersive Media

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Immersive Media Overview

The Bachelor of Arts in Immersive Media (IMM) is an interdisciplinary program that equips students with knowledge of virtual reality and augmented reality technology, architecture, 3D modeling, game development engines, writing, and design thinking to prepare them for careers in immersive media creation. Students will blend industry-standard design practices and artistic methods with cutting-edge technology to create experiences in gaming, architecture, software, entertainment, and a variety of other industries.
Degrees Offered
  • BA
Program School

Explore the Immersive Media Degree:

  • Immersive Media faculty are committed to the principles of Universal Design, ensuring that environments and products—both virtual and physical—are accessible to everyone regardless of age, size, ability, disability, or any other consideration.
  • Customize your education with electives including screenwriting, interactive animation, filmmaking, sculpture, healthcare systems design, instructional design, and many more.
  • Students in the program have access to state-of-the-art equipment, studio facilities, expert faculty and staff, and the opportunity to work directly with faculty on research and creative projects.

Immersive Media I

Students receive an introduction to 3D modeling, programming, and architectural and design theory, and start learning the skills and technology necessary to build immersive experiences.

Studio IV - Prototyping for Advanced Systems

Students will be given the opportunity to develop immersive experiences for high-end, experimental, and prototype equipment that is only available to students in this course and later studios. Students will learn how to work with complex immersive equipment systems and early access software in a collaborative studio environment.

Fallingwater Studio Residency

As an immersive, weeklong, onsite study at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, students develop and apply design thinking and visualization skills through the exploration and application of sustainable strategies, architectural theories, manifestos, and phenomenology. Student workflow and artifacts are the culmination of site observations, hikes, lectures, readings, discussions, critiques, and design charrettes resulting in a final project presentation.

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Our Faculty

If one word could best sum up Chatham's faculty, it would be engaged. Professors bring experiences to relate the course lessons to real-world situations.

Full Faculty

Building a Virtual Reality

Chatham University's immersive media program is dedicated to building immersive experiences for virtual and augmented reality that are compelling, believable, and desired by employers in a range of industries.

Photo of a student in a virtual reality machine in the immersive media lab

Access to Cutting-Edge Technology

IMM students have access to cutting edge virtual reality and augmented reality hardware, including their own VR-ready laptop and Oculus Quest 2 headset, which is theirs to keep after the program ends. The lab contains a variety of VR and AR devices from Sony, HP, Oculus, HTC, Valve, Magic Leap, Microsoft, Tilt Five, and others. Core software programs include real-time 3D game engines Unity and Unreal Engine, and students also learn Adobe Creative Cloud, Blender & Maya, a variety of creative 3D and audio tools, and a variety of programming languages including C#, C++, Python, and more.

Photo of a student wearing a purple Chatham University shirt, in a virtual reality machine, while a professor watches on

Studio Space

Renovated in 2021, the immersive media facilities were designed to meet the technological and social needs of the department. The studio is equipped with state-of-the art immersive technology including augmented reality devices, virtual reality headsets, and high-performance production computers. Full of modular furniture and whiteboards, the reconfigurable studio space is the center of our studio culture. 

Immersive Media

Photo of a student in virtual reality goggles

The program teaches a concrete set of skills, such using computer programming to create a 3D landscape, but the aptitudes that it develops are broad and would be welcomed by any employer: solving problems, thinking logically, working collaboratively.

Photo of Christopher posing with a woman on Shadyside Campus

Christopher Brinkley will be one of the first students to graduate from Chatham’s Immersive Media program, an interdisciplinary learning experience that equips students with knowledge of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality technology, architecture, 3D modeling, game development and more. This spring, Chris got to put his learning expertise to good use by completing an internship with NASA!

Photo of Carson Custer, a young white man with glasses and a bright floral shirt, smiling in front of greenery

Carson Custer was only a first-year student in the Immersive Media program when his work started attracting attention outside of Chatham.

Photo of two students in masks posing in front of a historical photograph

As a part of the program’s Serious Play course, students’ projects varied from putting the user into historic photographs to projecting holographic-like artifacts for users to examine. Students collaborated with Chatham Archivist, Molly Tighe to create experiences that help make the archives more accessible.

Do you have questions?

We make it easy to get in touch:

Call Us

800-837-1290

Text Us

412-419-3772 (standard text/SMS rates will apply)

Email Us

undergraduate@chatham.edu

Request Information

Complete our Request for Information form

Or, answer a few questions and we will be glad to help.

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