Required Portfolio (Up To 6 Credit Hours)
GMI students are required to develop an industrial portfolio with an interdisciplinary focus. Through the portfolio, the student shows an ability to completely realize their individual contributions, resulting in possibly a high quality exhibit, movie, or game.
The interdisciplinary nature of the GMI program provides all students with extensive knowledge in the widely-varied aspects of Games and Media integration. In turn, this provides students with the chance to integrate technical and artistic ideas in their portfolio.With the portfolio requirement, students carry out a concept to completion: a story would be conceived and then animated; a quest imagined and then fulfilled; or a wearable computing product imagined and implemented, for example.
Suggested applications with strong GMI emphasis areas include but are not limited to the following: applications integrated in TheatreWorks Productions, Digital Animation Movie Production and/or Production of Games, applications coordinating with the Center on Aging, work with visual and performing arts, and disability applications.
The student’s portfolio advisory committee will consist of three faculty members, including at least one CS graduate faculty member and, if applicable, one faculty member from LAS. The third member should preferably come from a local industry, representing for example the SigGraph, IGDA community with major portfolio development experience. Dr. Semwal initially would be the CS portfolio advisor.
Completed works are expected to be submitted to SigGraph Animation and Film Festival, International Symposium on Wearable Computing, a variety of virtual reality and HCI interaction conferences, Game Developers Conference, or other related venues around the world.
Thesis or Project (3 to 6 Credit Hours)
Students are required to complete a project (three credit hours) or a thesis (up to six credit hours). A maximum total of nine credit hours of thesis or project, and portfolio is allowed, ensuring that students have sufficient course work in the games and media integration areas. Students will be expected to work with an advisor in the GMI area of concentration following the guidelines of MS Thesis or Project work in the CS Department.