Digital Arts at Dartmouth
Digital art explores the intersection between computation, art, and society. The Digital Arts program at Dartmouth sits within the Computer Science Department and intersects with studio art, film, theater, engineering, music, and design. Graduate students do a deep dive into computer science ot understand how computational tools work and then to apply those tools to making art and conducting research.
Undergraduates can minor in Digital Arts or pursue a major modified with digital arts. One of our strongest modified majors at Dartmouth is the Computer Science modified with Digital Arts Major, a perfect combination of an applied computer science education and the practice of digital arts.
Any Dartmouth student take digital arts courses (COSC 20-29/120-129). Most don’t require coding experience.
Graduate Program
MS in Computer Science with a Concentration in Digital Arts.
The intersection of art and technology is a quickly growing area with tremendous room for innovation and creativity. The Digital Arts MS program at Dartmouth offers students a strong foundation in computer science in order to provide a set of tools that can be used towards the creation of digital art or for the design and development of new tools to better understand or make digital art. It is a small and selective program aimed at students who want a deep dive into computer science, while furthering their arts practice. We cover a wide range of topics within computer science, including: HCI, computer graphics, computer modeling and animation, computational photography, UI/UX design, AR/VR, data visualization, digital music, computational fabrication and 3D printing.
All students in this program complete a mix of courses and research. Read research examples here.
The MS program can be completed in a 4 + 1 Program for current Dartmouth students and a 2 year program.
Our alumni go on to work in tech firms, design firms, the film industry, and game design. Read more alumni stories here.
Application Deadline December 15th
Undergraduate
The Computer Science Department houses a minor in Digital Arts in collaboration with Film Studies, Psychological and Brain Sciences, Studio Art, Music and Theater. The Digital Arts Minor is designed to allow students from multiple departments an opportunity to bring their talents and skills into the digital arts realm.
Alumni Story
Dan Garcia ‘09
©Disney/Pixar. Image of Coco Towers (Dan Garcia)
I remember having a blast doing speed modeling contests in the Sudikoff lab and spending late nights there working on projects. That's when I realized I wanted to do computer graphics for a living, so the Digital Arts program at Dartmouth started me on my path to Pixar.
At Pixar, most of my time has been in the Global Technology department working on tech and pipeline unique to each movie. Most of what I do is not directly visible in the final images, but some is including a procedural which grows peach fuzz on surfaces (first used on Toy Story 4), optimizing the giant towers in Coco's Land of the Dead, and the volumetric deformation of crowds on Soul. Recently I've been in the Dailies and Rendering department as a technical point person for sequences of the film, running reviews and developing creative solutions to technical hurdles.
It's amazing the breadth of possibilities available in the world of computer graphics since everything you see has to be essentially created from scratch. Combined with the ever evolving technology and magical storytelling there's never a dull moment!
Faculty
Lorie Loeb
Research Professor, CS. Director of Digital Arts, Faculty Director of DALI Lab
James Mahoney
Sr. Lecturer, CS/Digital Design
Claire Preston
Lecturer, CS/Animation
Michael Casey
Professor, Digital Music/CS
Wojciech Jarosz
Associate Professor, CS/Visual Computing
Eammon Littler
Lecturer, Digital Fabrication
Soroush Vosoughi
Assistant Professor, Machine Learning
Alberto Quattrini Li
Assistant Professor, Robotics
SouYoung Jin
Assistant Professor, Computer Vision
Yujun Yan
Assistant Professor, Machine Learning
Nikhil Singh
Assistant Professor, Creative Computing/Digital Arts
Karolina Kawiaka
Senior Lecturer, Studio Art/Architecture
Adithya Pediredla
Assistant Professor, Machine Learning
Tim Tregubov
Senior Lecturer, CS
Yaoqing Yang
Assistant Professor, Machine Learning
Elizabeth Murnane
Professor, Film Studies/Animation
Jodie Mack
Assistant Professor, Engineering
The DALI Lab
Digital Applied Learning and Innovation
Where students design & build mobile applications, websites, virtual & augmented reality, digital installations, and more.
Our Mission
DALI’s mission is to elevate learning through the transformative process of building digital solutions from discovery to impact. We challenge ourselves to care for each other, the craft we are learning, the problems we are solving, the reality we live in, and the future we envision.
