Digital Media Design Degree Requirements

• 2 computational design courses
• 2 animation, film, and virtual reality courses
• 1 emerging media and technology course
• 1 instructional design course
• 2 web design and development course
• 1 precapstone course
• 1 capstone course
• 2 digital media design electives
  • With 1 elective taken on campus (e.g., DGMD 1 From Ideas to Designs or DGMD 11 From Prototypes to Products

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You enroll in the precapstone and capstone courses in back-to-back semesters and in your final academic year.

In the precapstone you design a project that focuses on web and mobile applications; animation, film, or virtual reality; instructional design; or emerging media and technology.

Then, in the capstone, you execute the project — be it a website, film, mobile application, wearable device, or innovative online course. You receive guidance and support from your instructor and fellow degree candidates. The capstone is taken as your sole remaining degree requirement

Recent Capstone Topics:

• A sustainable and scalable HTML/SCSS framework to rapidly prototype and streamline design artifacts and development
• Design and build an adaptive application for creating interactive musical experiences on mobile devices
• The Pipeline: The Worcester Art Museum Dashboard for Exhibition and Renovation Projects Planning

You can choose to concentrate your degree studies in a specific digital media design area and earn a certificate along the way.

Graduate Certificates:

• Back End Web Development
• Front End Web Development
• Learning Design and Technology

To meet the on-campus requirement, you choose the standard on-campus option and study with us in the summer. You can easily request an I-20 for the F-1 student visa for Harvard Summer School’s 3-week session. For more details, see International Student Study Options for important visa information.

Come to Cambridge for Convocation (fall) to celebrate your hard-earned admission, Harvard career fairs offered throughout the year, HES alumni networking events (here at Harvard and around the world), and, of course, Harvard University Commencement (May).

• Prior to enrolling in any degree-applicable courses, you must possess a 4-year regionally accredited US bachelor’s degree or its foreign equivalent. Foreign bachelor’s degrees must be evaluated for equivalency.
• If English is your second language, you’ll need to prove English proficiency before registering for a course. We have multiple proficiency options.

To begin the admission process, you simply register — no application required — for the following two, four-credit, graduate-level degree courses (available online).

These prerequisite courses count toward your degree once you’re admitted; they are not additional courses. They are investments in your studies and help ensure success in the program.

• 1 computation design course
• 1 web design and development course

The two courses don’t need to be taken in a particular order or in the same semester, but each course must be completed with a grade of B or higher, without letting your overall Harvard cumulative GPA dip below 3.0.

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During the semester of your second degree course, submit the official application to the program.

Don’t delay! You must prioritize the two degree courses for admission and apply before completing subsequent courses. By doing so, you’ll:

• Avoid the loss of credit due to expired course work or changes to admission and degree requirements.
• Ensure your enrollment in critical and timely degree-candidate-only courses.
• Avoid the delayed application fee.
• Gain access to exclusive benefits.

Eligible students who submit a complete and timely application will have 10 more courses after admission to earn the degree. Applicants can register for courses in the upcoming semester before they receive their grades and while they await their admission decision.

Prospective ALM students can expect acceptance into the program by meeting all the eligibility and academic requirements detailed on this page, submitting a complete application, and having no academic standing or conduct concerns.

GPA. You need to earn a B or higher in each of the two degree courses required for admission and a B– or higher in each of the subsequent courses. In addition, your cumulative GPA cannot dip below 3.0.

Withdrawal Grades. You are allowed to receive two withdrawal (WD) grades without them affecting your GPA. Any additional WD grades count as zero in your cumulative GPA. Please note that a WD grade from a 2-credit course will count as one of your two allowed WD grades. See Academic Standing.

Repeat Courses. We advise you to review the ALM program’s strict policies about repeating courses. Generally speaking, you may not repeat a course to improve your GPA or to fulfill a degree requirement (if the minimum grade was not initially achieved). Nor can you repeat a course for graduate credit that you’ve previously completed at Harvard Extension School or Harvard Summer School at the undergraduate level.

As stated above, your capstone will have a main focus on 1) web and mobile applications 2) animation, film, or virtual reality, 3) instructional design, or 4) emerging media and technology.

Whatever focus you choose, you must have at least 2 courses completed in that area of interest before enrolling in the precapstone course. If not, your enrollment will not be approved.

Courses over five years old at the point of admission will not count toward the degree.

Further, you have five years to complete your degree requirements. The five-year timeline begins at the end of the term in which you complete any two degree-applicable courses, regardless of whether or not you have been admitted to a degree program.

Potential degree candidates must plan accordingly and submit their applications to comply with the five-year course expiration policy or they risk losing degree credit for completed course work. Additionally, admission eligibility will be jeopardized if, at the point of application to the program, the five-year degree completion policy cannot be satisfied (i.e., too many courses to complete in the time remaining).

When you have fulfilled all degree requirements, you will earn your Harvard University degree: Master of Liberal Arts (ALM) in Extension Studies, Field: Digital Media Design. Degrees are awarded in November, February, and May, with the annual Harvard Commencement ceremony in May.

When you become an officially admitted degree candidate, you have access to a rich variety of exclusive benefits to support your academic journey. To learn more, visit degree candidate academic opportunities and privileges.