Certificate in Digital Media (CDM)

The Certificate in Digital Media (CDM) provides a fundamental understanding of information technology and digital media production. The program will motivate students to think critically about technology and its impacts upon society.

Certificate Goals:

  • to equip students with a basic digital media skill-set
  • to transform students from passive users of technology into active producers of technology
  • to introduce students to critical thinking and theories relevant to digital media

Certificate Requirements:

  • A minimum of 12 credit hours including:
    • ATLS2000, The Meaning of Information Technology
    • ATLS3010, Digital Media 1
    • Invention & Practice Elective (must be an ATLS Invention & Practice Course)
    • Critical Thinking in Technology Elective
  • Student must maintain a 2.0 GPA within all CDM courses
  • Students must earn a minimum grade of “C” in all courses counted for the certificate.
  • Course work used to satisfy CDM requirements cannot be taken Pass/Fail.
  • Core courses cannot be substituted (ATLS2000, ATLS3010).
  • Failing to meet the minimum grade for any individual ATLS core course twice will result in automatic removal from the MTAM program.

Course Substitutions:

  • Boulder campus course work not on the approved elective lists, or course work from another University of Colorado campus, another institution, Study Abroad or Semester at Sea must complete a Course Substitution form and attach supporting documentation (syllabus).
  • Substitutions will not be considered if the student is requesting substitution already satisfied with an approved Boulder campus course.
  • A minimum of 15 credit hours must be taken on the Boulder campus

Teaching Philosophy

The philosophy of the TAM Program curriculum is to integrate creative production, critical thinking, and technical skills into each course. While TAM teaches a diverse and robust skill-set, it is not confined to specific disciplines such as “Graphic Design” or “Digital Art.” Students are challenged to become aware of the various disciplinary perspectives and to situate and contextualize their work accordingly.

The TAM program does not teach software-specific courses. Instead TAM courses will teach a variety of software and technologies so that the student can choose the most relevant application for his/her future goals. Due to the high rate of change within technological industries, TAM courses teach the fundamentals of software and technologies from a broad perspective. The goal of this is to encourage self-directed learning and to foster confidence in learning new applications within our students.