Introductory Courses

No Introductory Course may be substituted for any other course at any level.

Introductory courses may be waived for any of the following conditions based on faculty review:

• The student has the appropriate course work to satisfy an Introductory Course based on an official transcript review by faculty and successful grades, typically B or better.
• The student has appropriate and verified professional experience to satisfy an Introductory Course which is demonstrated through successful completion of a GAE exam.
  
• If a Graduate Assessment Examination (GAE) is available for the Introductory Courses, upon successfully completion of a GAE, a waiver will be issued.
  
• Plan accordingly prior to start of the term, faculty reviews for possible course waivers can take a few weeks. For newly admitted students, possible course waivers will not be initiated until an Intent to Enroll form has been submitted.

Foundation Courses

Advanced Courses

Electives

Students are required to take sixteen (16) credit hours of elective courses: eight (8) credit hours from the College of CDM Electives and eight (8) credit hours from the College of Communication Electives. The three focus areas (Narrative Craft, Emerging Media, and Design Strategy) within each list are meant to cluster the electives to help students build meaningful skill sets.

Thesis/Capstone

Major Elective Courses

Students are required to take 8 credit hours from Major Elective Courses according to the following criteria:

• Students should choose the eight (8) Credit Hours of graduate level elective courses from a College of Communication graduate program.

Master's Thesis Project

Students must complete a Master's Thesis Project as part of the degree requirements. Students have two options for how to complete the Master's Thesis Project.

The finishing requirement guideline for the Master's Thesis Project is as follows:

Thesis I & II Courses: Students must complete the Thesis I and Thesis II courses (each 4-credit) in the second year. They are required to work with the course instructor between two quarters to develop a self-directed project that implements creative storytelling and design approaches towards transmedia production.

External Advisor: In addition to the Thesis course instructor, students are required to find an external advisor that is not an existing faculty in the School of Design (SoD) at DePaul University to provide mentorship on their thesis project. The external advisor can be another faculty at DePaul University, a faculty at a different university, or a professional from industry. Students must meet at a minimum of 2 times with their external advisor.

Thesis Defense: Students are required to participate in a thesis defense at the end of Thesis II. The thesis defense committee will consist of 3 members, with at least one member from the College of Computing and Digital Media (CDM) and at least one member from outside of CDM. The committee chair must be a DCMA faculty and must hold a terminal degree. DCMA faculty will assist in the process of putting together the Thesis Defense Committee for each student.

Public Showcase: Students must present their thesis project in a public setting format. Formats can include exhibition, screening, workshop, public lecture, public discussion, etc. This should be developed with in conversation with DCMA faculty. Additionally, students are required to submit a 10 min presentation video of their thesis research and practice at the end of each Thesis course.

Writing: There are three components for writing, these are an in-depth project research report with detailed production plan, a reflection narrative about the student’s external advising experience, and a professional portfolio process book detailing the development process of the thesis project. For detailed guidelines for each of these documents, please see the section Writing Guidelines.

Students must have completed the necessary prerequisite classes and at least 8 courses (32 credit hours) in the DCMA program toward their 48 required credit hours (credits earned from Introductory Courses do not count toward the required total credits). Students should schedule a meeting with a faculty member to discuss the requirements.

Thesis Milestones:

• Fall - Before the end of the fall quarter, students should submit a written proposal to advising faculty outlining their Thesis concept.
• Winter - Enroll in DMA 695.
• Spring - Enroll in DMA 698.
• Spring - Participate in end of the year showcase and/or symposium.

• Complete a minimum of 52 graduate credit hours in addition to any required introductory courses of the designated degree program.
• Complete all graduate courses and requirements listed in the designated degree program.
• Earn a grade of C- or better in all courses of the designated degree program.
• Maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher.
• Students pursuing a second (or more) graduate degree may not double count or retake any course that applied toward the completion of a prior graduate degree. If a required course in the second degree was already completed and applied toward a previous degree, the student must meet with a faculty advisor to discuss a new course to be completed and substituted in the new degree. This rule also applies to cross-listed courses, which are considered to be the same course but offered under different subjects.
• Students pursuing a second master's degree must complete a minimum of 52 graduate credit hours beyond their first designated degree program in addition to any required introductory courses in their second designated degree program.
  

Students with a GPA of 3.9 or higher will graduate with distinction.

For DePaul's policy on repeat graduate courses and a complete list of academic policies see the DePaul Graduate Handbook in the Course Catalog.