Last Tuesday, the Interactive Media Arts and Business & Finance majors at NYU Shanghai were given the approval to create a new combined major: Interactive Media and Business. The most recent proposal would allow for the creation of a joint major between the two disciplines-- Business and Interactive Media Arts. Matt Belanger, the Associate Director for the Interactive Media Arts program, is leading the initiative to further develop the IMA curriculum. “We are hoping it will provide a bridge for students,” Belanger commented, “one that would help us much better connect the dots between the two programs.” One current example of the type of curriculum that would be made available to students would be the course Minimal Viable Product, lead by Christian Grewall, the Adjunct Assistant Arts Professor at NYU Shanghai and Associate Director of Program Management. The project-based course allows students to develop ideas and create products involving modern technology; products that have the potential to be marketed to the greater community.Belanger, although optimistic, does acknowledge that the proposed joint-major has a long way to go before it is officially considered part of the NYU Shanghai curriculum. “The hope is to have it ready by next fall, but unforeseen circumstances may prevent or delay the major,” he commented in an interview with On Century Avenue. Although the idea was approved by the NYU Shanghai Curriculum Committee, it still needs to be discussed by a larger audience on the square in New York. “There’s a whole process to approving new curriculum,” commented Marianne Petit, the Director of Interactive Media Arts program at NYU Shanghai. “It’s likely the idea will be presented and the committee will at the very least have some feedback,” she concluded.“We are hoping to provide some intellectual coherence,” Belanger concluded, “especially considering NYU Shanghai’s requirement that students study-away at least one semester.” The proposed major would provide students with the opportunity to streamline their requirements for students interested in both majors. Angie Aguilar, a current NYU Shanghai sophomore and IMA major interested in the fashion industry, thinks the proposed major is a fantastic idea. “The projects students create in the IMA program are really meaningful,” she commented, “but it is also important that we learn the skills necessary to apply them to society. A business perspective would help us do that.”This article was written by Lillian Korinek. Please send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: Garfield Anderssen via Flickr