Undergraduate Program
Degree Requirements
DTC major offers 24 credit hours of core courses as well as 12 credit hours in concentration electives. While some courses are specifically designed as DTC courses, many come from such disciplines as Anthropology, Business, Computer Science, English, Fine Arts, History, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology. Thus, the DTC degree offers students the opportunity to study new media technologies in a multi-disciplinary context.
In the last year of the program, students choose between an Internship and a Senior Seminar. Internships allow students to work with one of the many significant and cutting edge media companies in the Tri-Cities area. Internships are coordinated with the DTC advisor and work in conjunction with WSU Tri-Cities Digital Consortium. Senior Seminars are designed as an independent study with one of the DTC faculty, individually designed with the student’s interests and career goals in mind. Both options are aimed at enhancing skills for careers involving digital technology or preparation for further graduate study.
DTC Degree Plan
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The following are the Course Requirements for the BA in Digital Technology and Culture.
CORE (24 credits)
1. All of the following (15 cr):
| DTC 355 [C,M] | Multimedia Authoring: Exploring New Rhetorics (3 cr) |
| DTC 356 | Electronic Research and the Rhetoric of Information (3 cr) |
| DTC 375 [H,M] | Language, Texts & Technology (3 cr) |
| DTC 475 [T,D,M] | Digital Diversity (3 cr) |
| FA 331 | Art, Science and Technology (3 cr) |
2. Three of the following (9 cr):
| Anth 350 [S] | Speech, Thought & Culture (3 cr) |
| Cpt S 401 [T] | Computers & Society (3 cr) |
| Engl 301 [W] | Writing & Rhetorical Conventions (3 cr) |
| Engl 402 [W,M] | Technical & Professional Writing (3 cr) |
| FA 332 or 333 | 332: Introduction to Digital Media – Print & Web (3 cr) (Prereqs: FA 102 and 110) 333: Introduction to Digital Media – Video & Sound (3 cr) (Prereqs: FA 102 and 110) |
| Soc 373 | Media, Culture & Society (3 cr) |
CONCENTRATION (12 credits)
Students choose one of the four concentrations to focus and take 12 credits from those offered.
Concentration 1: MULTIMEDIA AUTHORING (4 of the following)
| DTC 335 | Digital Animation: Story, Narration & Production (3 cr) |
| DTC 338 | Special Topics in Digital Technology & Culture (3 cr) |
| DTC 477 | Advanced Multimedia Authoring (Prereq DTC 355) (3 cr) |
| DTC 478 | Usability & Interface Design (Prereq DTC 355) (3 cr) |
| DTC 336 [H] | Composition & Design (3 cr) |
| Engl 405 | Advanced Professional Writing & Editing (3 cr) |
| FA 332 or 333 | 332: Introduction to Digital Media – Print & Web (3 cr) (Prereqs: FA 102 and 110) 333: Introduction to Digital Media – Video & Sound (3 cr) (Prereqs: FA 102 and 110) * Course cannot be repeated from Core course taken |
| FA 337 | Experimental Animation (3 cr) |
| FA 363 | Special Topics – Digital Media (3 cr) |
| FA 385 | Digital Imaging (Prereq FA 332) (3 cr) |
| FA 433 | Print Based Media (Prereq FA 332) (3 cr) |
| FA 434 | Time Based Media (Prereq FA 333) (3 cr) |
| FA 435 | Interactive Media (Prereq FA 332) (3 cr) |
Concentration 2: CULTURE & TECHNOLOGY (4 of the following)
| DTC 338 | Special Topics in Digital Technology & Culture (3 cr) |
| DTC 476 | Digital Literacies (DTC 375 prereq) (3 cr) |
| Anth 330 [S] | Origins of Culture & Civilization (3 cr) |
| Anth 355 | Language in History (3 cr) |
| Cpt S 443 | Computer-Human Interaction (3 cr) |
| Engl 339 | Topics in Film as Literature (3 cr) |
| Engl 363 | Rhetoric: Literacy, Power & Agency (3 cr) |
| Engl 401 | History of Rhetoric (3 cr) |
| Engl 460 | The Scope of Rhetoric (3 cr) |
| Engl 461 [M] | Theory & Practice in Technical & Professional Writing (3 cr) (Prereq Engl 402) |
| Hist 400 | History in Media (also Hist 321, 322) (3 cr) |
| Hum 304 [H] | Humanities in the Modern World (3 cr) |
| Hum 450 [T] | Representations of the Holocaust (3 cr) |
| Psych 307 | Human Factors (3 cr) |
| Psych 492 [T] | Psychology of Language (3 cr) |
Concentration 3: E-COMMERCE (4 of the following)
| Engl 405 | Advanced Professional Writing & Editing (3 cr) |
| Engl 461 [M] | Theory & Practice in Technical & Professional Writing (3 cr) (Prereq Engl 402) |
| MIS 250 | Managing Information Technology (3 cr) |
| MIS 322 [M] | System Analysis & Design (3 cr) |
| MIS 325 | Enterprise Business Programming (3 cr) |
| MIS 350 | Managing Information Systems (3 cr) |
| MIS 372 [M] | Database Management Systems (3 cr) |
| MIS 375 | Global E-Commerce (3 cr) (Prereq MIS 250) |
| Mktg 360 | Marketing (3 cr) |
| Entrp 496 | Special Topics – Entrepreneurship for Non-Business Majors (3 cr) |
| Psych 306 | Industrial/Organizational Psychology (3 cr) |
Concentration 4: ELECTRONIC ART (4 of the following)
| FA 304 | Modern Art – 20th Century (3 cr) |
| FA 332 or 333 | 332: Intro. to Digital Media – Print & Web (3 cr) (Prereqs: FA 102 & 110) 333: Intro. to Digital Media – Video & Sound (3 cr) (Prereqs: FA 102 & 110) *Course cannot be repeated from Core course taken |
| FA 337 | Experimental Animation (3 cr) |
| FA 350 | Sculpture (3 cr) |
| FA 363 | Special Topics – Digital Media (3 cr) |
| FA 380 | History of Photography (3 cr) |
| FA 385 | Digital Imaging (3 cr) (Prereq FA 332) |
| FA 403 | Modern Theories of Art (3 cr) |
| FA 405 | Contemporary Art: Theory & Practice |
| FA 433 | Print Based Media (3 cr) (Prereq FA 332) |
| FA 434 | Time Based Media (3 cr) (Prereq FA 333) |
| FA 435 | Interactive Media (3 cr) (Prereq FA 332) |
| FA 452 | Advanced Sculpture (3 cr) (Prereq FA 351) |
| FA 498 | Contemporary Issues Seminar (3 cr) (Prereq FA 304) |
SENIOR SEMINAR (3-6 credits)
3. One approved seminar internship or senior thesis sponsored by one of the program faculty:
| Engl 498 | Internship (3-6 cr) |
| Engl 499 | Independent Study (3-6 cr) |
DTC Minor
A Digital Technology and Culture minor may be certified after the completion of 60 semester hours. A minimum of 18 semester hours of approved, upper-division DTC course work is required for the minor. Other courses may be considered with DTC advisor approval.
Core Courses for DTC Minors (9 credits)
Must take all of the following:
| DTC 355 [C,M] | Multimedia Authoring: Exploring New Rhetorics (3 cr) |
| DTC 375 | Language, Text, & Technology (3 cr) |
| FA 331 | Art, Science and Technology (3 cr) |
Concentration Courses for DTC Minors (9 credits)
Choose 3 from any of the following:
| Anth 350 [S] | Speech, Thought & Culture (3 cr) |
| DTC 336 | Composition & Design (3 cr) |
| DTC 356 | Electronic Research and the Rhetoric of Information |
| DTC 475 [T,D,M] | Digital Diversity (3 cr) |
| DTC 478 | Usability and Interface Design (Prereq Engl 355) (3 cr) |
| Engl 301 | Writing & Rhetorical Conventions (3 cr) |
| Engl 402 [W,M] | Technical and Professional Writing (3 cr) |
| Engl 405 | Advanced Professional Writing & Editing (3 cr) |
| FA 332 | Introduction to Digital Media – Print and Web (3 cr) |
| FA 333 | Introduction to Digital Media – Video and Sound (3 cr) |
| Soc 373 | Media, Culture & Society (3 cr) |
| Soc 430 [T] | Society and Technology (3 cr) |
Program History
Officially approved and adopted by the WSU Senate in 2003, the BA in Digital Technology and Culture (DTC) was once known as the Electronic Media and Culture option within General Studies. Now that the degree is fully sanctioned, it has proven to be one of he fastest growing majors in the Tri-Cities area. Though the DTC degree is housed within the English Department, it is a multi-disciplinary degree made up of courses taught and administered by specialists in as many as eight other disciplines. As such, the degree is designed to offer a broad range of options for students who want to focus their interests while, at the same time, engage the interdisciplinary nature of the field of digital technology and culture.
Transfer Requirements
Transfer students who have completed an approved Associate of Arts and Science (DTA) degree at a Washington or Oregon community college will have fulfilled most of the lower-division General Education Requirements. Because students have to also meet the College of Liberal Arts requirements, some students must take additional courses in a foreign language in order to complete the degree. Otherwise, transfer students will have their transcripts evaluated for General Education requirements (see the program guide). More on transferring into WSU.