The Digital Media Design (DMD) program is entering its next era. To better reflect the rapidly advancing landscape of graphics, AI, and interactive media, the program will evolve into the Bachelor of Science in Engineering in Visual and Interactive Computing (VIC) beginning in Fall 2026. This forward-looking curriculum expands our historic strengths into a new frontier of computing, tailored precisely for the future of the field. While the DMD program will welcome its final incoming class in Fall 2026, current students have the flexibility to graduate with their DMD degree or adopt the new VIC curriculum. Explore our FAQ list to see how this exciting evolution shapes your academic path and how VIC is redefining the future of visual technology.
The Digital Media Design (DMD) program is an interdisciplinary major in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Penn. As a full-fledged Bachelors in Engineering and Science (BSE) degree, it combines major coursework in computer graphics within the Computer & Information Science Department and Fine Arts courses from Penn's School of Design. The program is designed for students who have an interest in the computer programming, mathematics, and design behind computer graphics, animation, games, virtual reality environments, and interactive technologies.
The program was created in 1998 to educate a new generation of people to work in computer graphics; people who, through a combined education in computer science, art and communications, could collaborate effectively in teams through integrated knowledge and skills. The largest employers of our graduates are DreamWorks Animation, Disney Animation, Pixar, Electronic Arts, Microsoft, and Google.
It is important to understand that Digital Media Design is an Engineering degree within the Department of Computer Science. Unlike animation majors that focus on using software and tools in the creation of art, our graduates help to build and extend those tools and employ them to create new graphics techniques and applications. While DMD applicants are encouraged to submit a portfolio with their application, DMD is not per se a fine arts major. Rather, we expect DMD students to immerse themselves in the programming, mathematics, and technologies that define contemporary computer graphics, while simultaneously cultivating and enhancing their Fine Arts expressivity and skillsets.
A non-degree DMD minor may be an option for students in other non-CIS majors.
For students entering in 2020 and beyond, the current program category requirements out of 37 courses are:
You will graduate as an engineer, with significant software skills and considerable interdisciplinary exposure through your DMD electives.
Credit: Grace Gilbert (DMD 2020)
Credit: Yanfei Li (DMD 2021)
Credit: Josh Nadel (DMD 2020)
Credit: Saranya Sampath (DMD 2021)
Credit: Eric Zhang (DMD 2021)
Background Image: Yanfei Li (DMD 2021)