MEDIA ARTS AND DESIGN
Summer Minor | UCSB
MAD ABOUT
Media Arts and Design Minor
More information can be found on the UCSB Summer Sessions - Media Arts & Design Minor web page.
Media Arts and Design is an interdisciplinary program that exists at the intersection of the arts and technology. While housed within Media Arts and Technology, the minor electives come from a wide range of subject areas including Art, Communication, English, Film and Media Studies, German, Linguistics, Music, and more.
The program is intended to help students develop a blend of creative and technical literacies that are invaluable in the job market, and critical for jobs bringing together design and technology, such as systems analysis, audio engineering, or user experience design. Students in the arts and humanities can develop their technical literacy by using digital tools to analyze and present information, and produce original creative works. Students in the sciences can enhance their creative design skills, and gain practical experience through project-based learning.
How is the minor structured?
A Summer minor is a minor program structured such that it can be completed over 1-2 summers. In today’s job market, students are consistently looking for ways to set themselves apart with employers and graduate schools. Adding a minor to your degree can help you to develop a breadth of knowledge and skills that will allow you to stand out. Plus, summer is an ideal time to pursue a minor, as students often have more time and flexibility in summer than during the regular academic year. The minor in Media Arts and Design consists of two required courses and four elective courses taught across Summer Sessions A and B, and may be completed in one or more Summer quarters.
View the full Minor Sheet to see all of the program requirements.
Courses Summer 2026
Session A
MAT 10 - Intro to Media Arts & Design
MAD Intro is an introduction to the concepts of creative computing. Students will learn about the digital arts field with an emphasis on technological developments and their integration in art production.
MAT 110CF - Media Arts & Design Concepts and Fundamentals
This is an introductory course that covers the principles and practices of media arts and design. Students learn to create digital graphics, audio compositions, and video productions using digital tools and technologies. The course adopts a hands-on approach, emphasizing emerging design techniques such as generative artificial intelligence, parametric design, and algorithmic composition. The course challenges students to critically evaluate the role of media arts and design in contemporary society. The course format includes two in-person lecture sessions and one section per week, with a focus on technological literacy, software proficiency, and computational design.
MAT 111FS - Media Arts & Design Fundamental Skills
This is an introductory course that focuses on the skills and practices of media arts and design. Students identify a theme and explore it through reading and making over six weeks. The course emphasizes a hands-on approach and requires physical evidence of students' efforts. Students analyze successful architects, designers, and artists who defined the areas of media, arts, and design. The course format includes two in-person lectures and one in-person section per week, with a focus on producing examples for the final project. The end goal is a successful final project presented in an exhibition format on campus.
MAT 111MC - Musical Computation & Design
Investigates the musical potential in seemingly non-musical systems through computational design principles. Students engage in compositional experimentation by translating patterns from architecture, quantum fields, biology, and linguistics into musical form. Develops both technical and creative competencies, welcoming arts/humanities students exploring computational thinking and STEM students pursuing creative expression. Concepts introduced from first principles with emphasis on discovery and exploration. No prior knowledge of music theory, programming, or referenced fields required.
MAT 111WN - Web-Based Interactive Narratives
This course offers a hands-on approach to learning creative coding, enabling students to design and develop web-based interactive stories with a blend of text, images, sound, and interactions. The curriculum will introduce narrative structures, creative coding techniques, and the basics of web design and development. Projects range from simple animations to complex, user-driven narratives. No prior coding experience is required.
Session B
MAT 111AU - Audio Engineering, Sound Design, and Generative Music Systems
This project-based course will cover concepts in audio mixing, editing, and sound design. You will learn fundamentals of audio engineering through recording and producing original audio tracks, develop skills in audio programming to create bespoke audio effects and generative music systems, gain skills using industry-standard audio software Ableton Live as well as Max4Live, get a chance to collaborate and work alongside other creators here on campus, and have your work showcased in an event at the end of the session.
MAT 111PC - Physical Computing for Design
This introductory course explores the intersection of electronics, computation, and creative practice, empowering students to design interactive systems, instruments, and interfaces using microcontrollers, sensors, and actuators. Emphasizing hands-on learning, it bridges the digital and physical realms to create expressive, multi-sensory experiences. Students will prototype interactive objects and devices, gaining technical skills and a creative mindset to engage with technologies like IoT, wearable computing, and interactive installations. No prior experience is required—only curiosity and enthusiasm for experimentation.
MAT 111PF – Materialize: Prototyping and Fabrication
This course covers the entire process from concept design to detailed plans, and students navigate it using traditional sketching and cutting-edge AI tools. Practical lessons in laser cutting and 3D printing empower students to create multi-material constructs, emphasizing iterative design processes to refine outcomes. The course is partly held in the Library Makerspace, and it includes hands-on sections promoting active learning. Students culminate their learning in a final project, where they explore innovative form factors, interactive prototypes, and fabrication practices.
MAT 111XR – Extended Reality & Worldmaking
Extended Reality (XR) is more than an entertainment platform; it functions as an effective and cognitive medium that reshapes how people experience emotion, narrative, and embodiment. This course approaches XR as a worldmaking practice, treating virtual space as an interface through which cultural and experiential meaning emerges. Students explore XR environments as sites where empathy, identity, and relationality can be reimagined, connecting critical theory with hands-on spatial storytelling. Core concepts such as worldmaking and space as interface are examined to understand how immersive environments communicate beyond language. Emphasis is placed on affective design, including light, sound, scale, movement, and atmosphere. Through readings, case studies, and iterative prototyping, students develop XR environments using Unity3D, photogrammetry, Gaussian splatting, and selected AI-based tools. The course culminates in a first-person XR walking-simulator project presented in VR.
MAT 189 - Media Arts and Design Capstone
MAD Cap is the Capstone course for the Media Arts & Design Minor. It synthesizes learning from other Media Arts & Design courses through the development of a digital portfolio and meetings with guest speakers.
Declaring the Minor
- Students who are interested in declaring the Media Arts and Design minor will first need to complete MAT 10, CMPSC 8 or W8 with a letter grade of C or higher.
- Upon completion of the required preparation course, students may email the Media Arts and technology program staff advisor allyson (at) mat.ucsb.edu to be added to the Media Arts and Design minor on GOLD.
- After completing all minor requirements, you must inform the Media Arts and Technology department staff advisor and fill out a Minor Clearance Form. This is the only way your minor will be recognized by the College.
Upon completion of the degree, the minor will be listed on the diploma and posted on the official transcript, provided the following conditions are also met.
- At least 18 upper-division quarter units are completed for the minor. (Waivers cannot reduce the requirement below this number.)
- At least 12 of the upper-division units for the minor are completed while in residence at UCSB.
- The UC grade-point average in ALL applicable upper-division courses, including those in excess of minimum requirements, is 2.0 or higher.
- No more than 5 upper division units overlap between this minor and the upper-division portion of the major(s) or other minor(s). If overlap is greater with the major(s), completion of the minor will not be formally recognized; if overlap with other minor(s) is greater, only the first minor reported will be recognized.
- All courses to be applied to the minor must be completed on a letter-grade basis. This includes those offered by other departments and applied to the minor.
Substitutions and waivers are subject to approval by the Chair or Faculty Advisor of the department. Please see Academic Minors for special conditions governing minors in the College of Letters and Science. PLEASE NOTE: The minor is considered “unofficial” until all courses have been completed AND the Minor Clearance Form is completed and approved. You will never see an indication of your minor on any progress report provided to you by the College and/or the Registrar’s Office.
The minor in Media Arts and Design consists of two required courses and four elective courses taught across Summer Sessions A and B, and may be completed in one or more Summer quarters. Students who wish to complete the minor can push their graduation quarter to Summer 2026, and will still be able to walk in Commencement in June 2026.
News & Events
MAT routinely hosts seminars, workshops, exhibitions, and events both on
campus and in downtown Santa Barbara.
MAT Seminars
A weekly writing, theory and guest lectures seminar, focused on research topics of interest to the wide fields at the intersection of media arts and technology. The seminar is organized in topical modules, covering writing methodologies, media theory, philosophy and critique.
SBCAST
The Media Arts and Technology Program has a lab in downtown Santa Barbara at the Santa Barbara Center for Art, Science and Technology (SBCAST). We host many events here throughout the year including our annual End of Year Show.
Campus Events
Media Arts and Technology students exhibit their works on campus at various events, including the Glass Box Gallery in the Music Department. Media Arts and Design students can participate in these campus events as well. At the end of the MAD classes, the students exhibit their work in the transLAB in Elings Hall. All are welcome.
End of Year Show
Each year the MAT and MAD students showcase their work at the annual End of Year Show. This event is held at the end of the Spring quarter in Elings Hall on the UCSB campus, and also at SBCAST in downtown Santa Barbara.
Information about this event can be found in the links below:
Photos | Summer 2025
Videos | Summer 2025
