The New Media Department offers an interdisciplinary course of study in how advances in expressive technologies and networked communication are changing the ways we relate to each other and to the world around us. The curriculum's melding of critical perspective with hands-on practice enables students to become articulate and creative thinkers who are proficient in using emerging digital technologies to address problems and opportunities at the horizon of human experience. New media is taught by a core faculty with expertise in art, design, computer science, engineering, cultural studies and creative writing. In the first year and a half, students take courses that cover topics including the history and definition of new media, computer programming for interactive environments, and design techniques, such as digital image manipulation. Graduates work as designers, artists, photographers, audio and video producers, animators, programmers and professional writers.